Riveted: Drawn Series Book 1

by M. A. Stone

  “Where are you going?” I asked softly. He slid into his pants and tugged on a t-shirt.

  “I will be back. I need to clear my head,” he muttered, opening the bedroom door and walking out. I sank down on the bed as tears started falling down my face. Fuck!

  “You okay sis?” asked Axel, peeking his head around the door. I looked up and wiped away the tears with the back of my hand. I was too upset to even throw a sarcastic barb at him.

  “If I said yes, would you believe me?” I replied. Abby walked in behind him, when the hell had she come over?

  “What are you doing here?” I asked. She crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently.

  “To just be with you,” she replied softly, coming over to the bed and sitting down. She took me in her arms and rubbed my head. I don’t know how she heard, who called her or what was going on, but I am glad she was here. I rested my head against her chest.

  “Everything is so fucked up Abs,” I whimpered. She pushed me away from her and looked at me square in the face.

  “No. It can get better. Look at you. Look at Axel. You are survivors. Plain and simple. You guys spent the night at my house almost every night for a year after your Mom died. But you guys did not become homicidal maniacs. You survived.” She wiped my eyes with her hand.

  “I know Abs. But the past couple of months…”

  “Really? You are going to sit there and say all this crap after you handed me a new one in the other room not too long ago?” said Axel. I wanted to punch him, but he was right.

  “Yep, I am a hypocrite I guess,” I sniffled. Axel laughed.

  “I understand you. You understand me. I bailed on you. Not cool I know. But I am here now. Please take what I can give you, what we all can give you,” he replied. I nodded.

  “Jack will be back honey. I can guarantee it. He does not seem like the type of guy to just say “I love you” and then bail. Just give him some time,” replied Abby. Axel nodded in agreement. Sniffling, I reached out for my crutches and stood up shakily. I put on Jack’s hoodie. I know I was acting like he moved out, he only said he had to get some air. But I was solely going on past occurrences here. People left me.

  “How does Chinese food sound?” asked Abby. I laughed and followed them out of Jack’s room. I looked back as I left and sighed sadly. I wanted him here.

  We drove to the Chinese food place and it felt like old times. Axel messed with Abby’s radio up front until she slapped his hand off the radio dial. I smiled to myself Lamar, Abby’s husband, was supposed to meet us at the restaurant. This was exactly what I needed tonight. We parked and I was glad that the place was not crowded so we could relax and I could avoid looks of other people at my split lip, stitches in my forehead, broken leg and fading black eye.

  We were seated rather quickly and I smiled as Lamar came in. He was ridiculously tall with a curly afro and pale brown eyes. He leaned down and kissed his wife and came over to give me a hug. He and Axel smiled at one another. He sat down next to his wife.

  “Hey guys. Sorry I was late. Baseball practice ran a bit long. Then one of the kids needed a ride home. Did I miss anything?” he asked after he had ordered water from the waitress.

  “Not too much. Just catching up I guess,” Axel replied.

  “My brother told me about tomorrow. Anything I can do to help?” he asked. Axel shrugged.

  “Just cross your fingers that we get this jerk so that I can bring my daughter home,” he replied. Lamar nodded.

  “I will. My brother knows what he’s doing. You are in good hands,” he replied.

  “Thanks man,” he said softly. The waitress came back and we placed our orders. I checked my cell phone to see if Jack had texted me. Nothing. My mind was still on the fight we had; no matter how hard I tried to shake it. Abby noticed and kept shooting me reassuring looks.

  “Stop wallowing in self-loathing over there drama queen. He will be back. Did you two ever realize that your family is insane and it takes a truly strong person to deal with all of your combined baggage?” she asked, teasingly.

  “She’s right. You guys are crazy,” remarked Lamar.

  “Us? Crazy?” asked Axel, a feigned innocent look on his face. Abby cracked up and I could not help but laugh.

  “Certifiably,” I admitted and giggled.

  Abby dropped Axel off at the shop and we drove in silence for a bit. She patted my hand with her own.

  “Bleu, do not let this get you down. Think positive thoughts. It will all work out, I promise. I did tell you that you needed to be honest with him. I am sorry that you had to go through this just to see that I am right, “she said. I glared at her and she made a fishy face with her lips.

  “I know Abs, and I will try,” I replied as I tried to stop laughing.

  “Listen, tomorrow is going to be hell. Why don’t we go out, you know, have a girl's night out or something. Get our minds off of the whole nasty situation that is going on. And the fact that I am still not pregnant,” she said, her eyes kind of sad.

  “Maybe I should stay close, you know? In case something happens?”

  “I know you. You like to wallow. You are going to sit there in that apartment and drive yourself crazy. You are going to pace, or in your case, hobble, all over the apartment until you snap. You will be a wreck,” she said.

  “Fine! What time?” I asked. She looked thoughtful for a moment.

  “Wow I did not think you would agree to it so quickly. I thought I would have to hog tie you or something,” she remarked.

  “What. Time?” I asked impatiently. She grinned.

  “I will pick you up at eight. We can grab some dinner first,” she said. I nodded. She went around helping me out of her car. We hugged and she walked with me to the front door. I hobbled inside and switched the lights on. No one was home. I grabbed my laptop and then I lowered myself down on the couch. Opening it, I checked emails and tried to work. Around eleven, I powered it off, placed it on the coffee table and hobbled off to my room. Shutting the door, I got into some boxers and a t-shirt, swallowed two pain pills and dropped off to sleep.

  I slept fitfully that night. My stomach hurt, which hopefully meant that I was going to get my period. My head pounded and my chest ached from everything that had happened. I sat up and cursed myself for being so dramatic. I hated being like this. I listened for some noise in the apartment and only heard the clock ticking in my bedroom. Sighing, I lay back down and stared at the ceiling. I grabbed my pillow and hugged it to me. I missed Jack so much. Eventually, I drifted back to sleep.

  The next morning, my alarm woke me up at eight thirty. Groaning, I dragged myself out of bed, grabbed my crutches and hobbled into the bathroom. I was still alone in the apartment. I wrapped my cast in a huge garbage bag, the kind you use for leaves, and I climbed into the shower, letting the super-hot water bead on my skin. With my eyes closed, I soaped up my hair and tried to think positive thoughts about the day. Stepping out of the shower, I tied up my long hair, grabbed a pair of shorts and a tank top and hobbled out of my bedroom. I flopped on the couch, unplugged my cell phone and frowned when I saw that I had no missed calls or texts. I decided to go into the shop, regardless of the fact that Jack was being a clown. Hopefully work would take my mind off of all the shit that was going on in my life.

  The shop was quiet, so I hopped in on my crutches and sat behind the counter. Matt walked in, waved a hello and went in the back. Chloe sidled up to me, giving me a hug. I winced a bit.

  "Morning lady. You look fifty colors of crap. Jack still not talking to you?"she asked.

  "No. Not one call or text message. I was so tempted to go sleep in his bed last night. And then when I did fall asleep, I had horrible dreams about him banging the entire line up of the Rockettes,"I muttered. She patted my shoulder and smiled.

  “Cheer up. Even though he feels like you betrayed him, I am sure he will realize that he is being a major asshat and come to his senses," she said with a reassuring smile and a hug. She flounced into
the back and I turned as the front door bell jingled. Time to get to work.

  Jack did not come into work, and the day flew by. I had talked Chloe into coming out with Abby and I that night. As we drove home, she chatted about some married guy who asked her out and did not even bother to hide his wedding band. I walked inside and went into my room to get dressed. I grabbed a black sparkly mini skirt and a dark red halter top. Piling my hair up onto my head, I smiled at my results in the mirror. I applied some mascara and eyeliner, as well as some foundation in an attempt to cover up my fading bruises. I did all this hoping it would take away from the fact that I was on crutches and had stitches in my forehead. I may feel like shit, but at least I looked halfway decent. Hunting around for my lipstick, I stood up as I felt someone watching me. I turned as Jack walked into his room. Sighing, I turned back to the mirror and slid some silver hoops into my ears. Well at least he was here in the house.

  "Nice mama! You look hot!" said my brother coming in behind me. He looked pretty spiffy himself in faded black jeans and a red, short sleeved, button down shirt. Spying his comic book Converse, I smiled. He gave me a hug and sat down on my bed.

  “You look pretty hot yourself bro,” I replied. He grinned.

  “Thank you, thank you.” He did a mock bow and laughed.

  "What are you doing here?" I asked. He stood and checked out his spiky black hair in the mirror. He did not answer me.

  "Hey, Snow White! Could you stop checking yourself out in the mirror and answer my question?" I asked, snapping my fingers in front of his face. He grinned.

  "Oh, yeah. I am going to do some stuff with Jack tonight. Not staying out too late, because I have a ton of stuff to do shop wise with Jack tomorrow morning. What are you all dressed up for?”he asked.

  "I am going out with Chloe and Abby if you must know. I need to burn off some steam, get my head on straight. But wait, shouldn't you be home, getting ready to meet up with Cyrus?"

  "Yeah. I tried that doing that. All day long I paced around the damn house. I got tired of that shit so I asked Jack to come with me and grab a few beers," he replied with a shrug. I nodded. He studied my face and then played with his watch.

  "Jack still not talking to you?" he asked.

  "Nope. He is avoiding me like the plague," I said. He stood up, grabbing my chin with his hand and looking into my eyes.

  "Want me to kick his ass?" he said softly. I snorted and we both ended up laughing. I looked over my shoulder, but Jack’s bedroom door was shut tight. I wanted to be in there with him so much. I pulled away from my brother and sat on my bed, my stomach in knots. He looked down at me and gave me a small smile.

  "Uh yeah... are you ready to go Axel?" asked Jack from my bedroom doorway, looking very uncomfortable. The sound of his voice made my heart skip a beat. I had literally fantasized about his voice, hearing it, all day. I smiled at him, but he looked at me and then looked away. Axel gave me another reassuring look and then bent down to kiss my cheek. I looked up at Jack, but he just turned and walked into the living room. I chucked my hairbrush at the wall. Great, I had made a huge mark in the wall and Jack still was not talking to me.

  "Hey now, what the hell?!?" asked Abby coming into my room, a frown on her pretty face. She looked awesome, as always. She was wearing a silver strapless mini dress and killer black four inch heels. Her hair was in a long ponytail down her back. She looked at the mark in the wall and then back at me, her eyebrow raised, a smile fighting on her lips.

  "Jack," I replied.

  "Tonight, you are not going to think about him. If you do, I will kick your ass!" she said with a smile.

  "Got it boss!" I replied, hoping that I was capable of doing that. How could I not think about the man I love? Ugh, but that only made me think of the fact that I had been a jackass and not told him that I loved him. I followed her out of my bedroom and into the kitchen where Chloe was standing at the counter. She was wearing a cute black mini skirt and a shiny black tank with pink stars all over it. And her heels were sky high and bright pink. In front of her on the counter, she had three shots poured and waiting. We all did a shot together and grabbed our purses. I smiled and followed the ladies out of the house to Abby’s car. Chloe climbed in the front seat, fiddled with the radio dials and began bouncing along to the music. I gave her a smile and climbed clumsily into the backseat.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The sun hit my face and I winced as my head pounded. Struggling to sit up, I slowed my ascent as the room began to spin. My mouth felt like cotton and it was unbearably hot. Cracking open my eyes, I took in a deep breath. I was lying on something incredibly hard. Turning my head slowly, I saw Abby lying next to me, and Chloe a bit farther away. Chloe moaned and I noticed she was in her underwear and a tie dyed t shirt that looked like it would fit a four year old. I would have laughed if I did not feel like throwing up. Abby was in her sparkly pink thong and a tank top that was bright orange and had the words Kum N Go on it. And one side of her hair was cut. She was lying on her side, snoring softly and drooling on the floor. Sitting up slowly and propping myself on my elbows, I swallowed the bile rising in my throat and noticed that I was wearing boxer shorts with smiley faces on them and a sparkly pink bikini top that oddly enough matched Abby’s thong. What the hell?! Oh and we were on my brother's front porch. The front door swung open and Axel sauntered out, apparently on his way to work. He had a cup of coffee in one hand and his messenger bag was slung over his shoulder. He stopped cold when he saw the three of us. His jaw dropped and a grin slowly spread across his face like he was that cat in Alice in Wonderland.

  "Holy fuck!" he said and then started to laugh. Abby moaned and opened her eyes. His eyes shot to Abby and he wailed with laughter.

  "Tell the marching band to stop playing in my fucking headland whatever fucking which is cackling, shoot the fucker!" she moaned, rolling over, displaying the insane haircut. Axel cracked up even louder and I think tears were coursing down his cheeks.

  "Oh my god. If you could see yourselves!" he said. He took his phone out of his pocket and snapped a picture of us.

  "You are lucky I feel like shit, otherwise I would kick your ass," I said through gritted teeth. He chuckled.

  "What the hell happened last night?" he asked. He came and sat on the rocking chair closest to me and was careful not to crush Chloe with it. She was staring up at the porch ceiling and not really moving. Axel put his chin in his hand and smiled gleefully, like a kid watching a parade. Only our type of parade was a bunch of half naked morons.

  "I remember going out to Mulligan's, having tons of shots and even more drinks. We hit up the strip club where Chloe works, and then we decided to go to the beach. Oh and a few more bars," I replied slowly, wincing every now and then.

  "Wait. Chloe works at a strip club?"He asked mid text.

  "As a bartender," she moaned and attempted to kick him but only succeeded in nudging him with her big toe. Then she let out a massive belch and smiled to herself.

  "How did you all end up here?"

  "Well a trucker gave us a ride home. We were going to hitchhike, but I threw up in the bushes and I forgot where I put my car," muttered Abby and then she let out a huge belch. Axel winced.

  "You guys look like shit. And where the hell are your clothes? I saw you when I left with Jack, and I know you all did not go out looking like that!"

  "Speaking of Jack, where is the bastard?" asked Abby. She was now vertical, leaning against the railing of the porch. I looked down at my cast; someone had drawn flowers all over it. And a stick figure of two people having sex. Awesome.

  "He is on his way here, he had to go pick up some coffee and breakfast. I suggest you all clear out, if you can. Otherwise he is going to pee himself when he sees you three. Or at least go take a shower and sleep it off upstairs," he said. Abby literally crawled into the house and made it as far as the couch, where she passed out once again. Chloe stayed on the porch and Axel gave her a pillow and fleece throw. He helped me up into the house
and sat me in a chair in the living room.

  "I am going to go call Lamar and let him know where Abby is," he called over his shoulder as he walked into the kitchen. Every so often I would hear him laughing. He came back a few minutes later, with a glass of water and some aspirin. I took it and swallowed.

  "Are you going to be alright? Granted you look like Beach Party Barbie went slumming in the trailer park," he said, laughing once again.

  "You are not funny," I said with a frown, putting a hand to my forehead. I was in agony.

  "You're right; I am not the funny one. You are. Oh my God. This is just like college. When you and Abby would get trashed once in a blue moon and I had to sneak you in before Aunt Almeida found out! And wow, Abby is going to lose her shit big time when she sees her hair!" He was practically hopping up and down.

  "Okay. Go find something to do!"

  "Ok. If you need anything, I will be in the kitchen." I think I nodded, I am not sure.

  "Hey dude? There is a person passed out on your porch!" said Jack, coming in and shutting the door behind him. My eyelids were too heavy to open and I heard him gasp as he saw Abby and I. Then I heard Axel laugh.

  "My sister and her bff's decided to go on a bender last night. I woke up this morning and was going to go grab the paper before you came here, and there they all were, on my front porch. Passed the fuck out," he remarked with an evil laugh. I heard Jack chuckle.

  "Are you really going to leave Chloe on the front porch?" he asked.

  "Well, she is covered, she has a pillow and I think she would kick my ass if I tried to move her," Axel replied.

  "Well let’s get started on this business stuff for the shop. You have a lot of shit to catch up on," said Jack and I heard them walk into the dining room.

  I felt someone staring at me. Opening my eyes slowly, I jumped and then winced. Abby was staring at me. Like right up in my face staring. And her breath was hellishly bad. I winced.

  "What the hell Abs?" I groaned. Her hair cut made her look criminally insane.