Mending the Soul (11 page)

"Ok, I will.  See you later!"  Emma yelled, running out the back door.

"Later 'Gator!"  Colby shouted after her.

Jenna walked out the door just after Emma had shut it, to stand on the back deck and make sure that Emma got in her house all right.  When Emma entered her house with no problem, Jenna's heart sunk a little more, knowing that things really were bad enough between her and Nicholas for him to ignore the call from her house like that.

Later that afternoon, Jenna called Vanessa again.  "Hey Ness.  Thanks for talking me through last night.  As much as I can remember, it made a lot of sense."

"No problem.  Anytime.  You and Nicholas belong together, I'll help out in any way I can.  Nathan will too."  Vanessa told her.

"Speaking of, what's going on between you two?  Seeing him two nights in a row?  That is so unlike you!"  Jenna teased.

"Tell me about it.  I don't know, things just clicked between us.  It's funny because neither one of us are the relationship type, but we both hate leaving each other when it's time to part."  Vanessa said with wonder in her voice.

"So, we may have finally found a man to tame the 'Vicious Vanessa'?"  Jenna asked.

"Oh, who knows.  It's only been two days.  And stop calling me that.  Just because I broke some guys heart in college and he gave me that nickname, doesn't mean I have to live with it for the rest of my life."  She laughed.

"Oh, but it fits you so perfectly, darling!"  Jenna whined.  "So, tell me, is Nathan there now?"

"Um, why would you ask such a silly question?"  Vanessa stammered.

"He is there!  You little hooker!  Has he even left at all this weekend?"

"He went home yesterday to get some clothes.  He was gone for like an hour and it felt like an eternity!"  Vanessa blushed.  "This feels so weird!  Usually I can't wait to get rid of the guy the next morning, now I'm trying to come up with ways to make him stay."

"Ah, my little Nessa has finally fallen in love!"  Jenna teased.

"Oh hush!  Don't even bother saying that 'L' word around me.  You know I don't believe in it."

"Well, stick around, because you just might realize it actually does exist.  And you might realize it sooner than you think."  Jenna laughed.

The two girls sat on the phone talking for a little while longer, but then Jenna let Vanessa get back to entertaining her house guest.  Vanessa and Jenna were like night and day, but they got along so well.  Jenna was forever a romantic, or at least she was before Kyle, and Vanessa was forever the hook-up artist.  She didn't believe in love, only lust.  She used guys for what she wanted, then got rid of them.  The one thing that was good about Vanessa is that she never lied to the guys she was with or gave them false hope.  She was straight up with them when she told them they had no future with her, that she was only looking for a good time.  And, yes she used guys, but not for material possessions.  She used them to satisfy her carnal desires, and nothing more.  Vanessa looked at the world of men in a different way than most.  She always told Jenna that her motto was "Play or be played."  She had been really hurt by a guy who played her in high school and took her virginity.  He promised Vanessa the moon and stars, only to leave her alone and broken hearted.  Vanessa vowed to never let that happen again, and from that point on, she never let another man come into her life, beyond the barrier that she built up.

Jenna had always been a firm believer in love, which is why she stayed with Kyle for so long.  She always thought that love could conquer all, and that love would be enough to keep her marriage going.  Unfortunately, it was lust that tore them apart, Kyle's lust for other women.  Even though she was hurt by Kyle's exploits, she still felt that love was an important part of life, and someday she would find it again.  Jenna knew that not all men were like Kyle, that there were some decent men out there who wouldn't hurt the woman that they loved.  She had yet to find him though.

Vanessa and Jenna made the perfect set of friends.  They were just the right compliment of pessimism and optimism to even each other out.  They had been friends since high school, and there was no end in sight for the dynamic duo.

A few days later, Nicholas was still silent.  She hadn't seen him or heard from him since that Saturday night.  Emma still came around and played with Colby, but they didn't share any dinners, and Nicholas didn't come over to visit while Emma and Colby played in the back yard.  Jenna felt really alone and missed the time that she usually spent with Nicholas.

Thursday night, Emma was over playing with Colby and was getting ready to go home for the night.  Jenna stopped her before she got out the door and handed a gift bag to Emma.  "When you get home, give this to your daddy for me, ok?"  Jenna asked.

"Ok, good night Jenna.  Night Colby!"  Emma said and disappeared out the door.

When she walked in her house, Emma gave the gift bag to her father.  "Daddy, Jenna wanted me to give this to you."

"Thanks pumpkin."  Nicholas said to her as she walked up the stairs to her bedroom.

Nicholas sat looking at the bag.  After pondering for a few minutes about whether or not to open the bag, he finally looked inside.  He pulled a Yankees hat out and smiled.  Jenna knew that Nicholas didn't have any Yankees stuff, and she always swore that she was going to turn him into a fan.  Attached to the brim of the hat was an envelope.  Nicholas opened the seal of the envelope and found a letter with four tickets to the Yankees game that Saturday.  He slowly unfolded the note and read it.

Dear Nicholas,

I got you this hat when we were shopping last weekend.  You didn't even notice, did you?  I promised I'd make a Yankees fan out of you yet.  I bought the tickets to the game a while ago, and I wanted to take you and Emma for Emma's birthday.  I know that you don't want to see me right now, so take the two extra tickets and give them to someone that deserves them.  Have fun and wish Emma a Happy Birthday for me when you get there.  Make sure she looks at the big screen during the 7th inning stretch, there'll be a special message for her up there.

I miss you.

Love,

Jenna

Nicholas was touched beyond belief.  Not only was Jenna good to him, but she was good to Emma too.  It's not very often that someone will accept you for who you are, let alone your daughter too.  Nicholas knew that he had to make things better between him and Jenna, and he had an idea in his head.  He just hoped it would work.

That Saturday morning, Jenna was puttering around her house doing some house work when the doorbell rang.  She ran to answer it, and got the shock of her life when she saw the person on the other side.  "Kyle!  What the hell are you doing here?"  She asked bitterly.

"What, I'm not allowed to come and visit my son and ex-wife?"  Kyle asked innocently.

"First of all, you gave up your rights to call Colby your son.  Second, we don't want you here."  Jenna said angrily, trying to shut the door on him.

"Well, that's too bad now, isn't it?"  Kyle said, pushing past Jenna and walking into the house.  "I've missed you, and I thought maybe I'd come back and give you a second chance."  He said as he walked into the living room, looking around to take in his surroundings.

"A second chance?  Kyle, I want nothing to do with your sorry ass, ever again."  Jenna was starting to get annoyed.

"Ah, baby, quit fighting it.  You know you want me.  You know you want to fuck me again.  You miss riding me like you used to."  He said as he looked her up and down.

"You're so delusional.  What makes you think I would ever let you touch me again?  You had your chance with me Kyle, in fact you had several chances with me, and you ruined it.  You ruined all your chances."  She spat.

Kyle stomped over to Jenna and pushed her up against the wall.  He grabbed her wrists and slammed them against the wall, over her head.  "I know you want me to touch you again.  You miss the feel of my skin against yours.  You miss the feel of me inside of you."  Kyle said as he ground his hips into hers.

"Kyle!  Stop it!  You're hurting me."  Jenna yelled.

"Then stop resisting me bitch and let me make it feel good."  Kyle whispered in her ear.

"Get away from me!"  Jenna yelled.

Kyle crushed his mouth onto hers, kissing her hard.  Jenna could feel his erection growing in his jeans as he pressed against her.  When he shoved his tongue into her mouth, Jenna bit down hard, breaking through the skin.  She could taste his blood in her mouth as she felt the bile rise up her throat.  She pushed him away from her as he was stunned by her biting him.

Just before he could come back at Jenna, the back door flew open.  Nicholas ran in and rushed over to where Jenna and Kyle were fighting.  He had seen Kyle forcing himself on Jenna and was going to come in sooner, but he wasn't sure if Jenna was consenting to what Kyle was doing or not.  When he saw Jenna bite Kyle, he knew that Kyle was hurting Jenna, and he had to stop it no matter what.

"I think you need to leave."  Nicholas told Kyle.

"And who are you?"  Kyle asked.

"I'm her boyfriend, and if you don't get the fuck out of here, there's going to be problems."  Nicholas warned.

"And I should be afraid?"  Kyle asked.

"Yeah, you should, you little bastard. She's moved on and doesn't want you in her life anymore.  Don't make me hurt you, and don't make me get the police involved."  Nicholas warned.

Kyle just looked at the two of them.  "The little slut isn't worth it anyways.  She never was good in bed so I had to find other woman to satisfy me like my wife couldn't.  Take her, she's yours.  Don't come begging me to take her off your hands when she can't please you either."  Kyle spat and walked out.

Nicholas turned to Jenna.  "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, thanks to you.  How nice, almost raped by my ex-husband, save by the man that can't stand me."  Jenna slid down the wall and sank to the floor.

"Jenna, don't say that I can't stand you!  You're too important to me."  Nicholas told her, kneeling down so that he could look into her eyes.  "I was so scared when I saw you in here with another man, thinking that I had lost you forever, then I was furious when I realized that he was hurting you.  I don't want to lose you Jenna, I like you too much."

"So we're friends again?"  Jenna looked at him, hope shining in her eyes.

"Well, I was thinking a little more than friends…that is, if you'll have me?  I'm sorry for running out on you the other night.  I just needed to sort some things out.  I'm still not sure about everything, but I want to see where this thing between us leads."  Nicholas told her.

Jenna smiled.  "Well, I guess we could give it a shot."  Nicholas stood up and pulled her up with him.  She finally realized that he was wearing his Yankees hat.  "Hey, you better get going.  The game starts soon."

"Well, I can't go yet.  You haven't put your jersey on yet."  Nicholas told her.  Jenna just looked at him, confused.  "Jenna, you and Colby are coming with us.  He's at my house with Emma already.  Grab his jersey and put yours on and let's go!"  He told her, laughing.

"Are you sure?"  Jenna asked.

"Yes, now hurry up or we'll miss the beginning.  We still have an hour drive ahead of us!"

Jenna smiled and ran upstairs to get the jerseys.  She threw hers over her head and tossed Colby's on her shoulder.  She raced downstairs where Nicholas was waiting for her.  She saw him standing at the bottom of the steps watching for her, so when she got to the last two steps, she leaped off and jumped into Nicholas's arms.

Nicholas twirled her around as their lips met in a steamy kiss.  "We better go before the kids come looking for us."

Jenna nodded.  "Thanks."  She told him.

"Huh?"

"Thanks.  For saving me and stuff."  She smiled.

"It was my pleasure.  Now let's go!" Nicholas said as he grabbed her hand and dragged her out the door.

The group managed to get to the baseball game with plenty of time to spare before the first pitch was thrown.  Colby and Emma were both so excited to be at their first major league baseball game.  Their little eyes took in everything that the stadium had to offer as they looked around in awe.

Jenna led them to their seats, in the first section on the third base line, only about 15 rows up from the field.  Nicholas was impressed with how great the seats were.  Colby and Emma looked like it was Christmas for them. As they sat down, they chattered on excitedly about all the players that they saw on the field warming up.

"Well, I think that you are Emma's new hero.  She'll never forget this birthday. How did you manage to get such great seats?  They must have cost a fortune!"  Nicholas told her.

"Well, one of my clients owns these seats and he gave them to me for a really great deal.  I'm glad that Emma is enjoying herself, I just wanted to do something special for her.  She has really been a godsend to Colby.  I thought he was going to take our move hard, but Emma really sort of cushioned the blow for him.  Their friendship has made it a lot easier on both of us.  Besides, Emma is such a sweet girl and I just love her.  You have done such a good job raising her, you know that, don't you?"  Jenna said.

"Yeah, she did turn out pretty good."  Nicholas laughed.  He was proud of his daughter, even though she was only eight.  She came through a tough time in life with so few scars, he wished he could say the same for himself.  "Well, I know I appreciate the tickets, and Emma does too.  So, thank you."