The Only One

by Melissa Ellen

  The morning after the attack, I had a pretty good shiner on my cheek. I took the day off, calling in sick, not ready to face my co-workers. As embarrassed as I was to be in public, I insisted on going into work the following day. It was probably one of our most heated arguments Rhett and I ever had, besides the time at his place in Boston.

  Rhett wanted me to take the rest of the week off, even trying to bribe me with him doing the same, but I refused. With Tom already out, I wasn’t going to leave Joce and Drew stuck with handling everything on their own. Besides, I needed to work, so I could have something to get my mind off what had happened. I also found it hard to be in my apartment.

  We finally compromised that he would take me to and from work, and we would have lunch together. This went on every day for the next few weeks.

  Going back to work was the easy part. Explaining to Joce and Drew what happened was the hard part, especially Joce. She had her own guilt for letting me refuse to tell Rhett about Owen and for her not saying anything to Riley.

  I kept telling her it was all on me, but it didn’t seem to matter. I could see it in her eyes that she still felt responsible. Her having to look at my bruised face was a constant reminder of her guilt and mine. When the weekends rolled around, I was more than relieved.

  As the weeks went on, the bruise faded. But my guilt and regrets didn’t, so I did what I did best. Threw myself into my work.

  I kept myself busy, working late at night, not wanting to be in my apartment alone. I would stay until Rhett was finished with his work, only leaving when I knew he was already on his way home or came to pick me up himself.

  He worried about me, wanting me to talk to someone if not him. I dismissed his concerns, convinced I just needed some time. Time and distraction was how I healed. And running. I would run, sometimes twice a day. If Rhett couldn’t run with me, Jim would. Unlike Rhett, though, Jim would purposefully lag behind me, giving me my space. I appreciated it.

  After a few months, I started feeling better. The Malibu house was nearly complete, and Valerie had officially moved to L.A. She was a great distraction from my thoughts, keeping me company when Rhett was working.

  Things with Joce were also getting better. I had avoided hanging out with her after the attack. It was hard to look at her and be around her remorseful face beyond work hours. It was awkward for both of us. Plus, Riley was making more frequent visits on the weekends to be with her.

  The biggest help was after Owen’s sentencing. It was the closure I needed. I hadn’t realized it until it was done. I was finally able to breathe easier. Rhett took me to place a restraining order against Owen for once he was released. I didn’t think Owen would ever try to approach me again, but having that in place helped me feel a little safer.

  I lay back against the lounger on my apartment balcony one last time, bundled in the beautiful wrap Rhett had given me. This would be our last night in my apartment. We were leaving for Litchfield in the morning to visit my family and celebrate Lizzie’s baby shower. The movers would be coming while we were gone to pack and move all my things into the Malibu home.

  Rhett had left to pick us up some food for dinner. I declined going with him, wanting a little time to myself in my apartment.

  I watched the ocean waves as they would crest before turning over into a sheet of water that rolled onto the sandy beach. The consistent movement and sounds they made put me in a tranquil state as I reminisced. Despite the recent horrible memory, this apartment had been a place I could heal and grow. I would miss this balcony, this view, this beach. I would miss living here.

  The breeze hit my face, and I closed my eyes as the sun started to set. I heard the front door open. A few minutes later, Rhett’s strong, warm hands were on my shoulders. His lips pressed against the crown of my head.

  He didn’t speak. I didn’t open my eyes. We both sat quiet, just letting the ocean do all the talking. I heard him move to the side of the lounger. I opened my eyes, sitting forward as he climbed onto it behind me. His legs and arms cocooned my body as I lay back on his muscular chest. My head rested against him, and I tilted it to the side, letting his kisses sprinkle my neck and shoulder.

  I wrapped my hands on his forearms, squeezing him tighter to me.

  “Everything okay?” he asked.

  “Perfect,” I smiled. “I love you, Rhett Blackwood.”

  “Not as much as I love you, Ava Conner.”

  I grinned inwardly.

  We remained on the balcony until the stars cluttered the night sky and the moon reflected over the blackened ocean. We ignored our dinner, letting the food get cold. Instead, Rhett carried me inside, where we fed our hunger with each other. Making love one last time in the bed of my apartment until we fell asleep blanketed with each other.

  CHAPTER 19

  I took a couple weeks off work to go home to Litchfield. I didn’t have a ton of time to work on all the little details of Lizzie’s baby shower, so I hoped with the help of my Mom and sister, I would be able to pull it all together last minute.

  The two of them were skilled organizers and helped me throw a beautiful baby shower for Lizzie in a short period of time. We held it at Nana’s home, since she had the most space and a large screened in porch to set up the shower. September weather was the perfect time of year to hold the party outdoors.

  “Lizzie!” my sister said excitedly, greeting Lizzie and her Mom as they walked in the door. “Holy shit! Look at your baby bump! It’s so -”

  “If you say big, I swear to God I’ll clock you, Emily,” Lizzie threatened.

  “Round. Perfectly round,” Emily amended her statement. She opened her arms wide and mouthed the word big to me once Lizzie’s back was to her. I shook my head, laughing.

  My Mom came into the foyer, hugging and greeting Lizzie and her Mom, dragging Mrs. Taylor away after we all gave her our proper greeting.

  “Thank goodness for your mother,” Lizzie said to Emily and me. “I swear mine is going to cause me to go into early labor from stress. The woman is driving me crazy, hovering over me constantly and criticizing everything I put in my mouth. It’s not my fault this baby has a sweet tooth.”

  “Well, Mom should keep her distracted for at least the afternoon,” I assured her.

  Our mother’s had always gotten along well, and it had been awhile since they caught up, so I had no doubt Mrs. Taylor would be occupied.

  “Come on. Let’s head to the porch. There’s a whole table of sweets just for you and my sweet niece,” I said.

  Yep. She was having a girl. Despite Mike’s insistence on having a boy, his eyes watered with tears of joy when they finally found out the sex of the baby. I knew he would be smitten as soon as she arrived.

  The shower was a success. We had a full house with pretty much everyone invited making an appearance. We had to ditch a few of the games due to Lizzie’s sensitivity to the size of her belly, but other than that everything ran smoothly. There were lots of laughs and tears, most of which were Lizzie’s tears.

  After all the guests had left, the men – Rhett, Jackson, Mike and Stephen - arrived with dinner and drinks for us to hang out at Nana’s for the evening. They had all been hiding out at Mom’s during the shower doing “men stuff” they explained when we asked. Whatever the hell that meant. All I could envision was them all sitting around, watching sports, drinking beer and burping. Strangely, the only one I couldn’t picture behaving that way was Rhett.

  We all ate, drank and played games while Mom and Nana observed our shenanigans. Nana remained glued to Rhett like a fly on flypaper. It was all my favorite people in the world in one room, laughing and having a good time with each other, even Rhett and Stephen.

  It seemed they had actually turned a new leaf. They weren’t best friends or anything, but they were actually able to now hang out in each other’s presence without glaring threats at one another.

  As the night went on, Mom and Nana were the first to excuse themselves and head off to bed, stating they could
n’t keep up with us young kids. Lizzie, Mike, Stephen and Amber left shortly after that - Lizzie unable to keep her eyes open any longer.

  Emily, Jackson, Rhett and I moved into the den to have a night cap and visit some more after saying our goodbyes to everyone.

  “Has mom mentioned anymore about selling the house?” I asked Emily. Mom hadn’t mentioned it to me since the first time she brought it up. I was curious if she had abandoned the idea.

  Emily turned, looking up at Jackson who quieted his own side conversation with Rhett. He looked at her as they had a silent conversation with each other the way married couples can. After a few seconds, they both turned their eyes to me and Rhett – their faces impassive, making me suddenly nervous.

  “What?” I asked unable to take the silence.

  “Well….” Emily started, a smile slowly creeping across her face as she linked her fingers with Jackson’s, “Jackson and I have decided to buy it from Mom.”

  “But you already have a home,” I pointed out.

  “Yes, but it’s kind of small…and well, we’re going to need some more space now,” she grinned ear to ear as Jackson looked adoringly at her.

  “Congratulations,” Rhett smiled, immediately standing to give Jackson a manly hug and pat on the back. “I wish I had some cigars on me.”

  “I have some for us to smoke out back,” Jackson grinned proudly.

  Huh? I stared at them all confused.

  “Do we need to spell it out for you, Ava?” Emily teased. I sat there thinking for a minute, piecing their comments together.

  “You’re pregnant,” I stared in a state of shock, suddenly realizing my sister hadn’t touched a drink all night.

  “Yes, Ava,” she laughed at me. I screamed with excitement, jumping up to hug her.

  “This is so awesome! Congratulations you two!” They all laughed, whether it was with me or at me for being slow on the uptake, I wasn’t sure. But I didn’t care. This was the best news.

  After our excitement settled, Rhett and Jackson went out back to smoke a celebratory cigar and drink a glass of whiskey while Emily and I discussed the details of her pregnancy and purchasing Mom’s home.

  I crawled into bed next to Rhett, curling into my place in his side. I couldn’t stop smiling. This had been one of the best days in a long time.

  “What has you so happy?” he asked a glint in his eye.

  “You. Everything. It was a good day.”

  “I’m glad,” he kissed my forehead. “Since you’re in such a good mood….I have something to ask you.”

  “What?” My eyebrow raised with curiosity.

  “Would you be willing to spend the last few days of your vacation in the Hamptons with me?”

  I smiled. He was actually asking for once. I hadn’t been back to the Hamptons since the night I worked his father’s birthday party.

  “I hate to ask you to cut your time short with your family –”

  “Rhett,” I interrupted him, “I would love to. I’ve had plenty of time with my family this week. I want to spend the rest of my time off alone with you… but… only on one condition.”

  “What’s that?”

  “No phone,” I said determined to see this demand through.

  He smirked, “No phone?”

  “Yes. I want you all to myself. No interruptions.”

  “I think I can manage that,” he grinned without hesitation.

  “Really?” I asked a little surprised he would so easily bend to my demand.

  “Yes, beautiful. Really.”

  Well…that was easy. “When do we leave?” I smiled pleased.

  “Thursday, unless you want to leave sooner?”

  “Thursday works.”

  “Good.”

  I sat quiet for a moment. “Did I ever really have choice?”

  “No,” he said unrepentant.

  I shook my head at him in disbelief. This man. I couldn’t help but love him. And I planned to show him just how much I loved him tonight. I pushed him to his back, straddling his hips.

  “You’re so arrogant.”

  “I prefer confident,” he smiled.

  I leaned forward placing a light kiss on his lips before having my way with his delicious body that belonged only to me.

  The remainder of the week we went through my childhood room, sorting through all my belongings. With Jackson and Emily purchasing the home soon, I needed to clear out my room, so they could move in. We packed up the things that I wanted to take with me to L.A., and Rhett handled making sure they arrived to our Malibu home. Other items, I threw out, donated or packed up for storage at Nana’s house.

  We also helped Mom with some of the packing and sorting of her and Dad’s things. She had planned to go ahead and move out before the sale was finalized. Jackson and Emily wanted to remodel the place a bit before they officially moved in.

  They planned to do new floors and paint - along with remodeling the kitchen, opening it up like Mom had always talked about doing. It was kind of sad to think they would be changing our home, but I understood. They needed to make the home their own. I was just glad it was staying in the family.

  Rhett and Jackson carried various boxes for my mom to the Pod she had rented, while all of us ladies continued to pack. We spent more time laughing and reminiscing as we found various items that evoked memories than we did packing. A few times we even teared up when we found photos or things that belonged to my father. The days were an emotional roller coaster for all of us, but yet felt very cleansing, giving us all a little more closure.

  Our last evening in Litchfield, we went for burgers and beers at our favorite spot. We played a few games of darts with Rhett and I on one team and Emily and Jackson on another as my Mom cheered us on equally. We eventually switched teams to girls against guys. Watching the comradery between Jackson and Rhett was endearing. The two of them had become very close over the years, both equally taking on the responsibilities as the protectors and providers over all of the women in my family with my Dad’s absence.

  Thursday morning, I walked through my very empty childhood bedroom, looking around it one last time before it was changed into a nursery. The walls were now bare other than the outlines of old posters and frames that had hung there for so many years. The closet doors were open, exposing the empty shelves and racks. The only thing left in the room was the furniture, which would be either sold in a garage sale or donated.

  “Are you ready?” I heard Rhett’s deep, soft voice from behind me.

  I turned to look at him. He was standing in the door frame of my bedroom door with a t-shirt and faded jeans on. His forearms resting on each side of the door, making his muscular biceps bulge. His blue eyes shimmered as they observed me.

  Just the look of him had me licking my lips, wanting to devour him. Those damn jeans. They did it to me every time. A grin broke through his impassive face, knowing my thoughts.

  “Should I call for a limo?” he smiled smugly.

  I rolled my eyes, walking towards him. I bit my lip, rubbing up against him as I sauntered past. He groaned as my hands took the liberty of feeling him, making his body come to attention.

  “No need. The plane will do just fine,” I threw over my shoulder as I left him in my doorway as needy as he made me. I heard his deep chuckle from behind me as I continued my path outside the house.

  We gave my family repeated hugs and kisses as we told them goodbye. I made Emily promise to keep me up to date on the progress of the house and pregnancy. I wanted regular growing belly pictures and before/after pictures of the remodel.

  When we finally made it inside the car, Rhett linked our hands together on my lap as we drove to the airport. I glanced over at him, smiling and looking forward to our mini vacation in the Hamptons.

  “Don’t forget…no phone,” I reminded him.

  “Already off, beautiful. Just you and me for the next four days,” he winked as he glanced over at me.

  Turning down the long drive to his family�
�s Hampton estate, I sat up to admire it once again. I had almost forgotten how impressive it all was. He pulled the car to a stop at the front entrance where a man dressed in formal butler attire greeted us, opening my door for me.

  Rhett handed another man keys to the car as the butler removed our bags from the trunk. I stood there awkwardly, feeling like I should help with my bags. Rhett took my hand in his as he guided me into the house.

  When we entered the house, the woman I recognized as the head housekeeper was standing there to greet us. She looked at me curiously, and I wondered if she recognized me from the night I worked the party. If she did, she didn’t say.

  “Mr. Blackwood, we are glad to see you made it safely.”

  “Mrs. Williams,” Rhett greeted her. “This is Ms. Conner,” he introduced her to me.

  She bowed her head slightly, “Ms. Conner.”

  I waved my hand awkwardly at her. She gave me a curt smile before turning back to Rhett, “Your lunch has been set up on the patio as requested. Let me know, if you require anything else.”

  “Thank you,” Rhett dismissed her.

  Once she was out of earshot, I turned to him. “I don’t think she likes me.”

  “Don’t take it personal, beautiful. She’s never been the friendliest person, but she keeps this place immaculate and the staff on the top of their game.”

  “Probably because they fear her deathly glare.”

  “Yes,” he laughed, “Probably. Come on, babe. Let’s eat.”

  We dined on the patio, looking over the pristine gardens of the estate. Our conversation was light as we mostly made desperate eyes at each other.

  “So, what are the plans for the next few days?” I asked, taking a drink of my water.

  “What would you like to do?”