Saving Her

by Mia Ford

  “No, man,” I said, shaking my head and swaying in my chair. “I’m telling you, I don’t want anything to do with any of them ever again. They are nothing but trouble, and they are distractions that I don’t need in my life. Fucking look at me. I’m sitting here drunk as fuck, wallowing in self-pity, and all because of a fucking girl.”

  “She really did have you hooked,” he said, shaking his head. “I’ve wondered what kind of magic pussy she had this entire time.”

  “A fucking super magical pussy,” I slurred. “It was so tight and so perfect. But fuck her. She ruined me for all the other women. I am throwing in the towel. I don’t want to live like this ever again, and the only way to ensure that is to stay the hell away from all of them.”

  “You are being stupid.” John laughed. “You’re fucking thirty-one years old. You’re handsome, rich, and have a great personality. Well, at least when you aren’t balls deep in whiskey. You could get all the women you want with just a flash of the debonair smile of yours. You aren’t done with women forever. Just for now. Besides, what would you do to pass the time without hunting down a girl or two with me?”

  “Oh, I don’t know,” I said. “Maybe read a book, take a trip, or do anything else than being posted up at this shithole, staring out over this sea of idiots.”

  “Man, calm down,” John said, ducking his head slightly.

  “No, fuck you,” I slurred, standing up from my chair and almost knocking it over. “You ruined everything with your fucking Sherlock Holmes complex. I don’t want any of these stupid bitches. I want Amanda. She broke my fucking heart, dude.”

  “Alright,” John said, putting his hand on my chest. “Calm down, bro. Everyone is staring at you.”

  “I don’t give a shit about them,” I said, looking up at the faces staring over at me. “Fuck you guys. I’m out of here.”

  I threw a couple of hundreds down on the bar to make sure the bartender was taken care of and stuck my wallet back in my pocket. I shook my head at John as I slammed my last shot and wobbled toward the door, putting my hand up and catching myself on the doorframe. The bouncer caught me under the arm and helped me outside.

  “You need a cab, Mr. Robertson?” he asked.

  “No,” I said, patting the large man on the chest. “That’s my car right there.”

  I got in the car, and the driver peered at me through the rearview mirror. I told him to take me home and pressed my forehead against the cool glass. The world was spinning around me, and all I could hear was Amanda’s voice giggling in the background. When we pulled up at the house, the driver helped me up on the curb, and I told him I could take it from there. I got to the front door and leaned over the railing, hurling the contents of my stomach into the bushes.

  The house was quiet and empty, and I could barely put one foot in front of the other. I just needed to pass out and start over again the next day. I reached my bed and fell face first into the pillow, still wearing my clothes. I was done for.

  Chapter 17

  Amanda

  I had managed to pull myself out of my funk long enough to shower, do my hair, and look somewhat presentable for the day. I was with Lindsey at her wedding gown fitting so she could make sure everything was perfect before she took it home. While she was in the dressing room, I sat there in the chairs staring off into space, thinking about the courthouse wedding I almost had with Nathan. It was going to be so perfect, and I was planning on wearing some cute, vintage suit like Carrie from Sex and the City. I had searched online and found a couple options I loved, but now, it was pointless. I was stuck in that wasteland of heartbreak, carrying a secret that was kicking my ass both physically and mentally.

  My attention was drawn back to the room as I heard the shuffle of layers of tulle coming from the back. Lindsey walked out looking like that perfect bride you see in all the magazines. Her face was bright with excitement as she climbed up on the pedestal and stared at herself in the mirror. She had just gotten the dress back after the alterations, and it fit her like a glove. A very expensive, fifteen-thousand-dollar glove. She turned and looked at me, smiling big.

  “What do you think?”

  “You are beautiful,” I said with a smile. “The alterations are perfect, and you were definitely right about taking that bow off the back. It made your ass look big.”

  “I know, right?” She laughed. “I’m so glad that everything is falling into place so perfectly. I was really worried that my dress wouldn’t come out right.”

  I stared at the layers of tulle coming out of the bottom of the form-fitting gown. My head started to feel light, and I could feel all the blood draining from my face. My stomach started to churn as if someone pressed a button.

  “Amanda? Are you okay?”

  I looked up at Lindsey with confusion before jumping up out of my chair and racing across the room to the bathroom. I threw open the door and fell to my knees, reaching the toilet just in the nick of time. I hurled, not giving two shits that the door was open or that Lindsey could see me. When I was done, I sat back on my heels and wiped my mouth with toilet paper. I breathed heavily, feeling the tears from my watery eyes rolling down my cheeks. Apparently, the medicine wasn’t as foolproof as I had hoped.

  “I’m sorry, could you give us a moment?” Lindsey walked to the door of the bathroom and bent down in her huge dress. “Are you still sick, sweetie? You could have just told me, and I would have come on my own. It’s really no big deal.”

  “God,” I said, sighing. “I don’t have the flu. The truth is, I’m pregnant. I just didn’t want to tell you right now because you have so much going on.”

  “Oh my God,” she said. “You should have told me right away! Have you called Nathan?”

  “Yeah,” I said, feeling the emotions starting to roll in again. “But he refuses to answer my calls or texts. He has no idea that I’m pregnant. He probably would just tell me I was trying to corner him with a baby, anyway. He has all of these crazy notions about me, and I just don’t understand. He thinks I was looking up the information on the clinic so that I could steal his money to follow my dreams. Then he threw this obviously fake document at me, and for some reason, he thinks I’m fucking married.”

  “That is ridiculous,” Lindsey said, shaking her head. “You have never been married. Where in the world would he get some kind of crazy idea like that? I mean, it should be easy to prove wrong, right?”

  “You would think so, but no matter what I said, he just refused to accept any of it,” I said, standing up.

  Lindsey couldn’t believe the details of everything. I had kept those back, knowing it would upset her when I told her we broke up. She thought it was just as insane as I did. She took my hand and walked me back out into the main area.

  “I just don’t understand how he could believe that you are married,” Lindsey said, shaking her head and looking up as the door opened.

  I groaned, staring at Sarah prancing in the door. She had heard the last part of the conversation, and a weird smirk moved across her face. She walked over and kissed Lindsey on the cheek, turning and looking at me.

  “You’re married?” Sarah asked.

  “No, I’m not married,” I scoffed. “Not that it’s any of your business.”

  I turned and walked toward the window, trying to ignore her. I knew that I told myself that I would play nice for Lindsey’s sake, but at that moment, I didn’t have any restraint left in my body. I was exhausted from everything going on, and the last person I wanted to converse with about my issues was Sarah, who found too much pleasure in my pain as it was.

  “That’s funny,” she said snidely.

  “Knock it off, Sarah,” Lindsey said as she stepped out of her gown. “I don’t know what about that is funny.”

  “Are you serious?” she asked, smiling. “Someone thinks Amanda is married? That is a little humorous, don’t you think? I mean, if you really take a moment and consider how easy that could be proved wrong. Men can be so pig-headed sometimes,
but if you want to make them believe something, you jab them where it hurts the most.”

  “What are you talking about?” Lindsey asked, glancing over at me. “I don’t know where you are getting any of this.”

  “Oh, it’s simple,” Sarah said as I turned around to face her. “I stole one guy from you, and it wasn’t hard to do. He was dying to get away, and now, I’ve gotten the second one to break up with you.”

  “What are you talking about?” I asked, anger starting to take over my body. “You don’t even know Nathan.”

  “I may not know Nathan, but his best friend John is a pushover for a blonde with big tits.” She giggled. “It all came together so perfectly when you started to date his best friend. It was like the universe sent this little package all tied up perfectly for me.”

  “Sarah, what did you do?” Lindsey stepped down in her slip and walked toward her sister.

  “I have this guy that with a little convincing—you know what I mean—I got to create me a fake marriage document.” she laughed. “Jake Johnson was playing in the background when I fucked him, so I made the groom’s name Jake Johnston. Cute, isn’t it? Then, I just simply hand-delivered it to John, putting on my most concerned face and explaining to him what I found. The idiot took the bait right away.”

  My mouth flew open, and I froze, unable to speak or move. The anger coursing through me turned to rage, and tears began to fall down my cheeks. I stared over at Sarah, who was standing there, laughing to herself, still going on about how easy it was to completely sabotage my entire life. She was the reason Nathan wouldn’t talk to me. She was the reason I was facing a life as a single mother. She was the reason my child would never know its father. I couldn’t even believe that someone could be that evil in their intentions.

  “What did I ever do to you?” I screamed at her. “I don’t deserve this.”

  “You are a smug bitch who stole my sister away from me,” she said. “You don’t deserve a man like Nathan because you are nothing but a disgusting bitch.”

  “Sarah,” Lindsey gasped, walking up to her and grabbing her by the shoulders. “How could you do something like this? You weren’t raised to be this way. I can’t believe you. Amanda is an amazing woman with a big heart, and you have gone out of your way to ruin her life.”

  “This is the problem,” Sarah said. “You always take her side. You don’t deserve the life you have, either, but I won’t touch you. I do have some sort of morals. Just know you are disgusting as she is.”

  I stood there staring at Lindsey, looking her sister in the face. Before I could even speak, she had balled her fist up, reached back, and punched Sarah right in the face. I covered my mouth and looked over as the ladies in the front gasped.

  “You are no longer welcome at my wedding,” Lindsey said. “Now get out, you bitch.”

  “Ladies,” the sales clerk yelled. “You are all going to have to leave.”

  “Of course,” Lindsey said, straightening up. “My apologies. Let me get dressed, and I’ll pay you for the gown.”

  Sarah watched Lindsey storm off to the back to get dressed as the other women scurried around, collecting her dress and staring at us. When Lindsey had disappeared around the corner, Sarah wiped the blood from the edge of her lip and looked over at me angrily. I crossed my arms over my chest and held my ground firmly.

  “You are going to pay for this,” she said angrily before storming out.

  Lindsey came back and took my hand, pulling me, stunned, over to the counter. She paid for her dress and alterations, adding twenty percent for the disturbance she had caused. She took the dress and pulled me out of the store. I couldn’t even say a word. I was just too stunned to speak.

  We waited on the side of the street until her driver pulled up, taking the dress and helping us both into the car. As soon as the doors shut, I burst into tears, not knowing what else to do. Lindsey grabbed the box of tissues and passed them to me, letting out a deep breath and shaking her head.

  “I’m so sorry for this, Amanda,” she said. “You don’t deserve any of this.”

  “I’m so sorry for ruining your wedding,” I said, sobbing. “You had to kick your own sister out of it.”

  “Don’t you apologize for that,” she said, scooting over next to me. “That is her fault. She is the one who got herself kicked out of the wedding.”

  “You punched her in the face,” I cried.

  “Yes, I did,” she said proudly. “And it felt damn good.”

  “Really?” I sniffled and looked up at her. “It was pretty bad ass, and I’m jealous that I didn’t get to do it.”

  I giggled slightly, taking in a deep breath and leaning my head back against the seat. Lindsey laughed too and sat there until the car fell silent again. Everything that Nathan had said to me now made so much sense. If he hadn’t gotten that fake marriage document, it wouldn’t have looked strange at all that I was researching my clinic. Nothing would have looked out of the ordinary if it weren’t for Sarah and her big mouth. Of all the people in the world for John to be screwing, he had to pick the craziest bitch in LA.

  “I’m going to fix this,” Lindsey said. “We know the truth now. We know why he would think all of these things. I am going to talk to him and explain what happened.”

  “I don’t know if he will listen at this point,” I said.

  “He will have to listen to me,” she said proudly. “I will not let my best friend’s life, and the life of her child, be completely ruined because of some evil bitch. Trust me. It will all get taken care of.”

  I really hoped that she was right.

  Chapter 18

  Nathan

  Fridays no longer held the appeal to me that they used to. It was no longer a day that I felt relaxed and ready to start the weekend. It was no longer a day that gave me excitement because I was going to get to spend the weekend with the woman that I loved. It was just another day, one that meant the liquor stores would be restocked, and I could pick up my favorite whiskey before going home and drowning myself in my living room.

  After the whole thing at the pub, I figured it was better if I just stayed inside, alone, drinking in peace and quiet. I was tired of hearing John’s voice trying to pull me out of the funk that I was perfectly happy being in. He didn’t get it. I was done with women, and the marks that Amanda left would stay there forever. I leaned back in my chair for a moment and then shot forward, startled as the door flew open. My secretary was chasing Lindsey into the room.

  “Mr. Robertson, I tried to stop her, but she wouldn’t take no for an answer,” my secretary said.

  “It’s alright,” I replied. “Thank you.”

  My secretary gave Lindsey a nasty look and pulled the door shut behind her as she walked out of the room. I looked up at Lindsey who was standing there, out of breath, straightening her clothes. She looked perfect as always, and I wondered what the hell she was doing in my office. I sure was glad that I wasn’t in the middle of a meeting or conference call with some important client. I motioned for the chair, but Lindsey shook her head. I sat down in my chair and grabbed the pen, twirling it through my fingers.

  “Lindsey,” I said. “Are you lost? Jacob’s office is three doors down.”

  “I’m not lost,” she said.

  “Okay, then what can I do for you today?”

  She took a deep breath and slowly let it out, obviously gathering her thoughts. I knew that this was going to be about Amanda, and though I really didn’t want to talk about her, I was slightly curious why Lindsey was barging through the office door. She walked around the chair and grasped her hands in front of her.

  “You have really messed up,” she said. “You are completely wrong about Amanda, and you have no idea what kind of damage you have done.”

  “Lindsey,” I said, sighing. “I appreciate your appeal on Amanda’s behalf, but what happened is between her and me. I’m sure you are trying to help, and that’s nice and everything, but we don’t need others meddling in this.”


  “Like John?” she asked.

  “John was only relaying important information to me,” I said with irritation. “It was the same thing you would’ve done if you were in his place.”

  “Maybe,” she said. “But I would have first made sure that what I was telling her was the truth, not take some ridiculous story from someone I was sleeping with.”

  “What are you talking about?” I asked, rolling my eyes. “He got that information from someone he trusts.”

  “He shouldn’t trust her,” Lindsey said.

  “Would you mind talking to me straight?” I asked. “All of your riddles are starting to make my head hurt.”

  “It was Sarah, my little sister,” she said. “She is sleeping with John. She is the reason all of this happened.”

  “I really don’t see how one girl is the reason behind all of this,” I said nonchalantly. “She didn’t force Amanda to get married. She didn’t force Amanda to lie to me, or to go behind my back, or to do any of the things that she did. I’m sure Sarah is a really easy target, although I don’t understand your part in any of this, but it doesn’t excuse Amanda’s deception.”

  I had to admit, I was a little surprised to hear Sarah’s name yet again. I didn’t know that John was sleeping with her, if he even was at all. Either way, nothing about what Sarah did to Amanda’s ex had anything to do with Amanda being married and trying to trick me into marrying her. I was starting to get irritated, and my patience was running thin. I was hearing Lindsey out because she was Jordan’s fiancée, but that was the only reason. Otherwise, I would have had her escorted out of the building as soon as she walked through my office door. Amanda was really going above and beyond this time, and I was tired of the games.