LATCH (18 page)

“Latch, I know you and I know when something is bothering you.” Her eyes sparkle from the morning sun. As much as it pains me, now is the time to be honest with her.

“Abby and I are going to start staying at my place.”

“Why?” she asks, her expression saddens, telling me that the news hurt her, like I feared.

“We don’t want to intrude on you anymore.”

“Oh, honey, that’s nonsense. I love having you guys here, you know that. You can stay as long as you’d like. We can even change the study into a room for the baby.”

Reaching across the table, I take her hand in mine and hold it, trying to figure out how to not hurt her feelings. “I’d love that, but this is something we have to do. Abby and I have never lived on our own, together. We’ll only be five minutes away and we’ll come by often. We can still do Sunday brunch. And you can come visit too, as much as you want.”

She squeezes my hand, nodding to my words and then lets go, “Okay, dear, I’m really gonna miss you though.” She stands and goes to the fridge, pulling out a ton of different foods to cook. Dammit, I hate hurting her like this. Before Abby, she was the only person that I cared about in the entire world. She’s always given me anything that I’ve asked for, but now I have two other people that are my priority.

“I’ll miss you too. Are you sure you’re okay?” I ask her, needing the reassurance that she is okay with us leaving.

“Yes, dear.” Her voice sounds honest and I have to believe that she accepts our decision to leave. “Have you talked to your clients yet?”

“I’m going to let them all know that I am out of the business today.”

“And Abby is okay with that?” she asks.

“It was her idea.”

“Oh, okay.”

She starts cooking and I finish my cup of coffee, not liking her response. Something about it seems off. I have to believe that if Abby told me to call my clients, that she really is okay with it. She has to know that she is the most important person in the entire world to me. I’d never do anything to jeopardize what we have, no matter what.

“Latch!” Abby yells from upstairs. The tone of her voice is panicked and I run up the stairs as fast as I can.

“What’s the matter?” I ask her as she stands at the top of the stairs. She looks like she’s seen a ghost. Sheer white and I fear the worst. Tears are streaming down her face and I grab her, sitting us down on the top step as I hold her in my arms. “What happened?” I ask her more sternly.

“I…I…” she stutters and is scaring the shit out of me.

“Abby!” I shout, freaking out about her and the baby. She can barely breathe, crying hysterically, and all I can do is just hold her. My grandma followed me up and is kneeling in front of us, rubbing her leg. She can see the alarm on Abby’s face too. “Breathe, Abby,” she says as the sobs are making it hard for Abby to draw a breath. “Keep yourself calm.”

I hold her tightly against my chest and then catch sight of her phone as it lights up on the floor next to us. It’s from Darrell.
Why did you miss your doctor’s appointment today?
My mind races and I do everything within my power to stay in control. She didn’t have an appointment.

“What did he do, baby?” I ask Abby, needing to know what he is referring to.

She tries to stop crying, taking in deep breathes to settle herself down. “Take your time,” my grandma says. Finally she does and in a shaky tone she says, “I woke up to my phone ringing,” she breathes again. “I didn’t recognize the number so I ignored it. But it rang again so I answered it and it was a woman asking if I was going to be able to make it to my nine o’clock appointment. I told her I didn’t have an appointment today and…” Tears gloss over her eyes. “She said I did…for an…abortion.” Abby breaks down crying and I hold her as close to me as possible. My insides are fuming, an anger that I’ve never felt rages through me from deep within my soul knowing that Darrell did this. Does he really want our baby dead?

I could fucking kill him! No…I will fucking kill him!

Abby’s breathing is fast again and I know that this is not healthy for her or the baby. Pushing aside the bullshit that Darrell is trying to pull, I focus on her.

“Calm down, please, for the baby’s sake.” I make her look me in the eye. “He’s just grasping at straws right now, trying to do anything he can to upset you.”

“Abby,” my grandma chimes in, and it pulls her out of the trance. She blinks a few times with wide eyes as she looks at her. “Think about the baby. Getting upset like this isn’t healthy.” She nods and takes some deep breaths to calm herself down. “Why don’t you come downstairs and let me check your vitals? I’ll make you some tea and you can just relax.”

Abby listens to my grandma, and right now, I have to handle this motherfucker once and for all. Abby stands to her feet and I kiss her on the forehead. “I’ll be right down.” She nods and I watch them walk away.

Rage invades my system. I want to fuck him up so bad right now. Her phone chimes again and I clench it in my fist harder than ever.
Did you hear me, you fucking cunt!

I shake my head dialing his number as I step into the bathroom.

“There’s my slut of a wife,” he says answering his phone.

“Jesus Christ, no wonder Abby left you, you fucking asshole. Do you really think that’s any way to speak to a woman?”

“Well, if it isn’t the wife stealer himself?”

“Fuck you.”

“Oh, do you want to fuck me too?”

“Listen to me, you prick, stay out of Abby’s life. I promise you you’ll regret it if you don’t! Do you understand me?” I say in a firm voice.

He chuckles in his stupid laugh, and I want to wring his fucking neck. “I would, except for one small thing…she’s
my
wife and I haven’t received any divorce papers.”

Doing my best to keep my voice calm so Abby doesn’t hear me, I tell him, “Oh, they’re coming, don’t think for one second that they aren’t. And until then, forget about Abby and anything you had with her. You hear me?”

“Oh, yes, Latch, I hear you. Is that how you ordered her around and got her to fall for you?”

“Fuck you, man. You better watch yourself…”

“Or what?”

“Or I’ll break your fucking arm so bad playing that stupid game will be nothing but a memory. I’m not someone to fuck with, Darrell!” I hang up, furious. I know that he’s trying to push me, but Jesus Christ, I want to beat the piss out of him so bad right now. I’d have him crying like a little bitch, begging me for his life. But I can’t. I mean, if Abby finds out I called him, she’d be pissed at me for that. I can only imagine what would happen if I did anything else. Deleting the call from her log, and the texts, so she doesn’t have to be reminded of him, I power her phone down and then turn on the cold water, filling my hands with it and splashing some on my face.

My reflection in the mirror is distorted. Something needs to happen to stop Darrell or he’s just going to keep doing anything and everything he can to hurt Abby, and possibly our baby in the process. Clearly, only a sick person would schedule someone an appointment for an abortion. I understand that what he’s going through is hard, but fuck, he’s a grown man and has to let her go.

As I hang up from having my phone number changed and my line closed from the one I shared with Darrell, I now know that he really is out of his fucking mind. “You okay?” Latch asks me coming outside.

I nod feeling tired and mentally exhausted.

“Yeah, I should’ve done that a while ago.” I pass Latch back his phone and he sits next to me, holding me close to him. He smells amazing, intoxicating me in a way that for a moment makes me forget about all of the bad shit.

“You can’t think like that, babe. Everything happens for a reason.”

“You sure? ’Cause they just told me that Darrell had a service on my phone that allowed him to track me. That’s how he found us here.”

“What a fucking whacko. So you gonna give me your new number?” he jokes, trying to lighten the mood.

“I’ll have to think about that one.”

He kisses my neck and I let out a sigh. “Ready to serve him with divorce papers now?”

The word “divorce” makes my insides twist, especially because Darrell is already making my life a living hell, doing anything he can just to hurt me. “I want to, Latch, trust me, I do. But once I cross that bridge, it’s just gonna start a war. A war that I’m not sure I want to deal with while I am pregnant.”

He looks disappointed, my answer didn’t satisfy him, but I have to be honest and put the health of the baby first. “I think we’re already in a war, babe.”

“Unfortunately, we are and I don’t know how much more stress I can handle.”

“I don’t want you stressed, baby, that’s the last thing that I want. We can wait.”

I let out a half cry and a half laugh. “But is that what’s best?”

“I don’t know what’s best. This is all new for both of us,” he responds and rests his hand over my stomach. “But what I do know is that if something is going to stress you out, then I don’t think it’s healthy right now.”

“Really?” I ask, not believing him.

“Yeah…really. Speaking of not being stressed, what do you think if we just stay here until the baby is born and we have a handle on things? My grandma can help out so much.”

I appreciate what he is saying and know that Maris wants nothing but the best for us. “Latch, living on our own means more to me than I think you realize. I depended on Darrell for so much over the years and I don’t want us to become dependent upon Maris. Starting our life together is something that we need to do on our own. We can’t depend on her to cook our meals and raise our child. We have to do it ourselves, just like all the other couples in the world do every day.”

He nods and I worry that I’ve hurt his feelings. To me it seems like maybe there is more to staying here than just Maris being able to help us. Distractions aside, he hasn’t called his clients yet and I can’t push away the fact that it’s bothersome. “Are you worried about going back to your place for another reason?” I ask, needing reassurance that he isn’t. That he’s been honest and is okay letting go of the lifestyle that he had known and loved for so long.

“No, there’s not another reason. Truthfully, I thought it would be easier to stay here, that’s all.”

“I mean, it would be. But it doesn’t make it the right decision. I want to start our life together on our own.” He nods, agreeing with me, but I still have a tiny doubt in the back of my mind, and I flat out ask him, “Are you sure you’re okay letting go of your clients and that life?”

His eyes get wide, my question catching him by surprise. “Absolutely. Please don’t question that, ever. I’m handling everything today, I promise. I don’t ever want to be with another woman, ever again.”

“Not even if you were offered twenty grand or some enormous amount of money?”

“Not even if I was offered a million fucking dollars, babe,” he says looking deep into my eyes. My heart skips a beat. There is so much adoration beaming from him that I know he is being a hundred percent honest. Being together sometimes feels unreal. But this
is
our reality, this is what he gives me, and the reason I know I’ve made the right decision with leaving Darrell. “Abby, the way I feel about you is like nothing I’ve ever felt. I would never do anything to jeopardize us. Nothing or no one can ever change that…you hear me?”

My insides spark with excitement, short of saying the words, that statement right there lets me know just how much Latch cares for me. Searching within myself for a response or something comparable to tell him, I am speechless.

Looking around my apartment, I think I’m all done. It’s cleaned of all the remnants of my past life, or at least I hope it is and it feels good. All of the whips, chains, and toys that I used for so long are in the garbage. Separating from them was like shedding a layer of dead skin I wore for far too long. I have no desire to mess with that shit any longer. All I need is Abby.

I’ve called and texted all my clients letting them know that I’m moving on with my life and my future. Most were understanding, some were sad that our time had to come to an end, and a few were upset. I was even offered more money by a few. I guess some people don’t understand that no means no.