Devil Creek

by Bond, Casey L.

  Ty stretches and sits up and that’s when his eyes connect with hers. His naked chest mocks her. His eyes grow wide with shock and then flash with anger. He runs his hand down his face, remorse heavily weighing down his brow before he scrambles to get dressed. Aislin turns to run. Stopping at the kitchen island, she rips his key off her key ring, grabs his set of keys and removes her own before launching them back onto the counter. They fly across the cheap Formica before clanging onto the kitchen floor. While her chin quivers, she slips off the beautiful half-carat diamond solitaire that has proclaimed her the future Mrs. Ty Anderson for the past six months. Speak of the devil. Ty comes stumbling down the hallway, still in the process of zipping his pants.

  “Baby…” he croons, his voice still gravelly from sleep.

  A strangled laugh erupts from Aislin’s chest. It’s a throaty, almost evil laugh stemming from a place so painful that she’d forgotten it existed. Who the hell does he think he is kidding? “Oh, wait! Let me guess, Ty…-It isn’t what it looks like…or I’m sorry. Give me one more chance…-or I love you, only you, Aislin. Which one is it, Ty?” she angrily barks, pinning him in place with eyes that threaten violence should he move one more muscle.

  He starts to say something but then stops, seeming to think better of it. Ty is as aware of the bed he’s made as he is that this is the beginning of their ending. This sudden wisdom is fortunate for him, as Aislin is currently looking, begging, praying for any reason to connect her foot with his balls.

  The skinny blonde, complete with messy hair and raccoon eyes loudly shuts Ty’s bedroom door and saunters into the room with a smirk on her face. “Thanks for last night, Ty,” she purrs, running her hand from his left shoulder to his right. “I’ve waited forever for a night with you, you know. You’re one of the hottest players on the team.” Aislin’s stomach rolls in disgust and anger. In this skank’s presence, she forgets all about assaulting Ty’s manhood. She wants to drop-kick this slut. Honestly, the trashy blonde is pretty and her breasts are enormous—something Ty had always said was a big turn-on for him. She’s probably one of those chicks that follow the football team around like lost puppies begging for scraps. Aislin would much rather stay true to herself than to ever lower herself to this tramp’s level. She squares her shoulders and crosses her arms in front of her chest, as they may decide to attack her on their own. Ty shrugs off the blonde’s advances and says, “Look, it’s obviously past time for you to go.”

  Rolling her eyes, the one-night-stand-skank grabs her bag from beside the front door and makes her exit, calling back to Ty, “Call me!”

  Aislin watches the door slam shut. She turns to leave and then looks back at him and adds, “Just for the record, Ty. I loved you. You. Not Gabe. You are the only guy I’ve ever loved. You are the only one I’ve ever given my heart to. You are the only one I’ve ever agreed to spend forever with. I just hope you find whatever you’re looking for. Hell, maybe she can give it to you,” nodding in the direction of his bedroom. “You obviously couldn’t wait for me any longer and now, you’ll never have me. Have a nice life, Ty.” She turns on her heel, slamming door closed behind her. Such symbolism in such a small action. Aislin tries to remain strong, stoic. While fighting to remain in control of her spiraling emotions, she begins to have trouble taking deep breaths while trying to hold back her tears, but it’s no use. She takes the stairs to the ground two at a time and then runs like hell to her apartment. By the time she collapses against the back of her apartment door, she is a sobbing, heaving mess and doesn’t even give a damn.

  Men obviously only want one thing and that was something she wasn’t about to give to anyone. She thought Ty was different. She’d agreed to marry him. Until last night, he’d been caring and attentive for the most part, sweet even. Aislin knows in her heart that he’d made a mistake last night. But, it is one mistake she is unwilling to forgive. Maybe one day, the two could be friends again. Maybe not. In awe of how much power one person can have over another under the guise of love, she silently vows never to give anyone that amount of power over her heart again. It’s just not worth it.

  Chapter 2

  Aislin will not attend her graduation ceremony. She is crushed. She’s embarrassed and humiliated. Not to mention the fact that being seated in such close proximity to Ty would be a bad idea at the moment. Facing him, his family or team members would be more than she could handle. She needed space. Room to breathe. Time to think. Anyway, with Declan gone and no other family, the ceremony and piece of paper didn’t mean much. Deciding to pick her diploma up later in the week at the University, she texts Gabe and Ella to let them know not to bother to show up for her. Though Ella is also graduating, she isn’t planning to attend the ceremony anyway. All of her family, except one group of distant cousins, live out of state and can’t afford to miss work to travel to West Virginia. Ella and Gabe had each promised to cheer for her from the bleachers at the arena, vowing to be loud and obnoxious as she crossed the stage, shook hands with the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, and exited the stage with her diploma in hand, officially a graduate. She laughs sadly picturing her friends doing just that, and then collapses into her bed, pulling the comforter up over her head.

  The chime of the doorbell jerks Aislin from her sleep. Peeking out from underneath the covers, only enough to reveal her turquoise eyes, the glowing red numbers on her nightstand alarm clock glare back at her. Noon. The commencement is beginning. A fist pounding on the front door, and several more impatient doorbell chimes later and she finally throws back the white down comforter, pulls on some yoga pants and meanders to the door. Squinting her eyes against the invading bright afternoon sunshine, Aislin breathes a sigh of relief . Ella stands in the doorway holding up a bag from their favorite local sandwich shop and two bottles of Pepsi. Thank you, Lord for good friends. Ella pushes her enormous sunglasses onto her head and looks her best friend over. Grimacing, she pushes her way past Aislin into the apartment’s small kitchen, where she drops the food and drinks before approaching her friend.

  “Spill it. Why did you decide not to walk? And why have you been crying?” she says, dragging Aislin to the couch, after softening her voice. The two get comfortable, sitting in mirrored sideways positions, each with one leg dangling from the couch, the other bent, Aislin’s knee meeting Ella’s. How can she tell these things about me? Ella trains her Italian eyes on Aislin’s and waits a moment before raising her index finger and adding, “And don’t lie. You’re eyes are puffy and red. You look awful, so I know you’ve been crying. What’s wrong?”

  Aislin doesn’t speak. She simply raises the back of her hand and waits for Ella to notice the missing stone. It doesn’t take long before her dark chocolate eyes widen and her lips form an “o.”

  She explains the events of yesterday evening and how she found Ty this morning. “That dirty bastard, fucking man-whore, douchebag ass-hat!” she screams. Wow! That was even impressive for Ella.

  “Yeah. So, I took my spare key, left his apartment key and the ring on his counter. He came out of his room zipping up his jeans. Zipping them up! And then he tried to make up some lame excuse, but it’s over. He knows it, too.” A hot tear slowly carves a path down Aislin’s cheek and Ella notices it before she can swipe it away. Ella grabs her and hugs her so hard that a couple of the vertebrae in Aislin’s back actually pop.

  “I would go kick his ass, Ais, but the punishment of losing the best thing that has ever happened to him should suffice.” Ella’s lips rise in a limp smile as she squeezes Aislin’s hand.

  “Let’s eat lunch and I’ll help you finish packing. We can call Gabe to come help, too if you want.” Aislin simply nods and the two sit together basking in the silence with which only best friends are comfortable.

  †

  Aislin never calls Gabe. He had responded to her text letting her know that he wouldn’t go to the graduation ceremony since she’d decided not to attend. And then, he had asked if she needed some help finishing packing.

/>   While Aislin finishes packing up the meager contents of her living room, Ella starts packing up the kitchen. Gabe pushes his way into the apartment with several folded-up cardboard boxes tucked under his arm. His fashionably worn jeans and navy blue t-shirt look amazing on his army-toned body. The fact that Aislin notices his attractiveness at all makes her cheeks feel hot. Ella, blatant in her appreciation of him, offers Aislin a sinister grin and waggles her eyebrows. Both girls erupt in laughter, leaving a confused look on Gabe’s face before he shrugs, throws the cardboard on the couch and begins assembling boxes.

  After a couple of hours, everything unessential to daily life is packed, taped and stacked in the living room waiting. Ten boxes. The contents of Aislin’s life fits in ten cardboard boxes. And, they aren’t even big boxes. Where will she go? She still has one week left on her lease. One week left to find a new home or become homeless. Leaving her friends to finish taping and labeling the boxes, Aislin heads to the bathroom for a much-needed shower. The hot water scalds her skin. She tries to wash away the disgust and disappointment she is filled with after seeing the blonde in Ty’s bed. She had never dreamed that Ty would be unfaithful to her. And he had the audacity to call her a whore, she thought. Man-whore.

  She wonders if this was the first time he had cheated during their relationship. Probably not. She tries to tell herself that it’s better that she found out before marrying him, but that doesn’t ease the ache in her chest. Numbness is taking hold of her. Aislin knows she is blessed to have Ella and Gabe in the next room. She just hopes Gabe doesn’t go all “big brother” and overreact when he finds out what happened.

  Dressed in jeans and a pale pink t-shirt, her eyes finally meet Gabe’s. His eyes don’t betray his thoughts. He knows. Ella gives her a half smile. Inwardly, she’s relieved that Ella had been the one to tell him. Although, Ella never says anything delicately, she is always honest and wouldn’t have exaggerated the details the way some girls did to create additional drama. This situation doesn’t need any embellishment. It is bad enough.

  “I’m sorry, Mac. I didn’t mean to cause any problems for you,” he says, a hint of regret in his voice. He meets her gaze with worried dark denim eyes. A blue so deep, the ocean would be envious. A blue Aislin wishes she could swim in. Get lost and hide in. Disappear in forever.

  “It wasn’t you. It was him. He had no reason to be jealous and I won’t be with a cheater, let alone marry one.”

  He sits with elbows on his knees and nods, lips pressed tightly together. “Hey,” he said, sitting up straighter. “Come with me to my cousin’s for the night. They’re having a party for his wife’s birthday and, well, it’s kind of a dress-up thing, but it’ll be fun. Maybe take your mind off of everything. Plus, there’ll be alcohol.” He smiles up at her, hope resting on his raised brow.

  Aislin smiles, deciding that she does need a distraction and if that doesn’t work the liquor will. She narrows her eyes at him. “What do I have to wear?”

  He just laughs and explains the party theme. As Aislin’s eyes widen, laughter erupts from Gabe and Ella. Ella can’t go, as she has to work a shift at Angelo’s, a little Italian place her cousin owns. But, she says she has the perfect outfit that Aislin can borrow. Gabe agrees to get his costume together and pick her up at Ella’s in a few hours. And, so, she locks the door, sealing in the packed-up contents of her soon-to-be-homeless life and heads to Ella’s, still wondering if she is doing the right thing by going out tonight. It’s not as though she can just go home if she should decide to, Gabe’s cousin lives in rural Mingo County, West Virginia. Coal Country, USA. But, she is comforted by the thought that Gabe will rescue her if she needs it. He always has.

  As Gabe’s pickup weaves its way through the hills and valleys of the Mountain State, Aislin reclines in the leather-covered passenger seat, pretending to be asleep. Though she loves Gabe and wants to spend time talking with him, she needs a little time to decompress. The gravity of the past 24 hours weighs heavily on her mind. And, now the guilt of avoiding Gabriel now that he’s home jumps on board, as well.

  Over the past couple of years, her lazy afternoons were spent relaxing with Ty at Ritter Park. His legs stretched out, back leaning against the trunk of a pink blooming dogwood tree, her head on his lap, his fingers gently stroking her hair, the two talking about everything and nothing, laughing and enjoying one another’s company. In the park’s rose garden at twilight, he had dropped to one knee and pulled the ring from his pants pocket. He had asked her to give him forever wearing well-worn jeans and an easy lop-sided smile, his blonde hair illuminated by the full moon’s light. How easily she had agreed.

  She remembers walking to class through the giant maples, sunshine fingering its way through the leaves, speckling the ground around her. Ty had slipped up behind her covering her eyes with his hands, whispering, “Guess who?” She can almost hear the sound of their laughter swirling around them along with the warm breeze.

  Memories of Declan flood into her mind. He had always been more than just her brother. He was her friend and later sacrificed everything, all of the rites of passage of college-aged guys everywhere, to become her guardian; her parent for all intents and purposes. The only parent that ever wanted to be hers anyway. Their birth Mother put the pair up for adoption just after Aislin was born. Dec would have been four or five years old. He remembered her. He never spoke of her often, but she could see the sadness in his eyes when he would tell Aislin that she looked like their mother. Mother and daughter shared the same hair color and heart-shaped face. Declan’s hair was dark brown, but his eyes were the same as Aislin’s—another trait inherited from the woman who had decided she no longer wanted them.

  Try as she may, Aislin could never understood her abandonment. She had always thought that most people put kids up for adoption when they were first born, but her mother had waited. She raised Declan for years and then, when Aislin was born, she abandoned them both. Though she’d never told Declan, Aislin grew up believing that if she’d never been born, he would have had a mother. She wouldn’t have abandoned him. He would have had a normal life. Not one spent moving from one temporary home to another. Her birth had messed up both of their lives.

  She and Declan lived in several foster homes throughout the years. Aislin could recall five, but knew there were others that she couldn’t remember from when she was a small child. Some of the foster families were fine. Others were the stuff that nightmares were made from. Four of the families she did remember just basically took the checks they were given for their care, and for the most part, ignored her and Declan. Declan would help Aislin get ready for school, make sure their laundry was clean and ironed, cook dinner and make sure that Aislin’s homework was done, before doing his own. He would stay up late into the night trying to get it all done. Aislin would help out with whatever chores she could, but knew deep down that her efforts weren’t enough to truly help him.

  The last house the pair had been sent to had been the one next door to Gabe. Gabe was definitely their light in the darkness of that place. That particular foster family was horrific. Both foster parents were alcoholics. The mother laid about the house day and night in various stages of undress. Curlers would hang from her hair haphazardly. She would curse and strike out with any object within her reach if angered. Sometimes, she lashed out in drunken rages with no provocation at all. Aislin had to be constantly aware of the woman. Where she was in the house, what objects lay nearby that could be used against her, how much liquor the woman appeared to have consumed that day. All of those factors would determine how she and Dec would be treated.

  The father was worse. He was even more abusive—an angry drunk and too touchy-feely with Aislin. He had made lewd comments when she’d arrived. She’d been no stranger to those, having heard them in other houses she’d stayed in before, but no one had ever acted on their verbalizations before. Until him, that is. She was fourteen when they had arrived there. Declan was sixteen. Two years, and several tears and bruis
es, and an attempted rape later, Declan turned eighteen, petitioned for guardianship of his sister and once granted, the two left and never looked back at that house and the hellish nightmares they’d survived there. The only thing besides their belongings they took from that home, was the friendship of the boy next door—the boy who went off to college and then to war with Declan, who comforted Aislin after his death, and who was still trying to encourage her as she began to live her life.

  Aislin tries to swipe at a tear before Gabe sees it, but it’s too late. He glances off the road and back at her. He threads his large fingers through her small ones and rubs his thumb across the back of her hand, trying to comfort her. Once Aislin catches sight of the Mingo County sign she raises her seat-back up and looks around. It’s beautiful here, she decides. The hills are so tall and the explosion of spring’s Kelly green highlighted by the bright splashes of color lent by the flowering trees and blooms dotting the landscape is amazing. Gabe turns off of the main road onto a small two-lane winding country road that follows the curves of a wide, rocky creek that flows between the hillsides. “Welcome to Devil Creek!” Gabe smiles and squeezes the hand he has yet to relinquish.

  Surprisingly, Aislin finds herself smiling back at him. It feels good, too. They travel far into the countryside and finally, Gabe pulls his hunter green, extended-cab Tacoma onto a paved driveway. Halfway through their trip up the long driveway, a large brick two-story colonial emerges, its white pillared columns standing guard resolutely. The landscaping is immaculate. The back yard is encased in a six-foot tall white vinyl privacy fence, which nearly sparkles in the evening sunshine. Aislin wonders what’s hidden behind it. To the right side of the house, sits a detached garage with what looks like an apartment overtop. Next to the garage is nestled a small brick building that matches the main house.