Falling Back Together

by Kristen Hope Mazzola

  “How did Kyle take you kicking him out?” I felt so selfish for not asking before and for the fact that Cali was here dealing with my bullshit and not her own.

  “I, uhh…” Her brow creased as she played with the sleeve of her shirt. We finally made eye contact, and the water in her baby blues and the puffy, dark circles around her eyes broke my heart. Her chin trembled as she tried to find words, her lips pulling tightly together.

  “Cali, please talk to me.” Her eyes welled up even more with tears. I could see that she was fighting them back. I put my hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay, Cal. That’s what we’re here for—love and support.”

  “Well, I actually don’t know.” She paused to search my eyes, but I just stared and waited for her to finish. “When you called, I had just finished packing up all his shit. So I left and started to head for your house, but before I could get here, Walker was calling me.”

  “I’m sorry you got dragged into all this crap, Cali! I know this was the last thing that you needed right now.” We were crying at this point in each other arms, shaking, bawling, a complete blubbering mess.

  “No, Mags. I’m glad that son of a bitch got to come home to his shit in boxes and me not there. That’s a good way to drive the point home.” Cali tried to smile and laugh, but it came out as more sobs and a half frown. I wiped the tears from her cheeks and she mine as we finally smiled at each other.

  “Have you even heard from him?”

  Cali just shook her head no, and Mitch came into my room, joining us on the floor without a word. He grabbed both of our hands into his, offering so much comfort and love in his eyes.

  “I think we need to go to your house, Cal, and make sure that jerk isn’t there.”

  Mitch’s eyes got wide with confusion at my words.

  Before he could ask, Cali blurted out, “That bastard has been cheating on me for months, so I kicked his ass to the curb, but I haven’t heard from him since I boxed his crap up. I was at the hospital by the time he would have found it all, and I haven’t heard a peep from the coward.”

  After a brief pause and a deep breath, Mitch nodded. “All right. Let’s go see what we find.”

  Mitch held his hands out to help Cali and me clamber to our feet. At the bottom of the stairs, we were greeted by the wafting smell of lemon cleaner and my mom sweeping up the shattered bits of my last happy moment. Tears stung my eyes as I realized how painful it was to even be standing in my house anymore.

  “Cali, can I stay with you tonight?” I turned to head back up the stairs to pack a bag full of my things before she even answered.

  From my doorway, I heard my mom mutter, “That is definitely for the best.” And Cali beamed in agreement.

  I knew that neither one of us was willing to be alone in our houses, and Cali’s, at least for me, was the lesser of two evils. I packed a bag to the brim of all different types of outfits—work, casual, and even exercise attire—figuring the longer I could be out of the confines of those walls, the better. I raked all of my makeup and hair-taming products into my duffle bag along with my toothbrush and all the shampoo, conditioner, and shower gels from my bathroom. The more prepared I am, the longer I can avoid this place.

  All of my bad memories from the past year seemed to swim within those walls, and I was not good at dealing with my pain and emotions head-on. All I knew was to run and hide from it all, and that is exactly what I was planning on doing.

  I zipped up my duffle bag and flung it over my shoulder, slamming my bedroom door shut behind me. Wow! That was liberating!

  Mitch met me at the top of the stairs and took my bag from me. We stared at each other for a few seconds, both with tear-stained cheeks, only breaking eye contact when my mother broke the silence.

  “I think I am going to head home and get a shower. If any of you need anything, I am just a phone call away.” She and I made the most loving eye contact we had in years. Then we both nodded and mouthed, “I love you,” to each other. Without another word, she was out the door.

  The carpet still sloshed under our steps, but at least most of the glass was up, along with all the flower remnants. “Remind me to get carpet cleaners in here sooner rather than later, please.”

  Cali nodded as we headed for the car hand in hand. “Yeah. Mags, that’ll be a good idea. You don’t want to have to deal with mold too.”

  Once we were outside, it hit me. “Cal, where’s your car?”

  She spun around right as she was unlocking my Mercedes. “At the hospital. So was your mom’s, actually.”

  “Then…”

  We both looked at each other with the questioning lingering in the air. I pulled my cell out of my pocket while rushing back inside to see where Randy’s truck keys usually hung.

  “Mom, why the fuck?” I snapped at her right when she picked up the call, before she even could get a word out. I was staring, arms crossed, right at the empty key hook by my front door to where my beloved truck keys usually rested.

  “Honey, don’t be mad—”

  “Oh, Mother. Mad is an understatement. You had no right!” I was seething over something that probably would not have bothered me this much under normal circumstances. Her car hadn’t been here and she’d needed to get home somehow, but the fact that she hadn’t asked and she was driving away with my most comforting possession was boiling my blood.

  “I knew that if you weren’t ripped away from it, you’d never stop driving it, and you need to start to stand and then to walk away. There’s too much hurt surrounding all of this for you. I will bring it back to you once you’re okay again.”

  Before hanging up on my mother, I screamed into the phone, “Then what’s next? Burning down my fucking house so I don’t have to step foot inside it again?”

  I slammed the front door shut, huffing and puffing all the way to my car. I climbed into the passenger’s seat and Cali just smirked at me.

  “Looks like the old Mags is coming back already. Check number one, fight with Mom.”

  Two

  Streetlights and trees zoomed by my window as I stared blankly out onto the lightly damp road. The windshield wipers were squeaking along to bat away the quick but small raindrops. The rain glistened under the streetlights, and for a moment, the night sky almost looked magical. Mitch was following the Mercedes closely while Cali and I drove in silence. With each one of us dealing with the shattering of hope and trust, a hush had fallen over us. It felt like everything just went without saying; we were going to get through all of this together. I was thankful for the quiet of the drive, not knowing what to say, and I could tell that Cali felt the same. Even though we were best friends who could usually finish the other’s sentences, sometimes there were just no words.

  Unease did not settle into the air until we pulled onto Cali’s street. Cali sniffled, breaking the silence, and I gripped her hand as I saw a tear roll down her pale cheek. Her hands shook while she glowered at the big red door, paralyzed in the driver’s seat. Her front door was the first do-it-yourself project Cali had ever accomplished successfully in her home right before her wedding. It used to be something she loved so much, and it would always make her smile right when she saw it, and now a look of sheer disgust riddled her blue eyes as she sat still next to me.

  Kyle’s charcoal-gray mustang was right where it always was in the driveway, but all the lights were off in the house except for the one illuminating the front stoop. The still that blanketed the house was eerie, sending a shudder over my body.

  Kyle was a big man with an even bigger temper, and to top it all off, he was a damn cop. There was no telling what he was capable of or what he could get away with. Cali inhaled sharply and tightly gripped the wheel before slamming her fist into it. “I really wished that he would have just freaking left when he saw I’d packed up his stuff.”

  I shuffled in my seat to face Cali dead on, tightly wrapping her right hand in both of mine. “I know, but maybe this will be better. Hopefully this is the closure you two need
. Besides, you have Mitch and me right here to make sure you’re okay.”

  Mitch pulled up into the driveway, blocking Kyle’s car in. Once we heard his car door slam, Cali and I climbed out of our seats in slow motion. Mitch put his hand on Cali’s shoulder. “It’s okay. We’re here.” And then he led the way to the front door, his body rigid and strong.

  Even though Mitch was lean, he was strong from working out with Randy and Walker all through college and after. He definitely could hold his own.

  He banged as loud as he could, yelling, “Kyle, if you’re in there, come open the door!”

  Cali gripped at his fist before he could bang again. “Please don’t make this worse, Mitch.” Her voice was almost at a whisper. “I don’t want him to think we’re here to attack him. He has guns, you know.”

  To my surprise, the door never opened and no sound from Kyle emanated from the house.

  We all looked at one another with questioning eyebrow raises and shoulder shrugs. “Maybe he isn’t home? His cop car is missing. He could be working.” I was trying to think of any explanation other than “his whore picked him” up to say and that was the best I could come up with.

  Cali dug out her keys with trembling hands, opening the door for us as she shook her head and whispered, “He doesn’t work today and he barely drives the police car home. He always thought it would bring negative attention to the house.”

  Mitch shoved passed Cali while she froze in the doorway, chest puffed up and ready for a fight.

  The house was pitch black and deathly quiet. The air felt stale as I fumbled for the light switch, which I quickly regretted turning on. My heart sank as a looked around the foyer and living room. The entire house was trashed. There were holes punched in every wall. Every picture frame was destroyed, the coffee table was in a thousand jagged pieces, the couch cushions were torn open, and their stuffing was scattered around the room. Even the built-in wall unit was pulled down, the shelves cracked in half. All their contents lay scattered across the cherry-oak floors, and the television looked like it had been jumped on and thrown around repeatedly.

  We all slowly and silently walked around the first floor, in horror of the wreckage. I knew that Kyle had a temper, but I never would have expected him to do something that extreme.

  Cali shrieked once she turned on the light in the kitchen. Mitch and I both ran to her side to find that everything had been thrown from the cabinets and was lying in ruins on the cream tile. Bottles of liquor and wine were shattered, the fluids covering the floor. The smell from the fifteen or more bottles that were crashed around us burned my nostrils. Cali screamed while she fell to her hands and knees, heaving like the wind had been knocked out of her.

  From behind us, a faint chuckle broke into the silence, making Mitch turn swiftly around and bolt across the room while I started to help Cali up off the floor. I looked into her wide, tear-filled eyes to see that there was more than emotional pain filling them; there was something physically wrong with her. Her hand was clutching her back while she knelt in front of me, shaking. I shifted so I could see where she was gripping.

  A small stream of blood started to form from under her fingers. I pulled her hand away to see a thick chunk of glass sticking into Cali’s thin shirt and into her skin. Thankfully it wasn’t too deep. Getting down on my knees, I got a better look at the long, narrow shard. I gripped it, and with a quick pull, it was out of her flesh. I grabbed a dish towel and applied pressure to stop the bleeding.

  Crashing and scuffling emanated from where Mitch and Kyle were.

  “Are you okay?” I whispered into Cali’s ear.

  She nodded as I helped her up. “Kyle might kill Mitch!”

  Tears were cascading down her cheeks as she shrilled, and both of us turned to see them throwing punch after punch, grunting and screaming. I cried out when I saw Kyle throw Mitch onto the floor, rolling, jabbing, and growling. Right then, Kyle locked eyes on Cali. He shoved Mitch by the shoulders onto the hardwood and pieces of the broken wall unit and scrambled to his feet. After one swift kick to Mitch’s ribs, Kyle ran across the room towards us.

  Kyle swiftly lunged for Cali, knocking her back on the couch within a blink of an eye. I flew on top of him, trying desperately to pull him off my best friend. I bit down onto the exposed meat on his arm as hard as I could. His skin broke between my teeth, letting the taste of metal, hot and disgusting, flood into my mouth. Effortlessly, Kyle flung me across the room with one arm, making my head crash against the wall not too far behind me.

  “You fucking dumb cunt!” He cackled after my head thumped against the wall hard enough to dent the drywall.

  Mitch flew over, trying to help Cali, punching Kyle hard in the gut and back, but none of it phased him.

  “Mitch! Help Mags!” Cali’s voice pierced through the growling coming from the guys’ throats, and Mitch was next to me within seconds, steadying my shaking body as my head swam and spun.

  Then, Kyle started screaming at Cali, “What the fuck were you thinking packing up my shit? This. Is. My. Home. Bitch! What the hell did you think was going to happen? I would just leave quietly?”

  His hands were clasped around her shoulders while she thrashed, kicked, and screamed at him, “Kyle, get your no-good, lying, scumbag ass off of me!”

  “I guess you just don’t know me well at all.” He was hysterically laughing in her face while I slammed my eyes shut, trying to help the dizziness subside.

  Mitch whispered in my ear, “Do think you can stand?”

  I shook my head no as he checked me for bleeding around my head; thankfully Kyle wasn’t strong enough to cause that much damage.

  “I know that you are a lying piece of dog shit that doesn’t deserve to be stuck to the bottom of my shoe!”

  The loud slap crackled into the air, making my eyes fly open and adrenaline course through my body. I forced myself to my feet, using the wall to steady myself right as Cali burst free from Kyle’s grasp, taking advantage of his momentary shock.

  Then she broke him. In one moment, he went from a flame to an inferno, right when she spat in his face and hissed, “You’re a cheating bastard, and the last time I checked, this was my fucking house, you rat, piss-poor excuse for a damn husband. Remember, I bought it before we got married and you never got around to signing those papers for the title change? Now get the hell out of my house before I call the cops on your ass.”

  Kyle’s muscles flexed and tightened as he rose from the couch, a menacing glare boring into Cali’s eyes. His teeth ground while his face slowly twisted into an evil grin, a big heaving bellow coming from deep down in his gut. “You’re going to call the cops on me? Who do you think they’ll believe? You, a damn bitch, or me, one of their own?” His laugh got even more sadistic while Mitch scooped Cali up in his arms and I ran to them. “What? Your little friends are here to save the fucking day? A frat boy and a half-pint nut case? They’re your saving grace now? Good fucking luck.” He spit on the ground at Mitch’s feet and winked at Cali.

  Cali forcefully pushed out of Mitch’s arms and rushed over to Kyle. “Yeah, well maybe all I need is them, you fucking bastard. Go find comfort in your Miami whore. You’re not welcome here anymore.”

  He bent down to look at Cali straight in the eye, who was now standing toe-to-toe with him, not backing down or letting him see how much she was shaking. In that moment Cali was invincible.

  She narrowed her eyes and spat at him again. “You’re a fucking pig and I hate you!”

  He nodded and turned away from her, making like he was going to head for the door. Quickly, he twisted around and crashed Cali with a closed fist right across her cheek, making her fall right to the floor. He reached behind him and pulled a gun out of his belt, eyes locked on Cali as she lay facedown on the floor. It was only a split second, but it felt like years. I screamed as he pulled the hammer back and I heard the click of the bullet rising into the chamber. Mitch flew out from behind me and socked Kyle right in the eye, sending him dow
n to the ground, knocked out and motionless. The gun flew out from his hands right in front of Cali. She scrambled to her feet, grabbed the gun, and emptied its bullets out quickly.

  While Mitch helped Cali lie down and get frozen peas on her swelling cheek and eye, I called the cops. We had tied Kyle’s wrists together with zip ties I had found in the garage and propped him up close to the door. I put the gun back in its safe in Cali’s room and joined Mitch and her on the couch.

  Cali climbed into my arms as she started to sob. “He’s going to make it seem like this is my entire fault and try to ruin my life even more.”

  I rocked her body gently as tears started to fall from my eyes too. “We’ll be your witnesses. Don’t worry.”

  Mitch started to laugh quietly from the other end of the couch. He got up and went over to the front windowsill, where he had placed his phone and threw his phone over to me. “Just press play.” He smirked and pressed an ice pack harder on his busted knuckles.

  Cali and I watched as the entire scene, starting with Kyle throwing me off his back, played back to us.

  “Mitch, I could just kiss you!” Cali squealed, wiping her wet eyes with the back of her hand. She jumped into his arms, planting a big kiss right on his cheek.

  Mitch’s lips softened into a half smile, burying his face down into the nape of her neck, bringing her close to his body. “He’s never going to hurt you again. I promise.” He quickly kissed her cheek as flashing red and blue lights started to shine through the front windows.

  Cops and firefighters rushed into the scene, all clapping Mitch on the back. Being a firefighter himself, he had pretty much taken care of all of our minor wounds while we had been waiting. Cali’s cut on her back only needed butterfly stitches and her eye was going to be swollen, but all in all, we were better off than to be expected.

  A sweet, young police officer started to get our statements while paramedics checked out Mitch’s handiwork with our minor injuries. The bump on the back of my head was a little tender but nothing I wouldn’t be able to take care of with over-the-counter medicine and an ice pack.