Twisted

by Christa Simpson

  I approached the front doors of the Westmount cautiously, praying that we wouldn't come across Hunter. We hustled straight to our Zumba class and made it, avoiding potential catastrophe. After a good hard work out, and a quick shower, I hurried into the front hall ahead of Aliah. I thought I would head off any trouble, but my plan backfired brilliantly. When Hunter saw me, he excused himself from his private session to talk. Shit!

  Aliah wasn't far behind me and was standing at my side when Hunter finally realized I wasn’t alone.

  "Hey guys. I haven't seen you in weeks. Aliah, you haven't been returning my calls. We really need to talk," Hunter said, putting her on the spot.

  I tried to stay out of it, backing away to remove myself from the line of fire, knowing it was going to get messy.

  "You really should've kept it in your pants if you wanted a chance with me," she said, eyes narrowed on him.

  "I had a moment of weakness. It's not unheard of: I am a man. But Aliah, it's you that I want."

  "You should’ve thought about that before you did Maddison. If that was your way of getting my attention, well congratulations you got it!" she hollered hysterically. "Too bad I'm not one for sloppy seconds."

  "It's not like that Aliah and you know it," he said, gazing at her through dark, brooding eyes.

  Aliah didn’t back down. She had plenty of time to decide what she was going to say to him, and she wasn't leaving anything out. "Sorry to break it to you H-u-n-t-e-r, but life doesn't come with any guarantees or time outs. I can't just snap my fingers and forget it ever happened. I won't! Sorry 'bout your luck!"

  "You don't have to give me a second chance Aliah, but you do need to know how I feel. I've made my choice and I choose you."

  "Yeah, I buy that," Aliah announced sarcastically. "I bet you told Maddison that to get her in bed too."

  "This has nothing to do with Maddie. Leave her out of it."

  "It's a little late for that, wouldn't you say? You fucked her Hunter. This has everything to do with her!"

  "I made my decision; granted it was the wrong one. I'll deal with the consequences."

  "Yeah, you do that. A-L-O-N-E. Because I refuse to be your trusty old backup plan."

  "Maybe you guys should take this outside," I suggested, trying to step between their heated stares. "Seriously Hunter, you don't want to lose your job over this."

  "Why not, then he'll have more time to fuck around with Maddison." Aliah stomped outside, madder than a wet cat.

  Hunter chased after her. I reluctantly followed them, for moral support, though I wished I didn't have to witness the whole charade first hand.

  "Back off Hunter! I don't need you to make me feel better. I'm doing just fine without you," Aliah shouted, swatting him away.

  "That may be, but we are so much better together Aliah. Please give me another chance," he pleaded.

  I couldn't tell whether any of Hunter's words were getting through to her now, but I knew it would hit her later. She stormed off to my car without a response.

  "Sorry. I'll talk to her," I told Hunter, though I knew better than to make empty promises. Regardless, I still owed him one for helping me with Edwin. I hurried to my car where Aliah was waiting to be let in.

  "Can you please unlock the door?" she demanded, rude and impatient.

  I clicked the button on my keychain and she got in immediately. I slipped into the driver seat and immediately detected that she was on the brink of an emotional melt down. "Take a breather or you're going to give yourself a heart attack," I said.

  "Can you believe him?" she squealed, ignoring my advice. "He actually wants me to believe he's sorry?"

  "I don't think he wants Maddie, Ally. Why else would he be going to such trouble?"

  "Maybe you're right, but what's gonna stop him from having another moment of weakness, as he called it? It’s bull shit," she whined.

  "It really sucks, I know. Chances are so hard to come by, and I was lucky Edwin gave me another one. I don't know what I would've done if he didn't take me back."

  "It's not the same," Aliah groaned.

  "How's it so different?” I asked.

  "There was no sex involved. That definitely ups the ante."

  "Fine, I'll give you that," I said. “It’s still fresh; but that bad feeling in the pit of your stomach will fade eventually. And I bet he'd do anything to prove himself to you, if you’d just give him the chance."

  "Yeah, I just can't do it. It's still all too much for me. I believe that there's only one person you’re destined to be with. I just can't see how that man whore could possibly be my destiny."

  "Well, that's your decision and you make a good point, but you know Maddie was making it real difficult for him to say no. She was throwing herself at him and he is just a man."

  "Whatever. Please don’t repeat his lame excuse. A cheater is a cheater."

  She was right. And I agreed. But I also truly believed that Hunter was one of the good ones. Aliah thought so too, or she wouldn’t have fallen so hard for him.

  "I realize that, but you pulling Maddie’s hair and all didn't exactly help the situation. It just made him feel sorry for her."

  Anger was floating in Aliah’s eyes. "That bitch totally took advantage of the situation. Ugh I hate her!"

  "Yeah, shit happens. What’s new?"

  Aliah crawled out of my car. “I’m not giving that bastard another chance. I don’t care what you say.”

  The words came out of her mouth, but I could already sense the strength of them diminishing. “Okay,” I said. “Call me if you need me.”

  She grunted some unintelligible words and slammed the door shut. I waved goodbye and barrelled back to my place, leaving just enough time to grab a bite to eat. Edwin and I had a date with the couch. Survivor was on at eight and I couldn't be late.

  When I walked in my front door, Edwin was sitting at the couch already and had an iced-mocha latte and a bag from Timmy’s waiting for me.

  "You're here,” he said. “I was starting to think you weren't gonna make it in time."

  "Babe, you're so sweet.” I dropped my bag, plopped down onto the couch and curled up next to him, scooping up my treat. “Thanks.”

  I pulled a big hunk of muffin out of the bag and popped it into my mouth. Between my iced-latte, the icy air conditioning and my recent wet hair, I had to pull on a throw blanket that was conveniently tossed over the back of the couch. Our house was absolutely frigid and I loved it.

  "My toes are cold," I said, inching them under my rear.

  "I'll warm them up," Edwin said, reaching out an open palm.

  I gladly leaned against the arm of the couch, and let Edwin work his magic. He sniffed my feet sensually as he pulled off the fresh socks. The pressure of his fingers felt so good, but then Edwin brought my foot to his lips.

  "Eww, stop!" I squealed. "You know I hate that. It’s so gross!"

  "If you say so,” Edwin teased, dropping a wet kiss on the top of my foot. “I guess your feet will freeze then." Ignoring my wincing, he sucked on my baby toe.

  I yanked my foot away and jammed it under his butt to warm them up, with an unconvincing pout on my lips. Edwin smiled and I knew it was because he would lick my every toe if I let him. I never would.

  The show started and we watched it, picking our usual sides and playfully arguing for our favourite player. After that, an old episode of Community came on and we left it on in the background as we talked about our day. Before long Edwin was kissing me, but it was soft and innocent, being that I had already satisfied him earlier in the day. Twice.

  By 10:30 we were both ready for bed, the joys of working a 9-5, so we hit the sack. Our sleeping arrangements had been sporadic ever since our trip. Though we had slept in the same bed together every night since, we both loved our own beds so much that we had to agree to switch beds every couple of nights to be fair.

  "My bed tonight baby!" I cheered, skipping to my room.

  Edwin followed me, though much less enthusiast
ic about it. I hadn't found the right time to have that serious conversation about our future together yet, but I knew it was only a matter of time. If we were going to make our house a family home, then we would have to start living that way.

  As I lay next to Edwin quietly in bed, I thought about how I would bring it up without totally freaking him out. He wasn't exactly commitment-phobic, but I knew stunning him with it was a bad idea. I would have to ease in on it.

  "Want to have sex?" Edwin asked.

  "We had sex this morning," I reminded him. “And at lunch.”

  "So. We used to always have sex at least twice a day, usually three times or more."

  "Yeah, but it's not possible for a couple to keep that up forever. Besides, I had a long day and I'm exhausted."

  "Fine," he replied, but from the tone I knew the pleading wasn't over.

  A few seconds later, "Seriously Abby, I need sex. Your skin's so soft, it's turning me on. If you don't have sex with me I’ll never fall asleep."

  "Edwin!"

  "I'll do the dishes for you tomorrow."

  "Hah! You say that now, you gonna put that in writing?" I teased.

  "Yeah, tomorrow."

  "Mmm, hmm. I'm not in the business of giving the service before I get paid. I know the odds."

  "You can bet on me," he said, deviously. “You know I always deliver."

  He leaned in close and kissed me tenderly, his hands delivering a gentle caress. Though I tried to fight off his advances, so I could worry about our future, he won me over with his touch. We made love, quick and efficient, and before I knew it, I was back in happy land.

  "That was quick," I said, still tingling from head to toe.

  "Yeah, but it was good," he replied confidently.

  "Very good. Can I go to sleep now?"

  "I meant to ask you earlier tonight… but I forgot. Don't get mad," Edwin said, freaking me out.

  "Forgot what?" I asked anxiously, instantly taking my roundtrip back to worry land.

  "I want to take you to the Corset Caves this weekend. I was going to surprise you, but I don't want to piss you off. Are you mad?"

  "No. But isn't it the Festival of Lights this weekend? We can't miss it, we go every year."

  "Oh shit, yeah. Well, if we go early in the morning, we should have enough time to explore the caves during the day and be back in time for the light show."

  “Okay," I said, too exhausted to argue. “Night Eddie," I sputtered through a hushed yawn.

  He settled in and hooked his arm around me. "Night Abs."

  "Love you," I whispered, pulling his warm hand up under my chin and tucking him close behind me.

  "Love you too babe." He snuggled his face in my soft, messy hair.

  Ahh, silence at last. Time to return to my worries in the safety of my own head. But as I tried to focus my burdened brain, a foggy haze swept over my eyes, closing my heavy lids and shutting out the night.

  I AM NOT A morning person. I have never been a morning person. I will never be a morning person. Nevertheless, someone had decided to wake me from my peaceful slumber at the bright and early hour of 6:05 am. To awake to the sound of the insufferable ring of the phone can only be described as debilitating.

  "Can you get that," I moaned in aggravated frustration. I swept my hand over the bed behind me and found it vacant and cold. The realization that Edwin was already out of bed just stoked my annoyance with a marshmallow roaster. The phone did not stop and, unable to bear another chime, I steam rolled out of the bed and jammed all the buttons with my eyes half closed.

  "Hello?" I snarled.

  "Abby… is that you?" a woman whispered.

  "What," I growled incoherently, still having difficulty finding consciousness.

  "Can you talk?" she continued quietly.

  "Who the hell is this?" I asked, finally coming to.

  "It's Maddison."

  Stunned, I tried to conjure up why Maddison would be calling me at such an hour, but came up short. "Why are you whispering?" I asked, suddenly very curious.

  "I don't want Edwin to hear what I have to say."

  I could hear the hum of the jets and the water streaming around our deep tub. That would explain why Edwin didn't pick up the phone. "You don't have to worry, Edwin's in the shower. So what is it that couldn't wait for work?"

  "I'm so sorry for bugging you, but I didn't know who else to call. Can you promise to keep a secret? Even Edwin can’t know."

  "You know I won't do that Maddie, but I can lend an ear if I must."

  "Then promise me. Promise me that you'll help me first and judge later," she demanded. I could sense the tears trickling into her eyes, stifling her voice.

  "What is it?"

  "Promise!" she cried.

  Secrets can murder your relationship. That's not exactly classified information. And yet I can’t even tell Edwin that I want a baby. It was way too early to be thinking such heavy, unstable thoughts and attempting to rationalize them, but what am I so afraid of? Secrets will murder your relationship.

  "Fine. I promise. But I'm not keeping it from Edwin if he asks. You know as well as I do that secrets are a relationship killer. I doubt Edwin will care anyway. Now tell me."

  After a lengthy silence, I started to really worry. What could be that important? "Are you injured?" I asked.

  "No!" she cried.

  "Dying?" I asked softly, more concerned than ever.

  "No, damn it! I'm pregnant."

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  ~

  I’M PREGNANT? THAT was the last thing I expected to hear. The nightmare for Maddie had just begun and, at the risk of Edwin hearing my shock, I tried to reserve my tongue.

  "What?" I gasped, and then covered my mouth with my hand after noticing my pitch.

  "I know. I've taken like every test the pharmacy has and they all say pregnant. I thought I could sleep it off, you know? But nope… still pregnant."

  Maddie started to cry hysterically and suddenly my selfishness stifled me. I recognized the sound of the shower curtain as Edwin flung it open. Shit! Maddie needed a friend, a shoulder and a sounding board, and with Edwin on the prowl I wouldn't be able to console her.

  "Maddie, Edwin is coming. I have to let you go. Where are you now?"

  "I'm at home," she sobbed, wiping away the snot with her shirt sleeve.

  "Okay, I'm gonna get ready for work and then I'll be over as soon as I can."

  "Hurry, please," she cried.

  I cradled the handheld in the receiver, but it was too late. Before I spun around, I knew Edwin had entered the room. A fluffy, mocha-brown towel was wrapped loosely around his hips, his hair still wet and spiky. His eyes were warm and relaxed, but they still revealed his curiosity. He knew something was up. Shit!

  Secrets can murder your relationship.

  "Who was that?" he asked.

  "Maddison," I answered promptly.

  "What did she want?"

  Don't lie. Don't lie. Don't lie... but I promised! “She's having a really bad hair day and is pretty upset about it. She asked if I would come over to help her out."

  "I wonder why she called you?" he said, honestly stunned.

  Secrets will murder your relationship.

  "I don't know. I guess Sam must have been busy."

  "Busy sleeping maybe. Since when did you and Maddie become best friends?" he asked sarcastically.

  "Now there’s a stretch. We're not best friends. Ever since the Southwind, we've kind of just reached a sort of understanding I guess."

  "I hope that understanding doesn't start calling you every morning at this hour."

  "No, I think it's safe to say this is a special incident. I promise to tell you more later." There…not a total lie.

  "Okay, I'll drop you off at her place then and you can drive in with her later," Edwin suggested. "I wanted to get in to the office extra early this morning anyway."

  Maddie would be incredibly disappointed if she knew Edwin drove me over. Hysterical and tear
-ridden, she was also in no shape to drive.

  "It's okay. I can drive myself," I said. I walked over to my dresser and could feel Edwin's curious eyes on me. I opened my top drawer and dug around in it, as deceit stabbed at my lower back with a large, heavy ice pick.

  "You sure?" he asked curiously.

  "Yeah, I'll see you at work." I pulled out my panties and dropped them onto my dresser.

  "Okay," Edwin agreed, stepping toward me cautiously. He kissed me quickly on the lips and I watched his amazing ass disappear out the door. He knew something was up and I couldn't bear to face him again, until I could give him an explanation.

  I sprang from my room and slipped into the bathroom before Edwin could catch me. I closed the door quietly behind me and, despite my urge to lock the door, I knew it would bite me in the ass later if Edwin had noticed. We never lock each other out. I cranked the shower on hot and stripped from my night clothes. I stepped out of the pile beneath me and dragged open the curtain. Steam escaped from the shower and I hurried inside to retain some of the vapour. Though I had promised Maddie I would be quick, a good 30 minutes passed before I finally retrieved myself from the bathtub.

  Another 15 minutes spent on hair and makeup assured me that Edwin would be long gone. I crept out of the room, just in case and tip-toed to my bedroom. All was quiet in the house, as I dressed for work. It was supposed to be a scorcher, so I pulled on a thin grey pencil skirt and short-sleeved white blouse. I tugged a light sweater off its hanger, knowing the office was always extra cold on days like these, and hustled downstairs.

  A chocolate-chip granola bar and bottle of orange juice would have to suffice for breakfast, since it was all my kitchen had to offer on the run. I yanked my keys off of their hook and dangled my handbag from my forearm. As I slipped on my last shoe, I heard noises coming from my driveway, and was struck with the realization that Edwin may not have left the building. I carefully pulled the window covering oh so slightly aside to find Edwin getting in his truck. The engine rumbled as he turned it on, but he was taking his good old time with his a/c and music selection.