Folding Hearts

by Jennifer Foor

  “Tonight has to work,” she said as she looked down at her chest and adjusted them once more, in front of me.

  “What do you mean?” I was curious.

  “He won’t take our future seriously. All Tucker wants to do is run around with his friends and get into trouble. I need him to be here for Bella and I.”

  “What exactly did he do to get into trouble?” It was more like what hadn’t he done.

  She looked at her fingernails and avoided eye contact. “He stole metal from scrap yards and then took it back in for cash the next day. He would do it at different places and eventually they caught on to his scheme.”

  “Sounds like it isn’t a big deal.”

  “Do you have any idea how much copper is worth? Some of the yards give almost three dollars a pound for clean copper. Some days he was makin’ over a grand. I think that is how they caught him. They recognized the copper. Large amounts of it are easy to spot.”

  “Sounds stupid.”

  She gave me a dirty look. “Everyone makes mistakes Ty.”

  “You are right. Sorry. I just can’t see having a baby at home and risking it all for a few bucks. Has he ever just looked at her and saw how perfect she is?” I could see it and she wasn’t even my kid.

  I overstepped my place, but it was obvious I was crazy about that kid. I had held her mother’s hand in the back of that car and let her head rest on my lap as she pushed. I had brushed away her tears when she cried in pain and been the one to tell her she would be okay. Izzy’s birth was so special to me.

  Obviously I made her mad. She shook her head and wouldn’t answer.

  “Good luck,” I said looking down and noticing that Izzy was crawling away. I jumped down and followed her acting like a dog. She crawled faster and made excited coos as she tried to get away.

  “I guess I will see you in the morning?” She asked.

  “Sounds good.” I grabbed Izzy and held her up to face her mother. “Tell Mommy you love her,” I said against her cheek.

  Miranda leaned in and took a kiss from her daughter. Her face was so close to mine that I breathed in her sweet scent again. “You smell nice.” I said as she walked away.

  I couldn’t help watching her leave. That there was the finest ass I had ever seen. Tucker was a fucking fool. I’d lost the love of my life and I would never get her back, I knew it, but damn he had a family. How could he ignore that?

  She really did look totally hot and she didn’t need a paper bag over her head for me to see it. I shook off the urge to chase after her and instead spent the rest of the evening with my favorite little girl.

  Sometime later Lucy came in to check on us, but I had already changed Izzy and given her a bottle. The old woman gave me a raised eyebrow and took a second look at the sleeping baby on my chest. She walked away shaking her head claiming she would be back down to check on us later. I got myself comfortable and made sure both of my arms were securely wrapped around her before closing my eyes for a short nap myself.

  Chapter 5

  Miranda

  It was already dark when I left to head to Charlie’s house. He lived in a small trailer in the middle of nowhere. It had become the local party house on weekends because the cops would never get called. I was so nervous about seeing Tucker. I had missed him so much.

  After spending almost an hour getting ready and seeing the look on Ty’s face when I leaned over, I knew I looked hot enough to prove my point tonight. My friends always said ‘if you got it flaunt it’, well that is what I planned to do tonight.

  When I pulled up into the driveway, I noticed the slew of cars already parked in the driveway. After checking myself in the rearview mirror one last time I climbed out of the car. I knew for a fact I would be totally overdressed, but that was the point.

  The commotion of the party was coming from the backyard, so I headed in that direction. I couldn’t help but notice half of the voices were female. Tucker had told me it was just the guys tonight. My cheeks instantly flushed with anger. This wasn’t the first time he had lied to me about being around other women. As I made the turn around the back of the trailer I started looking for Tucker. I heard whistles and realized they could see my figure, but didn’t notice who I was yet. I kept walking toward the crowd. Charlie and Nick, Tucker’s two best friends stood up and headed in my direction.

  “Miranda? What are you doin’ here?” Nick asked, almost preventing me from looking past them.

  “What do you think I am doin’ here? I want to have a good time. Where is my man?”

  Charlie was giving me a once over and licking his lips. I waved my hand in front of his face. “Hello? Up here.”

  “Sorry, you just…well you look hot Miranda. I guess I haven’t seen you in a while. You sure do look different,” Charlie stuttered out.

  “Thanks, but I am here to see Tucker. Where is he? I saw his car out front.”

  I pushed past them and they followed trying to say something, but I ignored them. He clearly wasn’t outside so I headed for the trailer.

  “Miranda..WAIT!” Charlie yelled behind me. He ran up in front of me. “He isn’t inside.”

  Just as I started to believe him, the back door flew open. Tucker was laughing with his beer in one hand and a redhead’s ass in his other.

  “What the hell?” I yelled as I ran toward them. “Tucker?”

  His hand quickly moved away from the little ginger. “Miranda, I can explain.”

  I started walking away and knew he was following. “I don’t see how you are going to talk me out of what I think I just saw Tucker. Is this why you didn’t invite me?”

  He grabbed both of my arms. “She means nothin’ to me babe. We were just messin’ around. I was tellin’ her about you.”

  I pulled away from his grasp. “Do you really expect me to believe that lame ass excuse? Did you sleep with her?”

  “Hell no!”

  I folded my hands across my chest. “Really? Why don’t I go find her and ask myself then.”

  Adrenaline filled my veins and I knew it was much better than him seeing me cry. I wanted answers and I wanted them now.

  “She likes me, but I never returned the feelins. Let’s go somewhere and be alone. We can talk this through.”

  “No! I am a mother of a beautiful little girl and I will be damned if I let her daddy walk all over me.”

  I turned and started walking away. There was no way that I was going to let him see me crying.

  “Miranda wait! I will go with you,” he offered by grabbing my arm.

  I yanked myself out of his strong grip. “Get the fuck off of me! I can’t even look at your lyin’ ass right now. Do not follow me. Go back to that little whore and have a great night, you son of a bitch.”

  He backed away and stood there watching as I skidded down the driveway. I couldn’t catch my breath for at least ten minutes. My car sat at the end of the road until I could stop crying enough to be able to see out of my tear filled eyes.

  How could he just pretend that we didn’t exist? How could he ignore his responsibilities the way he was? How was I going to do all of this without him?

  All of those questions made me cry even more. Every time I saw headlights in the rearview mirror, I thought it would be Tucker coming to apologize, but he never did.

  When an hour had passed, I had become so angry that I decided to go back and give him a real piece of my mind. Part of me wanted to call my brother, but I knew he would beat the living shit out of Tucker and end up in jail over it. I wasn’t willing to risk my brother getting into trouble.

  I pulled in across from Charlie’s trailer and climbed out of my car without being seen. Just like last time, I could hear the laughter coming from the backyard. I walked around the opposite side of the house and peeked around it slowly so I wouldn’t be spotted.

  My heart dropped when I spotted the same redhead, sitting on Tucker’s lap, with her tongue in his mouth. I closed my eyes and put my hand over my mouth to keep from crying out
. Unable to accept what I had just witnessed, I looked again. This time the redhead was wrapping her legs around his waist and his hands were on her ass. She leaned back and his face went against her neck. Before I could make a move, he stood up with her still attached to his hips, and carried her toward the house.

  I slid over to hide again and I tried to control my breathing and shaking. The door opened and shut and I could hear laughing coming from inside. Since I had been in the trailer many times, I knew exactly where each room was located.

  I walked right in the door, without anyone even noticing I was back. There was nobody else in the house, which made it easy to follow the moaning to one of the bedrooms. The door was closed, but I took my boot and kicked the sucker in.

  “Miranda? What the fuck?”

  Before I even knew what I was doing, I pounced on that little bitch. I grabbed her by her hair and punched her in the face three times before I felt Tucker ripping me off of her. She lay there in her skimpy little bra backing away from me, while I fought to get free.

  “Get off of me you lyin’ sack of shit!” I kicked and I screamed, but he wouldn’t let go.

  “Calm the hell down Miranda,” Tucker demanded.

  “Screw you. How could you? How could you do this to me?” I cried.

  He pulled me into his chest and I started punching him with both hands. “You need to leave so I can talk to her right now,” he said to the other girl. I tried to fight my way free to attack her again, but he made sure to hold me tight.

  “Get off of me Tucker.”

  “Sit down and shut up Miranda. You weren’t supposed to be here tonight, so don’t you dare get all pissy with me. I was just tryin’ to have a good time.”He was drunk. I could smell the liquor on his breath and hear it in his voice.

  “So you are admitting that you cheated?” Please don’t cry. Please don’t cry.

  “We just aren’t going to work out Miranda. We don’t want the same things,” he confessed while standing over me.

  “How could you say that? We have a baby. How could you not love her?” His words crushed me.

  “Honestly, I asked you to get an abortion. You knew I didn’t want a kid.” He shook his head and let out a laugh. “I am glad you caught me tonight, because I am just sick of hearing you bitch at me every day. There ain’t no bitch in this world that is going to tie me down.”

  I stood up, causing him to back away. He knew what he said and what those words did to me. I clenched my fists. “You can’t mean this. You can’t regret her.”

  “Dammit girl. Are your ears clogged? Just get your shit and get out of here.”

  I don’t know what came over me, but anger filled my lungs. I pointed my fingers in his face and backed him up against the wall. “You will never see my daughter again. If you come near me or my family I will fucking kill you myself.”

  “Don’t you threaten me. I will take that little girl away and you will never see her again.”

  Oh Hell no!

  I grabbed my phone and hit the red emergency button while hitting the speaker button.

  “Nine one one what is your emergency?”

  “Yes, I know where you can find Tuc….” My phone went flying across the room and the battery popped out.

  “Get out of here now, before I do somethin’ I swore I would never do to a woman.” He threatened.

  “What? You goin’ to hit me? Go ahead and give me another reason to turn your ass in. I dare you!”

  His eyes were big and they bore into me, but he said nothing.

  “That’s what I thought you lyin’, no good cheater. Stay away from me, or you will be sorry.”

  Charlie and Nick ran past me as I was walking out the front door. My phone was in pieces in my hand, but I managed to pull out my keys and drag them from the front of his black shiny car all the way to the trunk. A small smile covered my face, even as the tears poured out.

  I had been such a fool. I fell too fast. So much for true love and being a family. My little girl would never know her daddy and it was all my fault.

  I was reluctant to go home at all, but I had nowhere else to go. My aunt and mother had gone to some spa for the weekend, so I was alone in the house with Lucy and now Ty. After looking at the clock I noticed it was pretty late. Everyone would be asleep and I could just sneak in without having to explain how my life was a total mess.

  I drove slow up the driveway and tiptoed into the house. I noticed the television was still on. Even as I tried to sneak past, I couldn’t help but notice what I saw. My hand went over my mouth as I saw Ty lying there with Bella asleep on his chest.

  Why couldn’t Tucker want this? How could someone with no relation love my child this much and not her own father. I sank to the floor in front of the sleeping pair and started balling my eyes out. I tried to be quiet, but between the sobs and the sniffles, I must have woke Ty up.

  His hands first went to Bella to make sure she was safely on his chest, then he turned to look at me.

  Chapter 6

  Ty

  I didn’t realize I had fallen asleep until I heard Miranda crying. She was sitting on the floor next to the couch. “Hey”, I whispered.

  It was hard to sit up with a sleeping baby on my chest. The moment I moved she woke up. She started to cry, but I grabbed her pacifier and calmed her enough to sit up. Miranda shook her head and went to get Izzy a bottle. I followed her into the kitchen and handed her Izzy when she finally had the bottle ready. While she walked her daughter to the nursery, I waited in the kitchen.

  I grabbed us two glasses and found some whiskey. After adding some coke to each glass, Miranda came walking in. “I hope this is strong,” she said before taking a giant gulp. Her face was red and she still had tears falling from her eyes.

  “Do you want to talk about it?” I asked.

  “Not with you Ty,” she said rudely.

  I set my glass down and reached my arm out to her, but she backed away. “Seriously, just don’t. I can’t deal with another guy like him tonight.”

  Like Him? “Look, I don’t know what happened, but I am nothing like Tucker.”

  She shook her head and gave me a dirty look. “Oh really? You don’t fuck girls for fun, no matter who you hurt? You don’t sit there thinkin’ with your dick instead of worryin’ about your future?”

  I swallowed the lump that was now in my throat preventing me to speak. “I was a fool,” I said into my drink.

  “That’s what I thought.” She shook her head and leaned against the counter. Her sobs got louder. “Why couldn’t he want us? She doesn’t deserve this. None of this is her fault.”

  I knew that she was referring to Izzy and it pissed me off immediately. “What happened?”

  “He said he never wanted her. Can you believe that? Who says something like that?” Her cries became worse and she covered her face with her hands. “I just can’t believe this. Everything is messed up. How am I going to raise her alone?”

  I walked behind her and rubbed her shoulders, in the most non-sexual way possible. “You are not alone Miranda. This family would never let you be. We all love that little girl. Don’t ever think that.”

  She didn’t pull away from me. “Tell me why Ty?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Why do you have to cheat? Why can’t you be happy with one person? Is this just something all guys do?”

  I wanted to tell her it was, but she and I both knew one person who would never do it. Damn Colt had to be the proof she needed. She just wanted to hear me confess to being an asshole, like somehow it would make her situation feel better. “No, not all guys do it. I can’t tell you why. I guess it is different for everyone.”

  “So why did you do it?”

  I was standing behind her, leaning against the fridge. She wouldn’t turn around to face me and that was okay with me considering her question. “For the longest time I wondered about that, but after months of being without Van I came to realize it was never about her. I loved her, but
she was never the right girl for me. Hell, in one weekend she gave Colt more than she ever gave me. I guess part of me did it for the attention. Van was always so sweet and innocent. Every time we did something she would freak out like we were going to get into trouble. As we got older she was better, but she never really was comfortable. Now that I know some of the things she has done with our cousin, I know it wasn’t me holding her back. I just wasn’t the right person for her either.” I shook my head realizing how much I had said.

  She turned around and handed me the empty glass. “Can I have some more?”

  I refilled both of our glasses and turned back around to face her. “She wasn’t even pretty.”

  “Who?” I asked.

  “The redhead he was hookin’ up with tonight. Does that make me ugly too? Maybe he has low standards.”

  I reached over and put my hands on both of her shoulders. “Miranda, you are sexy as shit. He is a fucking idiot for taking you for granted.”

  She pulled back and rolled her eyes, while putting the glass to her mouth. “That’s real funny coming out of your mouth. How many girls have you slept with now? Thirty? Fifty? One hundred?”

  Did she really think that? “You aren’t even close.”

  “Oh my God, it’s more?”

  “No! What the fuck? Do you really think that highly of me? Damn.” I shook my head and finished off my second drink.

  “Sorry, I just assumed it was a bunch of people.”

  “I was faithful to Van the first couple of years. She was everything, but girls kept tempting me, offering to do things that she would never do. One night I caved and after I got away with it, I continued to do it. I cheated with the same two girls in high school, then in college it was four more. Oh and one time I visited Colt and hooked up with some random chick here.” Holy shit, I had never told someone that.

  I expected Miranda to be mean, but instead she started laughing. “What is so funny?”