Keeping Her Love

by Tiger Hill

  Putting the phone back in his pocket, he headed upstairs to his bedroom. Sleep came quickly enough for him, though he feared what the next day would hold.

  Chapter 8

  Rhett woke up the next day doing his best to throw a positive spin on everything. If he ever had a negative thought about something, even about the kind of soap his mother kept in the guest bathroom, he simply stopped himself and re-framed it.

  I can’t blow it later today, he thought. I can’t become angry. I can’t disappoint Tula.

  Before he had even woken up, Tula had responded to the text:

  I love you, too. I know we’re going to make it thru this. See you this evening?

  Rhett responded with the time he would show up to the house, giving himself a buffer to take time to inspect his ailing car. He knew without a doubt that the engine would need to be replaced, and it was no small matter, but if any man was up to the task, it was him. His friends at the garage would hook him up with a cheap engine, and potentially even help him make the major repair.

  He had some breakfast with his mother, which consisted of toast and coffee, with a side of sass. She seemed to be most spirited in the morning for some reason, and Rhett always looked forward to whatever funny thing came flying out of her mouth. He didn’t know how his mother didn’t have a boyfriend by now, because it certainly wasn’t due to looks. She had a very sexy librarian look going, with her silken black hair wound up in a French twist, a tight black pencil skirt hugging her hips, and an airy blouse that exposed a peek of cleavage. Though his mother’s attractiveness didn’t bother Rhett in his older age, when he was in high school it was a sort of drudgery to watch his friends drool at the sight of her. He had to get in more than a few fights when passing schoolmates made big talk about banging his mother.

  “So you’re going to their place?” She asked him, sipping her coffee.

  “Yeah. Wish me luck.”

  “I’m a strict atheist, darling, but in this instance I think a little bit of praying wouldn’t be out of order for you. I really do hope the best for you. ”

  They both finished their meal and left at about the same time. Rhett found himself driving a lot more slowly than he usually did, as if he were trying to avoid his fate. When he did get to the garage, he got an earful from everyone about the broken car, along with bubbling questions on what happened and what was wrong with it. When he filled everyone in on the story, including his suspicions about his soon-to-be brother-in-law’s involvement, he felt like he was surrounded by a bunch of high school gossips. Instead of conversation about repairs, there were threats left and right on the life of this ‘punk kid’ who did this to a ‘beauty of a car.’

  Rhett had to talk them down from assaulting Max with pitchforks until the boss yelled from his office for everyone to get back to work. Rhett grinned as he watched them stare down at the floor forlornly as they slowly scattered away. The day passed much more slowly than is usually did. Rhett had a lot on his mind—Max, Tula, the repairs on his car, how much everything was going to cost him, paying attention to actually doing his job…

  When he was finally done with his shift, he felt like someone who had to make a phone call to a bill collection agency by the end of the day. His shoulders were tight, his mouth dry, and his feet felt like two cinder blocks.

  It’s gotta happen sometime, he thought, turning the ignition on the Honda. Might as well get it over with.

  When he got to the driveway of Tula’s place, everything seemed about as ordinary as it usually was. Tula’s car was in the drive, and Rhett assumed that Mr. and Mrs. Florians’ were soon to follow. He parked on the street right in front of the house, walked to the front door, and took a deep breath. The interior was quiet as he entered, and as if he wanted to preserve the tranquility, he shut the door slowly and carefully behind him. Heading down the hall to Tula’s room, he knocked on her door with the touch of an angel.

  “Yes?” He heard her inquire from inside.

  “It’s me,” he responded. “I wanted to talk to you.”

  “Come in.”

  He immediately felt bad about making his entrance. Tula was wound up in the covers of her bed, the light in the room dimmed very low.

  “Oh, I can come back later,” Rhett whispered, taking a step backwards.

  “No, no—it’s all right. I was just lying here,” she said, sitting up against the headboard.

  Rhett made his approach, realizing that Tula may have been lying down for reasons that had nothing to do with drowsiness. Taking a controller on her bedside table, Tula turned up the brightness in the room.

  “How are you feeling?” He asked, placing a hand on her cheek.

  “I’m okay,” she responded, forcing a smile. She had the look of someone who hadn’t slept well in a few years. Her hair was flung here and there, and her skin was ever-so-pale.

  He smiled back, kissing her on the cheek. “Do you still hate me?”

  “I never hated you. I just didn’t appreciate the comments.”

  “I see. It’s hard for me to even remember exactly what was said. Especially after what happened with the car.”

  She licked her lips and looked down at the sheets. “You were with your mother? How is she?”

  “Same old, same old. She told me to say she missed you.”

  “That was nice of her; the feeling is mutual. Was there something you wanted to tell me?”

  “Yeah. Well, to start, I want you to know that I love you very much. I would never want to hurt you, and I ultimately want what’s best for the both of us. If I act rude, I really don’t mean it.”

  She gazed at him as if expecting more words to come out of his mouth.

  “Anyway, you have to know by now why I’ve been pretty irritable. The thing with your brother, and then your parents getting on your case… Yeah, you already heard me talk about it yesterday, right? Well, I have to let it out now: I don’t think that we can stay here anymore.”

  “I had the feeling that you might say that. I heard what happened yesterday.”

  “In Max’s room?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Did he tell you?”

  “Him and my mother, yeah. He said that he knows for sure it wasn’t Mom who broke in, even though she claimed fault.”

  Something dark pulled at his stomach. “How could he know that it was actually me? Did he find evidence or something? The only reason your mom and I wanted to cover it up was to keep a kind of peace in the house.”

  “He didn’t want to tell us how he knew, only that he did. Mom didn’t exactly refute it. She didn’t say much of anything, only telling Max to forget about the whole thing.”

  They looked at each other for a moment and then broke the eye contact, thinking it over.

  “Why were you looking through his room?” She asked, placing her hand on his.

  “You know why. Because I suspect that he’s been up to something. He had a trap set up for me in there, Tula. He knew that I was gonna go poking around.”

  She waved her hand. “He always been setting up booby traps. Ever since he was a little kid, he was fascinated with the idea of elaborate ways of capturing stuff. You know that game, Mouse Trap? He was obsessed with it when we were little. He’d set it up and take it apart, trying to mimic it in real life with other things. The trap he set could have been hatched for anyone sneaking around in his room.”

  “Then why did he specifically use spiders? You and I both know I’m frightened of them, but he wouldn’t know. Tula, has he been spying on us?”

  She narrowed her eyes. “How would I know? If he were doing it, he sure wouldn’t let me in on that fact.”

  Rhett found the newly-sprung aggression uncharacteristic of her. “I’m not attacking you or him, I just want to get to the bottom of this.”

  “Then stop pointing fingers at me! Jeez.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “I feel like I’ve touched a nerve.”

  “Sorry. Look, what do you want me to do about how my famil
y acts? I have no control over Max, Layla, my dad, or my mom. Trying to wrangle me into what they do isn’t helping.”

  “Fine, fair enough. But this has gotten beyond the point of ridiculous. We need to get out of here. Forget about what your parents told us—we have to leave and get away from all of our problems.”

  “You can go, but I can’t. You know what our parents told us.”

  “But that feels like we’re going backwards. You don’t want it to be like that, right? You probably don’t want to be left all alone with your mother and Layla butting into your wedding plans.”

  “But you’re only a phone call away if I’m having issues. Besides, if I left with you, it would cause a huge storm that I don’t want to deal with. Let’s play by their rules, at least for the next year.”

  He sighed. “I don’t know, Tula. I honestly don’t want you to be around them. I know that doesn’t sound good coming out of my mouth, especially since I’m your boyfriend, but this isn’t come kind of game of control. If you can’t move out with me, at least spend the weekends with me at my mom’s place. She said she would talk to your parents about everything and assure them that nothing bad would happen.”

  She mulled on it. “That actually doesn’t sound like a bad idea. It’s not like I keep the same hours as everyone else here. And if I’m with you on the weekends, we’ll be seeing each other during most of our free time.”

  “Right, exactly! And if everything goes well, maybe your parents wouldn’t mind if you spent even more time with me. We could gradually make it happen instead of springing it on them.”

  Tula nodded. “I like this idea.”

  “I’m willing to forget everything that happened with Max. I need to have a talk with him about what happened, but if he promises to stop this nonsense he’s pulling, it’s water under the bridge to me.”

  “Forget about what?” Called a voice from outside Tula’s door.

  The crack in the door gradually widened until the form of Tula’s brother appeared. He had a backpack slung over one shoulder and a neutral expression on his smooth face. He was just as handsome as he usually appeared, his sandy blond framing his face. Some black headphones were strung around his neck and his clothing hung from his slim body. Rhett felt his stomach turning again while Tula gave him a dull expression.

  “We were just talking about you,” said Tula without explaining herself any further.

  “About what?” Asked Max.

  Rhett cleared his throat, stepping up to the moment he’d been dreading for the last twenty-four hours. “Max, it’s true that I was the one who was looking through your room yesterday.”

  “I know,” he stated flatly.

  Slightly perturbed, Rhett went on, “Well, I want to say that I know what you’ve been up to, and I don’t understand why you’ve been acting in such a way. Maybe I don’t want to know why. But speaking to you man-to-man, I wanted to tell you to stop. Let’s not let this get to a dangerous level. I want to be your friend, and hopefully, you do, too.”

  He glanced from Rhett to Tula, and then back again with a level of disinterest. “You’re not my friend, you’re a snoop and a thief. I want my key back, by the way. Hand it over.”

  Rhett rolled his eyes, trying to recall what he was talking about.

  “The key you stole from my book. I want it back,” said Max, speaking as if he could read Rhett’s mind.

  “Oh. To be honest, I don’t know where it is.”

  “It should be in your left pocket. Unless you hid it somewhere.”

  Rhett felt along the fabric, further alarmed that Max knew exactly where it was located. However much he felt around, however, he didn’t locate it. “I don’t have it.”

  Max sneered. “I’d like it back, if you don’t mind. Wherever it is, please return it. You’re not staying here anymore, are you?”

  “After you put bleach in my car, I’m surprised you’re sad to see me go.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “I didn’t do anything to your car. You’re the one who’s been acting strange around here. Even ask my parents. They don’t want you here, Rhett. Maybe you should do the right thing and know your place. It’s time for you to go.”

  Rhett glared, his blood pressure rising. “I plan on leaving, but I’m not leaving alone.”

  “Just try it, man. I’ll say this—I won’t let you go with a girl like Tula, and neither will my parents. They don’t want you to go anywhere near my sister.

  “Max, just knock it off,” said Tula, throwing the covers off of her. “You’re causing trouble.”

  Max stared at them both for a moment, not moving an inch from where he stood. “Tell him, Tula.”

  Rhett and Tula stared at him quizzically.

  “What are you talking about?” She asked.

  “Tell him why you’re having second thoughts about marrying him.”

  “Max, get out!” She yelled, shoving him out of the doorway.

  Rhett certainly didn’t like his tone, but he was also intrigued by how it provoked a reaction out of his girlfriend. He knew it wasn’t the time, but he wanted to know what Max was talking about. When she slammed the door on him, Rhett proceeded to ask her just that.

  “He’s just talking nonsense,” said Tula, letting out a sigh.

  “But I’m not!” Max called through the door. “My sister hasn’t exactly been honest with you, Rhett. Sorry. I’ll be upstairs working on my homework. Please try to stay out of my personal space. I have some more spiders waiting for you if you start getting curious again.”

  “What’s he talking about?” Rhett demanded. He didn’t like Max, but that didn’t mean he thought he was a liar.

  Tula sat herself back on the bed. “I can’t handle this right now. Everyone is putting so much pressure on me! I just feel like I want to go to sleep and never wake up.”

  Rhett sat down next to her and wrapped his arms around her. “Hey, don’t be like that. Tula, I don’t want to attack you. But I have to know what you’re actually thinking. Please, whatever it is that’s been on your mind, let it out. I want to know what you’re feeling.”

  She looked into his eyes, a worried expression her face. “Everything’s just been so messed up lately. I mean, you know that. I feel like we haven’t been very close lately. Like I want the old you back. We used to talk on the phone for hours after work. Now we barely speak to each other much because we live together.”

  He nodded. “I know what you mean.”

  “I just want things to go back to the way they were before. No one in my family knew much about you, I could talk to you on the phone all the time, and then we went out to have fun on the weekends. None of this stupid drama we have now. I’m split between feeling like I want to elope or that I want to go back in time. I’m just so confused right now. It upsets me that my family is starting to disapprove of you, and along with that, that we’ve been more distant.”

  Though Rhett was understanding, he also began to feel a bit resentful. He’d done everything he could over the past few months to make Tula and her family happy. He was nice, outgoing, and did anything he could think of to make Tula feel special. Was all of that effort for nothing? Should he just treat her like some booty call to get her to love him again?

  No, now I’m just thinking ludicrously, he thought.

  Finally, she spoke: “Rhett, Max is just jealous of you, and he’s been giving me crap over it. Ever since we were little kids, we’ve been really close. He thinks you’re going to take me away from him, and in a way, you are.”

  “We were more than friends, Rhett,” they heard Max call from the other side of the wall.

  I thought that asshole left us alone, thought Rhett.

  He continued, “We were much, much closer.”

  Rhett sent a quizzical expression towards Tula, and then towards the door for some reason. “What’s he talking about?”

  “Nothing!” Tula said, burying her face in her arms.

  He turned to her, trying to hold himself together. Th
ere were so many emotions bubbling up in him—fear, rage, confusion, disbelief, shame— but he settled on presenting a critical expression towards her. “Is he telling the truth?”

  “Just stop! I’m tired of this crap. I’m tired of both of you.” Though her face was covered with her hands, it was apparent through the cracks of her fingers that her face was bright red and that she was weeping.

  As the reality of it sunk in, Rhett didn’t know what to say. What could he say?

  “You still want her, Rhett?” Max goaded on. “I’m guessing you’re not too keen on getting sloppy seconds.”

  Going by his instinct, Rhett flung the door open and grappled Max by the neck. With a strong arm, he lifted Max in the air for a few moments, watching as he struggled for breath. Max stared down at him, eyes wide and afraid. Rhett had never strangled anyone before, and though he enjoyed seeing Max struggle for breath, the prospect of potentially killing him was also frightening. Satisfied in seeing him immobilized, he threw Max to the floor and then got on top of him, punching him in the face. Max’s body was so weak beneath Rhett—it almost felt criminal to beat the shit out of him.

  “Rhett, stop!” Tula cried, launching herself on his back.

  “What, you want to protect him?!” Rhett cried. “This piece of shit that’s been fucking with us for the past six months and trying to tear us apart? This creep who likes to stick his dick in you? You’re defending this asshole!”

  Mascara blotched around her eyes as she sobbed. “Please, just stop hurting him.”

  Her voice was so pathetic and powerless, as if encapsulating the secret feelings she’d had since Rhett moved in. He couldn’t help it—she was so sad and weak, he couldn’t go through with hurting Max in the way Rhett might have wanted.

  “I’m getting the hell out of here,” was the only thing he could manage blurting out as he made his way for the front door.

  He didn’t notice any flurry of noise as he stomped out, and when the sunshine hit his brow, he noticed that there was blood on his knuckles. Getting in the old Honda, he slammed the door and began to back out just as Mrs. Florian rolled in. She smiled openly at him and waved, so he felt bad when the only response to her warmth was a scowl. As he put his car in drive, he noticed Tula standing in the doorway, looking like a lost little child. They made eye contact for a moment before Rhett belted the gas.