I laid on my sofa wondering how over the past few days my entire life had imploded on itself. Mitch was going to be so angry when he found out, and who could blame him? I texted him to see if he was awake, desperate to tell him myself, but he didn’t reply. I knew showing up at his house would cause a giant scene and Lillian would get in the middle and make things even worse. I could only hope Mitch was asleep and I could talk to him before Garrett did. But somehow, given how things had been going, it seemed unlikely.
Chapter 30: Mitch
I had been in my room since Heather left. Going out and facing my mother was more than I could stand and as far as I knew Garrett wasn’t home. Then, I heard a knock on the door. Begrudgingly, I got up to open it, thinking my mother was on the other side. But it was Garrett.
“Man, I’m glad to see you. We really need to catch up.”
“Yeah, that’s the plan. You feeling okay?”
“I feel okay. My head still hurts at the point of impact, and the headaches come and go.” “Great. I thought if you were up for it we could go shoot some hoops down at the park.”
“Let’s do it. I need to get some fresh air.”
“Mind if I borrow a pair of shorts and a shirt? I only brought a limited amount of clothes.”
“Sure,” I said, turning to open my dresser drawer. I handed Garrett a pair of black shorts and a long-sleeved blue shirt.
“Get ready and I’ll meet you out front. Let’s be quiet and not wake up Mom.”
“Okay, see you in a minute.” Garrett closed the door and I began changing. Shooting hoops was one of our favorite things to do together. Just like old times. Even though it felt like we had done it last week, not years ago. Spending time with him was what I needed.
I met my brother on the front porch like we always did when we snuck out to play basketball. Mom never knew…it was our secret. Doing this made me feel more like myself again and I was grateful for the chance to pick Garrett’s brain.
We began walking toward the park and Garrett was pretty quiet.
“So, do you know why I broke up with Heather after graduation?” I asked.
“I’m afraid so.”
“Is that why you were cold toward her at the hospital?”
“Yeah. She didn’t treat you very well back then, but she seems to be better now. Are you two going to make a go of it?”
I was surprised at his cavalier attitude. If he knew she had cheated, lied, and aborted what I thought had been my child, why would I make things work with her now? Surely he would know that I hated deception. That wasn’t a new thing, surely? Something was weird. I was going to get to the bottom of this if it took all night.
“Do you think I should make things work out with her?” I asked, realizing I had to be just as careful with Garrett as I did with my mother. It was becoming exhausting feeling like I couldn’t trust my own family.
“Well, you do love her, she’s who you remember, and she’s really trying hard to be there for you.”
He wasn’t giving me the answer I expected to hear. I assumed he would advocate for Charlie and I to be together. She was my fiancée after all. “Well, Heather has a lot of great qualities. Do you think she has my best interest at heart?”
“I actually really do, bro. She does love you even though she made mistakes in the past. Maybe this is your second chance.”
I wanted to tell him that he was fucked in the head if he thought I was going to be with Heather, but I didn’t. My gut was telling me there was more to the story. “What about Charlie then?”
“I think you should tell her to move on with her life. She deserves better than waiting around for you to remember her, don’t you think?”
By now we were at the court and Garrett began bouncing the ball. With each sound of the bounce, my head hurt and my anger grew. He wanted my girl and he was disguising it as concern for me when he was just really concerned for himself. What the fuck! I seemed to be having an out-of-body experience. Everything was sideways.
“So, then Charlie should end up with you, right bro?” My tone was biting, and I was readying myself for a fight. The fight of my life.
Garrett stopped bouncing the ball and just stared at me for a moment. “Yeah, she should. You have Heather and I’ll take care of Charlie.”
“Wow, you’ve got it all wrapped up in a nice, neat package, don’t you?”
“Mitch, I didn’t plan any of this, but I can’t say I’m unhappy that I could be with Charlie. I love her and always have.”
Shooting hoops wasn’t going to be happening. “What’s happened? You obviously have something else to tell me. Why would you think Charlie would give up on me and go with you?”
“When Charlie saw you with Heather at the Italian restaurant, she got pretty lit. She was very upset, so I stayed with her.”
“What do you mean, you stayed with her?”
Garrett just raised his eye brow and gave me a look.
“In our bed?”
“Yes. During the night, she reached out to me and we made love.”
“You bedded down my woman?” I practically shouted. “What the fuck were you thinking, Garrett? How could you betray me like this?”
“My desire and love for her usurped my loyalty to you. I’m sorry. I’ve been in love with her for years. Plus, you dumped her for Heather.”
“But that doesn’t make it right, you asshole.”
I lunged at Garrett, catching him off guard and the fight began. We were both fighting for the same woman and I was going to be damned if he was going to take Charlie away from me. What the? I’m fighting to keep Charlie? Is this why he left in the first place? He was in love with her and couldn’t have her?
I delivered a right hook, hitting Garrett in the eye. He took my punch, but gave me an upper cut to the ribs. We continued throwing punches, neither of us thinking about the consequences or our surroundings.
My vision was blurry and Garrett was spitting out blood when they showed up. What had begun as a fight between brothers turned into something else entirely.
Chapter 31: Charlie
Sweat had beaded upon my brow as I awoke from my dream. The guilt from having sex with Garrett was wreaking havoc on my mind. Mitch knowing what I had done would be the undoing of our fragile relationship, but stopping Garrett was beyond my control. Everything about this was now beyond my control. All I could see was the hurt that was going to be on Mitch’s face when Garrett told him. I had no doubt whatsoever Garrett was going to tell, it was just a matter of when. This mistake was going to haunt me for the rest of my life.
Sitting up, I decided I would sleep the rest of the night in bed, rather than the sofa. That’s when I heard it. The jiggling of the doorknob. Someone was outside my door. Fear shot through my body and I tiptoed to the door to look through the peephole. Maybe it was Garrett and I didn’t have to freak out. But if it wasn’t. Someone was trying to break in. My mind went blank. I didn’t know what I was going to do if someone got into my apartment.
All I could make out was that it was a man. He was wearing some sort of ski hat on his head and I knew it wasn’t Garrett or anyone I knew. Why I thought it would be Garrett at two in the morning was completely stupid. Panic was setting in.
I ran to the kitchen and grabbed a butcher’s knife out of the block. If he got through the lock, I would stab him before he broke the chain. It was the only thing I could think of. So I stood there, watching, listening, waiting…scared shitless. I had a plan, but didn’t know if I could follow through with it. But, my years of taking marital arts in college came rushing back to me and a calm spread over me. I could hear my teacher’s voice telling me to breathe and strike hard. Within seconds, the door was ajar and the chain was the only thing between me and my assailant. The ski mask was pulled over his face, so I had no idea who I was about to stab. Holding the knife firmly, I jabbed it through the six inch space and hit my target.
“Son of a bitch,” he yelled out.
I retracted and stabb
ed again. And again. And again. Each time he yelled out. I kept the knife in my hand and grabbed my phone, dialing 911.
“911, what’s your emergency?”
“A man is trying to break into my apartment and I have stabbed him. Please…I need the police.”
“Is he in your apartment?”
“No. I stabbed him before he broke the chain on the door. But, he’s trying to break the door down by ramming into it. They need to hurry.”
“You stupid bitch. I’m coming for you,” he screamed at me.
“You need to get away from the door and lock yourself in another room.”
I began running down the hall. I locked my bedroom door and then went into the bathroom and locked that door. “Okay,” I said huffing, “I’ve locked myself in my bathroom. Are the police coming.”
“Yes. They’ll be there in five minutes. I’m Gina. Tell me your name.”
“Charlie.”
“Stay on the phone with me, Charlie. I’m going to be right here with you until the police arrive. Do you still have the knife?”
“Yes.”
“Do you hear him in you apartment?”
At that moment, I heard a crashing sound, like glass breaking. “Where are you, you fucking bitch?” he ranted.
“He’s inside. He’s breaking things. How much longer?”
“Three minutes, Charlie. Stay quiet. Are your lights on?”
“Yes.”
“Turn them off. If he breaks through the door, you’re going to need to be able to see him before he sees you.”
“Okay,” I whispered. Getting up to turn off the bathroom light, I could hear him beating against my bedroom door. Tears streamed down my cheeks knowing he would be at my bathroom door in no time.
“Is he getting closer, Charlie?”
“Yes,” I whispered.
The moment of truth had arrived. The bathroom door knob was turning and he was banging his body against the door. I braced my feet against the door, pushing with all my might.
“Open this door,” he commanded. That’s when I knew who he was. I finally recognized his voice.
“Or what, Eric?” I yelled back.
“The man in my apartment is Eric Machado, an old boyfriend,” I told Gina.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I recognize his voice.”
“Who the hell are you talking to?”
“911. The police will be here any second.”
Everything went silent, except for the pounding of footsteps. He was running away and I could hear the sirens coming toward me.
“What’s happening, Charlie?”
“I think he’s leaving,” I gasped out. My voice became high pitched and I couldn’t control it.
“Are you hurt in any way?”
I turned the bathroom light back on. “My arm is bleeding. I scraped it while stabbing him through the door.”
“Are the lacerations deep?”
“I think so. I’m bleeding a lot.”
“Do you have someone who can take you to the hospital?”
“No.” I was beginning to feel faint. A knock on the door grabbed my attention.
“Miss, it’s Officer Sanders with San Diego PD. Are you all right?”
Beginning to unlock the door, I dropped my phone and fell to the floor. “I think I need…I need help.”
The officer pushed the door open and I gazed up at him. He took the towel hanging on the rack and began to apply pressure to my arm as I started to fade out.
Chapter 32: Mitch
Lying on the cold hard ground, searing pain was shooting through my body. What had begun as my brother and I beating the shit out of each other turned into us attempting to fend off four young thugs. They seemed to appear out of nowhere and had caught us off guard. We had done our best to defend ourselves, but the odds were against us since we were outnumbered and had already been beating on each other. Garrett was lying a few feet away and wasn’t making a sound. He was so still…so quiet.
“Garrett. Can you hear me?” Nothing. He was motionless and I knew he was hurt pretty badly. The gang had used the playground equipment as weapons. At one point, I think he had been choked with the chains from the swings. What if they killed him? No, no. It can’t be that bad.
I heard sirens in the background. Hopefully someone had the good sense to call the police or an ambulance. We both needed one desperately. At least we had ended up near the basketball court and there was some light so we could be seen.
After zoning out for I don’t know how long, I heard voices.
“Sir, are you okay? Can you hear me?”
I tried to say yes in my normal voice, but I couldn’t, so I reached out with my hand.
“Okay Shane, this one is conscious. How’s your guy over there?”
“Unconscious. Looks like he’s lost a lot of blood.”
I kept my eyes on the officer. “We have two ambulances coming. They’ll be here any minute. Just try to relax. Do you have any identification on you?”
I shook my head. No ID but I had my phone. Never left home without it. I motioned to my pocket, hoping that in the fight it hadn’t been broken. The officer pulled it out and said, “I’m going to say names and you nod if that’s who you want me to call. I nodded. When he said Charlie’s name, I nodded again. The officer called her. “No one’s answering. I’ll keep scrolling.” When he said Mom, I nodded again.
He began talking to my mother as the paramedics arrived on the scene. They went to Garrett first as he was in more serious need. Then another set of paramedics came for me. I kept going in and out of consciousness as they drove me to the hospital. Each time I was lucid, I saw Charlie’s face. Then I saw her in bed with my brother. The thought of them together made my chest pound and my heart rate go up on the monitor I was attached to.
“Sir, try to relax. We’ll be at the hospital any moment.”
How could I relax? I had beaten up my brother after he told me he had slept with my fiancée and wanted her for himself. Then we had been attacked. Relaxing wasn’t in the realm of possibilities.
As we were both being rushed through the hospital corridors, I heard the doctors talking about getting us into surgery immediately. I also heard my mom’s voice.
“Are they going to be okay?” she asked the doctor.
“Both of your sons are injured pretty badly. We won’t know until we get them into surgery. The nurse has some forms for you to sign and we’ll let you know as soon as we know anything.”
Chapter 33: Charlie
Opening my eyes, I realized I was in the hospital. I looked down at my arm and I had a long gash with stitches. My parents walked in as I was glancing at the IV attached to my other arm.
“Sweetie, we got here as soon as we could. The police told us someone tried to break in? What happened? You weren’t…he didn’t…?” My mother couldn’t finish her last question as she put her hand over her mouth.
“No, I’m okay. Nothing happened to me. Well, I cut my arm while shoving a butcher knife through the crack in the door in an attempt to stop him from coming in.”
“That’s my girl,” my dad said, bending down to kiss me on the forehead. “We’re so grateful you’re okay. If anything had happened to you—”
“I’m okay, Dad,” I said, putting my hand on his. “At first I didn’t know what to do when I saw the door knob turning back and forth, but then I came to my senses.” My parents each sat on either side of me holding my hands as I told them I was pretty sure Eric had tried to break in. I also told them about seeing him at the Mexican restaurant.
“Did you give his name to the police?” my dad asked.
“Yes, they are looking for him. I don’t know if they found him or not. But I’m pretty sure I did stab him a couple of times. At least I think I did. He yelled out, so I’m assuming his blood is on the door and the front porch.”
“Well, the police will gather all the evidence. He needs to be locked up,” my mother said.
“Yea
h, somehow I think he didn’t go to anger management classes like he claimed.”
“They’ll find him and put him behind bars like he deserves,” my dad stated.
“Honey, we have something to tell you. Something we found out before we came to see you.” My mom’s eyes were filled with tears.
“What is it? What happened?”
My parents looked at each other which made me very nervous. “Please just come out with it.”
“When we came in, we saw Mitch’s parents. They were in the waiting room.”
“Did you talk to them? Is Mitch okay?”
“Mitch and Garrett were found in the park both beaten up. They don’t know what happened, only that they are both hurt badly enough to each be in surgery,” my dad said, stroking my hand with his thumb.
I laid there speechless, envisioning them pounding on each other because of me. Because of what I did. Now I was going to have to tell my parents and see the disappointment in their eyes. I wasn’t ready to tell them, but it was going to come out one way or another.
“I…I have a feeling they were fighting.”
“Why would they be fighting?” my mother asked.
How could I tell them? They loved Mitch so much. He had been part of our family for a long time and my dad especially viewed him like a son. This was going to kill my parents. Tears streamed down my face and I began swallowing hard. Where would I find the words?
My parents waited patiently for me to say something. “You’re going to hate what I have done. I’m a terrible person.”
“What are you talking about, sweetie? You’re a wonderful young woman. There’s nothing you could ever do that we would hate,” my father retorted.
I sighed heavily, bracing myself before I started telling them. “Garrett has been looking after me since he got back into town.”
My mom nodded naively. “We know. He called us when you had fallen asleep to say you weren’t coming over.”
Forgotten by You Page 12
