by Skye Turner
“AJ… What are you doing here? You can’t be here. You need to go.”
I need to go? What the hell? Why do I need to go? What’s going on?
“What? I need to go? You want me to leave?”
He nods. “I have some things that need my attention. Some important things, but you can’t be here right now. I need you to trust me when I say that.” He implores me with his eyes. “Please, AJ. Go home. I’ll call you later.”
Why is he freaking out? Now I’m freaking out.
What’s wrong with Charles? He’s like a father to me, so if something is going on, I want to know about it. I want to help.
I shake my head. “Charles, tell me what’s wrong. I can help.”
He stands up so quickly the chair falls back and catches on a bookshelf. “You can’t! You’ll only make it worse. You want to help… I need you to get out of here. Go home. Right now!”
My mouth drops open. Charles has never talked to me like that.
Commotion in the hall catches my attention and Charles rushes out. I’m left staring at the doorway in utter shock, alone in his office.
What in the hell is happening?
Standing up, I smooth my shirt over my slightly rounded stomach. I’m starting to show, so I know I’ll have to tell James now. It’s time. I just don’t know what to say…
Oh hey, how are you, James?
I know I haven’t seen or spoken to you in almost two months, but well, surprise, I’m pregnant and it’s yours.
Yeah, that should thrill him to death.
I walk into the hall and check the corridor for the source of the excitement. Something catches my attention at the end of the hall. Hugo is on the phone and he’s gesturing animatedly with his hands. His face is easy to read. I am glad I’m not on the other end of that call.
Why is he here? Is James here, too? Maybe this is a sign.
Without giving myself time to chicken out, I head down the hall. As I near the conference room, I see the door closed. It’s never closed unless someone is in it. Is that where James is?
Taking a deep breath, I turn the knob… and stop dead in my tracks at the sight before me. James is in fact in the room, but he’s not alone…
I rub my eyes.
Is this a hallucination?
The door ricochets off the wall as I gasp. He turns. A woman is in his arms with her arms around his neck as he caresses her waist. No, not a woman… Mitzi. Fucking Mitzi… Of course it’s her.
I blink. Nope. Still there. I gasp out, “Are you fucking kidding me?”
James turns completely and glares at me.
Why is he glaring at me?
I’m not the one all over a slut at her work place.
James… James and Mitzi…
Oh my God…
My only thought is to get away. If I don’t get away, I’m going to commit murder. I can’t do that… my baby needs me.
His enraged voice stops me. “Going somewhere, Avangeline?”
His entire tone is insulting. It enrages me. I turn around. “Yes, actually I was. I’m leaving to stop myself from fucking up that pretty face and getting arrested.”
He sneers at me. “You want to fuck up my face? Really? How interesting. How much did they pay you?”
Pay me? Who paid me? For what?
“Huh? Pay me?” I ask in bewilderment.
He storms over to me and leans into my face. I back up a step at the look on his face. I’m frightened. “Yes, how much? What’s the price of fucking me over?”
Does he know? How could he know? Can he see?!
I swallow. “You know?”
He laughs and his breath touches my face. “Do I know? Are you fucking serious? EVERYONE knows, AJ! It’s about to be on the front page of every tabloid in the world!” He takes a step back and glares at me again. “Did you even stop to think about Scarlet? Did you? What about Scarlet?!”
Of course… what about Scarlet?
It’s always Scarlet, isn’t it?
I was right not to tell him. He doesn’t want it. He doesn’t want me or the baby.
That’s fine. You can do it all alone, Avangeline. You can.
I can… Who needs him anyway?
I straighten my back. I’m determined that the last thing he remembers about me is my strength. I will not cower and he will never know how much he’s hurt me.
Pointing at him, I open my mouth to tell him exactly what I think, but Charles comes barreling in the door, with Hugo hot on his heels.
James ignores them both and snarls at me. “I will never forgive you for this.”
I gasp at the stone cold hatred on his face.
Charles mutters under his breath. He grabs me and shakes me gently. “What the hell are you doing, AJ? I told you to go home. Why didn’t you just go home?”
Hugo talks at the same time, but I can’t hear him. James’s words are echoing in my head. I turn stricken eyes to him and then look at Mitzi. Not only does James not want me or the baby, but while he’s so worried about his precious Scarlet, he’s canoodling with Mitzi.
I don’t need this. He’s worse than Mathais ever was.
Everyone is talking at once but my ears are roaring and I can’t hear any of them. Finally, Charles breaks through the fog. I laugh at the absurdity. Pivoting on my heel, I stare at James and say clearly and calmly, “Fuck you.” Everyone stops and stares at me. I point at him. “Fuck you. You’ll never forgive me?! I didn’t ask for this. It happened and I’m not sorry, but I don’t want anything from you. Ever. You are dead to me. I was dumb enough to fall for you…” I laugh and it’s manic sounding even to my own ears, “but that’s over… long over and this…” I point at my stomach. “This is all mine. I don’t need you. I don’t need shit from you.”
His mouth drops open and his eyes go wide. Looking away, I focus on Mitzi. “And you… What the fuck is wrong with you? You’re always going after what’s mine or been mine. What the hell did I EVER do to you? You hate me. I get that. But what I don’t get is why… Why, Mitzi? What did I ever do to you to cause you to hurt me over and over? You were my best friend… my sister and you betrayed me with my husband. My husband.”
I laugh. “Though, he was an asshole and in hindsight, I think you did me a favor. But now… this…” I gesture to James and my stomach. “You knew about this and yet you went after him. Him too… Why?
“I loved you. I trusted you. As far as I was concerned, we were sisters… And yet you hate me. I don’t understand… But you know what… I’m over it now. Whatever malfunction you have… that’s on you.”
I turn on my heel again and walk to the door. Turning, I see four pairs of eyes watching me. Smiling joylessly, I say, “Good luck with that one. Scarlet is and always will be his number one.”
I step into the hallway and James’s voice stops my retreat. He sounds broken as he says, “Is that why you did it, AJ? Because you got pregnant?”
Did what? What is he talking about?
“What exactly did I do, James?”
Mitzi tries to talk and Hugo opens his mouth, but James beats both of them. “You sold my secrets. You sold my past…”
Wait, what? I did what? I sold his secrets?
He thinks I outed his past… for money…
That’s why he hates me. He didn’t know about the baby.
I blink and stop in my tracks. “I did what?!”
All three of them try to talk again. My enraged screaming cuts all of them off. “You think I told reporters what you confided in me? For money? Why would I do that, James?
“I did not! I would never. You trusted me with that. You confided in me. I cared about you. I was in love with you! I wouldn’t have done that. No matter how much you hurt me. You think I did that?! That I could do that?” My voice breaks on the last word and tears course down my cheeks.
He nods. “You had to.”
I nod. “Of course. Of course you would think that.”
He frowns. “If it wasn’t you, who was
it, Avangeline? No one else knew.”
What can I say to that? I’ve already been wrongly convicted. The damage is done. What’s the point?!
Mitzi clears her throat. Everyone looks at her. She’s wringing her hands and looks terrified. “I did. It was me.”
Hugo exclaims, “It was her. I was just informed of that in the hall. That’s why I was on the phone. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.”
James looks at me with stricken eyes. I laugh at how completely and totally fucked up this is… and I leave.
Charles and Hugo both call after me, begging me to calm down and listen, but I never stop. I head straight into the service department, take my keys off the counter, and start my Tahoe. I drive straight out of the building and off the lot… leaving all of them behind. This shindig is over… roll the credits.
Chapter Twenty-Three
James
Yet again, I’m sitting in my quiet apartment with just my dog, scanning the internet, stalking and trying to find Avangeline. She walked out three weeks ago, after mistakenly telling me she was pregnant, and hasn’t been heard from since. At least not from anyone who’s willing to tell me anything.
The story blew up as projected. The tabloids all rode the story of mine and Scarlet’s past for a couple of weeks, but after talking to the local police, some of the other foster children, and neither Scarlet or me disclosing any information other than we knew each other and yes, we had been lovers when it happened, it was chalked up to a tragic story and self-defense and let go.
We both have interview requests coming out the ass and someone wants to write a book and make a movie out of our story, but neither of us are interested in waking that path right now.
We’ve been hiding from it all this time and it turned out to be a boost in our already booming careers and not a career killer after all.
I’m pretty sure Charles knows where she is, but he’s not sharing that information. In fact, he’s not so subtly hinted at Hugo that I need to find another transportation company. No one wants to drive me after what I did to AJ.
I’ve even been talking to a local private investigator about locating her and I’m praying she gives me an answer about taking the case soon.
I need to find her. I have to find her.
My doorbell rings.
Who could be here? I’m not expecting anyone.
After checking the peephole, I fling the door open. “What are you doing here, Scarlet?” Her musical laughter makes me smile and temporarily brightens my mood.
Looking around me, she asks, “Can I come in?”
Nodding, I step back and she follows me in. She perches on the couch and looks at the mess on my coffee table. “Any luck?”
I frown and stalk around the room. I can’t be still. I have all of this nervous energy and I’m about to lose my mind. “No. No sign of her. She doesn’t want me to find her.”
Scarlet is staring at me with the tip of her tongue poking out. Finally, she sighs. “Can you blame her, J?”
I shake my head. “No. I can’t. But I still have to find her.”
Sitting up, she grabs some papers from the coffee table and flips through them. She looks up at me. “Why?”
Why? Why what?
“Why what?”
“Why do you have to find her, J?”
Why do I have to find her? Because I do. I need to find her.
“I have to, Scarlet. I miss her. She’s pregnant. With my baby. I want to have a part in that… I just… I have to find her.”
She nods and pats the seat next to her. Crossing the room, I sit down. She turns and facing me, takes my hands. “Do you want to find her because she’s pregnant, J? Is that the only reason?”
I think about it. Yes, I want to find her because she’s pregnant. She’s having my baby. We created a baby together. We created a life. But… no, that’s not the only reason.
She smiles at me.
I sadly smile back. “No. That’s an important reason, but not the only reason. I want to find her because I miss her. She made me feel, Scarlet. She was real with me and didn’t take any of my shit. I would be an asshole and she’d call me on it.
“She’s strong and beautiful. She’s tough.
“She made me better. I was more than James Black with her. I wasn’t Jaye White, but I was more than James Black, the arrogant and obtuse movie star. I was the perfect mixture of both.
“I need her. I need her and I want her.”
I look right at the first girl I ever loved who’s also my best friend. “I need to find her because I love her. I know she can do whatever she needs to without me. She doesn’t need me, but I need her and I want her to want me. I need her to love me. She’s my air.”
Scarlet reaches up and cups my face. She gently kisses my mouth. “That’s what you needed to admit to yourself. You love her. Do you think she loves you?”
I nod and she smiles at me. “She does. Or she did. She said as much.”
“Good. You deserve love like that. And I’m going to help you get it back.”
She’s going to help me find AJ and get her back?
“You came here to help me?”
She looks surprised at my question. “I did. You’ve always helped me. Always protected me. Now, I get to help you.”
Leaning over, I kiss her forehead and we get down to work. She grabs my laptop and opens a document and we brainstorm.
Much later, I look over our list. It’s extensive. “You think her friends will tell me? Every day we don’t talk is another day she has to hate me. I’m tired of waiting. This has gone on long enough.”
She clicks her tongue. “Only one way to find out.” She holds my cell phone out to me. Taking it, I notice what I’d missed before. Grabbing her hand, I stare at her ring.
She looks at me expectantly. I smile and her face lights up.
“Were you going to tell me?”
She giggles. “Of course I was. But I came here to help you, so that was more important.”
Scooping her up, I settle her onto my lap and hug her. She snuggles against me. “Never more important. I’m happy for you, Scarlet. Truly. Are you happy?”
Her face conveys her answer. “I am. He stood by me with all of the scandal with the story of our past and he refused to leave when I gave him the out. He loves me. He really loves me, J. And… I love him.”
Leaning down, I kiss her one last time, but it’s filled with nothing but friendship and abiding love. “I love you, Scarlet.”
She smiles at me and cups my cheek. “I know. I love you too, J.”
Looks like Scarlet is getting her happily ever after.
I just hope it’s not too late and I get mine, too.
*
Avangeline
It’s so pretty out here. It’s a gorgeous day. Not too cold, but not hot either. I wish it would stay like this year round. I’m in the garden behind the cabin picking some herbs to add to my stew on the stove.
I’ve been up here for almost eight weeks and it’s been wonderful. Just what I needed, but I’m getting a little sick of my own company. I’m going to have to head back soon. I think I’ve been hiding out for long enough.
I’ve talked to Julee a few times and she told me all about the story coming out and it being everywhere at first, but now it’s pretty much blown over and both James and Scarlet are being hailed as survivors. She said both are faring well from it and that both actually seem to be even more in demand than they were previously.
I’m happy that there weren’t any repercussions from it. I really am. Their past was horrible and I don’t blame them at all for their actions. Those evil people deserved what they got.
But, I miss James more than I thought I would. I can’t get him and everything he made me feel out of my head and he’s constantly popping into my thoughts more times than I want… every day.
Then, there’s the permanent reminder of him that I’m carrying around. I know I need to talk to him about the baby. His fa
ce when he actually realized that I was pregnant will stay with me forever.
We both assumed things again and neither one of us seems to have learned from the past.
Julee also told me that Mitzi is looking for me. She confessed to everyone that she’d been at Top Notch Transport the day James told me his past. She heard our voices in the cleaning bay and listened at the door as James told me his secrets. She was hurting for money and decided to sell the story to the highest bidder. The payout was huge, but her guilt and shame were eating at her, so she’s donated all of the money to some homeless shelters in Baton Rouge. She says she feels terrible and has been looking for me since I left that day. Neither Charles nor Jules will tell her where I am, which is surprising since she’s his daughter after all… Jules says she’s desperate to apologize for hurting me… for all of the hurt she’s caused me.
I’m not sure what I want to do about that either. I’m not certain I can forgive her for all of her sins.
Charles has called a few times and I’ve let it go to voicemail. I know he’s probably worried sick. He’s begging me to come home… and to talk to Mitzi.
I’ll call him in a bit. I know that our strained relationship has been eating at him for years. He’s the only father I have and I need to let him know I’m ok and that I’m coming back soon.
I guess I need to figure out what I’m doing as far as work and for that, I’ll need to get with Charles anyway. Yeah, I need to call him today. But the Mitzi situation will not be discussed.
As I walk into the house, my cell is ringing. Walking over to the counter, I glance down. My pulse races at the sight of the name on the screen. It’s James.
I debate about what to do…
Shit. Do I answer it? I need to talk to him. He deserves that. He is this baby’s father.
Screw it. I’m in a cabin in the woods. This is as good a time as any.
“Hello.”
He doesn’t respond.
“Hello? James?”
“Hey. You answered… Sorry, I wasn’t sure you would. You surprised me.”
“Ok, yeah, I answered. Did you have a reason for calling, James?”
“Yes. I did actually. Can we talk?”
