by C. A. Harms
I watched her walk out and get in her car, feeling disgusted by the thought of her even being inside the apartment I shared with Lexi.
Radley was facing her too, and when she pulled away he turned toward me quickly. Without hesitation he dropped the pizza to the ground along with the beer.
I watched it fall as it collided with the pavement below. When I looked up from the ground his fist connected with my cheek and I had no time to shield myself. Before I could register what happened he punched me again, this time in my eye.
“You piece of shit!” he barked. “You got a fucking kid on the way, man! Hasn’t Lexi been hurt enough?”
My head was hazy and I shook it to clear the fog.
He spun around to leave as I stood in the doorway of my apartment trying to register what was going on.
He didn’t even give me a chance to explain before he squealed from the parking lot as I was still attempting to register the past five minutes.
I grabbed the pizza box and twelve pack of beer from the ground and went inside, dropping them both onto the coffee table.
I walked toward the bathroom and once I looked into the mirror I instantly got pissed. That was gonna fucking bruise. I could see the discoloration of my eye already and my left cheek was split slightly. My best friend had just punched me, not once but twice, and then left.
I walked to the bedroom and grabbed my phone from the dresser. When I saw the light blinking I pressed the button on the side, waking the screen.
I had missed three calls from Lexi. I listened to the voicemail she left and felt guilty for not answering when she called.
I tried to call her back but it went unanswered, which only enhanced my guilt.
“Hey, baby, I’m sorry I missed your call. I was in the shower and then watched some TV. I left my phone in the bedroom on the dresser. Glad you’re safely tucked away in the hotel. Call me in the morning.” I paused for a second before continuing, “I love you, Lexi. I miss you and I need you home so fucking bad. I need you here with me.” I hit end and dropped the phone to the bed next to me, feeling defeated.
I let myself rest back onto the bed and ran tonight’s disaster through my mind over and over. After an hour of attempting to calm my nerves I decided to call Radley.
I knew he deliberately ignored my call, so I decided to leave him a voicemail since he wanted to avoid the situation. “Listen, fucker, nothing happened with Miley. She showed up here and I thought it was you. I answered the door straight from the fucking shower in a towel. I ran to the room to get dressed and when I came out she had invited herself in and made herself at home. I was in the process of kicking her fucking ass out when you showed up. Plain and simple!”
His phone beeped letting me know I ran out of time. I had no idea how I was going to get myself to fall asleep.
I had Lexi hundreds of miles away.
Radley fucking punched me—twice.
What the hell would tomorrow possibly bring?
Chapter 19
Megan
When we made it back to the hotel room, Lexi crashed quickly. Poor girl; I thought the trip and stress of meeting her dad was running her down. I made a mental note to keep an eye on her tomorrow. Maybe I could convince her to let me drive. I wouldn’t think Kole would care if it meant Lexi could rest along the way.
It was after 11:00 when my phone vibrated on the table next to me. Both Lexi and Natalie were sleeping so I slipped out onto the balcony to talk to my man.
“Hey, hot stuff, I thought you were having a boys’ night?” I could immediately sense he was irritable and pissed off.
“Fuck the boys’ night. Kole had other plans.” I had been with Radley long enough to know when he was angry and when he was beyond controllable. This was definitely one of the uncontrollable moments. I continued to stay silent. I knew he was taking deep breaths to calm himself because I could hear him. After he silently breathed through his anger he continued.
“Meg, I fucking caught him with Miley,” he said in a pained whisper. “She was in the apartment with him and she was dressed all trashy, wearing Daisy Duke shorts and a see-through top. She came out strutting herself. When she saw me she thanked him for the fuck they apparently just shared and then left.”
I felt sick. I turned back to look into the room, seeing my best friend sleeping in the bed and my heart broke. How could he do this to her?
“Megan?”
“Yeah, I’m here.”
Radley took another deep breath. “I punched him, Meg…twice. Then I left his wounded ass on the front porch of his apartment.”
A tear escaped me and I wiped it away. “Good…you should’ve beaten the hell out of him.” I could feel the burn in the back of my throat, “What am I supposed to say to Lexi? This will destroy her, I know it.”
I let the tears fall; I couldn’t hold back anymore. “You can’t tell her yet. He needs to be the one to tell her. Wait until you get back.” I leaned against the railing wondering how I could look at her tomorrow and not have her know I’m hiding something.
“Okay. I just can’t believe he would do this to her. I’m so broken right now I don’t even know what to say.”
We both sat silently as my mind raced. “Let her be happy for a couple days. Let her find her dad and do it without this heartache holding her back. Then when you girls get back we’ll get her through this. I promise you, okay?”
I agreed because I knew it was the only option.
I let him go, but couldn’t calm my mind. I had a phone call to make, but I didn’t want Lexi to be able to hear anything I had to say. I knew I needed to get this off my chest or there would be no chance of me not spilling it all to Lexi in the morning.
I grabbed the keycard for the room, my phone and Kole’s car keys. I exited the room as quietly as possible.
Once I reached Kole’s Avalanche I climbed inside shutting the door behind me. After a few deep breaths I dialed the number.
It rang three times before he answered, instantly sounding worried. “Meg, is Lexi okay?”
I let out a low laugh. “As if you really care.”
“Megan,” he let out a deep breath. “What are you talking about?”
I couldn’t stop myself as I began yelling at him. “How could you cheat on her, Kole? After everything she’s been through, how could you?” My tears were falling heavily as if I was the one he’d broken, but in a way he had. Because Lexi’s happiness meant as much to me as my own. “This is gonna destroy her. I don’t know if she’ll come back from this. How could you? What about the baby? The wedding?” I cried so hard I couldn’t stop the shuddering of my breath.
I could hear Kole’s deep breathing. It reminded me of Radley when he was attempting to calm himself.
I hated Kole right now.
I hated what he did to my best friend.
Lexi deserved to be happy and for a while I thought she found it, but I was wrong. I wanted to punch Kole; actually, I wanted to do worse.
“Megan, I never cheated on Lex. You have to listen to me. I couldn’t do that to her. She means everything to me.” Something about the tone of his voice made my stomach tense. “God, Meg, you know me; you know how in love I am with her. I wouldn’t jeopardize our future together. Megan, you have to believe me…please.”
I took a few deep breaths to calm my tears. “Why was Miley in your apartment?” I waited for him to explain.
“She showed up because she heard Nat talking earlier in the café. She knew Lexi wouldn’t be here. She arrived just when I was getting out of the shower. I opened the door expecting it to be Radley. Instead I found her standing on the porch.” He took a deep breath. “She tried to yank my towel away.”
I wasn’t yet convinced he was being truthful.
“Megan, I swear to you—I was gone for two seconds and when I came back she was in the kitchen and had gotten herself a soda from the fridge. I told her to get out but she made a pass at me, telling me Lexi would never find out. I told her to get out
, that I would never do that. I opened the door to make her leave and that’s when Radley walked up.” He paused. “She took that as the opportunity to stir shit up. She let Rad think we had been inside having sex. I don’t know how to make you or Radley believe me, but nothing happened.” He was rambling on and on. “Nothing.”
I wanted to believe him, I did, but I was stuck in the middle.
I was left with only one choice. “Radley and I both agreed that we should wait until we get back home before we say anything to Lexi. This trip is supposed to be a happy time. When we get back you need to tell her, Kole…or I will.”
I hung up; there was nothing left to say.
At least for now there wasn’t.
Chapter 20
Kole
I couldn’t sleep after everything that happened. I felt like my entire insides were made of fire. My chest burned, my throat stung, and my head throbbed.
What the fuck was I gonna do?
Lexi would believe Radley because he saw Miley here. I didn’t want to hide anything from her, but I didn’t want to tell her over the phone either. Maybe Megan was right; maybe I should wait until she got home.
Once the sun began to rise I put on my workout clothes and went in to the gym. I needed to occupy my mind because I was tempted to drop everything and go after Lexi. I was terrified that she would think I cheated on her.
I had been in the weight room for over an hour with the music on full blast when it was suddenly shut off. I stopped and placed the weights down.
When I sat up, Radley stood in the doorway staring at me with a scowl on his face.
“What? You wanna punch me again?” I asked him.
He stood with his arms crossed, staring at me without speaking a word. I stood up and grabbed my towel, wiping the sweat from my face.
“I never fucking cheated, Rad. I wouldn’t do that to her. I couldn’t hurt her like that. I love her, man. Nothing will ever be worth throwing that girl away. Lexi means the world to me, and my baby—damn, dude, I couldn’t do that to them.”
I stood staring at him waiting for him to speak. The tension was thick as he watched me closely. I never took my eyes from his as I waited for him to do something, anything.
“I talked to Megan this morning, about twenty minutes ago. I can’t say I fully believe your explanation, but I’m letting it sit for a while. I still don’t understand why the hell she was in your house. That’s Lexi’s home now and she never should’ve been there.”
I sat back down on the bench as he approached, taking a seat across from me. “Rad, it wasn’t planned; she couldn’t have been there more than three minutes. I thought it was you when I opened the door.”
He laughed, “So you thought I’d want to see your naked ass or what?”
I forced a smile in return. “I had a towel on, man. I know my package makes ya jealous so I’d never flaunt it in front of ya. I can’t have you crying on my doorstep.”
Humor at this moment just felt wrong.
He was quiet for a few minutes. “Sorry I fucked up your pretty face.”
I shrugged. “You thought you were defending my girl’s honor. I can’t knock ya down for that, man. I’ll take this one, but next time I’m swinging back.” I kicked his foot with mine and he laughed.
“You’re gonna tell Lexi about everything, aren’t ya?”
I nodded my head. “Yep, I’m not hiding anything from her.”
Radley looked up at me, “You do know she’s gonna be pissed as hell, right?”
I just nodded my head in agreement. I knew it would be a rough confession. I also knew it was gonna take a lot of convincing on my part and a lot of tears on hers.
Miley was a hard limit for her.
The thought of it all made me sick to my stomach. I wished more than anything I could go back twenty-four hours ago and change it all.
My phone rang in my gym bag and I grabbed for it quickly. I wasn’t missing her call this time. “Hey, baby. I’m sorry about last night.”
She sounded tired when she spoke.
“Are you okay, Kole? Last night your message sounded as if something was bothering you.” She yawned and in the moment I almost confessed it all.
I let out a slow steady breath. “I just miss you like crazy, Lexi. Our bed felt empty, so I slept on the couch. I don’t like it without you in it.” I could tell she was smiling when she spoke.
“Megan kept me warm last night. I don’t know how Radley sleeps with her. She's like a damn sauna.”
I stood from the bench and walked across the room. “Lexi, you know how much I love you, right?” I didn’t want to worry her, but I was freaking out about what I was going to have to tell her when she got back.
“Kole, you’re worrying me. Are you sure everything is okay?” she asked.
I had to let it go for now. I couldn’t put her through this right now. “Everything just feels lonely without you. I’m okay. I just can’t wait until you get back. I want you to call me once you reach St. Louis.” It was time to change the subject because I could feel my resolve slipping.
“Your dad is gonna be shocked, but happy. He’s been missing you for nine years. I haven’t even been away from you for twenty-four hours yet and I’m going crazy. I feel sorry as hell for the guy. He must be living in the darkest depths of hell.”
She giggled. “You’re just addicted to me. Not everyone loves me like you do.”
I smiled because she was right; I was addicted. “You got that right baby, I do love you pretty damn deeply. Now go see your dad so you can get that sweet ass back home to me. I’m having withdrawals.”
We said our goodbyes and I made my way to my office. I had to get my head on straight. I needed to come up with a plan on how to approach Lexi when she got back.
Chapter 21
Lexi
“Okay, ladies, time to wake our asses up. Plug that bad boy in.” Natalie tossed her MP3 player from the back seat. I was majorly dragging ass. I plugged in the player and hit play.
As I put the car in reverse, the funky beat flowed from the speakers. I couldn’t hold in the laughter. “What we need to do is liven it up just a bit. Otherwise these next six hours are gonna suck ass for sure.” Natalie was bouncing around and started singing along with the funky techno pop sound that was playing.
The beat was kind of catchy.
I turned, looking at Megan and she was silently staring out of the passenger’s window. “Hey, why the long face?”
The smile she gave me was so fake. “I’m good, just tired. I couldn’t sleep worth shit last night. I’ll be all right after coffee, though.”
The ride was full of laughs. Natalie was definitely feeling spunky today. She had me laughing most of the time. Megan became a little more talkative, but I could tell something was bothering her.
We stopped a couple times and Megan decided to drive the second half of the trip. I fell asleep and when I felt Megan nudge me I thought we were stopping for a break again.
Only I was wrong.
When I looked up rubbing my eyes, I noticed the houses surrounding us. They were beautiful homes. All of them had big sprawling green lawns in front of two and three story homes. Megan pointed to the house just to the left of us. “That’s it, Lex. Number sixteen forty-five.”
I was staring out the window at a two story brick home. It had an attached three car garage and it was gorgeous.
Nothing like the small hole I grew up in.
It was just a little after 5:00 in the evening.
In the driveway sat a large SUV and a smaller four door black car. The nervousness immediately set in as I realized just how close I was to my father.
“Megan, what if he doesn’t want to see me? What if he gets upset that I didn’t call first? Maybe I should have called.” I began feeling nauseated as my nerves took over. I felt her grip my arm and I turned to face her.
For the first time today she appeared focused when she spoke. “You listen to me. You and your father have lost
nine years—nine years, Lexi. Don’t you dare sit here and deny him any more time. He would never have written to you for all these years if he didn’t hope that one day they would reach you. He won’t care that you didn’t call first.” I blinked to clear the unshed tears. “He’ll only care that you’re here now.”
After I took a deep breath I reached for the handle.
Natalie and Megan were right behind me as I approached the driveway. The garage door began to rise and it caused me to stop suddenly.
I watched as my father and a blonde woman made their way to the waiting SUV. I stood frozen with shock. Two children followed behind them closely. Two boys, one smaller than the other, were bickering and pushing at each other. The younger one caught sight of us standing at the end of the driveway. He stopped and stared back at me silently.
“Who are you?” he yelled out.
I felt Megan take my hand into hers and squeeze lightly just as my father turned to look at who the boy was referring to and our eyes connected. The duffel bag he held on his shoulder slipped away and fell to the ground. After a slight hesitation he took a step toward us and I couldn’t look away.
I was unable to read his expression.
My father continued to walk toward me and when he was only a few feet away he spoke. “Lexi…my girl. Oh my god…Lexi.” He reached out taking me into his arms and I felt his entire body shuddering against mine as he squeezed me close.
He whispered words I needed to hear. “I prayed that one day you’d find your way to us.”
He pulled back and took my face into his hands as he spoke to the woman who stood only a few feet away. “Kate…she found me. My girl found me.” I looked over his shoulder as she approached us at the end of the driveway and guided the two boys along with her.
Once they were standing next to my father he released my face.
He placed his hands, one on each of the boy’s shoulders, and introduced us. “Kyle and Tyler, this is Lexi; your sister.”
