“I’ll be down at the cafeteria,” Roger said, as he got up and headed out of the room.
David watched him go, and then turned back to his mom. Her blonde hair was in a messy braid, mascara was matted beneath her eyes where no one bothered to wipe it away, and her lips were dry. She’d only been in the hospital for less than twenty-four hours and she was already looking like she was on her death bed. He drew in a breath and looked down at his feet, not sure what he was supposed to do. He felt like he needed to be doing something to fix this mess, but he didn’t have a clue as to what that would be.
After an hour of sitting by his mom’s side and watching her occasionally wake up and stare off into the distance, not saying a word, he saw Roger in the hall talking to a doctor. He seemed agitated as he threw his hands up in the middle of the conversation, and David wondered what was going on. He stood, gave his mom one last look, and headed towards the hall.
“Is everything okay with my mom?” his question was aimed at Roger, but he kept his eyes on the doctors. David looked at his name tag, and saw the word Psychologist underneath his name, which read Dr. Vacanti.
Roger nodded and said, “Yeah, I guess, ask the Psychologist here what he thinks, I’m sure he has an opinion.”
David raised his eyebrows at him and waited for a response.
“I was talking to your father here—”
“Step-father,” David corrected.
The doctor frowned, causing his thick, white eyebrows to almost connect in the middle, and then continued, “Your mother will need to be evaluated by me before she will be released to go home. This is standard procedure for any person who tries to commit suicide. As soon as she wakes up and becomes more coherent, I’ll come in and talk to her, and then we’ll go from there.”
David dragged a hand through his hair, not liking the sound of all this. He wasn’t sure his mother could pass a psych evaluation. He couldn’t fathom seeing his mom locked away in a mental hospital. He knew she needed it, but now that the time was here, he didn’t want it to happen. He wouldn’t allow it, surely they could prescribe her some medicine and then send her home.
“We can talk about all this later. I’m sure you both have a lot of questions, but I’ll be able to answer more once I speak to her. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a few other patients to see and then I’ll come check on your mom again shortly,” the doctor said as he turned and headed down the hall.
“Can you believe that doctor?” David asked, as he turned towards Roger. “This is all so screwed up.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t think we have a choice but to go with it,” Roger said, turning and heading into his wife’s room without another word.
David watched him go, feeling anger swell up inside him. His mother didn’t deserve to go through all this, she had never suffered from any kind of mental health issue before. He clenched his jaw as he stared at his mom in the room, lying in her bed, and completely unaware of what was going on around her. He needed to get some fresh air and think for a minute. He couldn’t do that in here with all the beeping machines and sick patients everywhere.
He took off down the hall, the patients, nurses, and doctors he passed were nothing but a blur. He was in his own head, sorting out the mess he felt he’d caused. He exited the elevator to the main floor, and as he rounded the corner, he was rocked back on his heels as he collided into someone.
“Shit, I’m sorry,” he said, and as he glanced down at the person, his eyes widened in shock at who he saw. “Kyleigh,” he breathed quietly as he stared at her.
Her eyes darted all around him, and he watched her pull her bottom lip into her mouth as she contemplated what to say. “Um, David, hi.”
He stood there for a moment, speechless. He wanted to pull her into his arms and hug her, to tell her how sorry he was, and that he wouldn’t touch another drop of alcohol again if that’s what she wanted, but none of that sounded right. He knew as soon as he started talking, it wouldn’t sound near as good coming out of his mouth as it did in his head. It would sound like another lie.
“Kyleigh, look, I’m really sorry about last night. Can we talk outside?” he asked, finally taking in her appearance. Her eyes were bloodshot and dark circles rimmed the underneath of her eyes, so much that he had almost mistaken it for smeared mascara. Her hair was pulled up into a messy bun, making her look like she’d just gotten out of bed.
Her eyes flashed up at him and she said, “I would love to, but I can’t right now, I have an important errand to run first, but I’ll call you later tonight, okay?”
He started to reach for her, but pulled back and stuck his hand in his pocket, holding onto the rim of his jeans instead of her hand like he wanted. He watched her mouth barely form a smile as she turned away from him and headed towards the elevator. Twisting his neck he watched her walk away, seeing little pieces of their relationship fall behind her with each step that she took.
Chapter 17
Cutting Ties
Kyleigh felt David’s eyes on her the whole way to the elevator, and each step felt like her feet were sinking into quicksand. Walking away from him felt like the biggest mistake she’d made, but not as big as what had happened with Brad, and she needed to clear things up with him first. She was still kicking herself for that, but there was no way of turning back time and making different decisions. She’d made a mistake, now the only thing she could do was fix things.
She watched the numbers for each floor light up, and held her breath until the door opened. Releasing the pent up tension, she stepped into the empty elevator, and as her breath exploded out of her, she fell back against the mirrored wall, and stared at her reflection. She was a complete mess, but she didn’t think she looked nearly as bad as David. She knew he probably had a hangover, but there was something else going on with him, she could tell by just one look.
The need to hit the stop button was strong, but she needed to clear everything up with Brad first so she could, hopefully, start over with David. It suddenly dawned on her that he was here at the hospital, and worry shot through her. There was something wrong, she knew it. She pulled out her phone and decided to send him a text message, asking if he was okay. She wasn’t expecting a response, and was shocked when he responded quickly.
Yeah, I’m fine.
Well, I guess I deserve a vague answer, she thought to herself.
She just prayed he was okay.
***
After a quick stop at home, she headed towards Brad’s club, Strippin’ Pretty. The darkness of the night was engulfing her car, much like the worried thoughts that had slipped into her mind. She wasn’t sure what type of threat she could give him so he would know she was serious. She knew it was going to be a scene, but it was long overdue. She couldn’t pretend he was going to move on any longer because it was obvious he wasn’t.
The neon lights showed themselves before the club itself did, and as she pulled into the parking lot, she felt every muscle tense with apprehension. She hated arguments.
Gathering her courage, she opened the door, heading into the club that made her skin crawl. Even with a clean cut appearance, it leaked a sleaziness that only strip clubs had.
“Well, hello, Kyleigh, good to see you again,” Devon, the bouncer, greeted as he opened the door for her.
“Hi, Devon,” she said, giving him a polite smile as she walked past him and into the club.
The music and stale, hot air seemed to immediately suck the life out of her, and breathing deeply, she headed to the left of the stage where a young blonde was dancing around the pole, the sequins from her black thong twinkling every so often as they caught the dim lighting.
Loud cheers sounded behind her, and she looked over her shoulder to see a group of guys throwing their hands up in excitement as the blonde seductively wrapped one bare foot around the pole and unraveled her topless frame head first towards the floor. Kyleigh was stunned she hadn’t fallen on her head yet.
Clasping her hands in front of her,
she looked around, hoping to spot him in his usual corner. The spot was empty so she decided to go to his office in the back.
She walked around the edge of the mirrored wall, quickly making her way to his office. The faster she got this over with, the faster she could stop by David’s house and talk to him. She only hoped he was willing to fix things with her.
Without bothering to knock, she twisted the metal knob, slowly revealing the large, immaculate office. Soft music was playing and as her eyes took in the space, her gaze fell on a mess of dirty blonde curls that hung down to a barely there royal blue thong. Covering her mouth to keep the laugh from escaping, she leaned against the door frame, the sight not even bothering her. She couldn’t care less what Brad did. He was nothing but a low life and she didn’t want him, anyway. She wanted David.
Clearing her throat, she watched the blonde jump up from his lap and stumble to the side of the black leather couch Brad was seated on. “Well, I hate to intrude, but I need to talk to you, Brad.” She looked at the blonde and watched as she scurried out the door.
The sound of leather squeaking as Brad stood made her attention turn back to him. The smug smile that he proudly wore irritated her and she crossed her arms, waiting for him to say something.
“And what is it that you need to talk to me about, Kyleigh?” he asked in a cool tone. She could tell he was annoyed with her for showing up the way she had and it made her smile to get under his nerves.
Taking a step closer to him, she took a deep breath and said, “Brad, I don’t want you to have the wrong impression from last night. I’m not sure what all happened, and I honestly don’t want to know, but what I do know is that anything we had or you think we have is over, for good.” She paused for a moment, letting him think about her words.
He leaned against the desk, his dark eyes narrowed in thought as he studied her. His gaze travelled down the length of her, and as he brought them back up to her face, he said, “It’ll be fine, Kyleigh. You don’t need to make a rash decision just because you saw me getting a lap dance. I hope you don’t think that I never enjoy my employees.”
“Geez, Brad, this has nothing to do with that stripper, this is about what I want. I broke up with you for a reason, and for the life of me, I don’t know why I let things get out of hand last night,” she said throwing her hands up in the air as she began pacing.
“Because you know it was the best decision you’ve ever made,” he said, placing his hands out in front of him, palms up, like the answer was obvious.
Shaking her head, she said, “No, it was a bad decision, Brad. But, anyway, there’s nothing between us and there never will be again. I have someone else. I’ve had someone else ever since we broke up and if you don’t leave me alone this time, I’ll have to file a report for harassment.” She watched his reaction, waiting for him to blow up on her. She knew it was coming.
He rubbed the blond stubble on his chin as a small laugh escaped him. “I’m surprised you’re brave enough to tell me something like that in person. And a threat, I’m impressed, Kyleigh,” he said.
Placing a hand on her hip, she said, “Well, I’m serious, Brad. I don’t want you calling me anymore and harassing me. It’s done, so please leave me alone from now on, or so help me God, I will go to the cops.”
Even though she was a nervous wreck, standing up for herself and finally telling Brad what she thought made her feel good, almost as if some of the heaviness inside her left with each word she’d just said. She wondered what it would feel like if she got everything out in the open about her father and her childhood. How much better she’d feel if she just let herself forgive him and move forward with her life. That thought both scared and excited her.
Brad’s deep voice brought her out of her thoughts. “Too bad that drug wouldn’t last longer than a night,” he said under his breath. He slowly stood straight and adjusted his tight fitting black shirt that showed every detail of every muscle, the hardness in his features showing a mix of frustration and irritation.
At first, Kyleigh had trouble understanding what he’d just said. The drug? What drug was he talking about? Narrowing her eyes at him, she asked, “What drug, Brad?”
The cold smile he gave her showed the depths of how dangerous he could truly be. She wondered how much of that he’d been holding back, and how she’d missed it, she didn’t know, but there was no denying it now. “It’s nothing you need to worry about now. I just thought you needed something to persuade you a little the other night, because I was going to have you, one way or the other, and I didn’t want to be forceful about it. It wasn’t much, but it’s done and over with.”
Rage caused her cheeks to flush and her heart thumped in tune with the fast beat of the song that vibrated against the walls. She crossed her arms, hoping to contain some of the anger that wanted to explode out of her. Pulling in a deep breath, she said, “What the hell did you give me, Brad? I can’t believe you!” Not able to stop herself, she took a step forward, slamming her fists into his chest, not caring how he’d react. “You bastard! How dare you!”
“What do you think you’re going to do about it, Kyleigh? There’s nothing you can do,” he said.
The pain that fired in her wrists as his hands gripped them and pulled them away from him, made her want to fall to her knees. But there was no way that she would do that in front of him. A mumbled cry of pain pushed past her lips anyway, despite her will to keep it hidden from him. She looked up through the mess of hair that was now covering her face, to see a pleased look brighten his dark features.
“Well, if I just tightened my grip a little more, I’d have you on your knees in front of me, wouldn’t I?” he asked as his hands slowly began squeezing.
She flung the hair out of her face in one angry motion, keeping her gaze on his. “Try it and see what happens,” she said through clenched teeth.
His arms flexed as he squeezed even tighter, slowly pushing her to her breaking point. Just as she brought her leg up to knee him in the crotch, a girl’s voice broke through the harsh silence of the room.
“Brad, what’s going on?”
Kyleigh felt his grip loosen and she yanked her arms away, looking over her shoulder to see the blonde standing in the doorway. The blonde’s features twisted into an ugly confused look, contrasting with the bright make-up and glitter that covered her face.
Before he had time to answer, Kyleigh blurted, “Stay out of my life, Brad.” She shoved past the blonde and headed towards the entrance.
Shaking her head, she headed back the way she’d come in, keeping her eyes focused on the floor and trying to keep the tears from spilling just yet. Her steps seemed to keep in rhythm with the loud beat of the music and she noticed there was now a brunette on stage instead of the blonde.
Trying to squeeze between several tables, she suddenly felt a breeze slip past her face. She looked a few feet ahead to see nothing but long chocolate hair whipping around in circles in front of a group of three guys. Not paying any attention to where she was going, she almost ran into a table full of guys. Sidestepping them, she veered even more to the left, causing her foot to snag on the bottom of one of the tables. With the stage now within arm’s reach, she grasped the edge to regain her balance just as the brunette’s hair came back full circle, hitting her directly in the face. She threw her arms up to shield her face and jerked to the right and out of the way.
“Oh, come on!” she yelled, but with the music blaring it was barely audible and the brunette was too engrossed with her moves to even notice Kyleigh was there.
Pushing a piece of hair out of her face, she took a wide step away from the stage, making sure to keep her attention focused on where she was going this time. Releasing a stressed breath, she quickened her pace and hurried towards the door.
The silence of her car began to ease the tension, and she draped herself across her steering wheel. As her mind envisioned Brad appearing at her window, she quickly started the car and sped out of the parking lot, her t
ires squealing against the pavement. She didn’t know what to think about what he’d said, and she looked down at her wrists as she gripped the steering wheel. Red fingerprints were prominent even against her lightly tanned skin. They hurt like hell, but she was glad the blonde had stepped in because she wasn’t sure what would have happened.
Her eyes burned from the hot tears spilling out and she blinked rapidly, doing everything she could to push the anger and hurt down. She felt violated. Brad was a jerk, but she never would have thought he’d do something like that. It scared the hell out of her. She always knew he was off in a way, but she never thought he’d cross that kind of line. It made things completely different now and caused her to fear him in a new way.
With that misunderstanding taken care of, she made her way to David’s to apologize for how she’d acted and beg him for another chance, if that’s what it took.
Chapter 18
Regrets
Stepping on the gas, she couldn’t get to David house fast enough. She didn’t call first, but she figured he’d be working in his garage. At least, she hoped she’d find him there. If she was honest with herself, she didn’t call because she didn’t want to hear him tell her not to come over. He’d gone against his promise, but she’d also made a terrible mistake by walking out on him when he needed her the most. And ending up, of all places, in Brad’s arms. Of course, ending up with Brad wasn’t her fault, now that she knew the truth. But, if she had stayed by his side through whatever mess he was going through, none of that would have happened.
The crunching of gravel beneath her tires was loud against the silence of the property, and from the dark house to the quiet garage, it was evident he wasn’t home. She turned the radio down as she peered through her windshield, hoping to see a small lamp turn on in one of the rooms. But his truck was gone, telling her he wasn’t home. She scanned the place and then pulled out her phone to call him.
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