Forever

by Mary Wasowski

  “What are you talking about? Please tell me what the hell is going on with you and my father.” He shrugged off his coat and tuxedo jacket and sat beside me. I sat up and reached for my glass of water, taking a few sips to calm myself down. This was not how I envisioned my New Year with Walker, but his father had left me no choice.

  “Do you love me, Walker?”

  “What kind of question is that Reese? Of course I love you, more than life itself. You’re wearing my heart, remember?”

  “Yes, I remember. Walker, I love you so much that it hurts, but you need to know something before we take one more step in our relationship.” I raise my hand to his lips and stop him from speaking.

  This would have been hard enough having to explain my past to him, but now his own father has tried to use it against me. “A few years ago when I first began to model, I, along with several other girls, had our pictures used for what we later found out to be porn. The pictures were used without our knowledge, and they began circulating throughout several porn sites. The photographer that did this was acting alone and was immediately fired by the well-known agency he had worked for. We sued him, the company that bought the pictures, the company he worked for, and we won our lawsuit. We shut down the distribution of the movie and to my knowledge everything was removed from being online.”

  “This happened during my junior year while I attended GSU. I was humiliated and ashamed. My life as I knew it had changed, and that’s when I made the decision to leave Georgia to start over in New York. Your father led me to believe that he knows of this and threatened to tell you himself. I guess if he made me out to be a whore, and obviously had the pictures to prove it, then why would his son ever be with a girl like me?” I stopped talking to wipe away my falling tears.

  There…I said it. And now that asshole Phillip can’t hold this above my head anymore. I let out the breath that I was holding and waited for Walker to react.

  “Come here, baby.” His eyes were glazed over as he took me in his arms and held me. “I’m so sorry that I didn’t protect you tonight. My father is not going to get away with this, Reese. I promise. I will make this right for you, and for us.”

  “What about the photos, Walker? What if they get out and embarrass you?”

  “Reese, I don’t give a fuck about those pictures. Is this what you have been trying to tell me about your past? I know the beautiful girl in those pictures, and I know she would never do something like that. I love you, baby, and there’s nothing about you that will ever embarrass me. I want to believe that the girl I love believes me when I say this to her. I have done everything to prove to you how much, Reese, and now it’s your turn to prove it to me.”

  What the hell? “How, Walker? What can I say or do to make you believe me?”

  “Don’t run, Reese. It’s that simple…Don’t run. Stay with me. Trust that when I told you that you have my heart, just believe me, and we’ll be okay.”

  Walker stripped out of his clothes and held me for the rest of the night. I’d never felt more safe than right there in his arms. He asked me to trust him, and I did. His father still scared me. However, with Walker by my side I felt stronger.

  “Come on, baby, time to wake up.” I rolled over to see Walker, and he was already dressed.

  “What time is it?” I rubbed my eyes that are still sore from crying last night.

  “It’s a few minutes past nine, I want you to get in the shower and get ready. We are meeting my father in an hour.”

  “You can meet you father in an hour, I’ll stay here under my covers.” Walker came over and lifted my comforter and blanket up and then quickly threw them aside.

  He then slid his arm under me and carried me to the bathroom. “Put me down, Walker, this is crazy. What are you doing?”

  “Reese, if I have to, I will wash you myself, dress you, and drag you out of here. You will come with me. This bullshit with my father ends today, and after that, we will celebrate our do-over for New Year’s. I am done with this man trying to screw with my life, and you are a part of it. So, are we going to argue some more, or are you going to get ready?”

  I turned on the hot water in the shower and then leaned in to kiss him. God, I wanted to have sex with him right now! This no-nonsense-in-your-face attitude was turning me on like you wouldn’t believe, and I could almost see his hard on through his jeans. Anytime we would fight, it would always lead to us fucking in a hot and aggressive manner. I slowly began to work my way down my legs when the curtain tore open, and his fiery eyes met mine.

  “Don’t you even think about touching yourself. I want all your pleasure, and later you will give it to me.” Walker pulled my wet body, slammed me into his chest, and he kissed and sucked at my tongue. I think I came right there, but I certainly didn’t tell him. It’s not as if I could hide any of my body’s reactions from him...anymore.

  “Ready?” he asked me as we exited our car; this is the same question he asked me last night, but today, it had a whole new meaning. His parents were hosting brunch at their penthouse. A few close friends would be in attendance, along with Elizabeth and her family. We didn’t wait to be announced as Walker led me in to the great room to call out to his father.

  Elizabeth joined us first and looked worried. “What’s wrong, Walker? Are you okay?” She touched his arm when she asked him, completely ignoring me.

  “I’m fine, Elizabeth. Where is my father?” He asked through gritted teeth. She told us that his parents and guests were in the dining hall. Still holding my hand, he dragged me along with him, as he continued to call out for his father. Slamming the doors open and almost taking out the poor waiter, Walker pointed directly at his father. “We can do this in front of your guests, or you can join us in your study. Your choice, father. What will it be?”

  His father, wiping his mouth with his linen napkin, simply placed it down and crossed his arms over his chest. “Walker, if you want to cause a scene in front of your mother and all of our friends, then you go right ahead, I have nothing to hide.” Oh he is good, smirking at me the entire time.

  He waited for Walker to explode. Walker turned to his mother and apologized for what he was about to do. She was the last person he wanted to hurt, but he needed to have his say. “You… My father, have meddled in my life for the last time. You will mind your own fucking business when it comes to my personal affairs. Ladies and gentlemen, if you didn’t get the pleasure of meeting my beautiful girlfriend last night, then let me introduce her to you now. This is Reese Mitchell, and she will be Reese Mitchell Reed sometime in the near future. I love this woman with all of my heart and soul. She is my whole world. Phillip Reed over there, my devoted father, has been trying to threaten her, bully her, and extricate her from my life. I am here to tell you that he has failed in his attempts, and I will not allow this to continue for one more second.”

  He left my side, and walked right over to where his father sat, and leaned in to look directly into his eyes. “Stop fucking with me, father, and stay the hell out of my life. You want to come at me, fine you go right ahead, but don’t go through my woman to get to me, ever again!”

  He turned to Elizabeth, and gave her a hug. “I’m sorry, friend, but whatever my father has promised you is simply not true. I love Reese, and my future is with her. I’m sorry if this hurts you… I truly am.”

  All eyes were on me, as Walker re-joined me at the foot of the table. His mother was crying, and Elizabeth was soon about to join her. He gripped my face and kissed me hard in front of his family and guests. “I love you, baby. It’s me and you against the world, right?” I nodded my answer, he grabbed my hand, and we never looked back.

  Walker was shaking. He was so angry. I felt like I could throw up at any moment; it took every level of control to hold my stomach at bay. We drove back to his apartment in silence. I’d calmed down and so had my stomach. We entered his apartment, and he took my coat. He started a fire and invited me to join him. “Are you okay baby?”

 
“Oh Walker, how can you ask me that after all that you did today with your family…? How are you?”

  “I’m free, Reese, and I have you. Fuck him and his bullshit. I meant every word that I said back there. I love you, I will marry you, and we will have our future. All you have to do is believe me, and everything will be fine.” Of course I believe him.

  We had our celebration do-over. We made love in front of the fire place. We just worshipped each other until we were completely sated. For the remainder of our holiday break, we stayed in between both of our apartments and locked out the rest of the world. Walker refused to speak with his father, and his mother was relentless on her attempts to talk to him.

  The night before classes were to begin, I finally went home to do some of my massive pile of laundry and to my surprise, there was Freddy sitting on our couch. He was watching our favorite movie, “Pretty Woman.”

  “Freddy! Oh my goodness, what are you doing here?” I jumped into his arms, hugged my best friend, and then cried my eyes out. What was happening to me? I had mood swings from hell: sick one day, happy the next. Now the sight of my best friend had me all over the place.

  “Calm down, Peaches, if you check your probably dead cell phone, you will find many messages from me telling you about my arrival.”

  “I’m sorry, it’s been crazy around here lately.” I filled Freddy in on everything that was going on. He was visibly pissed off and wanted to kick Phillip Reed’s ass. I assured him that Walker had already taken care of him and hopefully this was the end of his personal crusade against me. I had called Walker and told him that Freddy was home. He wished me a good night with my friend and told me that he would see me at school.

  As tired as I was, I stayed up half the night telling Freddy everything that he had missed, and then I listened to all of his stories about Milan. He had become a completely independent designer with his own line. I was so incredibly proud of him, and I couldn’t wait to model more of his clothes. He would only be in New York for a few weeks, then back to Milan, and then he said he would be in California. He would be working out of a studio that was part of the Ralph Lauren dynasty. It would give Freddy some west coast exposure. He couldn’t wait to get started with designing his new line.

  I told him about Walker’s plans for us and how he wanted me to join him in California after we graduated. Marsha already had work lined up for me, and it was totally up to me on how much I wanted to take on. My best friend hugged me, and it felt like old times again.

  “COME ON, PEACHES, time to wake up. Thank you for not answering your cell phone. Now that I’m up at this ungodly hour, I’m not happy. Marsha keeps calling for you. Um…Reese? Are you okay?”

  Freddy pushed in my bathroom door and found me hugging the toilet. I was so sick. I had been vomiting for the past five minutes. What the hell? I never puke.

  Kneeling down beside me, Freddy swept up my long hair and held it for me while I continued to empty my stomach. “Oh, I feel awful…Are you okay, Freddy? We ate the same thing last night.”

  “I’m good, Peaches, but you, on the other hand, need to get back in to bed. No classes for you today, and no modeling.”

  “I can’t, Freddy! Marsha is expecting me, and I can’t just not show up.”

  “Are you forgetting she’s still away on her holiday? I only said she was calling me on my cell for you, Reese. You need to get back in bed. I’ll call Razor to let him know that you won’t make it today.”

  “Razor? Come again?”

  “The photographer, and he is amazing. But unfortunately you won’t get to see him today, so go back to bed, now.”

  I tried to stand up and nearly collapsed back down. Freddy caught me, and carried me back to my bed and tucked me in. “I’m going to run out and get you some things. I want you to stay put and try to rest while I’m gone.”

  “Freddy, please call Walker for me? If I don’t show up at school and not call him, he will be worried.”

  “I’ll take care of it, Peaches, just please rest. I’ll be back soon.”

  As soon as I closed my eyes, sleep took over, and I didn’t wake until four hours later. I was dazed at first as I slowly opened my eyes to find Walker watching me. “Hey,” I whispered.

  “Hey, yourself. How are you feeling? I couldn’t concentrate on anything today after Freddy called me. Can you sit up and try to drink something for me?” Walker sounded so worried, and it was making my stomach hurt even more.

  I slowly tried to sit up and lean against the headboard. Walker handed me some juice while I tried to take some small sips. It felt so good going down my dry throat. I handed him back the glass and then clasped my hand over his. “Baby, I probably just have the flu or something, please don’t worry.”

  “I can’t help it, you really look sick.” I sigh, and shrug my shoulders. If he was throwing up for hours, I’m sure my beautiful man wouldn’t look so hot either.

  “Reese, I have to go, and I hate to leave you like this. I have some work to catch up on and some errands to take care of. Will you be okay here for a while without me?”

  “I’ll be fine, and Freddy is here if I need anything.”

  “He’s not Reese, that’s why I’m struggling with this. I arrived when he was rushing out the door. His uncle was in a car accident, and Freddy had to meet him at the emergency room.”

  “Oh poor Freddy… I have to call him.”

  “No need for you to do that right now, he called me about an hour ago and his uncle is fine, just suffering from a mild case of whiplash. Freddy is with him now and is getting him settled for the night. He said he has to wait until his aunts arrive back home and then he’ll come back here, but I don’t know how long he will be.”

  “Walker, I’m a big girl. I’ll be fine, please go and do whatever you have to do.”

  “I love you, babe. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” He kissed me sweetly on my cheek and promised to hurry back to me. I tried to eat some soup and crackers, but my stomach still rumbled. Thank goodness that the little I did eat, I was able to keep down. My strength was returning, so I took a bath and curled up with a book. I lost the entire day and almost night. I checked my clock, and it read ten o’clock. Neither Walker nor Freddy had returned yet. I had no texts or missed calls on my phone. I felt tired again. I went back to sleep, hoping I would wake in Walker’s arms.

  I rolled over to reach out for him, but his side of the bed was cold. I sat up quickly and scanned my bedroom. Walker never came back home last night. I hurried in to the kitchen, and no Freddy either. I did see a note on the counter from Freddy, though.

  He came home late, only to leave at dawn. He would be downtown in the studio all day, if I wanted to stop by. I also spotted an envelope that had been messengered over by The Elite Agency that I worked for. It must have arrived yesterday. I opened it to find a handwritten note from Marsha.

  Dear Reese,

  Here is your travel schedule and complete itinerary for the next several months. As you can see, Elite has worked around your school schedule for the local assignments until you graduate in May, and then thereafter, you are to be in Europe. I will be back in New York by the week’s end; I will call you and set up a lunch meeting with you where I expect your answer to all of these arrangements.

  Ta Ta for now,

  Marsha

  My head was spinning, and I couldn’t even begin to think about modeling right then. Walker wanted me to join him in California after we graduated and begin our new life out there. How am I going to tell him that my work will take me to Europe for the summer instead of California with him? Will he be reasonable and understand my commitments, or question my loyalty to him and our relationship? Clenching my stomach, I sprinted for my bathroom as the bile was rising up my throat. Lying on the cool tile helped relieve the heat that was radiating off my body. My mind drifted to my Nana; she would always sing to me when I was sick. I’m so weak right now, just rooted to this floor.

  “Reese, are you home?” I heard Freddy
calling for me, but I was still on my bathroom floor. “Oh my god, Peaches, what the hell is going on with you?” Freddy rushed in and picked me up off the floor and brought me back to my bed. “In all the time that I have known you, you’ve never been sick like this before. What can I do? Should I call a doctor for you?”

  “It’s probably just the flu like I said. It will pass, and I’ll be fine.” Freddy eyed me up and down with curious eyes. I smacked him away to stop staring at me.

  “Reese, when was your last period?”

  “Eww! Freddy, um…that’s none of your business, and why do you care?” Why was I bitching at him when all he’s trying to do is help me?

  “Reese, I care because I think you might be pregnant.” With only those few words, I felt my heart sink as I absorbed what Freddy had just said.

  Shaking my head at him, I hastily replied, “No Freddy, you’re wrong; I’m not pregnant. Walker and I used protection.”

  “Come on Reese, really? You never forgot even once?”

  Holding my head and trying to remember, the realization hit me like a brick wall. Was it the time we had the wall sex? Or after I told him about his father, we didn’t use protection. We never even discussed it after the fact; we just fucked like savage animals that couldn’t get enough of each other until we passed out. It dawned on me entirely.

  “Oh my god… Freddy, I could be pregnant. What the hell am I going to do? Walker is going to flip out, and I don’t even want to know how his father will react… Nana and Granddaddy? How will I tell them?” I begin to hyperventilate until Freddy pat my shoulder and then rubbed it, shaking me out of my momentary focus on the idea of being pregnant.

  “Reese, you need to calm down. Let’s think about this rationally. First of all, your man is not going to flip out. He loves you, and it takes two to tango. No glove, no love. Obviously the one part of his body he should have been thinking with took a vacation, so this is his responsibility too. Secondly, fuck his father and his bullshit. As for your grandparents, they may be shocked at first, but they love you more. Once it wears off, they will be happy. You will be making them great grandparents. I say that’s pretty amazing.”