by Alice Tribue
“Nathan.”
“Hmm?”
“I actually know how to do my own laundry. I was just messing with you earlier.”
“If I had the energy, I’d fuck you again even harder for lying to me.”
I begin to laugh and it doesn’t take long for him to join me, enjoying a moment and doing it together because, just like always, Nathan makes everything a little bit lighter.
***
I wake with a jolt when the phone rings. Looking around, I see Nathan asleep next to me. We drifted off, snuggled close, but must have separated sometime in the middle of the night.
“Mmm, what time is it,” he mumbles groggily.
“Past one am.” I turn to the phone on my nightstand and pick it up.
“Hello?” I say trying to shake the sleep out of my voice.
“May I speak to Miss Powell please?” asks a young lady’s voice on the other end.
“This is she,” I reply, now on high alert.
“This is Michelle at New York Presbyterian. We have a young lady by the name of Katie Johnson here in the emergency room, and she asked us to call you.”
My mind instantly goes to thoughts of her and her baby, the baby that just a short time ago she told me that she had decided to keep. She then asked me to transfer her into the day spa and into the training program as I had initially offered her.
“Is she okay?”
“Would you be able to come down here?”
“Yes. I’ll be there in twenty minutes,” I assure her then hang up and call the doorman to get me a car. I hang up the phone and throw back the covers making my way to the closet.
“What’s wrong?”
I turn to see Nathan sitting up in bed.
“I don’t know. One of the girls who works for me is in the emergency room, and I need to get down there.”
“I’ll take you.”
“No,” I answer a little too quickly. The last thing I need is Nathan seeing more than he needs to see. He gives me a look that tells me he’s not sure what to make of this as confusion plays in his eyes.
“I’m not sure what’s wrong with her, and I don’t want her to feel uncomfortable by having someone who she doesn’t know there. She’s shy and she doesn’t have a lot of family close by.”
I turn away, not waiting for his response. I quickly pull on a pair of black yoga pants, flip-flops, and a gray cotton sweater. When I walk out of the closet, Nathan is there, eyes on me, telling me something I don’t quite understand.
“If there’s something you need to tell me, Tori, now is the time. I might be able to help you.”
“It’s sweet that you’re worried, Nathan, but help me with what? This honestly isn’t about me. Seriously, it’s fine.”
“Okay, do you want me to leave?”
“No,” I tell him, touching his cheek. “You don’t have to do that. Go back to sleep and I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
He closes his hand around mine and gently pulls it off his face. He places a quick kiss on my lips.
“Be careful.” He lets go of me. I give him a nod and walk out of the bedroom, grabbing my jacket and purse as I go and heading downstairs where a car is already waiting for me. It takes no time at all to get to the hospital at this time of night because the traffic is light. I worry about what I’ll find when I get there, I worry that I may have just raised a few red flags for Nathan, and I worry that I won’t be able to get out of this life in time to hold onto him.
“Katie Johnson?” I ask the gentleman at the entrance to the emergency room. He looks at his computer screen then back at me.
“Room five,” he says, giving me quick directions.
I speedwalk my way there and shudder when I pull back the privacy curtain.
“Oh, my God.”
Katie’s swollen lip trembles at the sight of me. “Victoria?”
I rush over to her side and grab her hand, holding onto it for dear life. Her right eye is black and blue and swollen shut and there are bruises all over her arms and face.
“I’m right here, Katie,” I tell her, gently running a hand through her matted hair as she sobs uncontrollably. I sit there with her for a long time, listening to her cry and watching as she likely plays whatever has happened to her over and over again in her head. It isn’t until she finally calms down that I ask.
“Katie, what happened?” I ask her quietly. I’m afraid that raising my voice will startle her, and I have no idea what she’s just been through.
“I was mugged. I was walking home and two men grabbed me. They beat me up and left me there on the street.”
Mugged, my ass, I think to myself. Glancing around the room, I see her purse on a nearby chair still looking intact. If she had been mugged, they would have taken it.
“And the baby?” I question hoping that she’ll give me good news, but she doesn’t. She shakes her head, a fresh batch of tears forming.
“The baby is gone.” It comes out on a strangled breath, and I find myself getting emotional as well.
“I’m so sorry, Katie. I’m so fucking sorry.”
“I was looking for an apartment in Brooklyn. My mom and dad were going to help me cover the rent until I got through the training program at the spa,” she tells me, looking off into space.
“I know I’ve made mistakes. I know I let my greed, my need for material things, lead me down a path that was…” She shakes her head and swipes the tears off her cheeks. “Well, I’m a sinner. I know that, and maybe I deserved this.”
“No,” I whisper. “Katie, no, you don’t deserve this. This isn’t God punishing you.”
“I’ve been a selfish person, but my whole life, my whole life, I’ve always wanted to be a mom. I let myself veer from that dream, dropped out of school, got mixed up with the wrong people, and I made bad choices. But I really wanted this baby. I really wanted to change the direction of my life, and I thought this was my chance.”
“You can still do that. I can still help you do that; do not give up on me now. You can still have all of those things, Katie.”
“I don’t know.”
“I do. I know, and next time around, it will be different. You’ll have a career, and you’ll have a man who loves you, who wants you and wants to have a family with you. That is what you deserve. You deserve that life and I will do whatever I can to help you. I promise you.”
“You really believe all that?”
“I do.”
The doctor comes in at that moment and checks her vitals; he tells her that beyond the loss of the baby and a concussion, she should be okay. Okay? How will she ever be okay again after this? How will she be okay once she realizes that this was more than a random mugging?
“Katie,” I call after the doctor has gone. “Have the police been here yet?”
“No, not yet.” I take off my jacket and toss it on the chair covering her purse with it.
“When was the last time you talked to Brandon? Please be honest with me.”
“I saw him a few days ago, but I swear to you, Victoria, I hadn’t been in touch with him before that, and he called me.”
“It’s okay. What did he say?”
“He asked to meet me for lunch. I thought he wanted to talk about the baby. I thought he was going to tell me that he had changed his mind about not wanting it.”
“But he didn’t change his mind, did he?”
“No. He offered me ten thousand dollars to get an abortion and promise to never speak to or about him again.”
“I see.” I nod my head all the while telling myself to keep calm.
“I didn’t take it. You have to know that. I didn’t want his money, and I told him that I wasn’t going to get rid of my baby. He got mad at me, threw enough money on the table to cover lunch, and left me there.”
“Katie,” I say, my voice full of sympathy. She shakes her head at me, her eyes once again full of tears; her eyes suddenly appear full of realization.
“I wasn’t mugged, was I?”
>
“No, you weren’t mugged.”
“But why, why would he do this?”
“Because he’s an evil asshole,” I tell her, giving her hand a squeeze. “Listen to me. When the cops come, you tell them what you told me, that you were mugged. You tell them they took your purse.”
“But-”
“I will take care of this, Katie. I promise that I’ll make him pay, but you have to trust me. You do not want your relationship with Brandon getting out; it would be bad for all of us. I’m taking your purse with me; I’ll return it to you as soon as you get out of here.”
“Okay,” she agrees, quickly understanding the gravity of the situation.
“I’ll be back in the morning. Please, no contact with Brandon. It will only make things worse.”
“I never want to see his face again. Do you promise he’ll pay?”
“I promise.”
That out of control feeling has come back, the one that leaves me feeling vulnerable and on edge. I don’t know what to do. I know what I want to do, I know that I would love to go grab a bat and bust a few kneecaps, but that’s obviously not an option.
I walk out of the hospital, and Parker is there waiting for me.
“Thanks for coming to get me.”
“It’s my job; you should have called me to bring you, too.”
“I figured you were sleeping. I thought you deserved at least a few hours of sleep.”
“I appreciate that, but next time, you call me.”
“I will. Would you do me a favor and hold onto this purse for me. I just need to keep it out of sight for a few days.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he says taking it from me and shoving it under the passenger seat. “Where can I take you?”
“Could you please take me home?”
“Of course.”
I stare at my cell for a moment, wanting to call Nathan but knowing that I won’t be able to tell him the whole truth, knowing that I have to get my emotions under control before I get home.
“Hello?”
“Ivy?”
“What’s wrong?”
“You have to talk me down off this ledge right now because I’m about to lose my shit.”
“Tell me what happened.”
I take a breath and tell her the story. I tell her how this young girl was counting on me and I let her down. I should have thought ahead, for the eventuality that a powerful man like Brandon Miller would not want an illegitimate child out there. He would not want that child to grow up and come knocking on his door in eighteen years. I should have anticipated that and kept her safe somehow.
Of course, Ivy says all the right things. She does her best to reassure me and tell me that I did everything that I could do. She tells me that I’ve gone above and beyond in helping her and all of the girls that I employ, and when I’ve hung up the phone, I’ve promised her that I will not fly off the handle and that I will wait at least twenty-four hours before making a decision on how to handle this situation. None of that changes how I feel right now though; none of that gives me the absolution that will likely never come.
CHAPTER TWELVE
It’s barely four in the morning by the time I crawl back into my bed. Nathan wakes up as soon as my body hits the mattress, and he crowds me, gets in my space, and places a quick kiss on my forehead.
“Everything okay?”
I struggle with what to tell him. How much of this night can I reveal without making him wonder, without calling more attention to the situation? It was only a few hours ago that I thought he might take exception to me walking out on him in the middle of the night to deal with the shit he’d never understand. Even still, I decide that a version of the truth is best, being as close to honest with him as I can.
“She’s as well as she can be; she was mugged and beat up pretty badly. She has a lot of bruises and a concussion.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes, and what’s worse is that she was expecting a baby and now…” I shake my head not able to say the words and the tears start to flow. Nathan pulls me into his lap; there’s no time for me to feel embarrassed for breaking down, he’s just there. There’s nothing else for me to say; he seems to understand my pain, even if he doesn’t understand the reasons. It means a lot to me for him to be comforting me like this right now. I’ve only ever gotten that from my dad.
“Shh, it’s okay. It’s going to be okay.”
He runs his hand through my hair in soft soothing strokes. I melt into him, soaking him in. Accepting his kindness is hard for me to do not because I don’t want it, but because I don’t deserve it. Every bad thing that has happened to Katie is my fault; I created this mess—my drive, my business, my need to prove a point to myself. In my twisted mind, I was thinking that I was doing something to help these girls, to give them more than they would have had otherwise. Little did I know that I was just as bad as any pimp. I’ve had two girls assaulted in the span of a few months and countless assholes for clients who honestly believe that the size of their bank accounts earns them a free pass to behave savagely—brutally.
“What can I do?”
“You’re doing it.” I cling to him like a lifeline because I’m so close to going under, to drowning under the weight of all that is my life. I hate what I am, what I’ve instigated, and if I could light a match and watch it all burn down, I would. Nathan settles us into the bed, laying us down so that we’re face to face with his arms still wrapped firmly around me.
“It wasn’t supposed to be like this. If I’d have known…” The words get lost in a sob, and the sobs continue until I finally let sleep take me away.
***
The sun is shining when I wake up, this time alone with the smell of bacon making my stomach growl. I stretch out, loving the feel of all of the pent-up tension leaving my body. When I’m done, I make it to the bathroom and take a quick shower. Running a brush through my wet hair, I throw on a robe. I push all thoughts of Katie out of my head, allowing myself these few moments of peace while I have breakfast with Nathan, and then I’ll figure out what to do next. I’ll figure out what to do about a lot of things, I’ll make the tough decisions that need to be made, and I’ll do it with a clear mind.
“It smells amazing,” I say walking straight to the single serve coffee machine.
Nathan pulls me in for a quick kiss before going back to stirring his pancake batter.
“You had a rough night; I thought you could use a little more sleep and a decent breakfast.”
“You’re right on both accounts.” My smile barely reaches my cheeks, but I own it anyway. When I turn around, I pop my favorite flavored coffee into the machine and hit brew. Nathan comes up behind me, placing the sugar on the counter using his body to cage me in.
“Are you better?” he questions quietly, his lips barely grazing my earlobe.
I answer honestly. “Little bit.”
He takes a step back, giving me space, resting his hip on the counter.
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
I take a sip of my coffee before responding with a smile. “No.”
“Why do I have the feeling that you’re not telling me the whole story, babe? I don’t want to push you, but I didn’t like seeing you like that last night. If there’s something I can do to help, if you’re in trouble and need help, I want to help you.”
His eyes are guarded, the warmth from earlier is marred by something more, an intensity that frightens me. I can’t wrap my brain around it; I don’t understand my reactions to him or his to me, but I desperately want to unload it all on him. Open my mouth and let it all come out, but he would never understand. Why ruin our relationship over something that will soon be part of my past?
“Please, don’t worry about me. I just care about my employees, all of them, and I felt bad for this young girl who had to go through this random act of violence and lose her baby. It took a toll on me seeing her hurting like that; I can only imagine what she must be feeling right now.
”
He cocks his head to the side and takes me in, assessing my words, wondering if I’m lying or being honest. After coming to some sort of conclusion, he nods at me then starts pouring batter onto the griddle.
“Bacon’s done; pancakes will just be a few minutes.”
“Sounds great, thanks. I’ll get the plates.” My heart feels heavy, weighed down by the lies I tell. I feel trapped by them, and I have the sinking feeling that my carefully constructed life is about to come crumbling down around me. It’s almost inevitable, and for that reason, I need to end things as quickly as possible. I have to get out of this messy life I lead by whatever means necessary. It’s time.
***
“What am I going to tell them, Ivy?”
I can feel her eyes on me as I pace the circumference of my office. We’re in here because the new security, Rick, is out in the main office. And NDA or not, we don’t want to talk in front of him.
“You’re going to wear the rug out.” This makes me stop and glare at her.
“Happy now?”
“Yes.” She smiles sarcastically. “You tell them the truth. You’re closing your doors, moving on, game over.” She plops down into my leather chair dramatically with a very loud, obnoxious sigh. “Thanks for that, by the way.”
“You’ll be fine. You always are.”
“Yeah?” she questions, scrunching her nose. “Do I look like I’m set out to work a normal desk job? I’ll die if I’m stuck in an office inputting data and running reports.”
Like I said, dramatic.
“You’re better off at a desk job than you are behind bars, which is where we all could end up at some point. The bigger this service grows, the more dangerous it becomes. Besides, a desk job is not all that much different than what you do now.”
“They’d never be able to handle me.”
