I can’t begin to imagine what Gavin felt when he witnessed me lying on the ground sleeping, as Callie called it, after my accident. I know if the roles were reversed I would have been scared stupid, but I’m okay. And I’m safe inside of the apartment, but still Gavin is hovering, acting like I’m a helpless child.
“Hey, babe. I’m back.” I look up and see Gavin standing in the doorway. He left long enough to take Callie back to Carly’s.
“Good. Let’s go. I need to get out of this apartment before I go stir crazy.” Gavin’s body goes tight, clearly not on board with the idea that I’m going with him and Kiran to finish packing up my apartment. “No way. I’m not staying here alone while you two pack up my place. Besides, I’ll be with you, so I’ll be fine.”
Gavin takes a deep breath and slowly starts to relax. I know he’s worried about me, but at the same time, we can’t rule out what happened as a pure accident. “Okay, get ready. Kiran will be here soon.” I plaster the biggest smile on my face, hoping he knows how much I appreciate that he didn’t fight me.
“Okay. Give me ten minutes,” I happily reply.
Gavin slowly nods his head, like he’s still coming to terms that I’m going to step foot outside of his apartment. If he had his wish, he’d lock me in here and never allow me to leave. What he doesn’t know yet is I’m going back to school tomorrow. Even though I’ve worked ahead, that doesn’t mean I can afford to miss any more classes, but I’ll save that fight for later.
****
“Why do chicks have so much shit?” Kiran says in an annoyed voice.
“I don’t know, dude,” Gavin replies, shaking his head at all the boxes I have stacked in my living room. They are the worst movers in history. Almost everything I’ve packed they’ve put in a trash or storage pile.
“I just moved in. Everything other than the furniture goes to Gavin’s apartment,” I snap at them, hoping they can pick up on how annoyed I’m becoming.
“Ours. Our apartment,” Gavin sharply replies, causing Kiran’s eyes to go wide before turning back to the box he’s packing.
“Oh. Okay. Our apartment.” I know I’m going to live there, but it still feels like his apartment. Maybe in time I’ll come around to thinking of it as ours, but that’s not going to happen overnight.
Gavin is still staring at me, obviously not believing my comment when Kiran asks a question in a tone that captivates both of our attention.
“What is this and why do you have it?” I look over to see him holding an open envelope with paper in his hand. “I don’t know. Let me see it.”
Kiran hands it over, but he shoots Gavin a concerned look, one that has him jumping over a box and practically grabbing the papers out of my hand.
“Stop,” I say, slapping his hand away before he has the chance to grab it. Instead of arguing Gavin steps behind me and starts reading over my shoulder.
Suddenly the afternoon of my accident comes flooding back. First Leeta, then the knock on my door, then finding the envelope with the creepy message and newspaper clippings. “I was going to tell you, but I forgot. Someone slipped this under my door,” I say as I glance up at Gavin.
“When?” he snaps back.
I take a deep breath, gearing up for his reaction. “The same day of my accident. After my last class I came here to pack my things and Leeta was waiting for me.” As I was expecting, Gavin’s body goes rock solid as anger takes over any common sense he normally has.
“She only stayed for a few minutes. Then I ended up laying down for a nap. I woke up when I heard someone knocking on my door. That’s when I found this.” Gavin’s chest puffs in and out.
“That’s it. We’re calling the police,” he barks as he continues to struggle to contain his anger.
“Don’t you think you’re over reacting?”
Seconds later I discover that was the wrong thing to say. “Over reacting? Over reacting? Are you serious right now, Kate? This is the second time you’ve found a note in your apartment and someone tried to kill you. So, no, I don’t believe I’m over reacting.” Gavin’s jaw is clenched and his hands are balled up like he’s ready for a fight, which is probably why he used to fight to relieve his stress.
“Okay. I’m sorry. Call the police.”
My voice is weak and I keep my eyes trained to the floor while I’m speaking. I hate that I’m the reason he’s upset. Whatever happens, I don’t want to be another Carly who’s always causing problems in his life.
“Hey. Look at me.” Slowly, I lift my eyes to his. “I’m not mad, at least not at you. This isn’t something I’m willing to take a chance with.” Gavin steps closer to me. “Maybe, and I do mean a huge maybe, your accident was truly an accident, but I don’t believe it was. Which means until we know what’s going on, we can’t use enough caution. We need to keep our eyes open and be alert at all times.”
Gavin and I are sharing a moment, one where I think we both want to admit how much we mean to each other, when Kiran breaks in. “How old are you, Kate?”
I tear my eyes away from Gavin to look at Kiran. “Twenty. Why?” Kiran looks at me then back to the newspaper clipping.
“No reason,” he finally mumbles out. I don’t know Kiran very well but he’s obviously lying. At this moment I’m physically and emotionally drained to the point that I don’t care enough to call him out on it.
“Let’s get you home, babe. You look tired. Kiran and I will come back tomorrow and take care of everything. Once you’re home and settled, I’ll make sure I call the officer we spoke to at the hospital and tell him about what we found.
“Okay,” I agree while yawning. I am tired and the sad part is, I hardly did anything to be this exhausted.
****
Other than Gavin’s foul mood, the next couple of days pass without any problems. The officer working my case said he’d check into the paper and article that was left at my door, but any time I bring it, or my accident up to Gavin he clams up and starts acting distant.
Today, however, I finally left Gavin’s apartment and returned to school. When I came home Sunday from packing up my apartment, I was beyond tired and that translated into me skipping the next two days. At least in Gavin’s world it made sense for me to skip. He argued with me for almost an hour before I finally gave up. Truthfully, going to my apartment and packing for a few hours wore me down. But enough is enough. I put my foot down, asked Alyssa to pick me up, and gave him no choice.
Someone might be out to hurt me, but they might not and I refuse to live my life held up in Gavin’s apartment.
Before my last class started I decided I had enough for one day and asked Alyssa to take me home. I knew she was in a hurry to get back to campus so I made it clear that I didn’t need her to walk me inside. Now I’m rethinking that decision because Carly is standing outside of Gavin’s door.
“Can I help you?” I ask, catching her off guard.
“Nah. I’m here to meet Gavin,” she hisses back with a smirk on her face. She must see something in my expression because she keeps going. “He told me you were at school and he wanted me to come by when you weren’t here. I told you, this is what he does. He warned you I would say horrible things to make you mad, but why else would I be here?” She seems so sure of herself.
“Whatever, Carly,” I blurt out as I try to pass her to make my way into the apartment.
“Callie’s at preschool right now and you were supposed to be at school for at least another hour. Since your accident, you haven’t been able to put out for him so he called me to help him out. Like he always does.” I tried to stop myself from reacting, but her comment did exactly what she was hoping. It planted a seed of doubt.
“Did he tell you we were engaged to be married but I’m the one who called if off? Huh? Gavin tries to make it sound like I’m the one with the problem, but he has his own addictions. Sex and drugs, they go hand in hand for him. He gets high and has to fuck and he doesn’t care with whom. He hits the drugs hard for a few months, then he
decides he wants to do better, see Callie more and begs me to take him back. And because I love the dumb bastard I always do.”
I’m trying to shrug off her words, but my hands are shaking. “You’re no different than all the women that have come before you. Don’t let him fool you into thinking otherwise.” She sneers her evil words, taking pleasure in the pain she’s inflicting.
I’m trying to muster up the courage to tell Carly to go fuck herself when Gavin appears. “Kate? What are you doing here?” he asks, looking shocked to see me—his girlfriend and the person who actually lives here, not Carly his deranged ex. My stomach sinks as I begin to process her words paired with his reaction. He was expecting to see her here and not...me.
“Oh, I was heading inside to lie down. Sorry if I ruined your plans.” I continue to work on unlocking the door as Gavin stares at me with a confused look on his face. Carly, however, appears pleased with herself. Either way, I’m not sticking around to hear what they have to say to each other. I open the door and quickly shut it behind me, leaving them both standing in the hallway.
I can hear muffled voices, followed by a louder one coming from Gavin, but I don’t care enough to stick around and listen. I walk to the hallway bathroom, lock the door, strip down and get into the shower where I finally allow myself to burst into tears.
I was doing my best not to believe her, but I lost the battle when Gavin showed up without Callie and seemed generally shocked to find me at home.
I’m not exactly sure how much time passes before I can hear Gavin banging on the bathroom door. I can’t make out what he’s saying, but I can tell he’s furious. Finally, after what seems like hours, the banging stops, which has me getting out of the shower. I’m in the process of drying myself when the door flies open and crashes into the wall, leaving a very angry and irate Gavin standing in front of me.
“Why the fuck did you lock the door?” he asks through gritted teeth.
I wait a beat to see if he’s going to calm down before I risk upsetting him more, but my lack of words seems to be adding to his outraged behavior. “I always lock the door when I’m showering.”
“Bullshit.” His comment is quick and harsh. “You showered last night in our shower and the door was not locked. Now, don’t lie to me. Why did you take off and lock the damn door?”
I clear my throat and try to reply with confidence. “You invited Carly here. I didn’t want to interrupt.”
Gavin’s eyes flash with anger and his breathing becomes loud. I can actually see his chest moving with every breath he takes as he tries to calm himself down.
“I told you not to believe a word that comes out of her mouth. Are you going to tell me that you did, anyway?” His eyes narrow while he waits on me to answer.
“No. Gavin. I didn’t believe her crap, that is until you showed up and asked me— me, the person who lives here—what I was doing here, not your crazy ex. You knew she was coming here and yet you didn’t think to inform me she was coming, why?”
My hands are back to shaking while I wait for him to answer, but he doesn’t. Gavin continues to stare at me with indignant eyes. “I’ve been here every day for the last week and the first day I leave the two of you agree to meet here, without me? And you have the balls to act pissed off at me? Seriously, Gavin, if you don’t want me to buy the shit she’s selling then don’t give me a fucking reason to.”
I push past him, go into the bedroom, and grab some clothing. Right now I just want to get the hell out of here, cool down and think things over.
After I’m dressed, I head to the living room and when it’s clear that my plans are to leave, Gavin’s tone turns from harsh to concerned. “Where are you going?”
“Out.”
I swear I could hear him growl. “Oh, fuck no. We are not back to that word. Sit down and let’s talk.” I’m standing with my back to Gavin, so he catches me off guard when he comes up directly behind me and gives my arm a squeeze. He leans in even further and whispers in my ear, “Don’t leave. Please?” he begs.
I was never given a lesson on how to fight. My parents, if they ever did argue, never did so in front of me. Cole and I didn’t care enough to fight with each other. This leaves me practically clueless on how to handle the situation, but I know running away isn’t going to help matters. Gavin appears to have calmed down, which means it makes sense to talk now.
I place my purse on the table and walk over to the couch. Gavin sits next to me but he turns his body toward me and takes my hand into his.
“What did she say to you?”
I huff out a fake laugh. “No. How about you tell me why she was here?”
I might lack experience where dating is concerned, but I refuse to play into anyone’s hands. Whether that’s Carly’s or Gavin’s I’m about to find out. “Well, why was she here, Gavin?”
He looks me directly in the eyes as he starts to talk. “Carly contacted me the other day, claiming she needs more money to pay for Callie’s preschool and daycare expenses. I wasn’t surprised. I kept Callie with me during the day at The Hill while I worked. At least when Carly said she had to work. Last year, however, it made sense to put her in daycare after she was done with preschool. Right now, we take turns paying the monthly bill for her tuition, still, Carly is claiming she can no longer afford it. She wants more money, so I made the decision to use this in my favor.”
“What do you mean?” I’m struggling to connect the dots here. Gavin direct deposits every penny he gives her, therefore this doesn’t explain her being here today.
“My lawyer drew up papers to start the process of legally adopting Callie. I’m sick of Carly’s threats to take her away from me. She wants more money, then the deal is I get to adopt Callie. My lawyer told me I’m taking a risk because legally I’m already Callie’s father, but if a DNA test proves otherwise, than Carly holds all the cards. By demanding she do this I’m opening a door I might regret opening, but I don’t know what else I can do at this point.
“I have a copy of the papers, which she has to sign in front of my lawyer. She happened to call as I was leaving the office, and I told her I had them on me. She said she was going to pick up Callie for me then meet me here to get a copy of what she’ll be officially signing. Hopefully as early as next week.”
I’m not sure why, but I believe him. He tried to prepare me for Carly to do exactly what she did, yet I still fell for it. “Why didn’t you tell me any of this? I would have been prepared to see her if you had?”
“Are you joking? If I had any idea what so ever that you were going to leave class early, I never would have agreed to meet her. Even if she had picked up Callie like she said she was going to that wouldn’t of kept her from saying something awful to you. I told you, she’ll try anything to upset you in hopes that you will leave me for good.”
Gavin reaches out and brushes his thumb across my hand. “Are you going to tell me what she said that upset you?” I wait a beat before finding my voice to answer him.
“That you two were engaged, that the only reason you’re not married is due to your drug and sex addiction.” I watch as Gavin goes from calm to crazy within seconds.
“Are you fucking kidding me? That bitch said that shit to you? Fuck me. I can’t believe I’ve underestimated what she’s capable of doing to get her way.”
Gavin jumps to his feet and starts pacing back and forth, mumbling something to himself. He suddenly stops and his head flies up toward me. “Wait, you believed her?” Oh crap.
“No. Yes. No. I mean...” I pause, trying to collect my thoughts, but I can see the disappointment in him. “Gavin, I didn’t believe her when she said you are a sex or drug addict, but I won’t lie to you. I wondered about the engagement part, then you showed up and it was clear that you were expecting to see her and not me. So, yeah, my brain went foggy with everything she tossed out.”
Gavin stands motionless for a few minutes. “I guess you’re pretty good at reading people. Carly and I—we were engaged. Not fo
r long, nothing with Carly happens for very long, but it was after Callie was born. She convinced me that life would be different with a ring on her finger, but nothing changed. One night she got pissed like normal and threw the damn ring I bought her at my head. I picked it up and left, and I never gave it back to her.”
I want to tell him how a lot of this could have been avoided if he sent me a text telling me she was coming over, but then I forgot to send him one about going home early.
“That’s twice now that you’ve showed up here and assumed the worst.”
“Now wait a damn minute. That’s not fair. I know I should have sent you a text telling you I was coming home, but to be honest I hit a wall and was exhausted, therefore I wasn’t thinking clearly. However, you could have just as easily sent me a text telling me what was going on.”
Gavin lets out a long frustrated sigh as he runs his hands through his hair. “I told you she would try shit. I warned you and still you bought into it. What happens when, God forbid, she gets her claws into you again, huh? Are you going to come here and pack a bag and head off to your friends like you were trying to do tonight?”
I thought we were about to move past Carly’s visit but with Gavin’s words all my previous anger surges back to the surface.
“Fuck you, Gavin. Everything seems black and white to you, but guess what? You’ve been dealing with Carly for seven years and I’ve only met her twice. If you had prepared me for her visit then I wouldn’t have come anywhere near the apartment until I knew you were here. That didn’t happen. Carly was rude and disrespectful and if today taught me anything, it’s that I’m not cut out to deal with people like her. I’m sorry if I let you down, but today wasn’t fun for me, either.”
We’re both standing in the living room, not saying a word while we’re staring at each other. “I’m tired. I’m going to lie down.” I turn and walk down the hallway, and this time Gavin lets me leave.
Beneath The Lies Page 14
