Closing Time

by E. L. Todd

  I wasn’t surprised. My wife never gave up on anything. “Thank you.”

  “Yeah.” He shook my hand and walked away.

  For the next few weeks, she and I did exercises together. She cringed in pain every now and again, but she never gave up. She was determined to build the muscle and regain movement. Eventually, she stopped wearing the cast altogether and returned to using her right arm for everything. But she never stopped going to physical therapy. She said it was necessary.

  I stayed home with her, never letting her leave my sight unless she was in the bathroom, and even then, she had to throw me out. I was still shaken by what happened. Talking to her on the phone when her mother had her hostage was the worst feeling in the world. My wife was in trouble but I was too far away to do anything about it. I’ve never been so scared in my whole life.

  We were watching TV in the living room, snuggled under a blanket, when she suddenly straddled my hips and pressed her breasts into my face.

  “Okay, I’m sick of waiting.” She moved her hands down to my pants and unbuttoned them.

  I’d been postponing sex because I didn’t want to hurt her or strain her. And, I was also emotionally drained. I knew when we were together my heart would break all over again. She was the love of my life and I couldn’t live without her. Making love would just remind me all over again.

  I pulled her hands away. “You should rest, baby.”

  She looked at me like I was crazy. “It’s been weeks, Sean. I don’t want to rest. I want you to inside me.”

  Why did she have to say it like that? My cock betrayed me and got hard. “Let’s just wait.”

  She gave me a firm look. “What’s the problem?”

  “I just…I’m not ready for that.”

  “Why?” she pressed. She wouldn’t drop the subject until she pulled everything out of me.

  What was the point in fighting it? “When we’re…together…I just know I’m going to break apart. When we’re connected in that way I can’t hide anything. Everything will come out. All my fears, my pain, and my sorrow.”

  She ran her fingers through my hair while she stayed on my lap. “Which is why we should do it.”

  I wanted to avoid it forever.

  “Sean, it happened but I’m okay.”

  “You have nightmares,” I reminded her.

  “But they stopped a week ago.”

  “It still shouldn’t have happened…I shouldn’t have let it happen.”

  She wasn’t being so gentle anymore. “Sean, even if Ryan told you what happened and never left my side, she still would have made her move. She would have come in during the night then held a gun to my head until you did what she asked. Or she would have waited until you went to the store or something. When someone is that desperate, they will achieve their goal. So stop blaming yourself for everything. Everything worked out in the end. My arm is back to normal, our daughter is okay, and I’m fine. She’s in jail and we won’t have to worry about her ever again. Now let it go and let’s move on.”

  It baffled me how logical she could be. No matter how difficult times became, she pushed through it and stayed strong. Perhaps it was because of the horrible background she had. No matter what happened, she fought and never gave up. Me, on the other hand, had everything at my fingertips. I was loved and safe every single day of my life. I was a much weaker person than she was. “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be sorry. Just make love to me.”

  After I took a deep breath, I placed my mouth against hers and kissed her gently. At first, the kiss was forced and empty. All I could think about was how she looked lying in a hospital bed. But as she deepened the kiss and touched me like she loved me, my thoughts changed and the passion caught flame.

  Scarlet grabbed my bottom lip with her teeth and sucked gently. I moaned until she released it, kissing me again. I peeled her shirt off then unclasped her bra. She was in her last month of pregnancy, and her tits were bigger than ever before. None of her old bras fit and she had to special order them. She hated her busty chest but I freaking loved it.

  I grabbed one then pinched the nipple before sealing my mouth over it. She loved it when I did this. Her hand fisted my hair and she moaned while she watched me. My mouth moved to the other, and I sucked it hard before I guided her down to the couch. My hands ripped off her maternity pants and her panties.

  Scarlet’s anxious hands pulled my shirt over my head and yanked my jeans off. When my boxers were off, my cock was free. It was throbbing and hard, wanting to be inside her since it’d been so long.

  Her legs hooked around my waist, and taking the lead, she pointed me at her entrance then pulled me into her.

  “Hmm…” I wasn’t expecting it to feel so good. She was wet and slick like always.

  She lay her head on a pillow then looked up at me, her big breasts shaking. She was the sexiest chick in the world. I loved her body and I loved the look in her eyes. Adoration and loved shined bright.

  While my cock stayed hard, the sexiness of the situation disappeared. I imagined my life without her, thinking about never making love to her ever again. She’d been my best friend so long, but never my lover. I wasted so much time being a dumbass. I’d only had her for such a short amount of time but she almost disappeared. It was too difficult to handle.

  I leaned over her stomach then pressed my head to hers. I felt the moisture build behind my eyes until they dripped down my face. Scarlet was everything to me. She was the best friend that came and went after college. She was the mom that took care of all my bruises. She was strong like my father was. She always had my back like my brother did. And she was the sexiest piece of ass in the world. She was flawless and perfect, the other part of my soul that simply couldn’t function without its counterpart. I’d been a dick most of my life, but now that I had her, I was a crying mess. I wasn’t the strong and silent type. My emotions were always on my sleeve, at least when it came to her. But I didn’t care what anyone thought. The only opinion that mattered was hers.

  Scarlet’s eyes welled up too. “I love you.”

  “I love you forever.” My tears mixed with hers until we couldn’t tell them apart.

  I didn’t make love to her to get off. I was too emotional to feel that sort of pleasure. I just wanted to combine my body with hers, to feel my soul mate with hers. The light she held inside her spread into my body, making me feel less pain and sorrow. She fixed me every time we were together, repairing all the holes and cuts. She reminded me that we were still together and that we were strong. Together, we would get through anything. Not only was she a fighter, but so was I. We were still a family and we’d share out lives until we both left this earth. Our bodies would disappear but our souls would carry on, echoing across the world in wordless conversation. We would never be apart, not in this life for the next.

  17

  Ryan

  “You doing okay?” Janice lay beside me in bed.

  I’d been pretty quiet for the past few weeks. I had nothing to say and I didn’t feel like having an empty conversation. I was depressed, down in the dirt, and nothing could make me feel better. I made a horrible mistake that almost killed my sister.

  It was my fault.

  I should have told Sean what was going on. I was such an idiot for not saying anything. My mom was clearly desperate for cash and I shouldn’t have underestimated her.

  I picked on my sister and told her how ugly she was, but the truth was, she was my best friend and I couldn’t imagine my life without her. We’d been through the thick and the thin like soldiers in battle. She understood me in a way no one else ever would. Even though I told Janice bits and pieces of my past, she didn’t know everything, and I was certain Sean didn’t know everything either. It was something only she and I shared, a burden that we carried ourselves. No one could do it for us.

  And I almost killed her.

  Thankfully, my sister was smart and got out of the situation alive, protecting Skye at the same time. Bu
t she must have been so scared—petrified. Honestly, if she wasn’t pregnant, I’m not sure if she would have survived. Scarlet had always been afraid of our mother, and she probably would have cowered down and had been too scared to put up a real fight. But having her baby on the line changed that. Scarlet would do anything to protect an innocent because she valued everyone else’s life over her own.

  But all of this could have been avoided if I had done the right thing. I thought I was protecting Scarlet by harboring the secret, but it clearly did more damage than good. I wanted to go by the house and see her, but I was scared to. Seeing the bruises and the pain on her face would kill me. I didn’t have any right to see her. Sean was right to hate me.

  “Ryan?” Janice stared at me. “Did you hear me?”

  “Sorry, what?”

  “You okay?”

  “No.” I wouldn’t be okay for a while.

  “Go see her tomorrow. I know she’d love it if you came by.”

  “Sean wouldn’t,” I said bitterly.

  “Just go, Ryan. It’ll make you feel better.”

  Everyone had visited Scarlet but me. They brought food and gifts, anything to put her in a better mood. Unworthy of her forgiveness and affection, I stayed away. I knew Sean would knock me out anyway. “No.”

  “Ryan,” she pressed. “Scarlet keeps asking about you. I’m running out of excuses.”

  “Just tell her the truth.”

  “Why don’t you tell her?”

  I turned on my side, away from my fiancé. “I’m done talking about this.”

  “Ryan, go tomorrow.”

  I said nothing, closing my eyes. We hadn’t had sex in a while. I was too depressed to be in the mood.

  Janice finally dropped the topic and set the alarm.

  I kept my eyes opened and stared at the wall. I was getting married in a few weeks but I wasn’t excited at all. What happened to my sister consumed my every thought. I hated myself more than I ever had before.

  The next day, Mike came in after work.

  “Yo,” he said.

  “Hi,” I said sadly. I couldn’t even fake happiness. The day shift was almost over and I just wanted to leave. I thought work would distract me from my thoughts but it didn’t. My sister, bleeding from the arm, came to my mind every second of the damn day.

  Mike drummed his fingers on the counter. “Scarlet has been asking about you.”

  “Oh.” I had nothing else to say.

  “You should stop by. I’m on my way now…”

  “She doesn’t want to see me.” I finished the bookkeeping then put the binder on the shelf.

  “She does. She really does, actually.”

  “She shouldn’t,” I said bitterly.

  “Come on. You can catch a ride with me.”

  “Maybe some other time,” I said as I looked at my watch.

  Mike dropped the charade. “Get your ass in the car and let’s go.”

  “Your brother doesn’t want to see me.”

  “Well, he never wants to see anybody. He’s a controlling, possessive, and psychotic jerk. And what he wants doesn’t matter. Your sister needs you and you’re avoiding her. She’d come to you if Sean would let her out of his sight.”

  I finally looked at him. “She really wants to see me…?”

  “Really, really wants to see you.”

  “She does?”

  “Yes,” he said in an irritated voice. “Now let’s go.”

  I debated my decision for a minute before I finally came around the counter. “Okay.”

  He smiled. “Good. Because I want to get home and see my kid.”

  When we arrived at the house, I knocked while Mike stood beside me.

  “He’s going to beat me into a pulp,” I said sadly. “And I’m going to let him.”

  “No he won’t,” Mike said. “He’s got a weak shot anyway. I could take him.”

  The door opened, and Sean had a pissed look on his face. “What do you want?”

  This wasn’t going to be as easy as I hoped.

  “Who is it?” Scarlet asked from inside the house.

  “No one,” Sean said through gritted teeth. “Get off my property.”

  Scarlet waddled then emerged under his arm. When she saw me, her eyes lit up like a thousand fireworks. She always looked at me like that, like I was her hero. I didn’t deserve the look anymore. I failed her. She moved into my arms and hugged me sideways, keeping her stomach away from my waist. “I was worried you would never come.”

  “I almost didn’t,” I whispered.

  She pulled away then grabbed my hand. “Come inside.”

  Sean put his hand on my chest. “This asshole doesn’t come inside my house.”

  Scarlet looked at him like she might slap him so hard he would fall on the ground, dead before he hit the floor. “Don’t talk to my brother like that.”

  Sean didn’t look at her, his murderous gaze on me. “I don’t let selfish people who risk my wife’s life come into my house.”

  “Sean, knock it off.” She was pissed. “Half of this house is mine so move over.”

  “Now she admits it…” Mike said with a laugh.

  Sean looked at him, the anger still etched into his features. “Not now, Mike.”

  Mike stepped away, trying to be out of the argument.

  Scarlet pulled me inside. “You can stand outside if it bothers you that much.”

  Sean glared at me the entire time I passed, a rage set into his scowl.

  Scarlet pulled me on the couch with her, her eyes carrying the concern I was used to seeing. “Why haven’t you come by…?”

  “Because I didn’t deserve to.”

  “Ryan, it wasn’t your fault.”

  “Damn right, it was,” Sean snapped. He stood in front of me, his arms across his chest. “My wife almost died because of you. You had no right to withhold information from me like that. I’m her husband, the man who legally takes care of her, not you. Now stop making decisions for her where it doesn’t concern you. You should have told me and let me decide.”

  He was right. “I know…I’m sorry.”

  Scarlet was pissed at Sean. “Stop blaming him for everything. I’ve known my brother longer than you have. There’s not a doubt in my mind that he had my best interest at heart. He understands our mom better than you do—”

  “Yeah, he certainly proved it,” Sean said sarcastically.

  Her eyes narrowed in a threat. “Ryan did nothing wrong. The only person to blame is the person who broke into our house and pulled the trigger. My brother would do anything for me, taking a knife to the throat if he had to, so don’t ever accuse him of anything else. And if you can’t forgive him and accept him like I’ve asked, we can sign the divorce papers right here, right now.” She didn’t back down while she stared at him.

  Whoa…she just dropped a stack of bricks on her husband.

  He eyed her, having a silent conversation with her that I couldn’t understand. “Don’t threaten me.”

  ‘Then stop threatening my brother. He did nothing wrong. Let it go.”

  Sean sighed. “I just…I’m having a hard time with this, okay?”

  “And blaming my brother solves nothing,” she said firmly.

  He paced back and forth. “I’m sorry. Okay?”

  “Don’t apologize to me.” Scarlet turned to me.

  I stopped him before he could talk. “Don’t apologize. I wish I had done things differently and I’ll always regret that. I understand your anger and hostility. But I hope we can move on.”

  Sean sighed while he processed my words. “Okay. I think we can do that.”

  Scarlet eyed both of us, making sure the feud was really over. “Good. Because I need both of you.”

  Sean patted my shoulder. “I know you love her.”

  “I do.” I looked at her, glad to see all the scars were gone. Her right arm looked back to normal and she was moving it like she had before. “But sometimes I can’t remember why.”


  She smiled. “I’m so glad you’re back.”

  “It’s been a rough three weeks,” I said. “Seeing you look as good as new makes me feel a lot better.”

  “My husband did an excellent job taking care of me,” Scarlet said while she looked at Sean fondly.

  “I waited on her hand and foot.” Sean sat on the other side of her.

  “Skye will be here soon?” I asked, eyeing her stomach.

  “Just a few more weeks.” She practically squirmed in her seat. “We have everything ready for her.”

  “Good,” I said. “We could use some joy around here.” I put my arm under her shoulder then held her close to me. We weren’t affectionate often, but I wanted to feel her now, to understand she was really okay. My niece was going to be here soon and my brother-in-law was taking care of everything. My sister had a hard life, and I was grateful she had an outstanding man to take care of her.

  “Ryan, I’m okay,” she whispered.

  “And now I am too.”

  18

  Hazel

  The moment I’d been waiting for finally arrived. Flynn’s words went straight to my heart, and I knew what direction his actions were taking. Just when he was about to propose to me, the moment was ruined.

  Damn it, Kyle.

  We were so close. For the weeks following the blunder, I assumed he would ask again but the question never came. Any time we went out to dinner or out on the town, I thought he would get down on one knee, but alas, he never did.

  Damn it, Kyle.

  Why did he have to walk over right then? It was like he knew. He purposely sabotaged the greatest night of my life. I wanted to rip his head off. What if Flynn was so discouraged that he never asked again? What if he was too annoyed with my ex? What if I ruined everything?

  After the incident with Scarlet, the possible engagement went to the back of my mind. I still couldn’t believe what happened. I didn’t know much about Scarlet’s past, but I couldn’t believe her own mother shot her. I mean, my parents and I butted heads and didn’t get along, but they never tried to hurt me. I felt horrible for Scarlet. She was one of the nicest people I’ve ever met and she didn’t deserve to go through such agony. When I found out everything would be okay, a weight was lifted from my shoulders. Everyone was concerned for her and the baby, but our fears turned out to be nothing.