Forever & More: The Friend Zone series (22 page)

“All right. I’ll be up there in a bit. I gotta clean some of this shit up before Erin has a damn fit.”

“Good, cause ya got a shit ton of dirty laundry you need to take with you.” I turn my back to him to exit the office. “Oh, and can you take my car back to the apartment or something? I don’t wanna give away that I’m hanging out here.”

“Sure no problem,” he agrees.

Up the stairs I go; I walk inside and head straight for the shower. My phone is sitting on the bar in the small kitchen where I left it, so I go grab it to check for any missed calls or messages. My steps halt when I see one from the last person I expected to see a message from.

Skye, sorry to bother you but I wanted to tell you the verdict was guilty. You probably already heard but I wanted to be the one to tell you. I’m sorry things turned out like they did, I’m not sure what more to say. Just know that the pain I caused you with my actions was never intentional. I can keep you updated about the baby if you want or you can hear from Harley. You’re welcome to come to everything and be as active as you want. I’m not going to pretend that I understand why you want to be with her but I can’t worry about that. I have to worry about me and the baby. I have an appointment tomorrow Harley knows all the details. Thank you for all you’ve done. There will never be another that can fill your shoes.

I’m always here for you if you need me, that will never change.

That was the most awkward text I’ve ever gotten. She still thinks I hauled ass with Jay, never to look back. It’s only been twenty-four hours, so I’m not sure what I expected. Her mind is probably trying to convince her it’s the worst scenario out of the hundred I know are plaguing her.

This is one hell of a cluster fuck. She has an appointment tomorrow for the baby and I won’t be able to go to that because of the way I look. It will scare her and she’ll ask a million more questions that I can’t answer. I'm wouldn't answer her questions right now anyway.

I clutch my phone in my hand, desperate for it to ring and the person on the other end have the answers to all of my questions, but it doesn’t. I close my eyes, trying to sort my thoughts and I can feel myself begin to drift to sleep.

My thoughts manifest into dreams that haunt me from the time I slipped off until the sound of Brady beating and screaming wakes me from my nightmares. When I sit up, I’m covered in sweat and breathing fast. My heart is pounding against my ribs, trying to break free.

Brady opens the door before I can even catch my breath.

“Dude, what the hell happened to you? You’re soaked,” he questions while shutting the door.

I don’t respond, I don’t know what happened. I can’t remember the dreams, I just know they involved Chloe and whatever happened scared the hell out of me.

I get up, walk into the kitchen, and fill a glass with water from the tap.

“So, the office came up empty. When do you want to go to Todd’s? I think we need to stake it out before we try to just bust up in there.” I nod in agreement.

“You ready?” he asks.

“Let me get a shower and then we can go,” I respond on my way to the small bathroom. I shut the door and strip. I turn the water on and step in the spray. I let it wash over me; the heat from it somewhat relieves my tense muscles.

“Hurry the fuck up and let’s go,” Brady shouts from the other side of the door.

I silently scrub myself of any invisible funk that’s growing on me. When I’m done, I step out and grab a towel from the tiny closet to my left. Wrapping it around my waist, I exit the bathroom. When I enter the room, I see Brady sitting on the couch and flipping through a book. But not just any book, Chloe’s journal.

“Don’t!” I bark and snatch it from his hands.

“Chill, dude. I didn’t read it. I opened it, saw who’s it was, and that’s when you walked in. Why the fuck do you have that?” he asks.

“It was in my Jeep when I left the trial today,” I tell him.

“Yeah, but how did it get there?” he asks. I don’t know why I didn’t ask myself that sooner. How
did
it get in my Jeep earlier?

“Fuck if I know. It was just there, so I brought it up.”

“You read it?” He looks at me already knowing the answer. “Dude, you’re fucking brave.” He laughs. “That chick finds out you read her shit, she’s gonna fuckin’ kill ya. You can tell you were an only child,” he informs me.

“Where are your clothes?” I change the subject. He points toward the bedroom. The room is dark, there’s only a dresser and mattress lying on the floor. I cleaned everything when I was in here earlier and changed the sheets, but I didn’t go through the dresser, I thought they were Toms and the thought of wearing his clothes creeped me out.

“All of these in here are yours?” I ask for clarification.

“Yeah, I sent his shit to goodwill. I didn’t think anyone would mind since that’s what y’all did with most of his stuff anyway.”

“That’s cool. So, would you rather me wear your boxers or go commando?” I’m only asking for his benefit. At this point, I couldn’t give two shits.

“Put some fucking drawers on. My granny always told me, always wear a clean pair of underwear in case you’re in a wreck,” he shouts from the living room.

“What the hell does that have to do with anything?” I genuinely want to know. I’ve never heard that before.

“Fuck if I know, man. Granny always said crazy shit like that.” He chuckles.

I dress quickly in
his
underwear, a Led zeppelin T-shirt and a pair of jeans. I slip on a clean pair of socks and my boots and I’m ready to go.

We exit BAR a few minutes later and climb into my Jeep. Brady and I make the drive to Todd’s house in a tense silence. When we arrive in no mans, it looks exactly like the last time I was here, empty and neglected. Todd’s house shows no signs of life and that gives me a sense of comfort.

“Fuck it, just pull in. Doesn’t look like anyone’s here,” Brady breaks our silence.

“I don’t know, man.” Unease fills me. We don’t know what we’ll be walking in on.

“No one’s here. Look at the grass, it’s a foot tall. The mailbox is overflowing and the driveway is covered in leaves. No one’s been here and nobody’s coming to this dump.” I take in all the things he mentioned and he’s right. The place has been empty for who knows how long.

“Fuck it,” I spit out and pull into his driveway.

“Let’s just be quick, okay? In and out,” he says more to himself. We jump out of the car and run to the house. The door is locked, so Brady begins kicking the half rotten door. After a few kicks, the door swings open on its creaky hinges. We enter an empty living room; I go right down the hall and Brady goes left toward a kitchen. There’s nothing, not a stitch of furniture, not even a damn dust bunny.

“There’s nothing this way,” Brady yells from the other side of the house. I backtrack my steps until I find him in the living room.

“There ain’t shit here, let’s get the hell outta here.” I show my agreement by swiftly exiting the house. Brady climbs in the Jeep the same time I do. We exit the house as if it’s about to explode.

“FUCK!” he yells, punching the dash. We should have known this was a dead end.

“What’s next on that list? Do you remember?” I ask.

“Warehouse, safety deposit, um.” He thinks for a second. “Oh, offshore account and something about locks.” None of that means shit to me.

We decide to take me back to BAR and let Brady take my Jeep to the apartments. I don’t need it and I don’t want anyone to know where I’m at.

“I’m probably not coming back tonight, but Kasey will be here in a few to open up for me. Just lay low and call me if you need anything. There’s some canned shit that will get you by for tonight in the cabinet.”

“Brady,” I interrupt him. “Thanks for all of this, and sorry about earlier,” I tell him.

“That’s what brothers do, right?” He smiles.

I enter BAR and take the stairs two at a time. Once I’m inside the apartment, I lock the door behind me. I’m not sure what to do with myself so I just pace the loft. The sun sets and the music downstairs gets louder, but it helps drown out the noise in my head.

I’ve picked up my phone to call Chloe so many times, to check on her and see how she and the baby are doing, but each time, I chicken out. I don’t know what to do about her, but I know I can’t let her continue thinking I’m with Jay. No matter what’s happened, it’s not fair to her. I’ll call her soon, maybe.

It’s been two weeks and still no word from Skye. Fourteen days since the trial and the last time I thought I saw him in the parking garage. It’s been sixteen days since I saw my child for the first time and just as many since my first therapy session. That week was the happiest of my life, but I couldn’t share it with the one person I loved most.

The morning after the trial, I was more nervous than I had ever been. My heart races with pure joy every time I think about the moment I saw my baby on the screen at the doctor’s office.

My phone’s ring tone startles me from the first peaceful sleep I’ve had in months; I’m going to say that it was because the trial is finally over. There were no haunting dreams or memories, no tossing and turning restlessly throughout the night, I stretch my limbs and then sit on the edge of the bed.

I reach for the phone, but it’s already stopped ringing. Instead of calling the number back, I opt for relieving myself. I squint against the sun’s early rays as I stagger to the bathroom. I handle my business and wash my hands, but then my phone goes off again.

This time, I rush to answer it and see the number displayed on the screen is unfamiliar.

“Hello?”

“Chloe Thomas?” I recognize the voice of Doctor Cox on the other line.

“Good morning,” I cheerfully greet her.

“Well, good morning. I wanted to personally check in on you this morning. I see that you are in better spirits than our last conversation.”

“I really am. I guess this is the part where I fill you in,” I joke.

“No, you can do that at our three thirty appointment today if you’d like.” I smile.

“Yes, I will be there. I have to go to the appointment for the baby first, but then I’m heading over to your practice,” I tell her.

“Okay, well I will let you get on with your day. Good luck at your first appointment and see you this afternoon, Chloe.”

“See ya then, Doctor.” I end the call.

Before I can get up from the bed, there’s a single knock on the door and then Sara wheels into my room.

“Mornin’, puddin.” Sara’s yell is halted when she finds me on the edge of the bed already awake.

“Heller.” I give my best Madea impression.

“You look amazing. This pregnancy shit looks good on you. Ya ‘bout ready?” she asks.

“Shit, give me a few minutes.” I jump up and run to the bathroom. I brush my teeth and hair in a few short minutes. I rush to my closet and find a simple pink sundress and my flip flops.

“Okay, let’s roll,” I say, walking past her and chuckling.

“Ha, you got jokes this morning. I’ll let the rolling crack slide since I like this Chloe a hell of a lot better than the one that’s been hanging around here,” she tells me.

“Yeah, I like her too,” We walk into the living room and Harley stands.

“Morning,” I say to him as I grab my purse off the bar and start for the door.

“Hey,” he drags out. If I was to judge by the look on his face, I grew an extra eye last night.

“You okay?” I ask.

“Yeah, are you?” he questions.

“Fine as frog hair split three ways. Let’s go, I’m excited about today.”

Behind me, I clearly hear Harley ask Sara if I was okay. When she says yes, he asks her if I’ve taken anything this morning. I tune them out about the time she flies in on him for suggesting that I was high. I don’t blame him, if I were in his shoes, I would probably ask the same thing.

We climb in and then out of the elevator. When we exit the building, I inhale a deep breath of fresh autumn air. The air is a little bit chilly and I wish I would have thought to grab my blue jean jacket, but I’m not turning back now. I’m too excited about hearing my baby’s heartbeat and finding out how far along I am. I was supposed to find out while I was in the hospital, but I wanted to wait for Skye, then everything else happened so I never found out.

We all pile in Harley’s car and head to the doctor’s office. Harley’s phone rings halfway into our journey.

“Sup?” he answers. Harley glances to the rearview mirror, but when he meets my eyes, he quickly looks back to the street.

“Yeah, I can do that. Just let me know,” he vaguely comments. The voice on the other end of the line is a male, but I can’t make out who it belongs to.

“Yeah, just let me know.” He ends the call.

Clearing his throat, he looks to Sara. “I have to play this Friday. With Skye MIA, they need me to help out on stage.” I only heard one thing in his string of words.

“Skye’s missing?” I blurt.

He looks uncomfortable answering my question, but I couldn’t care less. What if he’s hurt? What if something bad happened to him?

He must see the panic on my face. “Chloe, calm down. He’s okay, Kasey just meant that he’s stepping back. He hasn’t been playing anyway so it’s not like it’s a big deal or anything. The new guy wasn’t working. I think Brady’s scared his dick was bigger than his or something. They couldn’t get along. I just need to fill in.” He looks back to Sara. The look on her face is scary. She sucks on her teeth, raises her eyebrows, then checks her nails.

“So, do you know where Skye is?” Sara drags out the word “know.” If anyone in this car knows anything, it’s me and what I know, is that Harley is about to get a serious beating if he doesn’t play this out right.

“Hon, I don’t know anything about Skye. I was just going off of what Kasey said on the phone a minute ago. I told you already, Skye called me to come get him. I grabbed Brady and we went to BAR. I had a couple of beers and then I was back here.” His voice wavers.

I feel like he’s leaving out a few key points in his story, but I don’t have time to ask him because we’re pulling into the parking lot at the doctor’s office. I’ve never met this doctor before, but she is highly recommended by Doctor Jacobs. Sara mutters a “mmm hmmm” before he exits the vehicle.

We enter the building and pass several doors to different practices until we finally find the one for Dr. Adams. I enter first, and as I approach the glass window, I quickly look at my surroundings. Framed photos of ultrasound photos and chubby-cheeked infants line the walls.

“Can I help you?” A tiny brunette asks from the other side of the glass. I give her my attention as she instructs me to fill out the new patient forms, and requests my ID and insurance card. I sit in the chair closest to Sara and start filling out the papers.

“That stuff is so damn annoying to fill out,” Sara states beside me. I glance at her, chuckle then return to my forms.

“Give me that,” she demands.

“What?” I look at her, confused. She snatches the clipboard out of my hands.

“Let’s see, name, address, birthday, phone number.” She pauses for a moment and chews her lip, trying to hold back a laugh. “Sex, none.” Again I look at her in confusion. “Any known medical conditions. Hemorrhoids,” she shouts. My cheeks burn and I try to snatch the forms back from her. “What?” she asks, feigning innocence, and then hands me the clipboard back.

“I don’t have hemorrhoids,” I whisper.

“No, but you’re a pain in my ass, so that makes you a hemorrhoid. Shit, we should’ve used that as your name.”

Harley laughs a full belly laugh and I roll my eyes.

I finally fill out the couple hundred boxes on the papers and take it back to the window.

“Doctor Adams will be with you shortly,” The tiny lady states cheerfully. I smile and return to my seat. My leg bounces anxiously as I wait.

Skye should be here for this. He told me in the hospital he would be here for the baby, but then he left with Jay. I know that we aren’t together, but for him to replace me so quickly is absolutely devastating. Can I handle seeing him after the way he left me sitting in the courthouse? He also didn’t respond to my message and that irritates me, but nothing is going to ruin my mood today.

A little while later, I’m placed in a room, examined and then the moment I’m waiting for finally arrives. A loud swooshing sound fills the room. My heart floods and spills over with a love so fulfilling I couldn’t even begin to describe it. The nurse moves the cold gel covered wand around my stomach before I see a blob on the screen, it was bigger than I thought it would be.

“Chloe, humming bird is perfect,” Sara coos from beside me. I laugh at the nickname I gave my baby the first time I heard its heartbeat.

“She is isn’t she?” My hand covers my bare stomach. The nurse moves the wand around my now slightly rounder tummy, trying to get a better view of my little bird.

“From the measurements, it looks like you are about nineteen weeks. It usually takes twenty to see what the baby is, but your baby is being very cooperative. Do you see that?” Her words excite me, but not in the way I’m accustomed to.

“Yes, what is that?”

“Well, I can tell you what it’s not,” she teases.

“Just tell us,” Sara screams in excitement.

“You’re having a little girl.”

My heart spills out in the form of tears. I’m having a little girl. Skye’s having a little girl. Then it hits me, hard. Here we are, finding out that we are having a little girl, and he’s nowhere to be found. What did my hummingbird do to deserve this? How could he just walk away from her like that? My sadness is replaced with anger, but that doesn’t stop the tears from flowing.

“Shhh,” Sara cajoles me. She knows where my mind went, she always does.

“He’s missing it. He’s missing it all!” I cry.

“I know, sweetie. It’s going to be okay, you’ll see. You don’t need him. You’ve got this,” she soothes.

“I’m not crying for me. I’m crying for her,” I tell them.

Harley stands wordlessly in the corner of the room taking it all in. He doesn’t ever comment when Sara bashes Skye. He just stands there with this stoic expression. I think this all bothers him more than he’s willing to admit, I can see it in his eyes.

It’s the same look I get when I feel helpless and like something is out of my control. He’s stuck between that proverbial rock and a hard place. He has the woman he loves on one side pulling him one way, and his best friend pulling him the other, I pity him.

“I will give you a few more minutes. Whenever you’re ready, just go to the front desk and Nancy can schedule your next appointment,” the nurse informs me as she exits the room.

I slide up on the examination table and tug my shirt over my stomach. Harley helps me slide off the table to my feet. My balled fists wipe away the tears as I pull my shit together and exit the tiny room.

I watch the naked trees fly past my window on the way to my next appointment. I hate when autumn is coming to an end. Everything looks dead and abandoned, like fresh beginnings aren’t an option. Like the end of the world is near and there’s no going back.

“I’m going to drop y’all off at the doctor’s office and run to the store. I need to get a few things from the grocery store,” Harley informs us.

“Like what?” Sara’s voice is laced with skepticism.

“I’m making chicken scampi and I don’t have all the ingredients I need. I figured I could grab it while y’all were here.” He looks at her like she’s grown an extra head.

“I hear ya, chicken scampi. While you’re out, I need tampons.” I can’t help but laugh at her particular brand of torture. My laughter grows when he looks at her in abhorrence.

“Tampons?” he squeaks.

“Yep. Super plus, and grab the biggest box they have. Oh, and I need hemorrhoid cream, too.” The car jerks but then continues at its normal pace.

“What the fuck do you need that for?” Oh, fuck me, I’m gonna piss myself. He doesn’t know it yet, but he just walked into it.

“Because I have two giant pains in my ass!” She cracks up, no longer able to hold it together. Harley’s grip tightens on the steering wheel.

“You got jokes, huh, babe.”

“No, it’s facts, not jokes. I’m telling you, one day you’re gonna listen to me and when you do, you’re gonna learn something life changing,” she goads him.

“Okay, you two. Stop with the lover’s quarrel. It’s cute and all, but give it a break.” They both laugh.

“Fuck, I forgot you were back there, girl.” Sara turns her sass toward me.