That was the problem. Since I’d found her, I wanted to keep her with me at all times. Deep down, I knew that wasn’t realistic. I shook off those feelings and told myself I’d let her enjoy some time with her friend. I couldn’t turn into some weird, overprotective boyfriend just because of what had happened to Laura.
Thirty-One
Andi
Standing in front of this scroungy jerk gave me goose bumps. The toothpick hanging out of his mouth as he scratched his belly was enough of a cliché, but when you added in the ketchup stains on his white T-shirt, it really made him the epitome of a stereotypical maintenance man.
“So, you’re saying you been livin’ here?”
“I think so. I mean before my accident, at least.” His question made me reconsider what Cal had been telling me. Or Lana, for that matter.
“And you want them locks changed?”
I nodded, still unsure of where he was going with all this. It seemed like a simple request. I wasn’t sure how I’d pay for it. Hell, maybe I’d go ahead and use the credit card John had given me for the additional costs.
“Ya see, here’s where we have a little problem,” he started out. His eyes wandered up and down my body.
I shifted uncomfortably outside my doorway. I hoped he wouldn’t push into my apartment and try to pull me with him. With Cal at work and not knowing exactly when Lana would be home, I wasn’t sure what to do.
“Well your little friend Sarina, hot as she may be, wanted to let you live there without telling us. That’s against her lease. We needed you to fill out a sublet for six months, even though that friend of yours already paid for the full six months in advance.”
“Wait. Sarina? Sarina leases this apartment? And you don’t have a record of me subletting it?”
He looked at me as if I were stupid. “Do you remember signin’ a lease?”
I shook my head, because it really was the truth, and I had already explained to him my accident and the reason why I couldn’t remember.
“You ain’t supposed to be living here. You can be a guest for a couple of days, but after that…”
“Billy!” Relief shot through me as I turned to see Lana coming down the hallway wearing a gray waitress uniform and carrying grocery bags in each hand. She plopped them on the floor outside her door and stomped over toward us. “What in the hell are you tellin’ Andi?”
“That she ain’t supposed to be livin’ here.”
My eyes popped between the two as if we were at a tennis match.
“What are you talkin’ about?”
“She ain’t Sarina.”
“Who’s Sarina?” Lana asked and her eyes flitted to me.
“Sarina is my friend, but I haven’t heard from her,” I explained to Lana.
Billy’s head turned back to me as if he were trying to prove some point. “This is her place. Sarina signed the lease, not you.”
“Is the rent paid?” Lana asked. Her eyes bored into him, and seeing that it’d seemed like he wasn’t going to answer her question before, the look she had on her face said he would answer her now.
“Yeah. For six months.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“She ain’t listed as a guest.”
“Oh, for cryin’ out loud! She’s been living here and you know it. You were harassing her before because she wouldn’t go out on a date with you. Now that she has amnesia you’re trying to pull something over on her?”
“It’s the lease!”
“Who cares? For all the shitty things you’ve done, I can report you and get you fired. You know that and I’ve threatened that before.”
“So has your boyfriend. Where is he, by the way?”
She propped her hand on her hip. “He’ll be back down this weekend, and I’ll make sure one of his cop friends arrests your ass for harassment.”
He held up his hands. “Whoa. Fine. Don’t start yer shit up again.” He turned to me. “I’ll change the damn lock, but if Sarina comes back and sues for this, I’ll make sure they know it’s you.”
I nodded. “Fine.” From the corner of my eye I saw Lana’s arms crossed over her chest, and her smirk made me want to laugh despite the scare I had.
“I gotta get a few things done before I do this.” He motioned toward my door and then mumbled, “I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”
We both watched Billy stomp down the hallway like a petulant child, muttering something about women and their bullish ways.
Laughing, we both turned to each other.
“You okay?” Lana asked as her eyebrows scrunched in, and she tilted her head.
“Yeah. I wasn’t sure what to say, since he threw me that curveball.” I swallowed. “So this isn’t my apartment?”
Lana shrugged. “I moved in around the same time as you did. I assumed it was yours. Billy might be a grabby asshole, but he probably knows who’s supposed to live here and who’s not. He tried that same bullshit with me whenever Kyle came to visit. But he’s done some lowlife stuff that I told Kyle about, so after he had a little chat with him, Billy left me alone. So who’s Sarina?”
“A friend, I guess. Mallory mentioned her before, but I have no idea where she is. I was told she flits across Europe spending her alimony and sleeping with men.”
Lana looked at the doorway and then back to me. “And you believe her still?”
I shook my head at the obvious. “No. I guess I shouldn’t have believed anything Mallory said to me before. But now I’m wondering where Sarina is and how to get ahold of her.”
“Hmm. Well, if anything, hopefully she has your number and will call.”
I nodded as I followed her to her door, picking up one of her grocery bags. I felt like after the way she tore into Billy, it was the least I could do.
Stopping right in the entrance, I laughed at the mirror image her apartment was to mine. Or Sarina’s?
“You don’t remember being in here with me? We spent late nights chatting about our boys,” Lana said as she disappeared into the small corner kitchen.
I trudged along behind her and plopped her grocery bag next to the other. Sitting at her small table, I noticed that her place was less decorated than mine was.
“What types of things would we talk about?”
“Our fights with our men. Jackass wanting you back. Cal pining over you.” She giggled on the last one.
Hearing about John worried me a little, mainly because hearing about him made my hand immediately cover my stomach. That fear that the baby was his kept growing.
“How often had John come over?”
“Mainly before you started dating Cal. You were lonely, we both cried a lot.”
“Why would you cry?” I interjected.
Lana shook her head as she placed the last item into her tiny fridge and then came to sit down on the other chair next to mine. “Oh, Andi. I think we need to go over everything from the top.”
Settled in on Lana's couch with hot coffee, I was told how we became friends. Seeing as the walls were paper thin, she had been able to hear me crying. After she’d knocked on my door we became fast friends, discussing our troubles with men: Kyle had temporarily broken up with her over some deep, dark secret she had, and I had finally left my ex after he had done something that was unforgivable.
“So, do you have any idea if I was with John before Cal?" I blushed, thinking how much she could hear. Had I been okay with that before?
Lana peered into her coffee mug, the reluctance written on her face. “I actually left the apartment, you and John were so loud.”
She smirked saying the last part and then looked at me.
“Jackass came over begging you to come back. It was like you wanted to show him what he'd be missing.” She shook her head. “Despite my objections…” She rolled her eyes. “…you agreed to go on a date with him the next night. You told me you wanted to give him another chance. It was one of our back-and-forths because you had already given him enough chances.”
&
nbsp; So your date night, you wore this dress…” Lana sat back, inhaling deep. “It was gorgeous. Drop-dead gorgeous. Black, tight.” She chuckled. “We had to shove your boobs up in one of those silly tape things because the cutout on the dress was sheer.”
Immediately, my mind flitted back to my conversation with Cal.
“Andi.”
“Hmm?”
“You know already what happened that night, don't you?”
I swallowed. “When I first ran into Cal, he mentioned how we met. That I was wearing a stunning black dress and was drenched from the storm that night.”
Lana smiled. “The next morning…” She tilted her head with a smirk and wag of her brows. “You told me how you couldn't be with Jackass anymore. How you were at the restaurant listening to him try to spin his web, and you decided right then you didn't want to listen to his lies anymore.” She sat back, shaking her head. “And you found Cal.”
My smile faded. The pit in my stomach formed again as I assessed the whole situation.
“Cal's a rebound?” I had asked it as a question, but it was more of a statement—one that I didn't want to believe.
“We talked about that. Maybe it even started out that way, to be honest. It would seem that way to anyone looking at it from the outside, but after we talked some more, the weeks passed—and it was something much more than a passing phase. You and Cal…work together. He's like your puzzle piece to make everything whole.”
Lana had no idea how right she was.
Thirty-Two
Cal
After all the insanity at work had calmed down, I checked my watch realizing how late it was. There hadn’t been a chance to call Andi, though I had sent her quick texts making sure she was all right. Smiley faces and “I’m here” responses weren't cutting it anymore. I needed to see her.
After a day like I’d had, I wanted nothing more than to have her back in my arms. I pulled on the door to her building and took the steps two at a time, anxious to get to her.
Andi's voice rang down the stairwell. Her voice sounded frustrated, yet I wasn't about to chance it if something else was happening to her. The moment I reached the top of the third-floor platform, I rounded the corner in a mad dash to get to her.
My fists clenched as different scenarios ran through my mind. It could just be her on the phone with her soon-to-be ex for all I knew, but as I approached, muffled noises sounded like protests to me and my blood boiled.
Flashes of red blurred my vision when I saw someone in a blue suit pinning Andi up against the wall next to her open door. Andi's scream was muffled by the sound of my fist cracking against John's jaw. I shoved him out into the hallway as I turned to see Andi trying to wipe her mouth, breathing heavily.
“Are you all right?” I pulled Andi to my chest, hugging her without checking. My breathing wasn't slowing down, nor was my anger, and I needed to contain both to be of any help to her.
Feeling her nod against my chest helped all that and brought me down a little. I looked over to see John trying to stand up, wiping his mouth the same way Andi had. Only John had blood, which gave me a small ounce of satisfaction.
“What the hell do you think you're doing? That's my wife,” he yelled and started stalking back to the apartment.
Guiding Andi behind me, I stepped forward toward her soon-to-be ex. Not soon enough for my liking, really.
“She's divorcing you, asshole. Get the fuck away from her apartment.”
“Andrea! I won’t divorce you. Do you understand that? You’re still my wife!”
He tried to peer around me to look at Andi and I laughed. “You lied to her and then force yourself on her. Are you thinking that'll win her back?”
“She’s carrying my baby.”
“It's mine. I have no doubt.”
The surprised look on his face and the way his jaw dropped made it apparent he had no idea.
“Andrea?”
Her delicate, unsure voice made me cringe. “I’m…We'll find out soon.”
I had no doubt. After finding out they'd been trying for so long and then, bam, once with me…I knew it was mine. But hearing her doubt let some creep into my thoughts too. Had she been with him while with me?
“It's mine.” I made sure both of them knew, and made sure I reaffirmed it in my head.
“Really?” John huffed as if he knew some secret. “I guess since she doesn't remember, she never told you we were together right after I was served the divorce papers.” His eyes pierced mine, daring me to believe him. I wasn't going to let him see it, but hearing that caused my belief that the baby was mine to waver.
“It doesn't matter, asshole. Regardless if it's yours or mine, she no longer wants you. Walk away now before you don't have legs to walk out on.” With that I slammed the door in his face. It was more so I didn't go after him and beat the shit out of him like I really wanted to for putting doubt in my mind.
“Andrea, we need to talk,” he called through the door.
“Are you okay?” I turned back to see her shaking, her eyes rimmed red, and I pulled her to me, ignoring the asshole outside her door.
“What he said is true.” Her voice shook with tears as she told me.
I closed my eyes, not wanting to believe it.
“Lana told me earlier that he came here right after he was served. That I even went out on a date with him the next night.” She pulled back, gasping for a breath from crying so hard, tears streaming down her face. “That was the night I walked into the bar. Lana described the same dress you told me about.”
She sniffled as I held her head in my hands. I wiped away her tears with my thumb before bending down. My lips touched her quivering ones. “It doesn't matter,” I whispered before I claimed her mouth with mine. I wanted to prove to her that it didn’t matter. If it really was John's baby, we'd deal with that later. For the time being, I wanted—no, needed—to believe it was my baby she was carrying.
Thirty-Three
Andi
While I didn't want to go to court, I was more than willing to in order to get the divorce finalized. The mediation was at my attorney’s request, and the fact that John was willing to try with mediation had me questioning his motives after what he’d tried to pull at my apartment.
After John ordered the paternity test, the noninvasive one, I was more than ready to find out who the father of my baby was and get on with my life. I hadn't told Cal that I even took the test, because I didn't want him to be even more worried or anxious about the mediation.
Waiting for the mediator to arrive, I sat next to my attorney and tried to keep from nervously wringing my hands. He put his hand over both of mine, patted them, and gave me a small smile. I inhaled deeply and tried not to think of words to tell Cal if it wasn't his baby. Sorry, hun, it's my ex's. Remember how we said it would be the worst-case scenario, well—this is it. Or Cal, guess what? It's not yours. I shook my head, hoping none of that would have to come out of my mouth. Not to mention, surely, I could come up with something better than that.
The table between John and me was nowhere near large enough for my liking. I was pretty sure that had he stretched his arms out and I had done the same, our fingers still wouldn’t touch. John leaned forward across the table from me. His crisp navy suit barely wrinkled as he set his forearms on the table. His emerald eyes bored into mine while his lips pressed together. “I need to talk to you, Andrea.”
“You had your turn. At my apartment when you forced yourself on me.” Heat rose through me, and my heart pounded at the thought of what he had tried. I was surrounded by attorneys and needed to keep my anger in check. However, the stunt he’d pulled made me want to punch him. I wish I had instead of Cal doing it.
He closed his eyes and shook his head. “That…that wasn’t the intent.”
I huffed. “Oh really? What was your intent?”
“I needed you to remember us. Andrea, I was hoping you’d remember something about us.”
“Forcing yourself on me w
asn’t the way to go about it.”
His eyes roamed around the room quickly before resting back on mine. “It doesn't have to be like this, Andrea.”
My brows pulled in. “Like what? Me finally leaving you so you don't cheat anymore?”
"It was the one time and I thought it was you."
“Because blonde hair and brown look so much alike?” I snapped, almost wanting to laugh in his face.
“You left me a voicemail to blindfold myself at a certain…”
“That's enough, Mr. Vasslor,” my attorney spoke up. “Andrea doesn't need to hear any more of your made-up stories.”
While I wanted to completely agree with him, my curiosity was piqued. Had I called him asking to do that and Mallory took advantage of him? I shook my head, knowing it didn't matter anymore. Or did it? No. I was in love with Cal. But was Cal a rebound only because John had cheated on me?
“And you think I'd believe anything you say now? You lied to me.”
“I lied because you were already going through so much. You woke up not knowing who you were and pregnant. How would it have been if I’d have told you that you were divorcing me? How would that have worked out?”
“I’d have lived. I would’ve had to face that like I had to face that you cheated on me with my best friend!”
His face told me something else. I wasn’t sure what exactly, but something out of the equation was missing.
“How many times, John?” It came out faster than I had anticipated, but my blood was pulsing and I knew there had to be more of a reason or I wouldn’t have left him. Would I? “How many?”
“Don’t answer that, John. As his attorney I am requesting that my client not answer that question.”
My attorney huffed. “It’s a mediation, not a court case.”
“Doesn’t matter. John, whatever you say can be used against you when we get in front of the judge.”
Accidents Happen (Forever Happens Book 1) Page 20
