Running From Forever

by Ashley Wilcox

  “I think it’s that one.” Kayla pointed to a huge white house that sat back a little from the road, iron gates attached to a brick wall towards the street. “Yup, definitely is, I can see the ugly metal sculpture that Leah bought in Paris.”

  “Who the fuck would pay a cent for that thing?” I asked, getting a look at it.

  “Leah,” was all she said, making me wonder about this girl.

  I had pictured someone along the same lines of Kayla—hot, carefree, probably with big tits; you know, the stereotypical girl you picture pro athletes with.

  I couldn’t have been more wrong. Leah ran from the front door to meet us, actually the complete frickin’ opposite. She was a teeny little thing, dressed like one of those artsy girls you see at the art museums in the city, slightly disheveled in a flowy top and cutoffs, with brown hair that barely reached her shoulders and huge brown eyes that were slightly hidden by glasses. I was completely shocked.

  Kayla started the introductory process. “Leah, this is Merrick. Merrick, this Leah.”

  I extended my hand, being polite. “Hi, nice to meet you.”

  Her personality was more subtle than Kayla’s—not so full and bubbly. She was a cute girl, just plainer than I expected. I kind of got the impression she was surveying me, making sure I was suitable for her friend to be around, which was fine. It was actually calming that Kayla had someone like that; someone that wanted to protect her like I did. I just hoped she wasn’t thinking I was looking for something I wasn’t from Kayla. Our situation was anything but normal, I got that. Not many people go from strangers to inseparable friends over night, shacking up for the weekend. But that’s really what it was. We clicked. It was that simple.

  “No shit! If it isn’t Kayla frickin’ Reynolds on my doorstep.” We heard a male’s voice and I saw a big ass guy walking through the front door. I almost laughed out loud, seeing him next to this tiny little girl, Leah. From looks alone, they were polar opposites, but hey, I guess opposites attract.

  Immediately Kayla squealed and ran for him, jumping into his arms. “Matthew frickin’ Jacobs! How are ya, friend?” she asked, a huge grin on her face after he set her down. The smiles were contagious; I couldn’t remove the one I was wearing on my own face. They obviously all cared about each other—it was like an effin’ lovefest here.

  “Oh, Matt! This is my good friend, Merrick. Merrick, this is Matt, Leah’s fiancé.”

  “How ya doin, man?” he asked, shaking my hand. It wasn’t often I found a guy bigger than me, but this dude definitely was. He wasn’t fat or anything like that, he was just tall and solid—he had pro football player written all over him.

  “Good, yourself?”

  “Life’s good—no complaints,” he answered, nodding his head with a genuine smile.

  As soon as we stepped inside, the girls took off, leaving Matt and I by ourselves. It wasn’t bad, though. He showed me their game room where we shot some pool and threw some darts.

  “So, how long have you known Kayla?” he asked, sinking another stripe into the corner pocket.

  I watched as he moved around the table, sizing up another one then pointing to the side pocket as I answered, “Not long actually, just a week.”

  That got his attention, making him look up. “Really?”

  I nodded my head. “Yeah.”

  He looked back down at the table and lined back up to the shot he was just preparing, keeping his eye on the hole. “She’s a good girl. Remember that,” he warned, his words clear and point heard, making me snicker.

  It was a friendly threat…a warning; one I knew well and precisely the reason why I didn’t like Kayla with Blackwell. He wouldn’t honor that nor remember. His blood didn’t run honest, it ran black and selfish. He was out for one thing—his own benefit.

  It took me a minute to answer, having a personal moment, feeling my heart fill with emotion. I cared about Kayla…a lot. She was growing on me more than I think I was prepared for. “She’s special,” I admitted. “I’d never let anything happen to her.”

  He looked up, intrigued, then put his cue down and leaned back on the table, crossing his arms over his chest. “Do you love her?” He wasn’t being rude, but he was definitely looking out for Kayla like a big brother would. I wasn’t intimidated, if anything, I was happy that she had someone like him.

  The problem was, I didn’t know to answer. I bit my lip and rubbed my face. I didn’t have a prepared response. It’d only been a week that I’d known her, and only two days of hanging out. Love was a strong label to put on someone that I barely knew, but when it came down to it, I guess I did. I cared a whole lot for her, worried about her well-being, and wanted nothing more than for her to be happy. Yeah, I loved her, just not how he probably thought I did.

  I was beginning to think of her as a really hot sister (no incest intended)—someone I loved and wanted to protect and really enjoyed hanging out with. I definitely wasn’t looking for any kind of romantic involvement; we even irritated each other like siblings. Though maybe I’ll pretend she’s Micah’s sister; then the relationship observation isn’t so creepy when I check her out.

  As I came to this realization, I started nodding my head. “Yeah, I do,” I started to say. “She means a lot to me.”

  My answer must have been sufficient, because a grin curled his lips as he stood, then patted me on the shoulder. “Just don’t hurt her,” he said, “or I’ll have to fucking kill you.” He chuckled, but knew he was serious, and also that he could.

  ***

  We ended up having dinner with Matt and Leah before leaving. It’d been forever since I attended a cookout, but Matt said it was the norm with them and we should come back again before the weather got too cold for another one. At a little after seven, we finally headed out. I had planned to return Steve’s car after, but I wasn’t feeling it, so I texted him to let him know that I had the Corvette and would bring it back the next day. Of course, he didn’t care, and said to just bring it back whenever.

  “Do you mind stopping there for a minute?” Kayla asked as we came to a stoplight with a mall on the right.

  I looked at her like she had ten heads, knowing that she was just as spent as I was. “You wanna go shopping?” I asked incredulously. Fucking women.

  She shrugged her shoulders. “I need something to wear to work tomorrow.”

  It only took all of two seconds to process that she wasn’t leaving tonight and was planning on staying. The rush of joy that filled my insides eased the worry that was starting to consume me. The thought of walking her home tonight and leaving her to the life that she ran away from had been weighing heavily on me all day. I didn’t know if I could do it, especially when I had no clue why she ran in the first place.

  “Yeah, we can stop,” was all that I said, trying to channel the excitement that was humming my veins. I had more time. I had more time with her before I had to give her back.

  Forgetting that the mall closed at eight on Sundays, it was like a mad dash to the finish line getting everything that she needed to look presentable for the corporate world. The sweatpants and t-shirt were good enough for me and apparently her friends, too, but not the uppity people on the top floor of ETV—they’d have a field day and hand her the pink slip if she came in looking anything less than snooty.

  Walking out with my hands full of bags, I couldn’t think of anyone I knew that went on a shopping spree, buying four business suits, three pairs of shoes, and a new set of bras and panties on a whim, but I also had never known anyone like Kayla—she was a runner, the girl version of me. Once we run, we don’t return. Buying new clothes was what people like us did to stay away—to avoid going back.

  “You hungry?” I asked after getting everything upstairs and my shoes finally off.

  “We just ate.”

  “Like two hours ago.”

  She snickered as she rolled her eyes. “No, I’m good.”

  I warmed up some leftovers from the other night and joined her on the couch
. The bar was closed on Sundays, so I didn’t need to be downstairs. She was watching some reality show about a family managed by their crazy mom. The women on it were hot, but had the most goddamn annoying voices ever.

  “How do you get hooked on this crap? I don’t get it”

  “I thought you wouldn’t complain.” She raised her eyebrows, referencing the good-looking girls.

  “Maybe if it was on mute.” That got the gut laugh out of her that always made me smile. It was pure, heart-filling laughter and I loved it. “So, what’s the plan for tomorrow?” I asked once her laughing subsided. I hoped it wasn’t too out there to ask, but tomorrow was getting back to the real world. She worked at the company that Miles Blackwell owned half of. I was worried that shit was going to hit the fan, and curious what her plan of action was to handle it.

  She instantly sunk further into the cushion and the smile that was on her face faded. Fuck me! I wanted to kick myself in the ass for asking.

  Running her hand through her hair and pulling it to the side, she played nervously with a few strands, looking blankly at the TV. “I don’t really know.”

  “We don’t have to talk about it,” I came out and said. It was a douche move asking; I should’ve known better. She was still running inside; avoiding the truth…life.

  She let out an exasperated breath. “No. No, I gotta figure this out.” She turned to face me, legs crossed, intertwined. “I don’t know what to do, Merrick.”

  I felt it in my chest. She was lost, pleading for help. I didn’t know if I was the best person to help her. I’d lived just as fucked up a life myself. From the age I could run, I did, staying at friend’s houses almost every day of the week, stopping home quick after school just to make sure my mom hadn’t overdosed and was dead on the floor. I did this almost my whole life…up until I ran here.

  “I can’t really help you, babe, if I don’t know what happened,” I told her as sympathetically as I could, looking into her sad eyes. Even if I wasn’t the most qualified person to give advice, I wanted to help, but I also needed to know what happened first.

  Kayla rubbed her face with her hands, keeping them over her eyes for a minute longer. She was thinking; questioning if she was ready to spill. I didn’t want to force her to do it, so I sat there quietly. I wish I could just sweep her up and run far, far away; take her away from all the bad in her life permanently, but that would mean I had to run again, and I was done running. I couldn’t do it anymore.

  “I loved him.” Her voice was a whisper. She removed her hands from her face but only to look down to her crisscrossed feet. She couldn’t look at me while she told me, and I was okay with that. “I let my guard down when I knew I shouldn’t have, but I couldn’t help it.”

  I needed to do something, so I rested my hand on her leg, rubbing it gently for comfort. It seemed to work, because she glanced up to me and grinned before looking back down, continuing to play with a loose string on her pants.

  “How do you know when to stop?” she looked back up to me in question.

  “Stop what?” I asked.

  “Running? How do you know when to stop?” She took a break, pausing. “When is running no longer an option?”

  I exhaled, stumped myself. I didn’t really have an answer to that, except the only thing that came to my head. “You just know, I guess.”

  She nodded, agreeing. I thought it was a lousy answer, but she must have thought differently.

  “Did he cheat on you?” The words fell from my tongue before I had a chance to retract them. I didn’t know why they slipped, but I guess it was something that was weighing on my mind.

  She snorted, seeming somewhat amused before looking at me with a smirk. “No, but I guess you can’t really cheat on someone that you weren’t really with anyway.”

  Not only was I confused as hell, but the anger was building. I pretty much knew I’d hate the fucker even more once I heard the story of what he did, but now that I was getting a glimpse, the rage within was climbing. It was unclear why I despised Miles in the first place—the only reasonable explanation I had was that he’s just one of those people that leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Almost like I knew he would eventually hurt someone I cared about.

  “He played you?”

  She nodded her head. “Yeah…I guess you can say that.”

  That was my trigger. I had to stand, pace, do something! I couldn’t imagine why anyone that had a chance of being loved by Kayla would play her or do her any wrong. I was livid, pacing the room.

  “Merrick, sit down,” she demanded, making me stop and look at her. “It wasn’t all him, I guess. I can’t really say if he cared or not. I think he did, but he lied.”

  I immediately looked at her, dumbfounded. “What?”

  “My ex. I left him. Right after he proposed…I ran,” she began, getting my attention.

  I didn’t join her on the couch because my blood was still boiling, but I rested on the arm of the chair next to it to listen.

  “I don’t really know what happened, but somehow Trevor knew Miles and got in touch with him.”

  “He had a vendetta against you?” I asked, my eyebrows scrunched, trying to fit together the pieces.

  “I don’t know… I guess. I didn’t really stick around for the details.”

  “Wait, wait, wait.” I stood again, looking at her in complete puzzlement. “So you think that he hired Miles or something to spy or do something bad to you—like fake your relationship?” I was ready to explode. If that was the case, I had two guys to kill. This story was getting so fucked up that the idea of swooping her up and running wasn’t looking so unreasonable anymore. They had wronged her in the worse possible way.

  She shrugged her shoulders, lost, with no answers herself. “I don’t know. But Miles and I walked in on Trevor in bed with my sister…”

  Oh my fucking God. I couldn’t handle it anymore. I couldn’t hear another word of it. Not only did this other fucker, her ex or whoever, work up a master plan to get back at her, he nailed her sister on top of it—for her to walk in on! The stupid fucking fucker. I was done. I was going to be sitting in a jail cell that night, I just knew it.

  “So, I don’t know. I heard Miles yelling at someone on the phone earlier in the night that the deal was off, so maybe Trevor went to plan B. I don’t fucking know…I just left.”

  A tear trickled down her face, and I ran to her side to wrap my arms around her, holding her snug against my chest. I wouldn’t let her go. I let her sob for however long we sat there, just holding her while she cried. I knew she cared, and from the way he looked in the bar last night, I knew Miles did, too. But I wouldn’t let her go back. I wouldn’t let him have the satisfaction of winning. Girls like Kayla didn’t come around often. There’s no second chances on girls like her.

  ***

  ***

  I hadn’t left my apartment since yesterday. I spent the night in Kayla’s hallway Friday night, hoping that she’d return, but she never did. Her sister had been on redial since, but she hadn’t heard from Kayla either. There was no knowing where she was; no one had seen her, no one had talked to her…she was gone. I knew Trevor was angry. I knew he was heartbroken. I was all too aware that people could do irrational things when the two emotions mixed, but I never believed he was capable of such abhorrent behavior.

  When he contacted me last week regarding the whole situation I knew he was on the verge of losing it, but I didn’t know just how close to the edge he really was. Originally, I said no—I wouldn’t have any part in it, but I owed him…tremendously. If it weren’t for Trevor covering for his older brother and me in college, I would be flipping burgers at some low class restaurant. My only expectation and requirement for receiving half of my father’s company was to graduate from college. Nothing else. I wasn’t the most straight-laced student and my parents knew as much. Seamus and I were typical college kids; we had fun, never worrying about the repercussions. Trevor came to visit during our senior year, when he was almost
finished with high school. We thought we’d show him a good time while he was there, but, to our surprise, the house party we attended was raided by police. Seamus and I had enough marijuana on us to stone the entire house. I freaked, knowing if I was caught it could screw my chances and possibly get me kicked out of school, which meant no ETV.

  Trevor took the blame in its entirety. He was detained, preformed endless hours of community service, and was forced to attend a state school rather than Cornell as he intended, exhausting all of his savings for legal fees. I owed him…immensely.

  When Kayla left and said she’d accepted a position at a broadcasting company in the city, he phoned me immediately, knowing I owned the largest one in New York. I checked the database and saw that she was Connie’s new assistant. I cursed myself that she was, still not wanting any part in his evil plan, but then again, I owed him. He wanted me to make her life hell, to make her either quit or get fired, whichever came first. I wasn’t particularly worried; she was Connie’s new assistant and no one liked Connie because she was the epitome of intimidating.

  To be fair, Connie’s crusty personality wasn’t without warrant, and I often wanted to remind people of that. She was molested by her biological father, my mother’s first husband, until she was five. When it was brought to my mother’s attention, she divorced him immediately and then met my father a couple of years later when she was working as a receptionist at ETV. Dad took to Connie instantly and adopted her, becoming an advocate for charities that supported abused women and children, Love With Words being one of them. Connie’s unfortunate life made her tough, strong-willed, and unconcerned with anyone that stood in her way, so when I saw that Kayla was working for Connie, I knew it wouldn’t be difficult. All I did was tell her that a few things came back on Kayla’s background check, nothing that we could reverse her employment for, but not someone I would prefer working for management. Connie agreed, and wouldn’t hold back with loading Kayla with grueling, unpleasant tasks. In other words, she would make Kayla’s experience with ETV anything but enjoyable.