by Stacy Eaton
I turned to Montgomery for help, he shrugged, “Might as well tell her.”
I stared at him like he had two heads, my mouth slightly parted. Did he have any idea how bad this was about to turn?
“Yeah, might as well tell me.” She straightened her back further.
What the heck was I supposed to tell her? I tried to find words that would make it sound less horrible. Sorry I took you because I wanted you to be here with me. Yeah, that was not going to work, but that wasn’t the only reason.
“Speak, Brock, I’m waiting.”
I stood up and faced her, her pulse was beating fast in her neck, she was nervous.
“Have a seat, Corey.” I stepped away from the couch to allow her my spot.
“No, thank you, I’m fine. Speak.” She tapped her toe. “What do you mean about taking me too soon?” She actually air quoted the taking-me-too-soon part with her fingers.
I continued to watch her. She held my gaze, unwavering. My heart sped to match hers.
Montgomery slapped his hands down onto his lap, expelling a loud breath. “Coralenna, dear, Brock only means that he brought you home just a short time before you were actually supposed to come home.”
Her head snapped towards him, her eyes moving into slits as she did. “Do you mean I wasn’t supposed to die?”
“Yes, well, no. You were supposed to die, just not that day.” My anxiety caused the words to rush out of my mouth.
Her neck twisted back to face me, “What do you mean, I wasn’t supposed to die that day! You took me away from my life before my time?” Her voice rose as she spoke.
“Corey, look, it’s not what you think.” I stepped closer, my hands out and palms up to plead with her.
“Not what I think? You took me away from my life, the people I love. You took me away from Mitch! Why?”
I stared at my feet.
“Why, Brock?” she shouted.
“Coralenna, calm down,” Montgomery stood up and reached for her, she jumped back from him. “Don’t touch me, Montgomery; I’m just as mad at you.”
He put his hands up to ward off her anger and stepped back.
“How dare you! Why did you do it, Brock?” She crossed over to me, stopping inches in front of me. “Why, Brock? Did you think if you took me away from Mitch, I might just love you?”
I swallowed, how close but so far away she was from the truth. “Corey, listen,” but she didn’t. She spun around and stalked away.
She stopped when she reached the door, “If that’s what you thought, Brock, well then it will be a cold day in hell before that happens.”
I watched her stiff back walk out of the room.
“Well, that went just dandy,” Montgomery muttered as he flopped back to the couch.
I sat down, pushing my head into the palms of my hands as my elbows rested on my knees. Swiping my face hard, I said, “What the hell am I going to do now?”
He shook his head, “I have no clue.” We were both quiet for a time, “I guess you will just have to give her a chance to calm down and then go speak to her. You are going to have to tell her the truth.”
I stared at the oak floor. “I should have done that before.”
“I won’t disagree with you there. Let me go find David and have him check on her. I doubt she will want to see me either right now.”
God only knew if she would ever give me the chance to talk to her again, or even try to explain. I watched him phase and dropped my face back into my hands, a tightness in my chest I had not felt for eight years.
~ Corey ~
That arrogant SOB! I screamed inside my head. How could he do that? How could he take my life away before it was supposed to be over? Who made him God?!
I phased to my quarters, stalking the room like a tiger about to go mad. Minutes later, I phased to the beach, but the sound of the water did not calm me. I kicked at a wave as it came rushing in.
“Why?” I shouted up at the sky.
Tears threatened as I felt David arrive beside me. I spun on him.
“Did you know? Did you know he was going to do it?” I accused him without thought.
He put his hands up defensively, “No, Corey, I didn’t know anything about it. I swear. I was surprised when you showed up early, but that’s a good thing.”
“A good thing?” I shouted again and clapped my hands in front of me in fake joy. “Please tell me how that’s a good thing! Please explain to me how taking me away from my life before I was supposed to leave was a good thing, David.”
Angry tears broke through the walls and streaked down my face. When David pulled me into his arms, I was stiff. As his hand rubbed over my back and his compassion raced through my body, I softened and leaned into him.
“Let it out, Coralenna, go ahead and let it out.” He whispered into my ear and, as if his words opened the door to the pain, I grabbed hold of him and sobbed into his chest.
For a long time, he held me, rubbing my back as the pain of what I had learned forged through me. He kissed the top of my head when the tears started to slow, squeezing me more tightly.
“I don’t understand why he did it.” His strong chest muffled my voice.
He pulled back and searched my face, wiping a tear from my cheek. “I have known Brock for a long time, and he always does things for a reason. They might not seem like good reasons at the time, but they end up being good ones later.” He smiled, “He wouldn’t be here if they weren’t. You have to give him a chance, Coralenna. He does care about you.”
I snorted, “Yeah, isn’t that why he did it? Because he cares so much for me that he wanted me for himself?”
“Look, it might seem like that, and I can’t tell you exactly how he feels, because I have never felt what he does, or knew the pressure of what that feeling would do, but I can tell you that what he did was to protect you and the ones you love,” he hesitated, “including Mitch.”
I was confused. Why would Brock feel pressure about the way he felt? “What do you mean about feeling pressure? That doesn’t make sense.” I stepped back from him and wiped my hands down my face, removing the last of the wetness.
David considered the gentle waves for a moment, “Come on, let’s get a change of scenery and talk for a few minutes. Maybe it is time someone told you a bit more about what lies ahead for you here.”
David took my hand and pulled me through to the gardens. We sat down on a teak bench next to a small fountain. I inhaled the vibrant scent that arose in the air.
A scent I recognized very well had me searching the area. I saw the spotted toad lilies in the dirt bed a few feet away and could not contain the smile they brought to me.
Karen had always kept a fresh supply of them just for me. Once a week I would purchase them, and I would display them on my kitchen table or sometimes in my bedroom. David’s voice beside me broke me from my memory.
“Have you heard us mention a connection?” David asked from beside me.
I turned to see him sitting back with his elbows resting up on the back of the bench. “Yes,” I replied.
“It is said that there are those few that would find each other and connect in such a way that no forces could tear them apart, and that, together, they could fight through anything and protect all those that fall under their care.” He turned his head from where he was scanning the gardens to me, waiting for me to absorb what he said.
“And that has to do with me how?” I asked quietly.
The fountain gurgled as water bubbled up and spilled over into the pond below. He watched it as he mulled over his words.
“It is believed that you and Brock are one of those couples.”
His words echoed in my head over and over again, and then I laughed. David watched me, but I couldn’t see him through the tears in my eyes and the fact that I had thrown my head back to expel the sound to the sky.
I grabbed my stomach as the laughter continued so strong my stomach muscles were cramping. David said nothing. He just watched me
.
When I was finally able to speak coherently, I wiped the moisture from my face, “You’re kidding, right?”
His eyebrows rose, “Why is that so funny?”
“What’s not funny about it? I mean we are talking about Brock and me here. How could I have a connection to him? We are nothing alike; he doesn’t even have any compassion!”
“Oh, you are wrong about that, Coralenna. You just haven’t seen it. Since you got here, you two have been walking on eggshells around each other.”
“We have not!” I contested.
“Really?” he chuckled. “You two avoid coming in contact constantly. Do you know how many times I have seen him almost reach out to you and you to him, but you both step away from each other. Both of you are afraid of what could be there.”
“Or what could not be there,” I threw back. “Who knows if that story is even true? I don’t have the kind of feelings for Brock that he does for me. Who knows if I ever would?”
“You might not have them now, but you have only known him for a short time. He has known you for years.”
I leaned back on the bench, “So what am I supposed to do about it? Am I supposed to pretend that I care about him for this strange connection you talk about?”
“No, there will be no pretending. When it happens, there won’t be any pretending about it.”
I turned to him, “If it happens.”
The side of his mouth tipped up, “Right, if it happens.”
“What am I supposed to do in the meantime?” I heard a frog croaking someplace nearby and tried to search out the source but failed to find it.
“Maybe you need to try talking to Brock. Ask him to tell you why he did what he did, and how he really feels.”
“What if he won’t answer me?”
He reached over and took my hand, gently squeezing it, “He will. He knows it’s time to tell you everything.”
I squeezed his hand back, and we lapsed into silence. We were just two content friends keeping each other company, each lost in thought.
I didn’t know where his thoughts were, but mine toiled with what this connection was that I was supposed to share with Brock and what that would mean for my feelings with Mitch.
~ Mitchell ~
Just like almost every other night I was off, I found myself sitting on a barstool. Sometimes the whole squad came, sometimes just a friend or two. A few times, I sat alone.
Tonight Joe sat beside me and two shots of whiskey had just been slid across the bar to us, our third set of the night. I eyed the caramel-colored liquid. I hated the taste, but it numbed the pain. I reached out and grabbed it, lifted it, and threw it back without a second thought.
It burned on the way down, but the burn felt good—like punishment.
“You know what you need?” Joe said from the stool beside me just before he downed his shot.
I watched him wince as the liquor traveled down. “What?”
He lifted up two more fingers to the bartender, ordering another round of shots for us, and then faced me, “You need to get laid.”
“Get real, Joe.”
He laughed, “I’m serious. When is the last time you had sex? When Corey was alive?”
“We never had sex, Joe, our relationship wasn’t like that. I told you that before.”
I watched him shrug out of the corner of my eye, “Okay, so if you didn’t sleep with Corey, when is the last time you had sex? ’Cause I know you haven’t had sex with your wife.”
I snapped my attention to him, “How the hell would you know about my sex life?”
“Because, brother, Beth told me. She said you haven’t touched her in over a year.” He slapped me on the back, “Dude, what are you waiting for, virgin status again?”
“Why would she even talk to you about that stuff?” I picked up the new shot, tossed it back and then chased it with my beer. I motioned for another one.
I should be pissed that she was saying anything to him about our relationship, but lately I just didn’t care what she did.
“Man, she’s worried about you. She calls me once in a while to ask how things are and to see if I can talk to you, again.”
I stared at him, “She does not.”
He smiled, “Yes, she does. She’s not stupid man; she knows you cared about Corey.”
“I didn’t say she was.” I took a long drink of my new beer and found another shot sitting next to it. I twisted it around in my fingers. “I don’t think I can stay married to her, not after this, not after everything.”
“Then maybe your marriage really is over, but Mitch, man, it’s been six months since Corey died. You gotta let that shit go.”
Six months, one hundred and eighty days since she lost her life at my hands. I lifted the shot and drank it fast. It didn’t burn as much now.
“Look, you don’t want to go home to your wife, fine. Take a look around you, man, all these sweet treats! There are a whole lot of badge bunnies just waiting to be frisked,” he leered at me.
“You are one dirty son of a bitch,” but even as I said the words, I scanned the room.
He was right; there were quite a few women around. I examined them as closely as I could, there were a lot of young women who wanted nothing more than a quick meeting and another notch in their handcuffs.
A blonde leaned back in her seat and winked at me, I stared back, my vision slightly bleary as the whiskey started to take effect. I turned back to the bar.
“That’s not me.”
He laughed, “Not you? It’s every man! Who doesn’t want a good piece of ass for one night? You are already thinking about leaving Beth, so why not start off the rest of your life with a quickie?” He clapped me on the back.
I lifted up the new shot glass that had shown up in front of me. I was drinking more than I normally did, but tonight was different. Tonight was the six-month anniversary of her death and maybe the ending of my marriage.
I threw the drink back and almost spit it over the bar when Joe clapped me hard on the back, “She’s coming over here.”
I swallowed and checked over my shoulder. The blonde was approaching, a long-neck bottle held loosely in one hand, her other slipped into the top pocket of her tight jeans. I watched her approach. For the first time in a long time, I felt something stir inside me.
“Hey, Joe, who’s your friend?” Her voice had a sultry quality to it that matched the seductive eye makeup she wore.
“Hello, Rebecca!” Joe said too loudly beside me. “This is my partner, Mitch. Mitch, my man, this here is my sweet tempting friend, Rebecca.”
“Hi, Mitch,” she held her hand out to me, and I turned to take it. Her grip was soft, a little too soft for my liking, but the pout on her mouth when she said my name had me ignoring that.
“Hello, Rebecca.” I pulled my hand away and watched Joe stand up.
“Rebecca, here, save my seat, I just saw someone come in and I want to go say hello.” I saw him wink at her. I blinked and found my vision shifted slightly from the amount of alcohol I had consumed.
She slid easily onto the stool, turning her body towards me, her leg rubbed up against mine. I thought about shifting away, but I was becoming hungry for the touch of someone. I knew in the back of my mind that the whiskey was causing my hormones to flare, but I ignored the wavering thoughts.
“So, how do you know Joe?” I asked before lifting my bottle up to my lips. She watched me drink, her focus on the lip of my bottle. She licked her own full lips. The stirring I felt before was becoming an urge inside of me.
“He helped me out with some things. I used to be hardcore into drugs, he showed me the light, helped me get cleaned up. He’s been a good friend.” She smiled and drank from her bottle. I watched her swallow, visualized my mouth on her throat as she did. I shifted in my seat. “So you’re his partner, huh?” She set her bottle on the bar, leaning forward so her legs pressed tighter to mine.
“Yeah.” Even as I drank more, my throat felt parched, I finis
hed my beer and set the bottle down with a thud on the hard glossy wood.
“So what’s it like working with Joe?” she asked and casually laid her hand on my leg. The muscles bunched on their own under her touch, she squeezed gently.
“It’s never boring.” I picked up the new bottle the bartender had just delivered and took a swig.
“No, I guess it wouldn’t be.” Her hand ran up my leg a few inches. The lack of fulfillment in my life took full notice at the movement.
She used her other hand to lift her beer to her lips, a drop ran past her lips and down from the corner of her mouth. Her tongue slipped out to catch it with a little giggle. I took a deep breath.
“You wanna get out of here, Mitch?” she said softly, peering at me under her thick lashes.
I turned away from her and scanned the bar. Joe was standing on the other side talking to some guys from another department. He raised his bottle to me and mouthed, “Go for it” before smiling.
Screw it.
I turned back to Rebecca, “Yeah, let’s get out of here.” Tipping my beer back, I guzzled about two thirds of the bottle and then set it down on the bar, stood up, and waited for her to get off her stool.
I walked out behind her, not looking at Joe, but feeling like he was watching me and laughing.
When we stepped out the door, the cooler night air wrapped around us and she slid her hand into mine. She pulled me to the side of the building, one of the lights was out in the parking lot putting us in deep shadows.
She turned suddenly and pushed me up against the building, not hard, but forcefully enough that it startled me.
Her lips connected with mine a brief moment later and her tongue pushed for entry. All at once, the need to feel, feel anything, rushed over me and I wrapped her in a strong embrace, taking from her what I needed, what my body craved.
She threw her arms around my shoulders, pulling me close, deepening the kiss even more. I spun her around, pushing her against the wall. I felt the growl she released inside her chest. I swallowed it, I wanted it, and right that second, I needed it. My hands went to her butt, and I lifted her up. She wrapped her legs around my waist, pushing against my hardness.
