Unexpected Love (Unexpected Series)

by Charlene Martin

  Pleased by his words, I beam, “Not as much as I,” knowing full well that I mean every word.

  With a suggestive grin he replies, “I sure hope so.”

  Then the shrill of my cell phone wakes me from dream, leaving me totally sexually charged. I look at the time and it’s about 4am. Who the hell is calling me at this hour? The caller ID says that it is Damon calling “Shit.”

  Something must be wrong. I answer and ask, “Is everything ok?”

  He slurs a little, “Yea kind of, I was out playing pool with the guys.”

  I roll my eyes with aggravation, “Have you been drinking?”

  “Um, yea I had a few.”

  “You sound like you had more than a few. Where are you? You didn’t drive did you?”

  “No, I’m outside the bar in my car.”

  Unbelieving his carelessness I ask, “Do you need me to come get you?”

  He softly speaks into the phone, “Yes, please. I don’t want to drive.”

  Well maybe I was a little harsh, so I try to sound a little less judgmental and say, “Ok. I will be there soon.”

  I hang up and type in the local cabs number on my phone. As I am pulling on my jeans, I hit call. I throw my shirt over my head and grab my keys. I wait a few minutes outside for the cab to arrive. I get in the car and tell him the address to take me to. I sit there with my phone in hand waiting to hear from Damon. I flip it open to see the time again, when I look up I notice the cabby eyeing me. I try to let it go, but the longer we are in the car the more uncomfortable I feel.

  I should have told someone what I was doing. What if this creepy guy tries to rape and kill me? Shit, what do I do? Opening my phone again, I text Damon and let him know what cab company I called and I look to the front of the cab to find the cab number, I type it in and tell him that I am really freaked out by this guy. I slide my phone on vibrate and wait for his response, but I don’t get one. Luckily, the cab driver might have been a creeper, but he took me straight to the bar.

  As I get out, I hand him a twenty and tell him to keep the change. Seeing the mustang parked down a few cars, I speed walk to it. I get to the car and Damon is passed out in the front seat. I bang on the window, he jumps, and looks to me startled. He reaches for the door handle and gets out. A little pissed at the situation I yell, “Why the hell didn’t you answer my text? I was sitting in the backseat of a cab and the guy was a total creeper. I was fucking scared to death!”

  Holding up his hands, “I am sorry. I must have dozed off waiting for you. I am sorry, but it looks like you made it here ok, thank you for coming.”

  I try to calm myself down realizing there is something else going on here, “Are you ok, what’s going on with you?”

  With a low voice, he says, “No. I am not okay, my parents are getting a divorce, and it is bad. My dad came home for Christmas. They got mad when I went out to see you. Then when I got back in, they were fighting. It was a mess. It ended with dad telling mom that he wants a divorce. He told her that he is moving in with his secretary. Then he left and mom was a wreck. She was crying and I just couldn‘t take it anymore. So I came here.”

  Realizing that I might have overreacted I tell him, “I am so sorry to hear that. Can I do anything to help?”

  He shrugs his shoulders while giving me sad eyes and utters, “No, just be here with me.”

  Pulling him into my arms I whisper, “Ok, I am and I love you. It is going to be ok.”

  He hugs me tight, “Please don’t ever leave me.” I just squeeze him tighter and rub his back to comfort him.

  I stand there pissed as hell watching as she holds that screw up. I can’t believe he made her come out here this late at night to take a cab, what was she thinking? I could strangle them both.

  We get into the car and I drive us back to my place, its late and he doesn’t want to go home. We sneak into my room and get into bed fully clothed I might add. He wraps me in his arms and I fall asleep.

  I don’t take my eyes off of her the whole night. I watch her as she lies in his arms. At first, I was furious with him and her. This is my girl and he might have her now, but one day that will change and when it does. I will be the one holding her and watching her as she sleeps. Until that day, I try not to let anger get the best of me. I will just have to be content with watching and protecting her from afar.

  We wake late in the afternoon and I know my parents know that he stayed the night because his car is in the front drive. I get up, get dressed, and tell him he can shower in my bathroom while I go down and try to smooth things over with my parents.

  I walk down the stairs, knowing full well I am in deep shit. Dad is sitting at the table reading the paper and mom is doing dishes from breakfast. As soon as I walk into the room, Dad asks, “What the hell is Damon doing spending the night?”

  With apologetic eyes, I reply, “I know you’re mad, but it was an emergency kind of situation and I had to go save him.”

  Dad uses his angry tone and says, “What do you mean you had to go save him?”

  “I had to go out last night and pick him up. He had been drinking a little.”

  Dad replies sternly, “How did his car get here?”

  Regretfully answering, “I called a cab and went to the pool hall to pick him up.”

  I could see Dad’s temper slowly rising, “You did what?”

  Pleading with him I respond, “I know I am in big trouble. I know I should have told you I was going out and believe me when I got into that cab with that creeper I realized my mistake. Damon really needed me and I wasn’t thinking clearly, I just wanted to help him out, I was worried, and his parents are getting a divorce. They were fighting yesterday. His mom found out that his dad has been sleeping with his secretary. His dad left to move in with her. Damon tried to comfort his mom, but she was a mess and it ended up getting him upset. He left to go play pool; some guys passed him a few beers and he ended up drinking them. He called me at 4 am to come pick him up.”

  Mom speaks first this time, “I am so sorry, is he okay?”

  I shake my head and answer, “Not really he doesn’t want to go home right now.”

  “You know you should have woken us up. What if something happened to you? We would have had no idea you left.”

  Feeling a pang of guilt, “I know; I am really sorry.”

  Sternly dad speaks, “Don’t ever do that again. If something like that ever happens, please wake us up, we would be willing to help. That is what parents do for their children.”

  Understanding his concern, “Ok, I will, I promise.”

  Dad is still upset, but he understands why I went out last night. His next question is the one I am more worried about though, I know, it’s coming I can feel the awkwardness in the room. “So he stayed the night in your room?”

  Taking a deep breath I answer, “Yes, but I swear nothing happened.”

  Uncertain of my answer he eyes me and then looks to my mom, “This one is all yours. You need to have the talk with her.”

  Knowing that we have already had the talk I wait for dad to leave and then mom says, “I am making you an appointment with the doctor and you are going on the pill.”

  “What? Why? I am not going to have sex. I don’t want to.”

  Expressing her concern, “You don’t have a choice young lady! If your boyfriend is going to have sleepovers, than you might end up having sex. I know that we cannot stop you from doing it. So I would be happy knowing that you are protected if you do.”

  Admitting defeat I utter, “Fine, if it makes you happy. I just want you to know that I am not having sex. I don’t plan on having sex until after I am married.”

  Just then, I hear Damon coming down the stairs and I say, “Shh, here he comes.”

  He walks into the kitchen and my mom give him an apologetic look then says, “I am so sorry Damon. If there is anything that we can do, please let us know.”

  “Well if it’s okay can I stay here for a few days?”

  “I
will talk it over with Mr. Perry and let you know.”

  Smiling back at my mom, “Thank you so much and I am sorry for dragging Arissa into this last night. Please forgive me, I was foolish.”

  I watch as mom leaves the sink area, comes over, and hugs Damon while saying, “All is forgiven honey.”

  Mom talked things over with dad and he was not happy about the situation, but he did understand. Damon is allowed to stay over, but I have to keep my bedroom door open at all times. I can totally live with that it’s not like I really want to have sex with him. Oh and sure to my mom’s word I have a doctor’s appointment next week to arrange a prescription for the pill.

  We go back to school tomorrow and my parents have devised that he can’t stay on school nights. Therefore, he has to go home tonight. Which he is not too thrilled about. Every time he goes home his mom is a mess, she is so depressed all she does is cry. I feel for him I really do, I wish that he could stay here. I just might sneak him in my window tonight. I have found that I like sleeping with him and I do mean just sleeping. As I walk him to his car, he kisses me goodbye and I watch as he gets in and drives off. I am so worried for him, I begin to tear up, and this is tearing him apart.

  Chapter 5

  You know I am really starting to hate that alarm clock. I awake from my beautiful dream and get ready for school. I go outside to get into my new car and I see Damon waiting for me next to his.

  “Hey babe, I was thinking of driving my car today, since it’s new and I want to show it off. I hope you don’t mind. Do you want to ride with me?”

  “No, that’s fine I will just meet you at school?” He utters.

  I walk over to him and give him a quick peck on the lips. He looks so depressed. “Hey, are you ok?”

  “I just have a lot on my mind right now.”

  Shrugging it off, “I understand; if there is anything I can do, please let me know. I am here for you babe.”

  Giving me a tight squeeze, “I know babe, I’ll meet you at school.”

  He follows me to school and as we get out, everyone is staring at us, as if we are so weird for not riding together. He parks next to me and we meet in the middle. He places his arm around my neck and we walk to our lockers.

  His class is on the other side of campus, giving me a quick kiss, “See you for lunch.”

  Taking hold of his hand I nod, “I love you.”

  He lets go and walks off I hear him half-heartedly tell me, “I love you too.”

  As I am about to close my locker, Elena approaches me looking concerned, “Hey is everything okay between you and Damon?”

  Looking at her, not sure of where to start. “I really don’t know. He gave me a promise ring for Christmas and I accepted it. Then his parents ended up separating and he has become so distant and depressed. I don’t know how to handle this situation. I had to go pick him up at 4 am the morning after Christmas, because he had been drinking. It’s just been a complete mess.”

  “Well maybe you should take a break for a little while, let him work through all this on his own.”

  I jump to Damon’s defense, “I can’t do that. I would feel like I am abandoning him.”

  Waving me off, “It’s not abandoning him; it’s giving him space to react the way he needs to. You can still be there if he calls you for help. Just step back a bit.”

  “I will have to think about that for right now. I am just trying to be a good girlfriend and be his outlet.” The bell rings and reminds us we only have a few minutes to get to class.

  Speaking before she does, “I’ll see you in second period English.”

  Smiling at me, “Yes, I can’t wait for you to read what I wrote over the break.”

  We had to write a short story over Christmas break. I wrote one about a girl who has these vivid dreams about a man she ends up falling in love with. Does that sound like anyone to you? I swear I have a better relationship with the man in my dreams, than I do with my actual boyfriend. I think I might be in trouble.

  I walk in to Mr. Braddock’s class and hand him my exam. He gives me a wry smile, “How are you doing Miss Perry?”

  Smirking at him, “I’m doing fine.”

  “Well that was quite the show you put on the other day?”

  Being a bit of a smart ass I respond, “Well, I thought I would wake everyone up before the test.” We both laugh and I head to my seat.

  Class is uneventful and I am happy for that. I enjoy school, but I also enjoy the break from dealing with all this stuff. I have to start doing some community service hours if I want to get into a good college. I haven’t done any this year so far. I usually just volunteer at the hospital, but I think this year I will try out for something different, maybe, ‘Habitat for Humanity’.

  Maybe Damon can come with me and that would keep him out of his house and his mind off things. His mom is still a mess. A part of me can’t seem to understand why though. It’s not like his dad was ever home and I am sure she had to suspect that he was cheating on her. All the warning signs were there; staying at work late, not being affectionate, and most obvious is buying extravagant gifts to make up for his absence. I swear some people are blinded by love.

  After school, I go to the counselor’s office to see Mrs. Jennings about community service hours. I knock on her door and she peers up at me from behind her computer, “Hello Arissa, can I help you with something?”

  Smiling at her, “I am trying to find out what community service positions are still available? I am thinking of doing something like Habitat for Humanity.”

  Looking through her papers, “I see. Yes, that one is still available and it has several positions that need to be filled.”

  I squeak, “Great, can you please sign Damon and me up for this weekend?” She agrees to sign us up and I head to the parking lot to meet Damon.

  I see Damon standing next to his car talking to a bunch of his friends. Walking up to him, “Hey, I signed us up for community service hours this weekend. I thought it would be a great way to spend time together.”

  I don't quite get the response I was hoping for. Seeing Damon's quick mood change, his friends tell him they will see him later. He looks at me angrily, “Why the hell did you do that?”

  Taken back by his sudden attack I yell, “I did it to spend time with you and I have to get my service hours done, I haven’t done any so far this year.”

  “Well just because you are going to college, doesn’t mean I have to be dragged into everything you have to do for college.”

  Now I am really pissed off, I scream, “Fuck you Damon, I will go work with all those hot sweaty guys and be the only female there. How do you like that?”

  His face changes quickly realizing his mistake and calmly says, “Fine, I will go but, I better be the only hot sweaty guy you will be checking out.”

  Toning my anger down a bit, “Well that depends on what you are wearing or should I say not wearing?”

  Smiling back at me, “That can be arranged.”

  I smile. The thing that really sucks is that I had to use his insecurities against him in order to get him to do this with me.

  Saturday morning at six am, I meet Damon outside. I let him drive, so that everyone knows that we are together. Since Damon is the jealous type, I do not want anyone to hit on me. That is the last thing I need is Damon starting a fight.

  We work on building a wall together; Damon is showing me how to use a nail gun. He holds it between our hands, shows me where to place the tip and then he says ‘to pull the trigger like a gun’. Then, I pull it and amazingly, it goes in.

  “Now try it by yourself.”

  I hold the gun just like he did, but I wasn’t expecting the gun to have so much force as I pulled the trigger. I stumbled backwards and tripped on a cord falling right on my butt. I look back at him, he is laughing at me. I don’t know why I am such a klutz! I give him a dirty look, get up and try again, determined this time. I expect the force and I get the nail in. Looking at him, “Well I did it
and I only had to fall on my ass once.” We both laugh. We spent all weekend there. When we were done, I felt like I had really done something important. I felt proficient and I felt like I had really accomplished something, and it felt good.

  I signed up for every weekend for a month. Damon came for the first few weeks and then he didn’t want to do it anymore. I think that’s where we started to drift apart. I was driving myself to school and he wasn’t going to community service with me. We hardly have seen each other. I started to see some differences in him. He was being more distant and the bad boy things were getting worse.

  He started coming to school smelling of alcohol and that was a big turn off for me. The only time I would see him was before school, during lunch, and after school for a little bit. He was so distant. I tried to do as Elena had instructed and let it go for a while, but after a few months, I had to say something. Therefore, I asked him to meet me after school at my house. My mom and dad wouldn’t be home for a few hours, they were going out to dinner to celebrate their anniversary.

  I don’t talk to him after school; I just get in my car and head home. He gets to my house just a few minutes after me. We go inside and I sit him down and start to tell him how I feel.

  “We don’t see each other much anymore and I am going away to college soon in a couple of months. You are in a bad spot with things that are going on with your family. I know you are depressed and I can’t imagine how hard this is on you, but I think we should take a break from our relationship.”

  He sits there quiet at first and then with a sense of desperation he pleads, “Please don’t break up with me, I can do better I promise. I will stop drinking and I will spend more time with you. I will even go back to community service for you. Just please don’t break up with me. You are the only thing holding me together right now.”

  How can I deny him this, “This is the last chance you have to straighten up and get your life together! I need someone who loves me and who is going to be there for me. Not some jackass that is out playing pool and drinking till God knows what time.”