Always Wanted Forever

by Sarah Tork

  *~*~*

  I woke up with the sun shining on top of me, feeling refreshed and alive. I wiped my eyes and pulled the blanket off me as my phone buzzed. I reached for it and grimaced noticing Xander’s number.

  Fucking, mother fucker. My eyes jerked open. I thought this shit with him was over. I had no intention of spending any more time with him or any of his family.

  Err…Liam.

  I declined the call. I wasn’t going to be picking up any calls from him, not today, not ever. If he wanted the clothes and shoes back, he could get them back in Toronto.

  But what about the bag? I stared down at the beautiful leather bag I was about to transfer all my things into.

  I was keeping it.

  I deserved that bag for all the shit he put me through; especially with what happened last night with Irina and that demented, love–sick puppy, delusional chick Demetria.

  I was owed this bag.

  And no matter was, I was keeping it.

  I’d resort to blackmail if I had to.

  Smiling, I got off the bed. Checking the time, it’s just after 9am. I had to call Dad and set up a time for coffee before my train left for Toronto at 1:30pm. I had until 11 to check out, which was enough time to fix everything and take a shower.

  My cell buzzed again and it was Xander.

  Declined, bitch.

  I took a nice twenty-minute shower, feeling the steaming hot water wash away all bullshit from last night away. I also washed my downstairs extra carefully, and once the shower was over, for the first time since meeting the bastard, I felt less contaminated.

  I dried my hair quickly, and left the bathroom with a towel wrapped around my body when three hard knocks on my door made me jump.

  I went to the door and placed my ear to it. “Who is it?” I asked, apprehensively.

  No answer.

  After a few seconds of silence I asked again, “Who’s there?”

  “Who do you think?” a familiar voice replied from behind the door. I jumped away from the door, shaking my head in horror.

  No!

  That bastard!

  He’s been calling me all morning and I’ve been declining his calls thinking it would get me away from him. But no, he’s come to me. Shit, shit, shit!

  Xander was here, waiting behind my locked door with whatever it was he now wanted.

  “What the hell do you want?” I shouted at the door.

  “Let me in and I’ll tell you,” Xander said. “I promise I won’t bite.”

  “I don’t owe you anything. I didn’t ask for all these clothes!” I snapped, feeling trapped. “I’m not doing you any more favours; last night was a nightmare.”

  “I promise, you don’t owe me anything. The clothes were an extra ‘thank you’ for spending so much time with me. They’re yours to keep, no strings attached. I just want to run something by you. Now will you please let me in? I’m creating a disturbance in the hallway,” Xander said.

  I rolled my eyes. Now he’s worried about creating a disturbance? What a laugh!

  “Fine. But wait, I have to put on some clothes,”

  “I don’t mind waiting inside while you change,” Xander suggested; I could hear a smile in his voice.

  “Dream on!” I called out while rustling through my bag for a fresh pair of underwear and bra. I put them on, then slid on a fresh, ocean blue shirt, then threw on my only pair of jeans. Once good and ready, I marched to the door, stalling for a moment as my hand hovered over the knob.

  He has five minutes, then he’s out, I ordered myself. I slowly opened the door, finding the bastard standing with his arms crossed over his chest with an irritated expression. He leaned his body forward, bringing his face a few inches from mine. I stayed still. This was my fucking room.

  “It’s about time,” he said.

  Bastard!

  “Alright, out with it. What the fuck do you want?” I hissed. He smiled and the sketch factor hit the roof. He was so guilty of something.

  Oh no… shit!

  Alarm bells rang and everything went black.

  “Marisa!”

  CHAPTER 23

  What was wrong with him? Or the better question: what the fuck was wrong with me?

  I let him in again, I was in the homestretch and I opened the door? I opened the door and let trouble back in my life… shit, shit…. SHIT!

  “Marisa?” a worried voice echoed through the darkness, bringing me closer to the light.

  “Who… what?” I choked out as my eyelids slowly opened to a pair of familiar, ocean-blue eyes that seemed wide with fear.

  “Oh, thank God!” Xander exclaimed, the relief in his voice unmistakable. “I was worried for a second that I’d have to call for an ambulance!”

  My eyelids snapped open, staring up at Xander. “Why?”

  “Because… it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve had to call an ambulance because a girl fainted.” He gave me his signature sketchy smile. And like a few moments ago, it didn’t work. Fuck him, it’ll never work on me again.

  “What… get the fuck off of me,” I jerked my body out of his arms. “That’s because you’re trouble; everything you touch turned to shit!”

  “That…is not fair!” Xander growled from the floor as I get up. “It wasn’t my fault!”

  “When isn’t it?” I snapped over him. “You’re you! You’re the one who makes everything into a huge mess! And you don’t even care!”

  “Lies!” Xander shouted, standing up. “You weren’t there. It was a worst-case-scenario situation!”

  “Oh really? Then how come I’m not the only one who thinks this about you…Liam!” I declared, jerking my chin forward. Xander’s mouth shuts; his jaw twitched as if he were trying to contain himself.

  Well I don’t care if he’s angry; I’m going to keep going until he pops a vein!

  “That’s right. Older brother isn’t too fond of you either,” I sneered, slowly enunciating each word.

  “Well, isn’t that swell!” Xander smiled bitterly, his eyes going dark. “I see you’ve had the pleasure of spending time with boy wonder! I’m sure you’ve already noticed all the glory that is Liam. Bet you’re already swooning at his precious golden feet already!”

  Jealous much? Yes, I think so. Judging by the hard look in his eyes when I mentioned Liam, there is definitely some major sibling rivalry going on.

  One of them acted perfect to get attention, and the other acted like a crazy pervert to get attention. I wanted to know, between the two of them, who’s been winning up until now? “You’re the messed up twin and that bothers you! Admit it.”

  Ha! It’s my turn to abuse you, Xander. Prepare your fragile psyche; I’m coming in, muhahaha you fucking piece of shit!

  Xander needed to prepare for a mental thrashing so severe, that when he left to go home, he’d cry like a little bitch. I hoped he’d remember this moment the next time he decided to be a stupid idiot and fuck with people’s lives.

  He would remember this moment.

  Trust in that.

  Silence. Xander didn’t make a sound, so I continued. “It all makes so much sense. Why you are the way you are, your fucked up shit… it’s all been a result of your jealousy toward Liam.”

  “Shut up,” Xander growled quietly.

  I don’t care, bitch! “You’re jealous of him; he’s perfect and you’re the leftover shit!”

  “Shut up,” Xander growled louder and charged toward me. I backed up, falling onto my bed. Xander leaned over me and growled through his teeth, “You don’t know anything.”

  I stared deep into his eyes and scowled. “Move back!”

  His nostrils flared. “No!”

  “Bitch, I said move back!” I demanded.

  He shook his head and sneered. “You think you can mouth off to me knowing the sensitivity of that subject and I’d concede to your commands?”

  Oh, I’ve had enough of this shit! I swung my leg up quickly, hoping to hit the target that was his peanut penis and his
grape-sized balls. He moved out of the way just in time.

  Lucky prick! I jumped off the bed. “And you think you can create havoc and misery into my life, play me like a fiddle, then you can pop in right afterwards and demand a request from me?!”

  He stepped away from me. “What happened last night was unfortunate; that wasn’t how I planned things to go.”

  “Well, knowing you even after only 36 hours, there probably wouldn’t have been much of a difference!” I snapped, unconvinced.

  “Well then, I believe we’re about even now,” Xander said all of a sudden, catching me off guard.

  Ugh…excuse me?

  “Fuck you! There’s no way we’re even now. What the hell have I done that would equal the shit you’ve pulled?”

  “You made unsympathetic low blows at me regarding the relationship my brother and I have,” he explained softly, trying to sound sad, but I knew better, the sketch factor was through the roof.

  “Low blow? You’re lucky that’s all I did to you after yesterday morning. The nasty thong… remember that?!” I snapped, pointing to my crotch.

  “And I remember I helped you transform into a glamorous, gorgeous princess. Tell me now, were you the belle of the ball last night? Could people not take their eyes off you and tell you how amazing you looked?” Xander said matter-of-factly.

  Shit! He got me!

  The fucker smiled like he’d won.

  “Your silence speaks, Marisa…we’re even,” Xander grinned. “And I’m only throwing in the low blow about my brother and me as a measure of good faith. Do I have to even mention your main infraction? Now can we please move on?”

  I shook my head in protest. “It wasn’t the same. It was not the same!”

  “You’re right. It wasn’t. I believe your retaliation last night far exceeded whatever I unfortunately did to you. You actually owe me.” Xander smirked.

  My jaw dropped. “What. The. FUCK!”

  If I was a weaker person, I would have fallen for his manipulative speech. But I wasn’t weak, and he had another thing coming if he thought I was ever doing anything for him again.

  I owed him?

  Was he delusional?

  “Dog shit!” I added.

  “Oh really? Speaking of shit,” Xander sneered. Then I remembered… the blue plastic bag from last night. But it couldn’t be that, there was no shit in that bag, just a little man-juice.

  “There was shit in that bag!” Xander reminded.

  I shook my head, “No there wasn’t. It was man-juice all over one of my mom’s whore-bag friend’s underwear.”

  “Ah, yes, thank you for reminding me…shit…man juice, the blue bag you played as a gift last night. I must say Melania wasn’t too happy when she opened it; but I quickly took her mind off of it,” he smiled suggestively at the end. “So you see, you still owe me for that stunt you pulled last night; but because I’m nice, I’ll just ask you for one more favour and we’ll call it even.”

  I gulped. “And if I don’t want to?”

  “Well, let’s hope you won’t go there.” he whispered.

  Shit…fuck! I was backed into a corner. I couldn’t tell him to fuck off now. I probably should have taken into account that Xander had the money, and probably the influence to make my life a living hell. There was no way out that doesn’t involve me getting into some sort of shit. I have no choice but to concede.

  “What do you want?” I grumbled, barely getting the words out of my mouth without snarling.

  Super sketch grinned. “A date for my mother’s spring garden party.”

  I cringed. “A garden party?”

  “Yes, a garden party,” he answered.

  “When?”

  “Today at 2pm.”

  “Today!”

  “Yes.”

  “I have a train ticket for 1:30 pm!”

  “I’ll get you a train ticket for later, business class,” Xander said and I remembered the coffee date with Dad.

  “I made plans with my dad for coffee,” I replied.

  “Reschedule it for another time; this event takes precedence,” Xander ordered.

  “You want me to blow off my dad…to go to a party with you?” I asked, bewildered.

  “That’s right,” Xander answered.

  “A garden party?”

  Xander nodded.

  Moaning loudly, I plopped back down onto the bed and cradled my head in my hands. “This is not fair!”

  My head snapped up as another brilliant realization popped up. “I don’t have a fucking garden party outfit!”

  Xander rolled his eyes, giving me his infamous knowing sketch look.

  Let me guess: he can fix that too!

  “That is not a problem.” Xander stated slowly, smiling a cocky grin.

  “Don’t even say it. It’s an easy fix, right?” I sneered.

  His grin widened, showcasing his pearly whites.

  Yeah… that’s what I thought.

  *~*~*

  The next few hours went by in a blur. I quickly called Dad and informed him that I had to cancel our coffee date, that something unexpected came up.

  I couldn’t tell him, a twenty nine year old man whose beauty blinded innocents of what he really was, a slimy menace was holding me hostage over supposedly ‘owing him’.

  Dad accepted ‘something’ but was still not happy. So to ease the guilt I felt for blowing off the meeting, and after hearing the sadness in his voice as he reminded me of what little time we’d had to connect after my five month absence, I gave him my phone number. I instructed that it was for his use only. This seemed to calm him down, and now I’d be getting weekly phone calls from him to make sure ‘I was okay’.

  After the phone call, I packed the rest of my things and checked out of the Inn. As I brought my carry-on and the brand new luggage out to the SUV on the curb, Daniels helped me place things in the trunk.

  You know who wasn’t helping? Mr. Princess, a.k.a Xander; he was busy chilling in the back, on his cellphone, completely oblivious.

  “Aren’t you a chivalrous gentleman? No – no sit… I got this,” I yelled as Daniels and I slid in the rest of my things.

  “What was that?” Xander asked after Daniels opened my door, stifling a smile as Xander shuts off his phone.

  “Oh nothing, just observing,” I climbed inside the SUV. “Wouldn’t want to get your delicate fingers all roughed up by helping me with my bags.”

  “What was that about bags?” He pointed to my brand new leather bag. I pulled it away from his nearing touch.

  I cradled the bag closely to my chest. “This is my bag!”

  ” Xander chuckled. “Couldn’t agree with you more.

  “And completely well deserved,” I added.

  “Absolutely,” Xander laughed, turning to his window.

  As Daniels drove us away, I turned to Xander, “What now?”

  “Now, we get you ready,” he said.

  “How? Where?”

  Xander looked from the window and grins. “We’re going to Gustavo’s.”

  My eyes widened. No!

  *~*~*

  I. Hate. My. Life!

  Have I mentioned that lately? Because I do. I hate my life!

  “Hold still, girl!”

  I glared at the madman in the mirror as he pulled and tugged and ripped my hair with a round brush, as his other hand held the world’s hottest hairdryer. Swearing to God, any hotter and it would become a kitchen appliance.

  Fuck my life! I groaned loudly as my hair was pulled one last time.

  “My… you’re a troubling one!” Gustavo exclaimed loudly, turning off the hair dryer. Was he the same sadistic guy I actually thanked yesterday for making me look like I never had before?

  Yep! It sure is, unfortunately.

  Asshole! I stared at his perfectly put together reflection in the mirror. From the moment I sat in his white leather salon chair, I didn’t hide my distress, and showcased every single time my body withered in pain. I wasn’t a
hide-your-emotions type of girl. If I was being abused, I was gonna show it.

  “You’re lucky you’re pretty, girl! Because if you weren’t…” Gustavo trailed off, not so under his breath. I scowled at him again as the hair dryer abruptly turned back on and my head was painfully jerked back. The torturous round brush yanked my hair back.

  After a few more minutes of torture, the hair dryer shuts off.

  Thank God!

  Gustavo swivelled my chair around and pulled out the hairspray, getting to work spraying every inch of his masterpiece.

  Why? Why me? I thought, holding my breath. After turning my hair rock-hard, he finally puts the hairspray down.

  “Sammy! Get over here now; it’s your turn! Thank goodness,” Gustavo screeched at the top of his lungs.

  Sammy jumped out from nowhere, wearing a black jumpsuit. “Here boss!”

  “She’s all yours.” Gustavo swivelled my chair towards her and marched away.

  “Got it,” Sammy chirped.

  The makeup was less painful to get through than the hair treatment. I sat patiently and quietly as she applied everything from her kit onto my face.

  “It’s going to be spectacular, Marisa,” Sammy gushed as she brushed powder onto my cheeks.

  “Thanks, Sammy,” I murmured underneath the stroke of her brush.

  “No problem.” She continued spreading the powder. “Did you take pictures last night?”

  Shit!

  “Sorry… forgot,” I explained. “I had a lot on my mind yesterday.”

  “S’okay,” she mumbled, dropping the brush down and picking up lip gloss. “Pucker, please.”

  As Sammy applied gloss to my lips, the door opened. Maria entered the empty salon holding a stack of dresses. The salon was empty and is normally closed on Sundays. But thanks to Xander, it was opened for me. I don’t even want to think about how much that cost him. These people clearly didn’t do things for the cheap. I stared at Gustavo’s alligator-skin loafers as he hurled himself off his white leather sectional.

  “Maria, finally!” he exclaimed, sounding relieved.

  “Darling,” Maria gushed as Gustavo leaned in for three air kisses. “What…a…morning it’s been!”