by Liz Davis
“And what? He decided to take his clothes off to enhance the taste of the tea? What the hell were the two of you doing?” His voice came out firm and demanding.
“I already told you, nothing happened,”
She glanced directly into his eyes, hoping he would see that she was telling the truth.
“Tell him, Maya. He’s already caught us, so the truth is out,” Dylan interjected.
“Caught us doing what? You are such a liar! I want you out of here right now.” Maya walked toward Dylan and gave him a strong push backward. “Get out of here, Dylan. Go!”
“Oh, so now you want me to leave? We spent the whole evening together. The only reason you want me gone is because he’s here.” Dylan’s eyes turned back toward Evan, and his lips curled into a nasty sneer. “Sorry to break the news to you, but your girl’s been riding my dick ever since you left town.”
A roar of anger burst from Evan’s mouth, and he quickly advanced on Dylan. Grabbing hold of his shoulders, Evan slammed him against a wall, causing the back of his head to collide with a picture frame behind him. Glass shattered from the impact, causing shards of it to rain down around Dylan’s head.
“That’d better be a fucking lie!” Evan growled.
“Is it really so hard to believe she’d cheat on you? You were out of town for the whole weekend. You didn’t really believe she’d stopped seeing me, did you?” Dylan’s eyes were full of fear, and yet the tone of his voice conveyed satisfaction at the terrible lies he was weaving.
Evan’s words slipped through gritted teeth. “If you touched her…if you put one hand on her body…”
His brows drew together, and fury radiated off of him in such strong waves that it ignited a primal surge of fear through his adversary.
“It’s not true, Evan. He’s lying.” Maya called out from behind him.
The muscles of Evan’s jaw flexed as he struggled to compose himself. Grabbing Dylan by the scruff of the neck, Evan roughly pushed him toward the door, and as they reached the threshold, he pushed him outside, propelling him forward with such force that Dylan uttered a cry of pain as his body collided with the ground.
Evan’s face glowered down at him as he firmly stated, “I’m giving you ten seconds to get out of here before I start kicking your ass.”
Then he slammed the door and turned to face Maya, his eyes still lit up with anger as he struggled to control the feelings that were swirling inside of him.
“I need to know what happened here.” His eyes were riddled with pain.
“I was giving him a ride home and—”
His voice interjected before she could even finish the sentence.
“A ride home? Why were you doing that? And what were you even doing hanging around him in the first place?”
“I was just getting off work, and I happened to bump into him.”
“So he was hanging out at the restaurant?”
“No, I had a cocktail waitressing gig for the VIP lounge at the concert arena, and I saw him there. He didn’t have a way home.”
“So you decided to drive him? What, did you feel sorry for him?”
“Well, not exactly. It wasn’t like that, I…” Maya’s voice trailed off as she released a sigh and tried to think of the best way to explain what she’d been going through. “I thought if I got over these negative feelings for him that I’d finally be able to properly heal and move on.”
“And you really thought that driving him home would do that for you?”
“Forgiveness is the first step toward proper healing.”
“He doesn’t deserve your forgiveness, Maya. He’s a lying, cheating rat, and you’d be better off just ignoring him altogether.”
“I know he doesn’t deserve it, but it wasn’t about him. It was about me. I need to forgive, because as long as I don’t, it’ll feel as if a part of me is somehow being held hostage.”
Evan’s eyebrows dipped into a frown. “I just want him out of our lives. What’s it going to take to do that, Maya?”
Before Evan could hear her response, a loud knock at the door interrupted their moment, causing him to face the door and open it. As the door swung open, Evan came face-to-face with Dylan.
“I told you to leave,” he gruffly said with a menacing stare.
“I just need my clothes.”
“No.” The tone of voice he used was firm, and he pushed the door to slam it in Dylan’s face.
Yet before it could close, Dylan placed his palm firmly against the wooden barrier, in an attempt to keep Evan from shutting him out. A V-shaped line formed between Evan’s brows, and he narrowed his eyes in a predatory way.
“I wasn’t asking for my clothes. I was demanding them,” Dylan said.
“Listen, you little shit, I’m not responding to any of your demands, so you’d better get out of here, and quick. This is the last warning you’ll get from me.”
“I’m not leaving without my clothes.”
“You’d better leave now while you still can.”
“Is that a threat?”
“I think you already know the answer to that question.”
Glancing past Evan’s shoulder, Dylan called out to Maya, “Can you throw me my clothes so that I can get out of here?”
“Don’t you dare talk to her.” His voice came out as a firm warning.
Dylan ignored him, peering around his adversary’s taller form as he tried to make eye contact with his ex-girlfriend. “Maya, please. I need my clothes. I can’t go home naked like this.”
Evan shifted his body to block Dylan’s view of Maya. “I said don’t talk to her! Now get the hell out of here.” Pressing his palm against the other man’s chest, Evan gave Dylan a rough push, causing him to stumble backward.
“Don’t touch me.” Dylan’s body tensed with anger.
“I told you to leave.” Evan took a few steps closer to Dylan.
Glaring up at Evan’s menacing frame, Dylan stood his ground. “This is the last time you’re going to bother us.” Evan stated this without a hint of uncertainty, as if he already had a plan in place and was prepared to enforce it.
“No, I don’t think it is. This is only the beginning, so you’d better get used to it,” Dylan snapped back.
“Listen, you little punk, this ends here, so you better make damn sure I don’t see you anywhere near Maya ever again, you got it?”
Their eyes remained locked in a fierce battle for dominance, each one willing the other to look away first. The moment they spent staring each other down seemed to stretch forever, and then finally Dylan gave in, averting his gaze from Evan’s unyielding stare. He looked at Maya, who was standing at the door, and as he spoke he made sure to keep his eyes firmly planted on her.
“Fuck this, the bitch isn’t worth it. I’m out of here.” Dylan turned and headed in the opposite direction, yet he only made it a few steps before Evan’s palm gripped his shoulder, stopping him from going any further.
As Dylan turned to face his adversary, he opened his mouth to say something else, but his voice was abruptly cut off as Evan struck his fist out, and as it collided with Dylan’s jaw, he released a loud cry of pain. Dylan stumbled backward, struggling to remain on his feet, but Evan lashed out with a second punch. Dylan dodged it, evading Evan’s fist by barely an inch. Dylan threw a punch and aimed it for his enemy’s stomach, but Evan caught Dylan’s fist in his hand, keeping it gripped tightly within his hold. Utilizing his other fist, Dylan swung toward the side of Evan’s torso. As it connected with his ribs, Evan expelled a sound that was a mixture of anger and pain, but he didn’t allow Dylan’s punch to deter him from the fight. Spurred on by rage, Evan swung his fist toward his adversary’s face, where it connected solidly with Dylan’s nose.
Releasing a sound of anguish, Dylan fell flat onto the ground, cursing loudly as he held his nose in his hand. Evan’s eyes blazed with anger, watching as Dylan shouted and squirmed in pain, nursing his nose with a hand that was streaked with blood.
“You broke my nose, you crazy bastard!” Struggling to get up from the ground, Dylan watched Evan with wary eyes as he stumbled onto his feet.
Blood dripped through the space in Dylan’s fingers, and his jaw was beginning to swell from where he’d been punched.
Dylan’s face was red with anger, and his nostrils flared. “I’m getting you charged with assault, asshole. You aren’t getting away with this.”
Then he quickly backed away, and hurried down the street.
Evan watched Dylan’s form quickly retreat into darkness, and once he was out of sight, he turned and made his way back to the apartment. As he walked up the steps, Evan headed right past Maya, making her feel as if she were invisible. Coming up behind him, she placed her hand on Evan’s arm, hoping to quell the strong emotions that she knew were inside of him.
Maya didn’t know quite what to say, but it didn’t really matter because before she could say anything, Evan’s voice broke the silence.
“Why did you bring him here? Especially when you know how I feel about him hanging around you?”
“I didn’t mean to, Evan. He threw up on me, so I had to stop off at the house and change. He came in without my permission. It’s not like I wanted him here. ”
“This is crazy, Maya. This is too much.”
“Evan, come on, please don’t do this to me again.”
“Do what?”
“Break things off. This is exactly what Dylan wants. Can’t you see that?”
“Of course I can. He’s a crazy, manipulative bastard. What I don’t understand is why you keep giving him chances.”
“Chances? Is that what you think this was?”
“Listen, Maya, I understand why you did it. You have a good heart, and you were trying to get past all those negative feelings for him. Believe me, I get it. It’s just…” Shaking his head, Evan blew out a deep breath and then continued, “I just want you to stay away from him, all right? I need this thing between you and him to end, for good.”
“Yeah, I know. I made a huge mistake tonight, and I never should have let him in my car. I’m sorry that all of this happened. I didn’t mean to bring you into all of this drama.”
“Yeah, well, what’s done is done.” Giving an exasperated sigh, he reached up to rub the bridge of his nose. “Great, now I’m getting a headache.”
“I can get you some aspirin.” Maya headed for the kitchen, but before she could make it he called out to her.
“No thanks, I have some at home.”
“You’re leaving?” Her heart sunk from his words.
“Yep.” He headed for the door, and as he grabbed the door knob, she placed her hand on his arm.
“Please stay with me. I want you here.”
“I need to be alone tonight, Maya. It’s nothing against you. I’m just feeling pretty lousy, and I need some space right now, okay?”
She gave a little nod. “All right.”
He opened the door and headed outside, not bothering to even say good-bye.
“Give me a call tomorrow, okay?” She felt the urge to go after him, but knew there was really no use.
Evan muttered an unintelligible reply, and continued along his way. After shutting the door, she rested her back against it, and buried her face in her hands. A pang of sadness stabbed at her heart, and she was deeply distressed about the unnecessary drama that had been created. Releasing a heavy sigh, she made her way to the bathroom so that she could get ready for bed. Once she was there, she glanced in the mirror and saw her reflection staring back at her. The expression on her face was so pitiful, she could barely stand to look at herself.
She opened the little door that the mirror was attached to, and reached inside for her toothbrush. As she was pulling it out, she noticed that the contents inside of the cabinet had been rearranged. Bottles had been moved around, and a container of lip balm that she normally kept on the lower shelf had been moved to the very top. As she came to the realization that Dylan had been snooping around, she reached for a bottle of aspirin on the top shelf, and hurriedly uncapped it to glance inside. Just as she’d expected, the bottle was empty. She gave a curse and tossed the bottle aside, then slammed the medicine cabinet shut. She’d had $200 stashed inside of the aspirin bottle, and now she’d been left with nothing. Yet again, Dylan had managed to play her like a fool. Slamming the medicine cabinet door shut, she leaned against the sink and stared into the mirror.
After all that he’d put her through, why had she helped him? What made her think that driving him home would be a good idea? She must have been out of her mind to even let him inside of her apartment in the first place. She knew he was nothing but trouble, and yet he’d managed to screw her over yet again.
She’d been so certain that taking the high road and forgiving him would set her upon the path to healing, but what had she gotten in return? A shattered heart and an award for being the world’s biggest sucker. Here she was, feeling pathetic and alone, and most likely on her way to being dumped by a man whom she’d fallen completely head over heels in love with. Dylan really was a never-ending nightmare, a terrible gift that just kept on giving.
So are you going to just sit back and let it happen, or are you going to take action and keep the man that you love?
The answer to that question was simple enough, but she knew Dylan wasn’t going to stop until he’d completely sabotaged her relationship with Evan. She exited the bathroom and headed straight for her room, then picked the phone up to call Evan. As the line rang and rang, she figured he wasn’t going to pick up, but then she suddenly heard his voice.
“What is it, Maya?”
The tone of his voice was sharp, causing her to hesitate before speaking. She wasn’t entirely sure what to say to him, and the reason she’d called was because she desperately needed to hear his voice, and was curious to see if he was still willing to talk to her.
“Please don’t be angry with me. I really want us to work this out.”
“Okay,” he said flatly.
Maya felt a heaviness in her chest from his obvious disinterest in speaking with her, and she swallowed a few times to try and remove the lump from her throat. She could tell he was still on the road because the sound of horns honking came from his end of the line.
The curtains to her bedroom window were still open, so she glanced outside, training her eyes on the branches of a tree that was silhouetted against the sky. The moon was nearly full, and there were a few stars shining against the blanket of the night sky. A few moments of tense silence passed between them before Evan once again spoke.
“I hope he’s worth all of this.”
“What do you mean?”
“All this drama that was created. It’s all because you keep allowing him in your life.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Yes, you do. Think about it, Maya. If you’d just left him behind, this never would have happened.”
She opened her mouth to counter his statement, and then realized that she couldn’t. What’d he’d just said was entirely true, and as much as she wanted to blame this whole thing on Dylan, she knew that it was ultimately her fault.
“You’re right. Look, I feel really bad about it, and I—”
Before she could finish, Evan’s irritated voice cut her off. “I really don’t feel like being on the phone right now. I’m hanging up.”
“Oh, okay. Talk to you tomorrow then.”
“Bye.”
She placed the receiver back in its cradle, then glanced out the window, replaying the events of the night in her head. What Evan said to her had been a wake-up call, and the words he’d spoken to her reverberated in her mind.
If you’d just left him behind, this never would have happened.
She realized that statement had more than one meaning. If she’d worked through the negative feelings she had for him and properly closed her wounds, she would have been able to kick him out of her life a long time ago. Yet she just kept going back for more. This link between he
r and Dylan had to be severed, and quick, because she was dangerously close to forever losing Evan.
The tree branches swayed as she stared out the window, and the sound of an owl filled the air, creating a lonely echo in the silence of the night.
Chapter 16
Maya’s breath clouded in the cold morning air, and a crisp breeze tousled her hair, blowing strands of it in her face. The nippy weather made her feel invigorated, and as she approached a rotting tree stump, she took a seat on it, and then slipped the straps of her backpack off. As she reached inside the pack, her hands came into contact with a small shoe box, and she removed it, setting it on the ground next to her.
After gathering some twigs and small logs, she placed them in a pile and retrieved a container of matches from her backpack. Then she opened the lid of the shoe box and retrieved a glossy photo.
As she glanced at the photo in her hands, she was surprised to find that she didn’t feel anything at all. It was a snapshot of Dylan that she’d been hanging onto, and was the last one in her possession. The photo brought back memories of the numerous nights she’d spent alone, driving herself crazy with jealousy and desperately wondering about what he was doing and what girl he was screwing around with. She used to stare at the photo like a lovesick puppy, anxiously awaiting his phone call and wondering if he’d ever return the strong feelings of love that she’d always had for him.
But now, as she looked at the image, Maya was relieved to find that she didn’t feel any hatred, regret or sadness. She only felt detachment, and was now truly ready to set herself free.
Maya tossed the photograph onto the pile of sticks and logs she’d prepared, and then she grabbed the box and dumped everything else onto the woodpile. After lighting a match she threw it on top, watching the assortment of relationship mementos become engulfed in flames.
As the fire continued to burn, Maya tilted her chin upward, her eyes following the smoke as it curled up toward the sky. She inhaled deeply, enjoying the rich smell of burning wood. She focused her eyes on the flames, listening to the cracking noises it made as it reduced the useless mementos to ashes. She inhaled deeply and then let it out, working to expel the negative energy that had been stored away for so long. The memories of her tumultuous relationship had no power over her, and she knew that as long as she continued ahead and didn’t look back, that she was on her way to properly healing. A wonderful feeling of lightness came over her as she realized that the power was truly in her hands, and it dawned on her that the only person who could stop her from achieving true happiness was herself.