by LS Anders
The two attorneys had enough common sense to maintain their silence giving him a chance to collect his thoughts.
“Fine.”
“Are you sure? We can fight this in court, Tegan. I can’t imagine with the trouble she’s been in that a judge would ever side with her on this. It’s an outrageous offer.” Samuel’s voice escalating with every word.
All Tegan could see were dollar signs floating out the top of the man’s head and the more he spoke, the faster the dollars were going. What difference did it make? In the end, he would be writing a check out to someone, whether it was Tracy or Samuel’s name he scribbled on the front. His life savings were destined to belong to someone else. He would spend every last dime he had fighting for what was fair, and who the fuck needed the aggravation of a lengthy, out of state court case. He had already decided that this was to be his last trip. He had no reason to venture back to Boston. Jason was following him back to NYC tomorrow, so there was no reason for him to ever come back.
Scrubbing his hands over his face, he should have known this was going to happen. He closed his eyes to try and regain his bearings now that the carpet had just been jerked out from under him. He’d thought he’d at least be able to retain something he had worked so hard for, but he had known Tracy for years and once she set her mind on something, there was no changing it. The bitch was out for blood, and since she couldn’t take it from his flesh, she was damn sure going to take it from his bank account. The woman didn’t possess a single compromising bone in her entire body, and she wouldn’t stop until she got what she wanted.
Closing his eyes a moment, he became the eleven-year-old boy again, instantly transported back to that shitty single-wide trailer his parents had left him in, hiding in the corner of his room once the sun had gone down. Terrified of the dark and with no electricity to power his coveted nightlight, he was in real danger of being consumed by the monsters that lived in the dark. The tiny shade had cracked and turned yellow long ago, but without its protective illumination, he was a trembling mess in the solidity of the blackness of night.
He’d found out later in life that there was nothing more in the dark than there was in the light, and that the only real monsters walked upright on two legs.
Resigned to his shitty future, he would forever be followed by the darkness. There would never be any light for him. Even Rayna’s brightness was simply not enough to compensate for the tragedy that was his life.
Coming full circle, he was back to where he had begun, penniless and relying on the charity of others to get by. He had managed to scrape together a little bit of savings from his new job at Exotic Ink, but it wasn’t nearly enough for him to get a place on his own. He had a feeling that would be gone too and then some, once he received the final bill from his lawyer.
“It’s fine, let her have what she wants. I don’t care anymore. Write it up and let’s get this over with,” Tegan bit out.
“Alright,” Samuel began. “Tegan, I’m sorry…”
Tegan stood and held up his hands, stalking around the room that seemed to be getting smaller by the second. “It is what it is, and I don’t feel like rehashing it out.”
Tegan remained on the sidelines, leaning a heavy shoulder against the wall while the two attorneys wrote up the final mediation agreement. Samuel passed over all the divorce documents that required Tracy’s signature to Mr. Chance and nodded at Tegan to do his part.
A bitter cold consumed every inch of Tegan’s body as he signed the agreement to give everything he had over to an ungrateful monster.
Mr. Chance left them alone to carry the documents next door, and Samuel had the good sense to keep his mouth shut. The silence in the little room so loud, he was aware of every tick of the second hand as it made its way around the face of the caged in clock.
They didn’t have long to wait before Mr. Chance was back with a stack of papers with fresh signatures. It was hardly the celebration Tegan had thought it would be. Tracy had signed the divorce papers, but she had emptied his pockets in the process.
Everyone bore the same hard frown as Tegan shook the hands of both attorneys. He felt as sullen as if he were attending his own wake. Stepping into the hallway to leave, his moment of relief to be leaving this desolate place was short lived when Tracy stepped out of the room next door.
Pfft, they couldn’t have waited a few more minutes for him to leave? Laying eyes on her was the worst thing they could have done now that she had fucked him over.
Tegan gave the cop that was escorting her a dirty look before his attention zoomed in on her. It was of little consolation that she was in handcuffs. The metal bracelets suited her. Wearing a bright orange jumpsuit, she looked as if she had aged a century since the last time he’d seen her.
Her eyes narrowed on him before she burst out laughing. Tegan took a step towards her, and the two attorneys moved between the two.
“Officer, would you mind getting her out of here?” Samuel asked, indignant over the situation that should have been avoided.
Tegan’s fists clenched at his sides, and if he could have gotten his hands around her throat, he would be trading places with her in that jail cell. The officer took stock of the rage rolling off him and tugged her arm to get her moving toward the barred door at the end of the hall.
Her head swiveled around as the officer got her feet moving. “Just wanted you to know, the baby was never yours. I was already pregnant before I ever fucked you.”
Rayna hadn’t managed to get two words out of Tegan all week, and the cold shoulder she was getting from him was making her physically ill. She’d vomited every morning since he’d blown her off after leaving for his trip to Boston. His mood had been downright toxic since his return, and it seemed to be directed towards her or so it seemed that way.
Not that they had officially laid claim to one another, but she had assumed that with all the time they had spent together and all the physical activity they would qualify as a couple.
Guess she was mistaken.
Luckily, Tegan had finished up her snow leopard the day before he’d left on his trip. Not that she wouldn’t have trusted him to do a good tattoo now that he was finished with her.
Her stomach rolled over again. Who knew a broken heart could make you this queasy. She’d had a sneaking suspicion that she’d fallen completely in love with him, but now it was proving to be true.
He’d obviously satisfied his infatuation with her and had moved on. But why the hostility? Had she pissed him off in some way? Tegan was a private person. Maybe he felt like she was prying too much into his business with all the phone calls and text messages she’d sent while he had been away on his trip.
The only call he’d answered had been cut short and his texts were not much more than one-word answers. She’d chalked it up to stress over his day in court, but after he’d returned to NYC, she hadn’t heard anything from him.
So she’d stayed away hoping he would come to her, but he hadn’t. When she’d come face to face with him at work his first day back, he’d only given her a cursory glance and turned his back on her, walking away.
What the fuck?
She supposed her lack of sexual experience sure as shit hadn’t helped her hold his attention. For the love… she had never even attempted a blowjob. I mean, that’s why Brent had strayed. And why would Tegan not do the same thing for exactly that same reason?
Gone was the warmth in his glacial stare. No more were the rare smiles she had so coveted. He had never been a warm and fuzzy person, but this human iceberg was a whole new level of asshole even for him.
She had cried herself to sleep every night, her soul ravaged from the emptiness she now felt.
If her heart was broken, it was her own damn fault. He had never proclaimed his undying love to her. It was nothing more than a mutual attraction that she alone had taken to the next level.
He simply didn’t feel the same emotional attachment that she felt for him. Why was she surprised? He had said i
t was “only sex” at Avie’s reception. She should have cut the emotional ties then and run away, but instead she had forged that one-sided bond even more by getting to know more about him and falling harder in love.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
She had no clue what had taken place in Boston, but whatever it was had irrevocably changed the way he looked at her. There were grumblings around the shop, but she couldn’t scrape together enough pieces to uncover even the tiniest piece of the puzzle.
Maybe he had decided not to get a divorce after all.
Her mother had always said, “Why would a man buy the cow, when he was getting the milk for free.” That certainly summed up her situation with Tegan.
He had made no promises to her, and she had freely spread her legs far and wide for him. Had even climbed him like a tree of her own free will, but his infatuation with her was now all played out.
So, where did that leave her?
In the exact same situation she was in before she ever gave her vag over to Tegan, that’s where.
She needed to stop worrying over what the deal was with him and focus on her own problems. She’d received a bill from her attorney, Mr. Sanders, while Tegan was away, and that was giving her something else to worry about besides what was going on inside his head.
She had received the good news that Brent’s parents had reached a dead end in their case against her to try and steal her inheritance. Her lawyer had said that the investigations into the life insurance policy and 401K Brent had left her was complete, and she would remain the rightful beneficiary of both. That was a relief, but she had no idea when to expect the pay-out. The lawyer’s billing was exponentially higher than she had anticipated, and Mr. Sanders would remain on her payroll until all this mess was buttoned up.
She’d been dipping deep into her own personal savings to help pay the mortgage on her apartment for the last few months and without Brent’s income to help pay for the apartment, she wasn’t going to last much longer on her own without that insurance money. She was due to receive $300K and another $100K from Brent’s 401k and was obsessively checking her bank account every hour waiting on the direct deposits.
She had been on the fence about paying down the current loan versus selling and buying something new. With Andrea right around the corner and Brent’s ghost still occasionally haunting her in the form of a scent or an object belonging to him, she had been leaning towards selling. Brent had picked that place out anyway. Like her bed, she was ready to rid herself of everything that she had been forced to accept by him.
She had managed to keep her mind somewhat busy trying to decide on the best real estate agent to list her property and was beginning to feel panicked at having to find a new place, but selling had been a decision she had been chewing on for a while, and she needed to make the move.
Jason’s still unfamiliar voice traveled down the hall and for a moment she was struck with a haunting déjà vu, distracting her from her thoughts. Kyle’s voice had that same depth to it, as if he were speaking from deep inside his chest. She wondered if Evana had noticed the similarity. Maybe that was what all the blushing was about when she had seen the two of them together.
Continuing to tidy her workspace, another wave of nausea rolled through her from the false lemon scent of the disinfectant she was using to wipe down her table. Strange how she had never noticed that lingering chemical stink after she sprayed. She’d always liked the fresh fragrance of lemons it gave off. Checking the label on the spray bottle, she noted it was the same spray she always used. Maybe she had gotten a hold of an old bottle.
“Here you go sweetie,” Avie said, setting down a tray with ginger ale and saltine crackers. This had become a ritual over the past few days. Rayna had made no mention of being nauseous, but Avie somehow knew. That was always her way, thoughtful at its most peculiar.
“Thanks, Avie.” Rayna knew better than to question the girl. Better to just go with it. “I like your hair like that.”
“Oh, thanks. I’ve been experimenting with multiple colors.”
“That’s so amazing how you managed to spread the various shades of green and blue out evenly in the finest streaks. Have you ever considered becoming a hair stylist?”
“Hell no. You are much braver than I. There’s no way in hell I would want to play around with someone else’s vanity. One little hiccup and you could fuck somebody up permanently.”
“I never thought of tattooing like that,” Rayna said. “I wish you wouldn’t have said that. Now I’m going to be paranoid about making mistakes.”
“Oh please. You do such beautiful work, you have nothing to worry about.” Avie waved off her concerns. “But, you do need to call your doctor and get an appointment. You know, just to make sure everything is alright.”
“Avie,” Rayna looked at her seriously. “How did you know I wasn’t feeling well?”
“It shows on your face. I can make the appointment for you. What time would you like to go?”
Shaking her head, the little nymph had that look of determination that was not going to go away on its own. It would take Rayna doing what the girl wanted her to do for that to happen.
“Alright, I’ll go, but I doubt I can get an appointment today…” Her voice trailed off as the receptionist spun around on a spiked heel, leaving her alone with her soda and crackers. “Alrighty then.”
Avie was back a few minutes later to announce her next appointment was running late and handed her a sticky note with a name, date, and time penned in her swirling script across the little yellow square.
“Oh, Avie. Thank you so much for doing this, but Dr. Howard is my gynecologist,” she whispered the last word.
“Yes, I know. You’re lucky that I was able to get you an appointment for tomorrow evening, she usually stays booked weeks in advance,” she explained, flipping her multi-colored hair to the opposite shoulder.
“But, I don’t think I need to go to that kind of doctor. It’s just stress or something.”
“Yeah… ok. Go get checked out and tell her I said hello,” she said, abruptly changing the subject. “Don’t you just love Jason? What a sweetie. I don’t know what I was expecting, being Tegan’s old boss and all, but he is nothing like what I envisioned. Excuse me while I go answer the phone. Tootles.” Avie turned to leave before Rayna could even comment.
Avie was right, Jason was nothing like what she had decided he would be like. They were all expecting another version of Tegan, but what they had gotten was a clean-cut guy with a jovial personality. He had started his new position as Exotic Ink’s new manager/tattoo artist two days ago, and Rayna couldn’t help but notice the change that had taken over her boss. Evana seemed, for the lack of a better word, smitten with the man. Her friend had turned silent over the past few months, retreating into herself more with each passing day. There had been something bothering E and she couldn’t seem to get to the bottom of it, but her funky mood seemed to have melted away after Jason’s first day on the job.
“Hey, Barbie girl, what cha’ doin’ tonight?” Callie came bouncing in, hopping up on Rayna’s client chair. “Please tell me that’s not your lunch.”
Rayna glanced over at the tray Avie had left. “No, my stomach is a little off today. Probably a touch of the flu or something I ate.”
“Ugh, really? I hope you feel better soon. You should go on home if you don’t feel well. Avie can reschedule your people.”
Rayna had already considered that and decided it would look chicken shit on her part if she let Tegan get the best of her. He didn’t need to know how badly her heart ached.
“So, I guess you don’t feel much like hanging with the girls tonight before Dylan heads back to Chicago?” Callie sympathized.
I’m just going to go home and lie in bed while I wallow in self-pity as I cry myself to sleep, but thanks for the invite, Rayna said to herself.
“Thanks, but no. I didn’t know Dylan was back in town,” she said to Callie.
“Yep, she
is staying with me while she oversees the renovation of her bar she’s going to open in a few months.”
“So, she’s moving here?” Rayna asked surprised.
“Yep. Remember, she and Arin are going to be rooming together. Isn’t that great!”
“Yes, now that you mentioned it, I do remember something like that.”
“Well, your attention has been slightly consumed with Mr. Steele,” Callie winked.
Well that shit needed to end.
Her head needed to be pulled permanently out of Mr. Steele’s ass. She needed to thank him for doing her the favor of cutting her loose so she could get back to her life and her friends.
Callie and Rayna watched as Evana passed by the door wearing a smile that backlit her entire face.
“Do you think E likes Jason? You know, as in like, likes him?” Rayna questioned. Reaching for a saltine, she felt a slight relief from the rolling acid as it hit her stomach.
Callie smiled wide. “Yes, I do. Isn’t it cute watching them dance around each other? I thought she was gonna hook up with Jake, but she seems to have shifted her focus. E really needs to get laid, she’s been so uptight lately. Has she mentioned anything to you yet?”
“No, not a single word.” Reaching for her ginger ale, she paused mid reach as Callie studied her intently like a human lie detector.
“What? I’m telling the truth. She’s hasn’t said anything to me, and she’s not up for answering any questions.”
“Well shit,” Callie cursed, crossing her arms.
Just then Jason meandered past, heading in the same direction Evana had just gone.
“Sheesh, is it just me or are there some seriously hot men working here now? Not that I’m interested, because I love my Vehn to pieces. Merely an observation.”
“Um… sure. I mean, Jason is attractive and Gabriel reminds me of an older version of Cale…” Rayna left it at that.
“Annnnnd… Tegan, of course.”
“Sure.” Rayna quickly got up from her stool, turning her back to hide the shimmer of tears that were pressing against the back of her eyes. Only not quick enough.