Rejected (Imperfectly Perfect Book 2)

by Lym Cruz

  Only a handful of people were invited to Melissa’s wedding—family and very close friends.

  Melissa kept the decor simple and tasteful. I toyed with the golden fork before me staring at the red, white and golden centerpieces while listening to the crashing sound of the waves. Everything was set when I left Melissa a few minutes ago, we’d managed to get her ready and on time. It was a miracle since she was late for just about everything.

  Her mother rushed to the altar, holding up the end of her pastel yellow gown and stood at her post. When the pianist hit the first key of the bridal march, we all rose. The wide grin that spread across Andrew’s face was a clear indication of his bride’s arrival. He always said Melissa awed him and by the way he was swooning, there was no doubt of how much he loved and admired her.

  Melissa walked down the aisle. Hands intertwined with her father’s. She looked angelic. Her mermaid, strapless gown had a long tail spread out behind her. She smiled as she passed our table and I blew her a kiss.

  At the altar, Melissa stood by Andrew and the wedding planner signaled for us to sit.

  I glanced at Erica; she had her head down. Since early morning, Melissa and I noticed that something was wrong with her. Her smiles weren’t genuine, she was withdrawn and didn’t want to tell us what was happening. She said she was fine, but Erica didn’t know how to mask her feelings, she’d always been transparent.

  The minister initiated the ceremony by saying, “Ladies and gentlemen we are gathered here today to celebrate love—the greatest gift to mankind.”

  Melissa’s brother elbowed me and whispered, “I don’t see your boyfriend here. It’s unchivalrous and dangerous to leave a beautiful woman alone at a wedding.”

  Months ago, I craved those random compliments, now they did nothing for me. Melissa’s brother had been hitting on me since he arrived, and I only thought of the situation as funny. He was extremely good-looking. Light brown skin, green eyes like his father and a smile worthy of a god. Even with this magnificent combination, it had no effect on me.

  “But the thing is,” I said, “he has nothing to worry about. I’m already love-drunk.”

  Placing his business card in front of me. “Give me a call when you sober up.”

  I shoved his shoulder while he gave me another award-winning smile. I returned the card since I had no use for it.

  The ceremony was heartfelt and had most of the ladies in tears. Right after, I searched for Erica. Unable to find her, I went to her better half.

  “Hey Dave, have you seen Erica?”

  He nodded and finished drinking his champagne before answering, “She’s by the garden. Went to get some air.”

  “Is she okay? Are you guys okay?”

  “Look, you should talk to her yourself.”

  I sauntered out of the tent and spotted her sitting on the grass, staring ahead at the ocean. I don’t think she saw me approach until I sat down next to her and touched her arm. She looked at me but said nothing, and then stared blankly forward.

  A single tear rolled down her cheek. This wasn’t like Erica, she didn’t cry. She was always happy. Unless something terrible happened or someone died, her pink lips were always pushed up and her big blue eyes always shone with life.

  I rested my head on her shoulder and hugged her. Her body quivered as sobs escaped her. Not knowing what to say or how to comfort her, I sat there and let her cry.

  “I thought the two of you left,” Melissa said, moving towards us. Erica sniffed and wiped her tears, I glanced over my shoulder and Melissa was running towards us. She slumped down next to Erica and said, “What are we looking at?”

  Melissa cocked her head and lifted Erica’s chin. “Erica Bale, what’s eating you?”

  Erica sniffed and spoke in a nasal voice, “You’ll get your dress dirty.”

  “I’ve said my vows and Andrew already wants to get me naked to consummate the marriage. So, it makes no difference to me at this point. Why are you crying? You never cry.”

  Erica inhaled, swallowing the tears and gazed up. “I can’t have children,” she muttered and dropped her head. “We found out that I can’t get pregnant.” She covered her face with her hands and a fresh wave of tears broke free.

  Her words cut through me. I winced like I experienced a physical blow. I got on my knees and enfolded my body over hers, and Melissa’s arms came around me. My tears threatened and I didn’t fight them back. I don’t know how long we stayed in that position for, my knees were aching, but it didn’t compare to the agony in my chest. It pained me, knowing that I wouldn’t be there to help her through this.

  Since we were young, having kids was always an integral part of Erica’s dreams. She wanted the princess wedding, which she had, and lots of babies, which she couldn’t have.

  “Mel I’m sorry,” Erica said. “I didn’t want to bring my drama to your wedding.”

  Melissa pulled away and dabbed at the tears on her cheeks. “I’m mad at you for not telling me sooner! What the hell, Erica? How long have you known?”

  “I didn’t want to take away the attention from you or make you sad during the most important event of your life.”

  “How long, Erica?” Melissa pressed.

  “Three weeks now.”

  “Can it be reversed or something?” I whispered afraid of the answer.

  Erica cringed shaking her head. “I went through a few tests and I’m waiting for the results, but the specialist told me beforehand that the odds aren’t on my side. And that I shouldn’t get my hopes up.”

  “Miracles do happen,” I said. “Anything can happen.”

  “I’ve always wanted to have children of my own. Always. It was sort of my dream to become a mommy, to be capable of carrying my own child. I feel like such a failure, I mean what woman can’t give her husband a child? It’s supposed to be something easy, a gift we’re born with—except for me apparently.”

  “Don’t say that,” Melissa reprimanded, “Dave doesn’t think that way and you’re not a failure, we’re going to get through this. You’ll have that gift; you just have to be patient.”

  “It sucks, like, really sucks.” Erica laughed dryly then turned to me with bloodshot eyes. “Tell me about you and Ezra. I need some cheering up?”

  “Perfect. Sometimes we bump heads a bit, but you know, he’s wonderful.” My lips tugged with the imminent joy brought about by hearing his name. “He’s so good to me.”

  Erica smiled for the first time. “Don’t ruin it Christina, you guys have something special.”

  Not ruining it meant letting go of the ones I loved. Even though it hurt me, I wouldn’t back down. Eventually I’d be with my friends again.

  “You guys know that I’m not good with words. Expressing my feelings and stuff.” I cleared my throat. “I want you to know that no matter what happens, I’ll always love you. You guys mean everything to me and I’m honored to have the two of you in my life. You’re the best, best friends anyone could ever ask for. No matter what happens, I’ll always love you. We’re friends for eternity and beyond.”

  Melissa furrowed her brows. “Why are you saying these things now? It almost feels like you’re saying goodbye.”

  “I don’t say it often and I think you should know I appreciate you and our friendship.”

  “Well, Ezra is working wonders on you.” Erica chuckled. “He’s turned you sentimental.”

  Melissa didn’t commemorate, there was suspicion in her hard gaze. I averted my eyes from hers, thankful that she didn’t question further. Thereon, I was able to enjoy what little time I had with my friends and family.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Ezra

  Icouldn’t shake the feeling that something was going to go wrong. I couldn’t sleep, and had been awake for hours. I watched the grey dawn crawl over the sky unable to shake off the dread. Despite the hours spent planning and strategizing, I was anxious.

  Unease had my stomach locked and my teeth clenched together. But I couldn’t turn ba
ck time, nor could I drag the sun from the sky. Therefore, I loaded both our suitcases into the trunk of the car and then checked the phone Detective Nunes had given me.

  Nothing yet.

  I used the time to send Melissa an email—it was time to collect. I wrote to her not asking, but demanding, she found a job for Sienna, Frank and Stacie. After everything would blow up, they’d be unemployed and I couldn’t allow that since everything was happening because of me.

  Once the email was sent, I sighed. Soon this would all be over and Christina and I would be on a plane headed to Egypt. From there, we’d go to Morocco and the rest was unknown.

  With a slam, I closed the trunk and rested against the car. Any moment Nunes would invade the warehouse and I’d use the distraction to transfer all of Chichi’s money remotely to an offshore account. While they’d be busy trying to escape the feds, it would give us enough time to make it to the airport and flee. Thus far, everything was on track as intended, nonetheless I was nervous. More nervous than I’d ever been in my entire life.

  The night before, we stayed in a motel across town. It was a dump, but it was necessary in case someone was watching my house. Even before we settled here, I drove around town for hours to assure that we weren’t being followed.

  Christina came out of the room with the last of her belongings. Her hair was pulled back and her pretty face lit up my world.

  “It’ll be alright,” she said, resting her head on my chest. “Don’t overthink this.” I cupped the back of her head, keeping her close.

  All the reasons not to do this came flooding in and the soft panic grew with every passing second. My pulse pounded in my temples. I kept it all in for Christina’s sake. I couldn’t show how distressed I was.

  “I don’t want you to get hurt, Christina.” I rested my chin on the top of her head. “I dragged you into this mess.”

  “My mother always says negative thoughts produce negative outcomes. Stop attracting bad luck. In a few hours this will all be over and we’ll be far away from all of this.”

  Positive thinking wasn’t enough to shake off my dread.

  The phone Detective Nunes gave me beeped and Christina stiffened. She knew what it meant. Still holding on to her, I took out the phone and read the text.

  Don’t forget to buy potatoes.

  They were going in.

  “We have to go.” I clasped Christina’s hand. She looked up at me, brown eyes brimming with equal measures of hope, excitement and fear. Lowering my lips to hers, I whispered, “You’re my north star. I need you to stay alive no matter what.”

  She kissed me and like always a volcano erupted inside my chest. I thought I’d been in love before, but now I wasn’t certain anymore. No other person had ever evoked the reactions Christina did.

  Her smile rendered me speechless.

  Her eyes brought hope.

  I needed her possibly more than she needed me.

  Before leaving the motel, I transferred all of Chichi’s money to the offshore account. At that point, there was no turning back.

  Christina was settled and buckled up when I got into the car. Her hands clasped on her lap, chewing her lips and there was an almost imperceptible bounce to her left knee.

  “Put on some music it might help you relax,” I suggested.

  “I’m fine.” She reached for her phone and synced the Bluetooth.

  “Do you think there will be anything on the news?”

  “I don’t think so. At least not for a while.”

  The longer we drove, the closer we got to the airport, and both our worries began to dissolve.

  Wanting to switch lanes, I glanced at the mirrors and spotted a black motorcycle—Ducati—four cars down. I couldn’t tell if the driver was a man or woman. They were wearing a black and gray helmet that left nothing to the sight. But something about the bike was oddly familiar. I switched lanes and exactly six seconds later so did the motorcycle.

  My pulse thudded faster. To confirm my suspicion, at the next stoplight I made an unexpected turn to the right. For a while, I didn’t see anything and my shoulders relaxed. Perhaps it was a coincidence.

  “Where are you going?” Christina questioned, eyes wide and alarmed. “This isn’t the way to the airport.”

  “Just relax, everything’s fine.”

  I glanced again at the rearview mirror. The bike was there. Keeping its distance but positively following us. I tightened my grip on the steering wheel, contemplating a way out of this. But first, Christina needed to get to safety.

  “Christina, listen. I need you to do as I say.”

  “Why?” She brought her hands to her face. “Something’s wrong, isn’t it?”

  “We’re being followed.”

  “Oh, God!”

  Her hands dropped and her face paled instantly.

  “Get your passports and itinerary. Inside the glovebox there is a brown envelope and you’ll find some cash plus a paper with an account number. That account is in your name. Once you get to Egypt, check into the hotel we booked, but don’t spend the night there. Use a different passport and find another place to stay. There is enough money in the account to keep you afloat for a long time, okay? And remember, whatever you do don’t try to reach out to anyone here.”

  “What? No!” She shook her head, tears ready to tumble. “I can’t go without you, Ezra.”

  “It’s me they want not you.”

  “Ezra, please no.”

  “If we split up, they’ll come after me and you can get away. I’ll try to lose them and find a way to reach the airport and be on that plane with you.”

  Tears were streaming down her face. Her face reddened; she closed her eyes and bawled. My heart ached but I couldn’t risk her safety. I called for her, but she wouldn’t stop crying.

  “Christina,” I called firmer. “Get moving, please.”

  With shaky hands, she took everything she needed and stuffed it into her handbag. She put on a blond wig that we’d bought as a precaution and sunglasses. I didn’t want to leave her but it was our best option.

  The motorcycle was three cars down when we were approaching a stoplight, purposely, I slowed down making sure we were at the front of the line when the stop light turned red. The car behind us honked, but the sound was muted by my pounding heart. In that split second where all the lights go red, I turned left briskly, stepping my foot down on the gas and the engine went from 5 to 80 in seconds nearly tipping the car over. The tires screeched and Christina screamed.

  There was light traffic ahead that I was able to maneuver through. My pulse pounded in my ears with the increased adrenaline. Still driving beyond the speed limit, I looked back and the bike wasn’t in sight, but I feared it wasn’t far away.

  “Do you have everything?” I asked and she nodded. “I’m going to stop and you have to jump out and run, okay?”

  She nodded again.

  The car came to a stop as I hit the brakes. Christina swung her bag around her shoulder and threw herself around my neck.

  “Promise me you’ll meet me at the airport.”

  “I promise, I’ll try my best to stay alive and find you, but if I don’t make it in time, you don’t stop. Get on that plane and go.”

  “I can’t do this without you. I don’t want to.”

  “You have to, baby. You have to.”

  She held on tighter. “What if they catch you and kill you?”

  “They won’t kill me. As long as I have their money, I’m safe. But if they get to you then ...”

  If they caught her, I’d have no leverage, nothing to negotiate for my life. Because she was my life.

  She let me go and pressed a kiss on my lips. “I love you, Ezra. Stay the fuck alive.”

  She got out of the car and ran. I turned the car around to find the motorcycle before they found me. Or worse, before they found Christina.

  By the time the chaser spotted me, Christina was no longer in sight and the flow of traffic was increasing. I whipped the car ar
ound, nearly running into a tree, turning onto a less crowded road. I had no idea where I was going, all I knew was that I was completely screwed if I got caught.

  The next time I glanced back, there wasn’t only a motorcycle after me, there was also an SUV right on my tail. The SUV hit me like a bolt of lightning. The car bounced forward.

  I reached for the phone Nunes gave me and dialed his number. It rang without an answer. Holding on to the wheel with one hand, I typed out a text to the best of my ability.

  Track # fimd me. In trokble.

  I hit send and the car jolted forward nearly sending the phone flying out of my hand. I clasped it tighter, bent and tucked the phone inside my boot. Once the phone was secure, I attempted to create a greater breach between my car and the SUV, but the car in front wouldn’t allow for it. I was squeezed between the two.

  A few seconds later I was nudged forward a third time, the SUV drove into the back of my car with more force. My feet pressed the brakes as deep as it went, preventing me from hitting the car ahead that was getting closer with every shove.

  Helplessly, I looked across to the other side, searching for a gap in the traffic only to see a steady stream of vehicles heading the opposite direction. When I saw an opening, I yanked the steering wheel firmly to the right, careened across the median and straight into the path of oncoming vehicles.

  A van and a car threw on their brakes and swerved to avoid hitting my car as I shot across the road in front of them. I took my foot away from the gas and swung the steering wheel to the left, but it was too late. There was a crash. Shards of glass scattered everywhere and the airbag burst open.

  My body stopped responding, pain radiated from my stomach and chest. The door to the car was flung open. I was dragged out and hurled to the ground. The last thing I remembered was Rowan standing over me with a knowing smirk. He kicked my ribs, saying, “I knew you couldn’t be trusted.”