Ruining Me (11 page)

“
I
can’t wait to meet your friends.”

My heart drops with his
statement
and I look down at the table
. 
“I’m not close with them anymore.” 
After a couple of seconds I look up
waiting for him to ask why, but he surprise
s
me and d
oesn’t
. 

Compassion f
ills
his eyes and he sa
ys
,
“Must have been painful
losing them
.” 

“Yeah…I don’t like talking about it.”  He nod
s
and beg
ins
telling me more about himself. 
 

The rest of dinner we had light banter back and forth.  After they remove
our food he ask if I want dessert and I say, “Yes,” and look
into his eyes, “You.”

“Babe.”  J
ust that one word from him with the smile on his face
and I’m done.  He finishes paying for dinner and helps me out of my chair.  As we leave I
hear my name and turn
to look back at a table in the corner
.  Coach Branch and his wife were evidently having dinner. 

He st
ands
up, “Hey James, you remember James don’t you Lisa
,” he said
talking to his wife. She just
nods
her head yes and continue
s
to smile at me. 

“How are you James
,”
she ask
s
?

I look down at her and
say
, “F
ine.
”
  My answer must have co
me out
sounding
short because her smile dim
s
a little.
  I turn toward Coach Branch when he sp
eaks. 

“Well who do we have here
Jay
?
  Bruce Branch
,”
he h
olds
his hand out for Kane to shake
which Kane did
. 

“Kane David
.”

Coach Branch cut his eye
s
to me
. 
“I didn’t know you were seeing anyone James.”

“
Sorry
, we really need to be leaving
.
”
 
Cutting off his question, I grab Kane’s hand and walk
out of the
restaurant
pulling him behind me.

As I was rushing out
the door, I let go of Kane’s hand and r
u
n right into
Rhye
as he was coming into the
restaurant. 
He put both his hands on my arm
s
to keep us steady.

“Whoa, slow down
.
”
  H
e rubs my
arms
up and down and he leans
into me, “Looks like you
are
in a hurry Jay
.  E
scaping from your date here?”  He looked up at Kane be
hind me and Kane
seem
s
pissed
. 

Pushing out of
Rhye
’s arm
s
I tell
him
, “No, but if I was it wouldn’t be to you.”

He laughs
and look
s
at Kane.  “She is fiery as shit
and let me tell you it m
akes for a great lay.”

Kane took a step toward
him
, but I grab
his h
and again and pull him toward me away from
Rhye
. 

“F
orget you
Rhye
,
” I said as Kane and I walk
outside.  We made it to his
car
before he
exploded.

“What the hell Ja
y
?  W
ant to tell me wh
at just
happened
back there?  Who was that first guy and his wife and who the hell was that
jack-
off at the door?”
  His face was turning bright red and he was clinching his jaw.
 

Trying not
to hyperventilate
I try
to
slow down my breathing.  Kane was so pissed about
Rhye
that
I d
on’t
think he noticed.

“Damn Jay, when that Branch guy was talking to you I
honestly
thought you were going to puke on him
.  Your face turned solid white.
”  He was staring at me waiting for an answer.

My voice broke when I answer
ed
him
. 
“He’s just a
c
oach at my school.”

“Damn, did he fail you in PE or
s
omething?
”  H
e laughs
at his own joke, but when he notice
s
my face he
ask
, “What is it Jay
?
  What is he to you?” 

“He is nothing to me
,
” I said as I turn
away from him
to open the door. 
Kane grab
s the door and closes
it before I c
an
open it. 

“Look at me Jay, who was that other guy
?
” 

“An asshole,” I rep
ly angrily
. 
He watches me wanting me to say more. 
I sigh
and say,
“He’s just a guy that I
unfortunately
gave the time of day
to
once and now wish I hadn’t.  Look I don’t feel good can you please
take me home
?
”  Kane starts
t
o say something else and I look
at him and
ask, “Please
?
”  He opens
the door for me and I slid
e
into the car. 

Kane was quiet all the way home.  He
had Radiohead’s
“
Karma Police
”
playing in the car.  I turn it
up
loud so I wouldn’t have to talk
to
him
. 
Turning into
my driveway
I
turn
the volume down and
notice that he d
oesn’t
turn the car off a
s
he
glances over at me. 
 

He start
s
to say something but I was faster, “Kane, my life is so
messed up
right now.
  I can’t even begin to tell you how much.  I know you want answers about the restaurant, but right now I can
’t talk about it.”  Tears start
to fall down my cheeks, I couldn’t c
ontrol my emotions.  “You don’t
need this extra drama in your life right now
,
and I come with a shit load
of it.  I know you’re not looking for anything serious.” 
I turn and open the door to get out
, but before I can, he reaches for my arm and turns
me toward him.

“Jay
, your right I don’t need any more bullshit in my life right now
.
”
 

I wince when h
e sa
ys
that
.

“S
o that is why you are going to let me help you work some of it out.  I am not walking away from
what we are starting here
, so we will just deal with it.”  He pu
lls
me toward hi
m, “I don’t know what it is
, but you will tell me all of it, but not tonight.
” 
He
kiss
es
me lightly on the lips.  “
I want you Ja
y
, but I can wait for the right time for us and I know that’s just not tonight.”  I know he could read the shock on my face.  He kisse
s the tip of my nose and ge
t
s
out of the car. 

Coming around and helping
me
out of the car he walks
me to the door.
I unlock it and step inside.  When he doesn’t
follow I turn and he sa
ys
, “Lock the door and turn the alarm on after I leave.
 
I’ll see you in the morning
.
”  He kisses
me lightly
on the lips and turns to walk
away.

“Kane,” I call to him and he turn
s
back around to look at me.  “I thought you didn’t want anything serious?
”  He looks
directly at me.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought
too
.”  He smile
s
and turn
s around to leave
.

Grinning
to myself
,
I close
the door and turn the alarm on.
  My thoughts never le
ave
Kane as I c
rawl into my bed that night and fall asleep.

I was back in the room with the dirty white
walls.  This time I
am
alone.  The
cold
hard metal seat
I was sitting on was situated in the middle of the room.  Looking down I
h
ad on
a
hospital gown, but my stomach was flat. 
I close my eyes tightly when I
fe
e
l hot air being breathed on the back of my neck
.   My dark demon was here again.

He
gently
lifts
my hair and continue
s
to nuzzle his nose
deeper into the crook of
my neck.  “I do so love the innocent ones.  They always taste the sweetest.”  I fe
e
l him lick my
neck and then his needle sharp teeth sink into my
shoulder blade
. 
They pierce my
body
and blood starts
to run down my
arm
turn
ing my white gown red.  He picks
me up and
lays me on the floor.  I hear
him pull his zipper down and fe
e
l him push my gown up. 
The
warm blood r
u
n
s
faster
down
my body. 
He shifts
over me and start
s
to
push into me
painfully. 
I scream as he tears me and he laughs
louder as I
cry
out for help.

I w
ake
again
with warm tears running down my face and body.
  Alone
in my torment. 
A
s I always am. 

I
hit snooze the first time
I t
hink
my
alarm
is going off the
following morning
.  It felt like just minutes later it was going off again. 
Rolling toward the end of the bed
I slam my hand
harder on the snooze
button, but the darn thing w
on’t
turn off. 
Lifting my head up,
I realize then that it was the doorbell.  Damn, it was only 6:30 in the morning.