by Jenn Hype
An hour passed and there was still no sign of Maggie. As happy as I was to be there with Adalyn, I couldn’t help the anxiety of constantly worrying that Maggie would appear and cause a scene. I knew Adalyn was feeling neglected and I felt guilty for not giving her the attention she deserved, but I had to be prepared to intercept Maggie at any point if she did decide to show.
Chapter 32
Adalyn
So far that night had gone off without a hitch. Ian was the perfect example of ‘geek chic’ in his expensive suit paired with his converse and glasses. His tight graphic tee clung to his torso, showing off his abs in a most delicious, and lip-licking way. In about a half an hour they would lead everyone into the main banquet hall where Ian would finally get to see what Carrie and I had spent weeks planning. And as if the Gods were smiling down on me, there still had been no sighting of Maggie.
Ian had been glued to my side all night but he had been more than distracted. He kept his eyes glued to the door and had barely made eye contact with me all night. I tried not to be jealous. I knew he was doing it because he was dreading seeing her, but I couldn’t help the pang of jealousy that shot through me every time he mumbled an incoherent response to something I said, clearly not listening to me.
About ten minutes before the big reveal, Ian was pulled away by a high profile client. The reluctance to leave me was clear in his face, but he had no choice. The business mogul who had stolen my date for the night took him to a far corner of the room and I eventually lost visual of him, so I let myself take in the scenery for a moment now that I was no longer solely preoccupied by Ian’s anxiousness.
I immediately wished I hadn’t taken a look around, because heading right for me was Maggie. I had no idea what Maggie looked like. I mean, Carrie had described her to me so I had a general idea, but I’d never seen a picture. Yet, I recognized her as soon as I saw her. The murderous glare she was giving me as soon as she walked in the door was a dead giveaway.
I was clearly her target. She wasn’t even looking around for Ian or anyone else, instead she was making a beeline in my direction. Her confidence gave me pause, but I quickly gathered myself and stood a little taller, ready to put my fist in her face if that’s what was necessary. When she was finally only a few feet away from me, though, her features softened. Not in a sweet, relaxed kind of way. But in an evil, up-to-no-good type of face that she must have spent hours practicing in the mirror because she was sure good at it.
“Well, well, well. Look who it is. The infamous Adalyn.”
I ignored her snickering and stood stoically, determined not to give her the satisfaction of knowing how intimidated I was in that moment. It was pissing me off enough that she was even getting to me, so I’d be damned if I was going to let that her see it. Show no weakness! I proclaimed inwardly.
“Oh, not very chatty are you? Maybe you’re too dumb to put together an intelligent sentence? You are pretty, but I’d imagine that’s about all you have going for you if you would be willing to come to this kind of event dressed like that.”
She slowly looked me up and down, not even trying to hide her disgust at my outfit. She snickered and tossed her long, red hair over her shoulder. Seriously, what had Ian ever seen in her? I guess if you had poor eyesight and weren’t wearing any glasses and she was at least ten feet away then maybe she was pretty. Of course, maybe I was being overly judgmental. But screw that noise, she was ugly enough on the inside that no matter how much she dressed up the outside it didn’t do any good.
“Well, I guess I really did a number on Ian if he’s slumming it now. I mean, you really are the bottom of the barrel. Maybe I should take pity on Ian and let him spend the night with me. Of course, I saw what he was wearing, so we’d have to leave separately. I swear, I spend years grooming that boy and he just reverts back to his old ways as soon as I’m gone. What a waste.”
I was nearing my breaking point. Holding in my pure hatred for this woman was getting harder and harder the more she spoke. I wanted to smash her teeth in. I couldn’t, though. I wouldn’t embarrass Ian like that. So instead I bit my tongue and clenched my fists and hoped she would eventually get bored with insulting me when she saw I wasn’t going to respond and walk away.
I never got the chance to find out if that tactic would work, because Ian suddenly appeared at my side. No…wait…at her side. With his hand on the small of her back.
“Maggie, come with me please,” he whispered as he lowered his head a fraction from hers, his lips almost touching her ear. She leaned toward him and let out a low moan. What the hell! Now I really wanted to tear this bitch up.
They started to walk away and I went to follow, because no way in hell was I leaving her alone with him. She had just stood there tearing me down for several minutes and I was not going to let her do that to Ian. Not tonight. Not ever again.
“Adalyn, wait here,” Ian demanded coldly. The look in his eyes was dark and showed no hint of emotion. I told myself that it was not because of me, but because of Maggie being there, but seeing as how his arm was around her and not me I was having a difficult time convincing myself of that.
“Ian, I don’t feel comfortable with you being alone with her. I think that…”
“No!” Ian shouted at me, taking a step in my direction. “I don’t need a babysitter, Adalyn. I can take care of myself. I need to speak with Maggie alone, this does not concern you.”
Then before I could blink, they were walking away from me. Right as Ian opened the door to a dark room, Maggie turned back in my direction and winked.
What the hell just happened?
I stood there for several seconds, trying to figure out what to do. They were calling everyone into the banquet hall and my boyfriend had just ditched me for his ex and made it clear he didn’t want me anywhere near them.
I thought about just going to the banquet hall and waiting for Ian at our table, but no way would my heart be able to withstand the torture of wondering when he would finally return. I had to know what was going on, and if Ian wanted me in his life, then he needed to realize that we were a team. I should be in there supporting him.
I went to turn the handle, but at the sound of Maggie’s voice I decided to only open it a crack and give it a moment before I went in. I wasn’t trying to spy, but if Ian really was holding his own then I wasn’t going to go storming in there. His ego when it came to Maggie was already a sore spot for him and I didn’t want to make it any worse if it could be avoided. So I stood watching from the small crack in the door, Ian’s back was to me but I could see Maggie’s face lit up by the moonlight drifting through the window they were standing only several feet away from me.
“Ian, look at you,” she purred seductively, running her hand down his arm. My body stiffened and I clinched my fists, resisting the urge to run in there and drag her away from him by her hair. Ian shrugged her hand off of him and he took one step backward, putting some distance between them. Not enough, in my opinion, but nothing other than a few continents would be enough distance in my book.
“Maggie,” he replied curtly, his jaw tight and his voice cold.
“You look amazing, Ian. I’m so glad to see you looking more like your old self. I really owe you an apology.” Her hand was back on his arm, but he didn’t shrug her off this time. I tried to ignore that fact and continued focusing on not screaming in frustration at the woman who was blatantly flirting with my boyfriend knowing I was in the next room.
“Oh? Apologize for what, Maggie? Making me feel like shit about myself, or fucking my best friend?” Maggie winced and what looked like genuine remorse flickered in her eyes.
Best friend? Ian never told me that part. I thought we had been honest with each other about everything? Was there anything else he had kept from me? I hated the doubts that were creeping up from this line of thinking.
“For both, actually. And for not apologizing sooner. I was ashamed and I went into a deep depression for so long. I couldn’t even get out of bed. By
the time I had worked up the courage to maybe try and talk to you, I didn’t think you’d want anything to do with me. I figured you’d rather I just stay away and I wanted to respect that.”
Yeah, okay. She had just been making fun of him to me and bragging about giving him a pity fuck. This woman had to be a sociopath.
“Apology accepted, Maggie. Now if you’ll excuse me…” Ian trailed off as he started to turn away from her, but before he had made it even one step, Maggie grabbed him by the arm. He spun around to face her but again didn’t pull from her grip.
I suddenly felt like the intruder I knew I was, but I couldn’t bring myself to leave. Why wasn’t he pulling away from her? Did he have a plan? I knew men weren’t supposed to hit women, but surely that rule could be looked aside in Maggie’s case.
“Please, Ian, let me apologize properly. It’s why I came tonight. I needed to see you. I just need five minutes of your time. Please.” She was begging, not even trying to hide the desperation in her voice. From everything I’d been told about her, I assumed this was some sort of game or manipulation, and surely Ian would see through that.
Why would he even entertain the thought of talking to her? Why had he come into this room with her in the first place? I assumed he had brought her in here to yell at her, tell her where to shove it, tell her he hated her. He hadn’t done any of that so far. I was starting to feel sick to my stomach. This wasn’t right. This whole scene playing out before me was just…wrong.
“Ian, please. We were together for six years. I was your fiancé. Surely you can find it in your heart to give me just a few minutes. Just a few minutes and I promise I’ll walk away if that’s what you want.”
Fiancé?! What?!
No. That can’t be right. Surely Ian would have told me that part. This must be another game. Ian is going to tell her she’s crazy and walk away. He will have her and her crazy ass thrown out and we will go back to how it was before, before she showed up and ruined everything I’d been planning for tonight. Any second now, he will tell her to go to hell. Any second.
Only that didn’t happen. Instead, as Ian nodded his head, but instead of talking, Maggie launched herself at him. All I could see were her suddenly exposed breasts and one arm wrapped around his neck while she pressed her free hand to his crotch, stroking him through his pants. A moan escaped Ian’s mouth and I stumbled backwards.
It only took all of two seconds for me to decide what I was doing and I shoved open the door again and cleared my throat. Their faces pulled apart and Ian looked over his shoulder looking confused and then afraid as it registered who it was that had walked in on their little…moment. Maggie was still stroking him over his pants, giving me a smirk that made me want to set her on fire. Someone give me some gasoline and a freaking match!
Ian just stood there, frozen, not saying anything and not even bothering to push Maggie away. All my resolve left me at once and the scene before me finally sank in. The man I love, caught with his ex-girlfriend… no… ex-fiancé, and he wasn’t even bothering to make up an excuse.
I felt as if the whole world was crashing down on me. My chest was literally splitting open. I wanted the floor to open up and swallow me whole. Before I could stop it an angry sob spilled out from between my lips and the dams burst, flooding my eyes in tears. I couldn’t breathe. I literally felt like I was suffocating, like the pain in my chest was strangling me.
Even if Ian did try to explain in that moment, it wouldn’t matter. There was no logical explanation as to what was happening. He finally jerked away from her as if just realizing what was happening and started to move toward me, but I took a matching step backwards.
It was done. It was over. I’d finally given myself to someone, heart, body and soul, and he forgot me as soon as someone else walked in.
“Adalyn, wait!” He yelled for me, but it was too late. I was already moving.
I ran. Ran out of the lobby, past all of the camera crews outside, past the limo driver who yelled something as I broke out into a dead sprint. I didn’t know where I was running, but it didn’t matter, as long as it was far away from Ian.
Chapter 33
Ian
“Stacy! Carrie!” I burst into the banquet hall, scanning the room for anyone who could help me. I couldn’t even think about what it was going to take to get Adalyn to understand what had just happened, but after running after her and not spotting her anywhere, I decided reinforcements were necessary.
I yelled again, interrupting a speaker at the podium and causing every head to turn in my direction. It was only then I realized that there were pictures of me all over the room. Life size posters, banners hanging from the ceiling, promotional posters lining the walls.
What the hell?
“Ah! The man of the hour!” Bill, my vice president of game development yelled from the podium. “Please, Ian! Join us!”
Clapping and cheering ensued but I couldn’t go up there right now. I needed to find Adalyn. Screw my job. Nothing was important without her. I didn’t have a choice though as two employees hoisted me up on their shoulders and led me up to the stage.
Seriously, what the hell was happening?
They sat me down on my feet next to Bill, and he slapped me on the back and shook my hand vigorously.
“So, where’s your lovely woman who made all this happen?”
It took me a second to realize he was speaking to me and that he was asking about Adalyn. How did I answer that question? I had no idea where she was. And what did he mean made all of this happen? What was this?
“Ahem,” I cleared my throat, trying to think of an excuse. “She had an emergency come up. She’s very sorry.”
“Oh, well that’s a shame. I know how much she was looking forward to doing the big reveal herself.”
The confusion on my face must have been obvious because he let out a full belly laugh and explained.
“Adalyn came to me a few weeks ago with an idea for a comic book series and we loved it. Loved it so much we are also turning it into a video game and even possibly a television series. It’s a spin off of the Superman and Batman storylines. Normal, everyday Joe by day, then at night or when in need, he strips off his designer suit to become the town’s superhero. As you can see, the character is loosely based off of you. Very close in appearance and his name is Drake even. The only detail we have yet to work out is his superhero name. Adalyn wanted to leave that up to you.”
My head was drowning with all of this information. Did he just say Adalyn had based a comic book and video game off of me? The appearance of the character was more than similar; it was practically a mirror image.
Is this what she had been working on for weeks with Carrie? I knew they were working on developing something and she wouldn’t tell me what it was, but she was so excited to be back at work I didn’t want to hound her for more information.
She had gone to all this trouble to do this for me, probably because she knew how nervous I was about tonight, and I had gone and been the biggest dumbass in the history of all dumbasses.
I needed to find her. I needed to explain. I mumbled an apology and ran off the stage.
Stacy and Carrie met me at the door, confused and angry faces stopping me in my tracks. They each yanked me by an arm and dragged me into the lobby.
“What the hell, Ian! Where is Adalyn?” Stacy was yelling.
“I don’t know, okay!? I need you to help me find her.” I was frantic and starting to panic. The look on her face before she ran out, the look that told her she clearly believed I had betrayed her…
“What do you mean you don’t know, Ian? What the hell is going on?” Carrie yelled, joining in on the hysteria.
“She walked in on me and Maggie and she freaked out and ran out of the building. I went after her but she was already gone. She won’t answer her phone and I don’t know where she went.”
Suddenly a punch landed on my right shoulder, and it hurt like a mother fucker.
“What the hell,
Carrie? Where did you learn to punch like that?” Before she could answer, Stacy punched me equally as hard on my other arm. “Dammit! Stop it!”
“Listen, brother. I don’t know what you mean by ‘walked in on you and Maggie’ and don’t for a second think you won’t be explaining that shit later. But right now we need to go find Adalyn. She’s probably devastated and not thinking rationally so we need to get to her before something bad happens.”
We rushed out of the building, my mind racing, trying to think of where Adalyn might have run off to, all the while being cussed out by a very angry Stacy, close on my heels.
Chapter 34
Adalyn
I had no idea what time it was. Had no idea where I was or how long I’d been walking once I had been forced to stop running once my lungs started screaming for air. If I hadn’t feared I would pass out if I didn’t stop, I would have just kept running. The fire emanating from my lungs throughout my chest was much more tolerable than my heart feeling like it was literally dying.
I didn’t have my phone or any money, so I couldn’t even get a hold of someone to come pick me up, so I just kept walking. My body was screaming at me to stop moving, to let it rest for a few minutes, but I couldn’t. If I stopped moving, then the images of Ian wrapped up in another woman would consume me. The only way I was keeping them at bay was by focusing on the pain that radiated through every muscle of my body the longer I walked.
I finally had an idea of what time it was when the sun started to rise. That meant I’d been walking for at least eight hours straight. No wonder every inch of my body was so fatigued. My feet had blisters and my eyes burned from exhaustion and crying, even though the tears had dried up a couple of hours ago. I was severely dehydrated and my stomach was churning, but I didn’t care.
By this point I wasn’t even in the city any more. I was walking along some side road, leading God knows where. I hadn’t passed a gas station or any kind of civilization for at least a few miles and I wondered briefly if I might actually die out here. There hadn’t been a single car since I started down this road and if no one found me soon then I might actually die, or at the very least, end up in the hospital.
