Fight 2

by Dauphin, M.

  ***

  I wake up to Eddie staring at me. Once upon a time I would have thought it creepy to wake up to being stared at, but with Eddie it gives me all kinds of feelings I’m not used to. All of them good, just...different. I never did this with guys. I never got so involved. I’m not against it, but I haven’t ever found someone that makes me as happy as Eddie, that fills the darkness with light. I love him. I know I do, but I can’t tell him. Not yet.

  “Morning,” I say as I stretch out, pretty freaking sore from last night.

  “Hey to you. You snore,” he says, smiling, reminding me that I’m not the sexy sleeper that every girl dreams of being.

  “You have morning breath. Get over it.” I grin at him, enjoying the scruff that has grown on his face since we left Texas.

  “You’re lying... I’ve already been up and brushed my teeth.” He grins back, like he just won the fucking grand prize and he is staring right at it.

  “Seriously!? What the hell time is it anyway?” I groan, feeling the need for a few pots of coffee. Good god, it’s almost four! I scramble from the bed, starting to collect things for tonight’s wedding.

  “Why do I feel like every time we have sex, you find a reason to get away from me as fast as you can?” He laughs as he roll to his back. This god-like creature is all mine, and I couldn’t be more giddy.

  I laugh and throw his pants at him.

  “Remember your friend? He’s getting married in a couple of hours… you should probably be there with him.”

  I smile at him while I continued getting dressed. All I really want is to jump on him and have a replay of last night, but we don’t have time for that. He sighs, incredibly overdramatically, and sits up, swinging his feet over the side of the bed.

  “Fiiine,” he says, putting on his pants quicker than I’d ever be able to. Coordination seems to be something he excels in, in and out of bedroom activities. Standing, he collects his things and walks towards the door, slapping my ass on his way.

  “We still need to talk, Eddie. Last night was awesome... but I deserve answers.” I hate to bring it up as he’s getting ready to go meet Tatum, but it had to be said. I want to be with him, but I deserve to be treated better than he did last night.

  He pauses at the door, holding onto his shirt and belt, and looks back at me with the saddest eyes I’ve ever seen on him.

  “I know. We will... promise. Just… not here okay?” He waits for me to nod, then salutes me as he walks out of the room.

  I want to run after him. I want to hug him tight and never let go. I want him to tell me everything that pains him so I can take care of him. I want it all, but I also don’t want to be that girl that throws herself at a non-appreciative man. So I don’t. I take a shower, slip on my dark blue dress, and work on making myself look the best that Eddie’s ever seen of me.

  We’re supposed to meet Molly and Tatum in the lobby of the hotel at six, so at ten till sharp there’s a knock on the door. I know it has to be him, he’s the only other one that knows I’m in this room, and as I’d already talked to Molly and know she isn’t even in the hotel right now, there are no other options.

  Checking my hair and makeup in the mirror, I slip on my heels and grab my clutch before heading to the door. I’m not too girly of a girl, I love flip flops, shorts, tank tops, and short hair. I don’t care to get dressed up to the T to go to the grocery store, but getting dressed with Eddie in mind has me thinking a whole different way about dressing up. I want to look nice for him, I want to see him look at me with the same type of hunger in his eyes as I know that I have in mine when I look at him.

  Swinging open the door I smile widely as I prepare to see him standing in front of me. He said Molly had them fitted for Brooks Brother’s suits yesterday, and he will have one that fits perfectly tonight. I’ve never seen him wear anything other than jeans and a t-shirt of some sort, so the thought of seeing him cleaned up, and in a fancy suit, has me all kinds of excited.

  When the door swings open, I’m smiling widely, excited for our night out on the town. My smile immediately falters, though, when I realize the man at the door isn’t my Eddie. My face immediately pulls into a scowl at the person standing at Molly’s hotel door.

  “What the hell, Jase?” I hiss at him, lashing out to grab his arm and pull him in before Eddie sees him and starts a fight.

  “Well... he really made you change for him didn’t he?” He chuckles as he walks across the room and grabs the bottle of scotch from the counter, making himself at home.

  “Why the hell are you here!? How the fuck did you even know... what the fuck, Jase!?” I yell after I slam the door. Jesus!

  “I could ask you the same thing, RED. You barely know this man. I’m your best friend, or at least I was until he came into the picture. I care about you. Fuck, I love you even though you don’t feel ANYTHING for me apparently. You running off to Vegas on an hour’s notice made me worried. I just had to know you were safe.” His demeanor since he has gotten here has loosened and now instead of irritated he seems downright sad.

  “Ever heard of a cell phone, Jase? Why didn’t you just text or call me?” It makes absolutely no sense to me why he would fly all the way out here just to make sure I was safe.

  “I knew you wouldn’t answer. I knew you’d just ignore me like you are getting so good at doing.” He spits the words out angrily, changing his behavior yet again since showing up here.

  “Fuck that, Jase. You don’t just fucking show up at a random hotel room, halfway across the fucking country, and get lucky that the ONE FUCKING PERSON you are looking for is behind it. Tell me how the HELL you knew I was here.” I am beyond pissed, and even slightly creeped out that he is here now.

  “Someone needs to be looking out for you, Gwynnie. I can’t just sit back and watch you ruin your life with that asshole. So what if I followed you?”

  “It matters a whole hell of a lot, Jase. That’s fucking stalking.”

  “Not stalking, Gwynn. Looking out for the ones I love.” He sits on the chair near the bed, sipping his drink like this is the most normal thing ever.

  “You still aren’t answering my goddamned question, Jase. How did you know I was here?” Sure he could have known I came to Vegas, but this isn’t my room, this is Molly’s room. It makes no sense that he knocked on this door and not on our door.

  “I’ve had eyes on you since you got off that damned private fucking jet, Gwynn. You’ve been so wrapped up in your neighbor to even notice that I’ve been around.” He’s shaking his head, like it’s my fault I didn’t know he has been following me! This is so fucked up!

  I sigh. This isn’t the man that is supposed to be my best friend. This isn’t even the man from my apartment a couple of days ago. This Jase is a stranger to me, and he is starting to scare me. I watch him take in the room, looking at everything around him. Judging everything around him. His eyes stop on the black nightie I wore last night and he shakes his head. I don’t deserve to be treated like this, and it infuriates me that he would stalk me like that, just in order to see that I was ‘safe’. I’m safer around Eddie than I am with him right now.

  “I call bullshit, Jase. You just can’t take me being happy with someone.” Getting more and more pissed by the second, I glare at him. He doesn’t reply, just returns the glare with his hands on his hips.

  “Jase, I have a FRIEND’S wedding to get to,” I say, not wanting him to take it the wrong way and think it was my wedding I’m talking about. “You need to leave before Eddie gets here.” Which should be any minute, so he really needs to get out fast.

  “I see. I came all this way and you aren’t even going to make time for me. I get it Gwynn. Or should I say... Red.” He slides past me, slightly pushing me aside with his body as he goes. He smells like alcohol... and lots of it.

  As soon as he passes me there’s a knock on the door, but I can’t get by Jase to answer it.

  “Does he know?” Jase growls when he realizes who is at the door.
/>   “No, Jase. Please, just go,” I whisper. Shit, this can’t be happening tonight.

  “You know what this week is, right? Or have you forgotten about that, too?”

  I sigh and cringe as there is another knock at the door. Harder this time than last, Eddie is probably going to bust the door down if I don’t answer soon.

  “You keep telling yourself that he will love someone as broken as you. Keep on dreaming, Gwynnie. You just wait ‘till he finds out.”

  Jase turns and swings the door open, grumbling something to a seething Eddie as he pushes past him.

  Fucking horrible timing.

  Chapter 5

  Eddie

  Yesterday, Molly had our measurements taken for suits for the wedding and special ordered us Brooks Brother’s suits. Apparently with enough money, you can have the best of everything wherever you want it. Vegas only has cheap shops, and Tatum Savage is not about to rent a suit for his wedding. I’m just appreciative that it went on his credit card and not mine. I’ve never worn anything so comfortable. More than likely I could sleep in this, but I’m putting all my chips on wearing something a little more... Red... tonight.

  Walking down the hallway to the door that she is waiting behind, my stomach won’t stop fluttering with nerves. I know I shouldn’t be getting so close to her, so attached to being around her. I want to keep her around, but I’ve already told myself I’m out at the first sign of trouble. I can’t have myself turning out like him, no matter what the consequences.

  Knocking on the door, waiting for her to answer, I wipe my hands on my pants, laughing to myself at how much this feels like prom night, and not a grown ass adult wedding night. She is taking longer than I would have suspected to answer the door so I knock again, this time harder than the last. The door flies open, and everything is knocked out of me.

  “What the fuck are you doing here?” I growl at her friend, ready to beat the shit out of him. What the fuck is he doing in there!?

  “Had to see my girl. Move.” He shoves past me and that’s when I see her. She looks broken, like she has given up.

  “What the hell did he do to you?” I grind out as I let myself in her room and slam the door.

  Shit! I’m supposed to be telling her how absolutely gorgeous she looks in her dress, because she does. I am supposed to be kissing her senseless to the point of us being late to the wedding because we can’t get enough of each other, because that’s all I want to do typically when I see her. Instead, I’m so fucking close to chasing him down and beating the shit out of that guy for making her look this broken. Before I can do anything, though, she pushes past me, not even acknowledging my question.

  “Let’s go, we are going to be late,” she mumbles as she opens the door.

  Her eyes are pleading me to let it go, pleading me to tell her it doesn’t bother me. I can’t, though. If I’m going to be all in for this, if I’m going to break my rules for her, for us, I need her to talk about it. My mother let things go, my mother pushed shit under the rug, and look where it got her. I’m not saying that Red is anything like my mother, god knows that’s not true, but I can’t let her accept the fact that she deserves to be treated anything but kind by that asshole, by anyone. I walk towards her and gently shut the door, trapping us in the room. She gives me a quizzical look as I grab my phone and shoot Tatum a text that we will be late for the dinner, promising that we will meet them for their wedding. We are the only two witnesses they have, so there’s no way I’m going to miss it.

  “What are you doing, Eddie?” Her voice doesn’t hold the life it had earlier. What the hell happened? Where is my Red?

  “We need to talk,” I start, but once I see the look on her face from my awful use of that phrase, I laugh at myself and shake my head. “Sorry... that sounded terrible. Just... come on, sit down.” I walk over to the sitting area, because this fucking hotel has massive rooms with sitting rooms, and she follows slowly.

  “Why do I feel like what is about to happen is going to ruin my night?” she asks warily as she sits on the arm of the loveseat. Fucking christ she looks so beautiful.

  “It’s not, babe. Promise.” I hope I can keep that promise. “Listen, I don’t know what he did to you, but you know you deserve to be treated like a fucking queen, right?” I ask her, trying to connect with her in some way. She isn’t opening up, though, and if anything she keeps getting more and more quiet and unresponsive the longer we sit here.

  I sigh and rub my head, feeling my fingers flick through my short hair, reminding me why I keep it short in the first place, which in turn reminds me of my mother, which reminds me of Red, sitting in front of me, looking so fucking depressed.

  “What happened just now with him? How was he just here? Did you tell him where you were? Just open up to me, Red,” I plead. I watch her closely and see the tears form in her eyes before one slowly spills over and runs down her cheek. Fuck this. I rush over and take her in my arms, hugging her, trying to take all of the pain. God, she can’t be broken, she’s my Red. She’s strong. She’s a bitch and I love her for it. She can’t be hurting, I won’t let it happen.

  Wiping her face she pushes away from me and slips her shoes off, tucking her feet under her as she sits on the far end of the sofa. Staring at the fireplace in front of her she starts talking, and I hold on to every word like it’s my last breath.

  “Four years ago this week my father died because I was a selfish brat,” she says, lacking every emotion that should have been pouring out of her with that statement. “I had finally graduated from college. A semester late, but I did it. My parents were so excited for me. I was your typical daddy’s girl my entire life, but that night I chose my friends. I didn’t even get to tell him goodbye, and now every day without him I’m reminded how selfish and stupid I was.”

  I want to hold her, she looks so broken. I want to tell her it’s not her fault, that there is a bigger plan we have no control over, but I don’t. I know that feeling. I know it because I lived it for a long time. I blamed myself for my mother’s death and my sister’s disappearance every day for years. If I were a bigger man I would have stood up to him and protected the two women I loved most in this world. Instead, I cowered under the fucking stairs.

  “I’m so sorry, Gwynn.” I don’t know why I use her real name, but the sexy nickname I have given to her just doesn’t seem right in a moment like this.

  “If I’d just gone to dinner with them, then they wouldn’t have been on the road at that time and they wouldn’t have been in the accident and he wouldn’t have been killed and I wouldn’t have had to listen to his death over and over and over...” She’s crying so hard now her makeup is running down her face, breaking every block of ice I had placed around my heart.

  “Shh.” I sit next to her and hold her tightly, questions racing through my head, but I don’t dare ask any of them. She will tell me on her own time, just like I have to tell her my shit. Son of a bitch, tonight’s timing is all off. This isn’t a conversation to have in Vegas right before my best friend’s wedding. This is a conversation to have in our sweats, back at home, when we can focus on nothing but each other. Instead, we’re being rushed through it just to get to the wedding. Shit.

  “If you had gone to dinner with them you may have ended up dead too, Red. You ever think of that?”

  “Jase used to tell me that. There was a time I thought I’d rather have it that way anyway, since the main man in my life was dead because of me. I thought... I thought that if I were dead too, then I’d be able to be with him again. I didn’t think I deserved to live for a long time after the accident…” All of my thoughts freeze at her statement. I used to hear my mother say similar things to my aunt before she killed herself. Fuck.

  “Don’t say that. That’s just fucking stupid.” It comes out more of a growl than I thought it would, and she pulls back to look at me. Goddammit, I apparently can’t say the right thing to this woman tonight.

  “You don’t know what it feels like, Eddie
, so don’t fucking judge me.” She huffs and gets up off the couch, marching towards the bathroom and slamming the door. Shit!

  “Fuck,” I sigh, leaning back on the couch, wiping my hands down my face. Grabbing my phone I check my messages.

  SAVAGE: Sounds good. See you at 8.

  At least I have some time to talk Red back into NOT hating me. After everything she shared I know I definitely need to tell her about my issues, but I really don’t think we have enough time to cover all of those areas tonight, so I do the very next best thing I can think of. Get her out of the bathroom, cheer her up, grovel, and if all else fails fuck her and make her remember why she is here with me.

  “Hey babe... come on, Red. Open the door,” I say against the cold, white bathroom door. I don’t hear any noises from the inside, but I know she is in there. “Please, Red. God... I’m a moron okay? I say the stupidest shit at the worst times. You have to know that about me by now.”

  I hear something in the bathroom drop and hear her cuss and smile to myself.

  “Open the door... please?” I add the please, happy with myself that I remember my manners in a time when all I want to do is BREAK THE FUCKING DOOR DOWN.

  The lock clicks and my hand immediately goes to open it. I make myself slowly open it, just in case she’s next to it. The door doesn’t open much, however, but I can smell her fragrance through the crack.

  “I used to think life wasn’t worth living, Eddie. USED TO. If you can’t handle that small fact about me you should probably leave,” she all but whispers to me. I don’t want to have to handle that... How the fuck can someone feel that way one day, then wake up the next and not feel like that anymore? I need to know that she truly believes it was stupid of her, and that killing yourself isn’t the way to ever solve anything. Ever. I couldn’t live with myself if she ended her life, just like my mom did.