Beautiful Strangers (5 page)

  
“Hey Gracie,” he grinned giving
me a small hug.

  
“I got what you asked for, it
wasn’t easy but I got it. I hate to take your money, but you are going to have
to pay this time. I had to get half of this fronted.”
 
He reaches me a baggie and a bottle.

   
“I had to get you half diet
pills and half coke. I saw you on those billboards. You looked so sexy,”
waggling his eyebrows suggestively at me.

 
  
“That’s not me.” I lied trying to laugh it
off, “maybe I have a twin,” I suggested shrugging my shoulders. “Everyone has a
doppelganger.”

 
We made our exchange and I gave
him the blow. I know he never felt coming.

 
“Evan we need to talk and I don’t
want you to speak until I get my say,” I firmly stated. He nodded in agreement.

    
Taking deep breathes and
closing my eyes, I knew if I looked at him I would lose my nerve. It’s like
ripping off a Band-Aid, just do it Grace.

   
“I know I never gave you a real
explanation for why I ended things between us, but I think you suspect why,” I
said in a jumbled rush.

  
“Grace-”

    
“No I need to say this and
your going to let me. When my father passed away I found out a lot of things
about him and you. More than I wanted. I know what you did and part of me wants
to feel bad for you and try to understand but I just can’t. What you did to me,
well it was awful and if you ever loved me you would have never introduced me
to this life and put me through all the sacrifices I have made to be with you,
because I thought you loved me. I have sold myself to support both our habits.
Hell I have even traded myself to you and I am so disgusted with you, with me.”
I take a moment to control my emotions so I can continue.

 
“This is not the life I want. I
don’t ever want to see or hear from you again.” I practically rammed my finger
into his chest.

    
“Gracie let me explain. Please
you don’t understand. I never meant for it to all go so far,” he pleaded.

   
Waves of tears were crashing
between the two of us and as much as I didn’t want to hear him out if I wanted
closure I needed to. Hugging myself, I gave him his say.

  
Seeing my resolve, he continued,
“I did seek you out at first with every intention of using you and throwing you
to the side just as your father done to my mother, but then I got to know you.
You don’t know what my mom went through. She ended her life because of how he
treated her. She wasted three years on Harry, waiting for him to leave your
mother.” He pauses to light up a cigarette.

   
“I confronted your father after
I found my mother lying motionless on her kitchen floor surrounded by empty
pill bottles. I wanted him to feel the way I felt when I found out I had lost
her for good. Then I saw my chance. I saw your photos all over the place and
the thought of revenge consumed me.”

  
His hands are trembling as he
takes another drawl of his cigarette. A cloud of smoke engulfs me, as if it is
trying to fog my mind and my heart to his trespasses.

  
“I guess it is safe to assume
that’s why your parents split. Because of the affair your father had with my
mother?”

   
I cross my arms as the memories
flood me. My parents divorce had come as a shock after twenty-five years, how
my parents could just throw it all away.

  
“I waited for months before I
approached you. I wanted to be sure your father hadn’t warned you about me. I
really do care for you Gracie. I thought about coming clean after the incident
with Colin but then your father died. By then I was already in so deep, I
didn’t have the guts to hurt you any further than I already had. I was being a
coward”

 
He took a step closer and tried
to pull me into a hug, but I couldn’t allow him to comfort me, not now.
 
Looking wounded he dropped his arms and continued.

  
“ I wanted to do it just pull
the trigger and get it all out there, but then you left and you never gave me a
reason. I thought you left because of what went down at Colin’s. I was so dope
sick, I didn’t care how I got my fix. I should have just been honest. Maybe
things could have been different if I had?”

 
He looks at me questioningly. I
know he is yearning for me to say yes, that I would have appreciated his
honesty. But the truth is it wouldn’t have mattered. The only thing the matters
is that he is a fake and a liar.

 
“Then you would call or text
saying you needed me angel and I thought maybe you would come back. Then I
would be able to come clean so we could start fresh and be a real couple. I
know I was wrong, but I fell in love with you. I never meant to get hooked on
the drugs. I turned into a real loser.” He gives me one last pleading look.

  
“I thought once you left, I
would be free from the lies and deceit. But you took care of me and I didn’t
want lose you. You became so much more to me than I could have ever imagined
and I thought we really could have something if I let us.”

  
I try to calm my nerves. I even
think of asking him for a cigarette. I don’t smoke but I am jonesing and
anything will do right about now. Then again, I don’t want to accept anything
else from him.

  
“Can you forgive me?” He asked
his voice hoarse and trembling. I stood there chewing my bottom lip and I
should have walked away right then, but being the idiot I was I embraced him
and gave him one last kiss. He was clinging to me as I tried to turn away.

  
“Gracie,” he whispered, “
do
not do this.”

   
“I’m sorry Evan, this is
goodbye and if you really feel anything for me you will let me go,” as I pull
away from him.

  
My body was shaking as I walked
back to my car, I don’t know if it was from my nerves or my withdrawals. I slid
into my car and buried my head into the steering wheel and let go the river of
tears I was holding.

  
Then Evan was pounding on my
window screaming, “Gracie please give me a chance. Please!”
 
Not giving him a second glance I left and
hoped I had made the right choice. I could barely swallow my pill I was crying
so hard. I don’t know how I made it home, I am I supposed to work tonight.
Memories of the past two years continued to flood my brain and my heart.

Free for the moment….

    
Oh God I still need to talk to
Jaxson and Jocelyn has left me five voice mails. After my dope kicked in, I
felt a little better and tried to eat but I am so sick to my stomach. I decided
to talk to Jojo cat, maybe hearing about her night would cheer me up. I also
wanted her take on the whole Jaxson situation.
 
I don’t think her cell got half a ring out before she was answering.

    
“OMG what is going on? I need
details. How did you end up with Jaxson Hayes?” she squealed. I relayed our
encounter at Masquerade and then last nights, leaving out the mind blowing sex.

  
“Wow” she said giggling, “I am
blown away by this, you man stealer,” she teased.

  
“I wouldn’t go that far, it was
one night,” I replied calmly.

   
“Well he is one of Nashville’s
sexiest men. Wish my life was this interesting,” she says in an odd tone.

   
“No you don’t,” I mumbled low
enough for her to barely hear me. I could picture her sitting there with a Cheshire
grin twirling her wild red hair around her fingers.
 

   
“So tell me about Bradleeeey,”
I teased sounding his name out. Jocelyn is my best friend but I don’t want to
rehash all the ugliness of my day. As far as she knows, I haven’t seen Evan in
months.

   
The mere mention of his name
was all it took, and she began to ramble about how amazing Bradley was and she
was glad she was rid of that old asshole Robert. She said would have someone
bring her by before work to pick up her car.

  
Work, another thing to deal with
ugh, and I need to go shopping tomorrow, but all I want is to crawl in a hole.
You would think I would be happy. I let go of Evan but there was still a part
of me that loved him, even if he was an undeserving bastard.
 
He tore my heart out and swallowed it whole.
I don’t know if I will ever fully recover.

   
I wanted to lie in my tub and
drown in my own sea of self pity but life goes on and I really do need to work
after the cash I blew on my speed today. On my way to work I had texts from
Jaxson.

   
Jax: I want to see you,
tonight?

   
Me: Sorry not tonight, I have
to work

   
Jax: Maybe after?

  
Me: Okay but I don’t get off
until two.

  
Jax: I will have a car waiting
for you, I’m sure you have a lot of questions and there is so much I need to
tell you.

    
Another big talk was the last
thing I wanted to have but I agreed. Work seemed to be dragging by and I kept
seeing images of Evan looking so broken swimming in my head, and then my
thoughts were drifting back to Jaxson and thoughts of him I could smile at.

  
I was doing the right thing even
if Jaxson and I went nowhere, this was for me. Damn, it was so hard not to give
in to the demons in my head urging me to go into that back stall and send a
little escape from reality up my nose.

   
I thought back to the first
time I met Evan, I had gotten a flat tire and he came to my rescue and now I
wonder if that had been a chance encounter or if he was responsible for my flat
that day. Then my thoughts turned to Jaxson and how sweet and real he was. And
just like that the memories of Evan were being washed away with my new memories
of Jaxson.

   
After Evan hurt me so, I never
dreamed of meeting someone like Jax. I find myself wishing that I hadn’t made
so many horrible choices. What would a man like him, ever see in a used up
woman like me? I was so lost in my own thoughts Reggie had to tell me three
times to get my ass on stage.

   
“Grace you okay?” Reggie asked
and said, “I can push you back a few.”
 

  
“Yea I just need to get a
drink,” I lied.

  
Instead I headed for the
bathroom just one small line so I can focus. After that I powered through the
rest of my shift. I was even happy to do my last dance.

  
As promised, Ritchie had my
contract waiting in his office. “It is very standard and I took the liberty of
having my lawyer look it over as well.” Ritchie explained, “It basically states
that you agree to star in his video and not to discuss Mr. Hayes under any
circumstances unless asked to do so by him or his team” he wipes the beads of
sweat that had formed over his brow.

   
I signed the contract and
Ritchie let me know that someone from Jaxson’s camp would call me for
scheduling. I was met in our side alley by dull green eyes driving a black
Mercedes with blacked out windows.
 
It was
hard to identify him since he wasn’t wearing a mask but I recognized those
eyes.

   
“I take it Jaxson sent you?” I
asked him politely.

 
“Yes Ms. Montgomery, my name is
Raymond. I will be driving you tonight,” he answers in a grave tone. Such an
odd man, I thought to myself as I let myself into the backseat. No way was I
riding in the front with this creeper.

After leaving downtown it felt like we drove forever when we finally
reached a small gated estate in Brentwood.

   
I couldn’t tell much about the
outside of the home in the dark but the inside was definitely nice. A woman
must have decorated, all the furniture in the sitting room was white and all
the woodwork was very intricate. I was walking around the room admiring the
woodwork of his book shelves when every hair on my body began to stand while
goose bumps spread all over my body.

Naughty….

   
I turned to find Jaxson leaning
in the doorway in nothing but pajama pants barely hanging on his hip bones,
quietly watching me. I could have stood there the rest of the night
appreciating his perfectly sculpted abs. No
no
,
scratch that I wanted to run my hands across his stomach and kiss him all over.

   
“So here I am. What is it that
you plan on doing with me?” I teased.

   
Running his fingers through his
messy black hair he laughed. “Depends on whether you have been naughty or nice
since I last saw you.” With a smirk that let me know he hoped I had been
naughty.

   
“I can assure you I have been
extremely naughty,” I giggled backing further away from him.
 

   
“Care to join me in the hot
tub?” he asked crossing the room, wrapping me in his arms.

   
“Okay but I don’t have a suit,”
I gestured at my jeans and black cami I had changed into after work.

 
“I didn’t think a naughty girl
like you would need one?” he winked. I didn’t have time to look over the rest
of the house as he practically dragged me to his sun room where the hot tub was
waiting for us.