Playing Patience

by Tabatha Vargo

  Words couldn’t describe the way it felt to watch her being pulled away from me knowing I could never be with her again, knowing that once I took the blame for this my life would never be the same. She came into my life and washed away all the bad, and I loved her with every part of my soul. It was the least I could do.

  I could hear her screams down the hallway and I waited for someone to show up so they could call the police on me, but she went silent and no one ever came. I stood there looking over the two bodies, one unconscious and one dead, and thought about what my next move should be. I dug into my pocket and pulled out my cell phone. The text messages were still open and I stared down at all the “Where are you?” messages I’d sent to Patience.

  I cleared the screen and pulled up the dialer to call someone. I typed in the number nine, but stopped when I heard someone come up behind me. I spun around and came face to face with who I could only assume was Patience’s mom.

  She gasped for air as she held on tightly to her IV stand. A purple handkerchief covered her balding head. She struggled to stand and I could only imagine what it took for her to get out of bed and come to this room. She stared back at me with fevered eyes and pale skin.

  Her watery eyes took in the room. They grazed across Sydney passed out in her bed and then down at her husband’s crumpled body. Her shaking hand came up and covered her mouth as she started to cry.

  “I’m so sorry,” I said into the silent room. “I couldn’t let him hurt her.” I pointed over to Sydney’s body.

  “Is she… is she dead?” Her voice was as frail as she looked.

  “No, ma’am, she just passed out, I think.”

  I saw relief run through her body. She took in the room, her husband’s naked body, her daughter’s ripped clothes, and I saw it in her eyes the moment she realized what was happening.

  “How did you know?” she asked.

  There was no point in lying to her.

  “Patience told me. He’s been molesting her since she was a little girl.”

  I hated that it sounded so cut and dry, but there was really no other way to say it. Her legs buckled like she was going to fall. I moved quickly and caught her. I pulled her over to a white, padded chair that was in front of a desk in the corner and helped her sit.

  “How do you know Patience?” she asked with tears on her face.

  “She’s my girlfriend,” I said firmly. “I’m in love with your daughter, ma’am.”

  A tiny hint of a smile touched her lips.

  “You’re Zeke?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” I nodded.

  She reached out and patted my cheek softly. Her paper-thin skin felt cold against my cheek.

  “She loves you, too.” She sighed. “Zeke, do me a favor, son.”

  “Anything.”

  It was the least I could do considering she thought I killed her husband.

  “Hand me that gun, call 9-1-1, take Sydney with you, and promise me you’ll take care of my girls.”

  My brows pulled down in confusion.

  “I’m sorry, I don’t follow. Who’s to say you won’t shoot me if I give you this gun?”

  It was a valid question. I didn’t know how much of my story she believed. For all she knew I’d broken in and shot and killed her husband and her daughter.

  “I’ve had my suspicions that my husband was a sick man. I should’ve said something and saved my girls. This is my fault and it’s the least I can do.” Her shoulders dropped. “I’m dying, Zeke. I have days at the most, and now my husband is dead. If you go to jail for life simply for doing something I failed to do, then who’ll care for my girls?”

  She smiled sadly at me as she reached down and used what little strength she had to pull the gun from my hand. I knew I should’ve stopped her, but she was right. Patience needed me. Especially considering her mother was going to die soon.

  She used the thick cotton of her robe to wipe the handle of the gun and laid it in her lap.

  “Now, be a good boy and do as I said,” she rasped.

  I nodded and backed away.

  I pulled out my phone and called the police. I told them someone had been shot, gave them the address, and then hung up. She smiled up at me and shook her head as if she agreed that what we were doing was right.

  I turned away, picked up Sydney’s limp body, and then turned to walk out of the room.

  “Zeke.” She stopped me. “I’m so glad Patience has someone in her life like you. Tell my daughter I’m sorry I didn’t protect her and tell her I love her.” Tears flowed down her sallow cheeks.

  “Yes, ma’am.” I adjusted Sydney’s body in my grasp and walked away.

  I hated leaving her there so sick and frail, but it was what she wanted, and while I would’ve been more than willing to take the blame for killing that sick son of a bitch, Patience needed me. I’d always be there for her no matter what.

  Thankfully, Sydney was out the entire ride back to my apartment. I’d never been formally introduced to her and I didn’t want her waking up and showing her ass thinking I was kidnapping her. Not to mention, she’d gone through something pretty traumatic already.

  I wasn’t sure what story Patience wanted to tell her, but either way, when she woke up she’d find out her father was dead. Had it been me, I’d be happy the bastard was gone, but she might not take it so well. The girls’ lives were going to change from this point on, and I planned on being there to help them through every step of the way.

  When I walked through the door holding Sydney’s body, Patience stood from the couch and pushed Finn and Tiny out of her way. They’d been doing a good job guarding her apparently, and she looked pretty pissed about it. She ran to me and pushed Sydney’s hair from her face, and then she looked up at me with a look of confusion.

  “What happened?” she asked with wide, accusing eyes.

  “Here, give her to me. I’ll put her in your bed,” Tiny said.

  I handed Sydney over to him and he turned to take her to my room. Finn nodded his good-bye as he turned and left the apartment.

  I reached out to Patience and attempted to pull her into my arms. All I wanted was to be close to her. We’d almost been pulled apart tonight and I wanted to feel her against my body, but she put her palms against my chest and stopped me.

  “What happened, Zeke?” she asked again in aggravation.

  The sun was beginning to peek through the living room curtains and bathe her face. There were tear stains on her cheeks and her hair was a ratted-up mess, but she was still the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.

  “Your mom, she heard the commotion and came to the room.”

  Her eyes got large and she started to panic.

  “Is she okay? We have to go to her. What did the cops say? Why didn’t they arrest you?”

  I looked at her with sadness in my eyes. I knew what I was about to tell her was going to upset her, but I just hoped she could see as her mother did.

  “She took the blame, snowflake. She asked me to give her the gun, and then she told me to call the police and bring Sydney to you.”

  She exploded.

  “And you let her! You let a dying woman take the blame for killing her husband!”

  She pulled away from me and started digging through my pockets for my keys.

  “It’s what she wanted, baby. I told her I shot him to protect you and she said since your dad was dead and she’d be dying soon, she wanted me to take care of you and your sister.”

  She wasn’t hearing me. She was too busy trying to get my keys. When she finally got them she ran toward the door. I caught her around the waist and she struggled against my hold.

  “Don’t do this, Patience. It’s what she wanted.”

  She growled at me and beat me in the chest. I was afraid I was hurting her so I loosened my hold a bit and she took the opportunity to get away. I ran after her and tried again to stop her, but finally she got away and ran to my car. When she locked the driver’s door and started to crank the car, I
ran around to the passenger’s side and jumped in.

  I spent the ride to the police station trying to talk her out whatever it was she was planning on doing, but she wouldn’t even look at me, much less talk to me. It was like I wasn’t even in the car.

  “Baby, please stop the car. I don’t want to lose you. Just think about this. Your mom was right and it’s what she wanted. I promise I wouldn’t have done it had she not asked me. She wanted me to tell you she was happy you had me and that she loved you.”

  That got a response from her and more tears slipped down her face.

  By the time we made it to the police station, the sun was up completely. There were reporters everywhere outside the station, waiting for the news on the governor. Thankfully, none of them noticed Patience. With her head held high, she went into the police station in a heated rush. I was right behind her, begging the entire way to please think things through. Still, she ignored me.

  When we got to the counter, a young officer looked down at her with concerned eyes.

  “Is there something we can do for you, ma’am?”

  I didn’t miss the fact that he looked over at me with suspicious eyes. I was sure it looked like she was running from me because I was a danger to her, when all I was trying to do was save her.

  “Yes, my mother was brought in for murdering my father, the governor, last night. I’d like to confess and have her released immediately. She’s sick and she doesn’t belong behind bars.”

  She was beginning to raise her voice and cops were turning and looking over at us. An older detective came over and ushered us into a small questioning room.

  “Where’s my mother? I want to see her right now,” Patience demanded.

  The detective looked at her with sad eyes and I knew right away he was about to give her awful news.

  “Ma’am, your mother never made it to the station. When we saw the state she was in, we called in an ambulance to have her taken to the local hospital instead. But she never made it to the hospital. I’m sad to tell you she died in the ambulance.”

  I reached out and pulled Patience to me as soon as he said those words, but she pulled away from me and slapped me hard across the face. She looked at me like I was an intruder, like I wasn’t the man she was in love with, and my heart broke. I understood she was upset and I needed to let her grieve the death of her parents, but still, it hurt like hell.

  She turned back to the detective.

  “I killed my father! Do you hear me? I killed him. That bastard sexually molested me all my life and I wasn’t about to let him do it to my little sister. Arrest me, damn it! Arrest me!” She was crying hysterically.

  The detective calmly sat her down in the chair and handed her a tissue.

  “Miss Phillips, this is off the record. I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that. It’s in the books that your mother killed your father and the case has been closed. If what you say is true, then the bastard deserved to die. Let’s not ruin your life because you were protecting yourself and your sister. I can keep a secret if you can.

  With luck that I didn’t know we had, Patience and I walked out of the police station and weren’t sentenced to life in prison, thanks to the detective who decided to turn his head.

  He was right. There was no need for Patience to ruin her life over that asshole, especially when the blame had already been set and her mother had already passed.

  When we got back to my apartment, I followed behind Patience and shut the front door. For the first time since I’d told her about her mother’s confession, she turned and acknowledged me.

  “I’m going to go be with my sister. Stay away from me, Zeke. We’re over.”

  She didn’t even look me in the eyes, and just like that, Patience had killed twice in less the twenty-four hours. I was sure my heart had stopped and I was positive I was dying as she walked away from me, went into my bedroom, and shut the door behind her.

  Twenty-Six

  Patience

  Three days later, my mother was buried at a private burial. Sydney stood beside me and held my hand as we watched them lower her pretty pink coffin into the ground. I felt numb inside. I couldn’t cry even though the tears were choking me. Her death was expected, but I’d hoped she would die warm in bed at home.

  As for my father, I ordered that he be cremated and his ashes spread over the Atlantic. He didn’t deserve that much, but since the news stations were making a big deal out of everything, I figured it would draw more attention if I didn’t do at least that. Had it not been for the reporters, I would’ve left his ass on ice in the morgue.

  They both had life insurance on them, but I couldn’t touch it until I was twenty-one. My Aunt Sarah in Florida had custody over Sydney and even though I called her and begged her to let Sydney stay with me, she refused and I had to pack my sister up and send her to Florida. It was the hardest thing for me to do. I’d spent years protecting her and there I was, sending her off to live with a stranger.

  I promised her once all was settled with our parents’ possessions and properties, I’d move to Florida, too, and I would. I wanted to get the hell out of this town and leave everything behind, everything including Zeke.

  I couldn’t get past that fact that he’d allowed my mother to take the blame for my father’s murder. I couldn’t let it go that he was the reason she died in the back of an ambulance and that Sydney and I didn’t get to say a proper good-bye. I loved him, but I hated him for doing that to me.

  He called continuously and texted constantly until finally I had my number changed. I didn’t want to hear his voice. I didn’t want to talk to him. I just wanted everything to go away.

  I was now able to drive the gray Toyota, so I drove over to Megan’s to tell her good-bye before I left for Florida.

  “I’ve missed you so much,” she said as she hugged me tightly.

  I told her the truth about everything. I wasn’t worried about her telling people. She agreed that my father deserved what he got, but what she didn’t agree with was my decision to leave Zeke.

  “He’s a mess, Pay. At least he was the last time I saw him. Me and Chet called it quits,” she said sadly.

  I pulled her into a hug.

  “Oh my God, Megan, I’m so sorry. I’ve been an awful friend, but I’ve just had so much going on.”

  I felt horrible for not being there for her, but with everything that happened, I barely had time to think about myself, much less anyone else.

  “Girl, please.” She swatted at me and rolled her eyes. “With everything you’ve had going on; the last thing you needed to worry about was my stupid love affairs.”

  We cried when it was time for me to leave and we promised to stay in touch through phone calls and texts. She even promised to come down to Florida for a week or two during the summer.

  An hour later, I was on the road and on my way to my new life. Florida wasn’t much different from South Carolina. It was hotter and the houses were flatter, but not much different.

  My sister ran into my arms when I got out of my car. I’d never been happier to see her sweet face. My life was wreck and she was the only person I really had left. My aunt welcomed me with open arms and I promised to start a job or school as soon as I got settled.

  It was exactly two days later that I started missing Zeke like crazy. The effects of my mother’s death and the drama were starting to wear off and I was realizing I needed him more than I thought. I missed his voice, his smile, everything about him, and being so far away from him only made it worse.

  I got up the nerve to call his cell, but it was disconnected. I thought that was strange and I was starting to freak out a bit. What had I done? Yes, I was in the middle of distraught moment, but I pushed away the only man I’d ever loved, a man who was willing to serve life in prison for me.

  Suddenly, what my mother did made sense. I could see it from her point of view. Why let your daughter or the man your daughter loved serve jail time over something that was well deserved? She k
new her time was coming to end and she knew we had long lives ahead of us.

  I called Megan in a panic.

  “Hey, Pay!” she sang into the phone.

  “I’m trying to contact Zeke, but his phone’s been disconnected. Do you know how I can reach him? Maybe you could call Chet and get his new number?”

  She was silent on the other end and I heard her take a deep breath. Every bad thought I could think of ran through my mind. What if something happened to him? I couldn’t handle losing another person that I loved. I wanted Zeke and I wanted him here in Florida with me.

  “Pay, I don’t know how to tell you this, but literally the day after you left the big news was that Blow Hole got picked up by a label out of California.”

  I felt happiness fill me. Zeke was probably ecstatic and I hated I wasn’t there to celebrate this milestone with him.

  “That’s great, Megan! I bet they’re happy. Why would you be afraid to tell me that?”

  Again, she was silent on the other end.

  “Well, because he’s gone, Pay, all of them are. They hauled ass to California.”

  The floor shifted beneath my feet. Zeke was thousands of miles away instead of hundreds, and his loss was sinking in and leaving me in a state of distress.

  I didn’t even remember hanging up with Megan. Zeke was gone, off living his dream, and I’d probably never hear from him again. The only real connection he had in South Carolina was his father and they didn’t even talk anymore. I had no way of getting a message to him. He ran away to California thinking I hated him. He was there surrounded by bleach-blonde California bimbos and knowing him, he was probably taking out his heartache and anger on one of them in the form of rough sex at that very moment.

  The weeks flew by from that point on. I lived my life in a never-ending state of depression. My sister and aunt commented on my behavior, but I couldn’t help it. He was gone and I couldn’t find a way to reach him.

  I got a shitty job at a restaurant close to my aunt’s house and since school was out, Sydney spent most of her time with Aunt Sarah at the beach. Every day was the same. Wake up, go to work, come home, sleep, but no matter what I was doing, I thought about Zeke.