Sweetness, he said

by Starr, Jude

  “Have you lost your mind, Iris?” He sounded seriously pissed.

  “Calvin, what’s wrong?”

  “Let me rephrase it, have you lost your freaking mind to trash talk with some assholes in the street? You’re not back at home, Iris! It’s fucking New York City! You don’t know who the hell you’re dealing with.”

  I realized immediately that Justin had dropped us off at the penthouse and immediately called Calvin. “They’ve been harassing Danielle for days. I won’t take shit from them, Cal.”

  He sighed loudly, his breathing shaky. “You do not go anywhere without Justin, until I get home okay?

  My vision blurred and my throat tightened painfully. “Calvin…”

  I heard him breathing heavily. “You have no idea how mad I was when Justin called me. Let me handle this when I get back, and until then, just please, be careful.”

  My bottom lip was trembling, and Krystal’s eyes were glued on my face, trying to figure out what was happening. She discarded her homework and came to sit by my side.

  “Krys is with me now. I’m going to finish my homework.” I hung up without saying any more or listening to whatever else he might have to say. Tears filled my eyes. “I fucked up. Calvin’s furious with me.”

  “Because of what Danielle said in the car?” Krystal asked.

  I nodded. “Justin told him.”

  “Who the hell is he? Your babysitter?” she asked taking my side.

  My phone rang again, but I tossed it across the couch. Krystal picked it up while I covered my face with my hands, hiding my tears.

  “Calvin. It’s Krystal.” She answered my phone and sounded pissed. “No. I don’t think now is a good time. She’s crying. She never meant to put herself in any danger. Her intentions were only to help Danielle.” She listened to Calvin speak for a few seconds. I could hear his voice at the other end of the line, but not loudly enough to understand what he was saying. She held the phone out towards me. “Iris, he wants to speak with you.”

  I rolled my eyes, but I took the phone from her. I sniffled into the receiver.

  “Kitten, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have talked to you the way I did, but when Justin called me, I fucking lost it. I don’t want anything to happen to you.” He lapsed into silence, waiting for me to respond.

  “I know.”

  “I don’t want you to get hurt, Iris.”

  “You should have heard what he said to Danielle. I just couldn’t walk away, Cal.” I tried to justify my actions. “But I get it. I’ll shut my mouth and I’ll be careful.”

  “I love you, Iris and I didn’t like the way our previous call ended. I’m in Dallas, I’m too far away to comfort you if I make you cry. I’m sorry, Iris. I didn’t mean to do it.”

  “It’s okay,” I responded quietly. “When I saw that it was you who was calling me, I never expected you to be angry.”

  “Kitten, I just want to hold you in my arms until morning. You have no idea, how much I miss you and need you.”

  “I do, actually. It has been hard and we still have two more nights to get through.”

  “Next time, you’re coming with me, okay?”

  I smiled and Krystal watched me curiously. “I would love that.”

  “I’ll let you go for now. Call me in the morning, if you want.”

  “I will. My class doesn’t start until ten.”

  “Good night, kitten.”

  “Love you.”

  I preferred that second phone call, much better than the first. Going to bed and getting some sleep wouldn’t be nearly as hard as I’d originally thought. The emotional rollercoaster had exhausted me.

  Krys left for her eight am class while I slept in and woke up later. The clock indicated 10:05 when I opened my eyes for the first time.

  I had a missed call and two texts from Cal.

  Calvin: Morning kitten

  Calvin: I hope we're good, baby. Are we? I'm sorry about last night. I love you.

  I didn't have time to text him back. After I changed my boxers and slipped on a pair of jeans, I dragged on my coat and ran outside with my board in hand. Thankfully, the sidewalks were free of snow.

  I speed dialed Calvin’s number, hoping that he would answer.

  “Hey, baby.” Hearing his voice immediately calmed me down.

  “I'm late leaving for school. I only just woke up.” I said, riding my skateboard as quickly as I could.

  “Are you on your board, right now?” he laughed.

  “It’s faster than walking or running.”

  “Be careful on that thing.”

  “Don't worry, baby. I got this.” I smiled at his attention.

  “One more night. I might even try to get on the red eye.”

  “I can’t wait to see you.”

  “I’ll let you go, text me later.”

  “Love you.”

  I ended the call and hurried towards the university. I had already missed the first twenty minutes of class. When I took off my coat, I realized that I was still wearing one of Calvin's T-shirts. His football team, his name and his number were emblazoned across the back. It wasn't enough that half the school recognized me as Banks' girlfriend, I had to brand myself with his name across my back.

  Iris: I’m your biggest fan today. This is going to have the people talking.

  I sent him a picture of me wearing the t-shirt, sitting in the last row of the class.

  Calvin: It’s a definite turn on. I like that name on you.

  My face flushed bright red. Iris Banks, it sounded good to me.

  Iris: I like it too.

  Would I ever get married? I had no clue, but I liked the sound of Calvin’s surname, added to my first name. I tried to concentrate on what the teacher was saying, but I couldn't manage it. Waking up late had given me a rush of adrenaline and now, my mind was begging for some rest. I took some notes, but this class was definitely going to require a do-over. If only I could.

  Calvin and I texted all day. Hundreds of miles away and I was getting to know him more than I had in person.

  Calvin: Favorite movie?

  Iris: Good Will Hunting. Popcorn or skittles?

  Calvin: Popcorn. Birthday?

  Iris: July 7th. Missing me?

  Calvin: More than I can bear.

  Iris: Love you. Will text when I get to work.

  Needing a shower, I decided to get to the gym early, in order to take one before I commenced work. A shower in the morning was worth ten coffees and now it felt as if I hadn’t really woken up and half of the day had already flown by.

  The crisp air gave me chills. With my scarf and beanie on, I tried to keep as warm as I possibly could. Riding my skateboard when my legs were turning into ice cubes was harder than expected. I placed my belongings in my locker and jumped into a shower as soon as I got to the gym. The hot water burnt like fire on my skin. It hurt, but my body had to be warmed up after being out in the cold weather.

  “Would you mind picking up some sushi for dinner?” Danielle was definitely giving me the impression she loved to eat.

  “No, not at all,” I said, before recalling how cold it still was outside.

  Sushi was far from being my favorite food, but Danielle promised the local store’s was worth giving a try.

  “Hey, girls.” Justin said as he came in.

  Being the new girl in a tight circle of friends didn’t come easy. Danielle had a heart of gold and used to be my boyfriend’s girlfriend and Justin seemed to be Calvin’s wing man. He helped him with every area of his businesses and I never heard them argue about anything. I hadn’t talked to Julia as much, but I knew she wasn’t just a waitress, she too had a connection to Calvin’s group. They all knew each other, and very well, it appeared.

  “Hi,” I said shyly.

  He seemed like a good guy, but I didn’t know him particularly well. He gave me a ride home each night, but he was the quiet type for the most part. He nodded as a salute.

  Danielle approached with a
big smile on her face, and she hooked her arm through Justin’s. “He’s like my big brother. Cal, Justin and I, we go way back. We met Justin at university and since then, we’ve been hanging out together.”

  “She’s like a little annoying sister,” Justin joked and she elbowed him in the ribs. “You see, she’s a brat.” This time, he managed to block her elbow and walked away from us, laughing.

  Danielle watched him leave. “He’s a nice guy. It’s not my story to tell, but he’s got a fucked-up past, too. I think that’s why Cal and he are such good friends. They understand each other, I guess.”

  Before I went to get food, we had some papers to file and documents to update. We stayed working at the reception until my stomach started growling with hunger.

  Telling Danielle I wouldn’t be long, I grabbed my board and headed outside. The sushi would probably be frozen by the time I got back to the gym. I considered asking Justin for a ride, but it wasn’t far to go and he’d spoiled me enough in the past few days with constantly running me around.

  I pushed my foot across the ground to get my board moving forward, keeping my hands in my pockets to stay warm. I busied myself, trying to convince my frozen body that I loved New York. With weather like this, I missed Florida, where the winter didn't turn me into an icicle.

  Danielle had already called the sushi place, to make sure they had her favourite rolls in stock.

  I was about to round a corner when I tripped and fell face first onto the sidewalk. What the hell had just happened? I’d never fallen off my board like that before and I wondered if I’d hit something on the ground. I rolled over onto my back, feeling a little bit dizzy, when I saw the guy from last night.

  Oh crap. I knew then, I was in deep trouble.

  Chapter 18

  “Hey! Look who's here!” He offered me a smile which gave me the chills. ”I think I'll teach you some manners,” he said, grabbing my board from the ground and he swung at me with it.

  My first reflex was to move my hand to protect my face. He smashed my side fiercely and it took my breath away. The pain had me curling into a fetal position. Apparently, one hit didn’t suffice, because he hit me again on my back.

  ”Stop!” I tried to look at him, but he was taking another swing toward my head. I covered my head with both of my hands as I took the hit. A thunderstorm of pain exploded in my head.

  I opened my eyes, but my vision blurred and every image seemed doubled.

  ”Take that, you fucking whore. You won’t be so brave next time, will you? Might think twice, before you decide to act all tough.”

  ”Shut up!” I panicked. Last night, I’d lost control when I told this asshole what I thought about him. Calvin had a point; I really had no idea who I had messed with.

  He kicked me a few more times before I heard the voice of another man, urging him to stop. I kept my hands over my head because I thought it was helping with the pain. Every part of my body ached, but the cold winter weather helped by numbing everything. Breathing was painful and it got even worse when I started crying.

  “Stop, right there, young man!” The same voice yelled, but I heard the guy taking off with my skateboard. The good Samaritan knelt beside me. “Are you okay?”

  Couldn’t he tell I wasn’t, by the sound of my sobbing?

  I needed to get up; I didn’t want any police intervention. I didn’t want to taint Calvin’s good reputation. He had hired me after all, I wasn’t only his girlfriend, I was his employee. His reputation meant a lot to him, and I decided I had to endure a little more pain in order to save him issues. The media were already far too aware of his life, he didn’t need me to add more drama.

  “Please.” I tried to sit up, to get a better idea of how far I was from the gym. “Can you help me get up?”

  “I don’t think you should be moving at all,” he responded, but helped me anyway.

  “I work at the gym,” I said, starting to step forward. The man took my arm and placed it over his shoulders, helping me slowly back down the street. Thankfully, it seemed the world still had people in it who were willing to help a stranger.

  Danielle and Justin were talking behind the reception counter when the man pushed the door open and helped me inside.

  “Danielle.” I tried to say her name, but I was in so much pain, it barely came out as a whisper.

  “Excuse me, miss?” The man spoke loudly, getting their full attention.

  I sat on one of the chairs by the entrance and exhaled cautiously. My body trembled with pain.

  “I think you should get her to the E.R., as soon as possible. She was attacked outside by a man,” the stranger explained.

  Sitting here, safe inside, I started breathing more peacefully as my panic subsided.

  “Iris!” Danielle rushed over to me and Justin followed closely behind. I held my head in my hands as the pain intensified. I removed my beanie and discovered it was full of blood. I touched my hair with shaking fingers and groaned. “Ow!”

  “Justin, take her to the E.R. now. I'll call Calvin,” Danielle ordered.

  When I heard her say that she would call Calvin, on the one hand, I desperately wanted her to, but at the same time, I didn’t want him to freak out. During our phone call, he'd asked me to be careful and here I was bleeding profusely and in bad shape.

  “Don't call...” I tried to warn her, but a wave of dizziness got to me and I started vomiting on the floor. Nice job, Iris.

  “Danielle, I'm taking her now. Stay here until closing and I'll let you know where we are.”

  The man offered to help Justin, but he simply swept me into his arms, as if I weighed about twenty pounds. He laid me on the back seat of his SUV and then he exchanged phone numbers with the helpful stranger, before taking off towards the hospital, screeching his tires on the street.

  “Do you know who hurt you, Iris?”

  I nodded. “The guy I mouthed off to yesterday.” It was all I managed to say, I just couldn’t speak any longer.

  My body had dealt with too much crap and I couldn’t seem to function. My head was pounding and every other part of my body was hurting too. I didn’t even want to think about the bruises that were probably going to cover my body later.

  Justin's phone rang and he snatched it up.

  “Riley,” he answered brusquely. Justin Riley? “Yeah, Calvin, I'm on my way to the E.R. She's conscious, but she needs to get checked over a.s.a.p. She puked all over reception.” He paused. “I know, Cal, I'll stay with her until Danielle meets me at the hospital. Call me when you land.”

  I wanted to talk to Calvin and I leaned across, struggling to speak. “Calvin, I wanna speak to him.”

  “Stay calm, girl, stay calm. He’s already gone. Wait a minute.” He dialled Calvin’s number again. “She ah… she wants to speak to you.”

  ”Kitten?” His voice echoed as I took the phone from Justin’s hand.

  “Cal…” My voice was rusty and low, and I realized he might not be able to hear me.

  “Justin’s going to take care of you. I’ll be there, as soon as I can.”

  “You have impor…” I coughed heavily and my head throbbed mercilessly. “Important things to do.”

  “None of this means shit, Iris. My place is right beside you.” I wanted him with me so badly. Every part of me hurt and it didn’t help that I couldn’t be with him. The words he had spoken were all I needed to hear. He wasn’t upset with me.

  I loved him, his voice. “I love you, Calvin.” I started to weep uncontrollably.

  “How are you feeling?” I heard a huge noise in the background. “I’m so mad that I can’t be with you, kitten. It’s driving me fucking crazy.”

  “I’m strong, I’ll be fine. I’ll be waiting for you,” I muttered, too tired to hold the phone any longer. My eyes grew heavy, as the pain took control of my body and mind.

  I heard him repeat my name a couple of times, but he sounded so far away and I was so tired. I had never been this exhausted. Never.

  My
body moved, and it felt as if my head was detached from my neck. I opened my eyes to discover Justin and a couple of strangers wearing blue outfits standing beside him. I figured they must be medical staff. Safe, I thought. They would help with this pain. They had to, I trusted them to fix me.

  They asked me questions, so many of them and I struggled to answer. My name, my age, what today’s date was and then, they shone a light right into my eyes and I screamed. Darkness was better, I hated the light.

  “We have to run a full body scan and take care of this cut, here.” I felt some intense pressure on my head and I tried to touch it, but my hand was drawn back to my side by a warm hand.

  Justin’s voice kept coming and going in the background. I couldn’t understand a word of what he was saying. Was I going to make it? Was I dying? Death couldn’t be an option; I had to be with my man again. My place was right next to his. I wouldn’t get in trouble anymore. My behaviour had to change for my own survival and his sake.

  “Calvin… Calvin… Calvin,” I chanted his name and my heart started beating rapidly.

  In my mind, I had pictures flashing of us, of him. The speed of the pictures matched my heart rate. I hated this; I didn’t think I could breathe.

  And then, everything stopped, my racing heart slowed down and I passed out again.

  Why were the people in my room crying? Everything was alright, wasn’t it? No pain, absolutely no pain. I opened my eyes slowly. They fluttered at the sight of the light coming from the doorway.

  “Iris, you’re awake.” Krys stood beside me, holding my hand and while I hadn’t felt any pain before, this kind of hurt.

  “Water.” I had to drink something or I was convinced my mouth was going to dry out and my tongue would eventually crack in two.

  A blurred version of Danielle ran out of the room and she returned a few seconds later with a nurse. She took my vitals and asked me if I wanted a small glass of water to drink. I thought I might have preferred a shot, but I’d take what I could get.

  “Ms. Hartwell, you’ll need to sit up, okay? I’ll lift you up while we adjust your backrest. If you feel any pain, let me know.” I nodded in agreement.