This Trust of Mine (7 page)

"I
know, and that's exactly why I couldn't let you do it."

"I
don't even know how to respond to that."

"Madison,
get your ass out here or you will be running the field until sundown boy."

"Shit,
I gotta go now, but I still want to talk to you Kayla. Can I call you
later?"

"Madison,
I think for now maybe it'll be best if we just take a bit of a break from each
other. You need to concentrate on school and baseball, and I need to
concentrate on school and work. We will find time to talk to each other. Have a
good practice, cowboy. I'll talk to you soon."

"Kay-"
Before I could even get the words out of my mouth, the line went dead. What the
hell was going on with her? Something happened, something that caused her to
not want any part of me or the life we had once discussed. And the only person who
could help me now, was the one person I really didn't want to have to go to. As
soon as practice was over, I would be having a very long talk with Cami. I
needed answers, and damn it, she was goin' to give them to me.

Kayla

I slid my
phone back into my purse before my boss caught sight of it. She didn't mind if
we had our phone behind the desk, but she also didn't like us answering them
when we had customers, and today there had been a steady flow of them. I made
my way back to the dressing rooms and started cleaning up the piles of clothes
and hangers that people had left behind. I mean really, how hard is to clean up
after yourself. I grabbed the stacks and made my way back behind the counter.
The doorbell chimed letting me know a new customer had arrived just as I peered
up from the never-ending pile of material. I recognized the girl instantly and
immediately wished I could crawl under the nearest table.

"Good
afternoon and welcome to The Velvet Couch."

"Thanks,
Kayla."

Taryn's
words dripped with disdain and I couldn't help but cringe at the sound of my
name rolling off her tongue. I rolled my eyes in her direction and continued
folding and hanging up the discarded clothing. I glanced up every now and then,
watching her move around the store. She was definitely a pretty girl. She stood
at about six feet tall and she had a killer body. Of course, when you have a
body like that and you have the reputation that she did, you had to be in tiptop
shape.

I turned to
hang a couple shirts up on our go back rack and when I turned back around, she
was standing directly in front of me.

"Gah,
you scared me. What is your deal?"

"No
deal."

She stood
aimlessly playing with a necklace that sat out on the glass counter top, when I
expected her to start in on
something
she
didn't like about me, or the store, or well, anything really. But the next few
words that came out of her mouth were definitely not ones I ever expected her
to say.

"I just
hope you realize what you have."

"Excuse
me?"

"Madison.
It takes someone special to get him to "respond" so I'm just tellin'
you, I hope you realize what you have."

"I'm
not sure I know what you're talkin' about. Madison and I aren't,
together."

"It
sure as hell didn't look that way. I saw how y'all were around each other. I've
never seen him look at any other girl the way he looked at you. Not even
me."

This part
shook me to my core. You would've had to have been blind to not have known that
they had dated before, but I never once asked because, well honestly, I didn't
want to know. Now I wanted to know.

"How
long did y'all date?" I shook my head, "sorry I didn't mean to pry.
It's none of my business." I went about folding some more clothes fully
expecting her to leave the store. To my surprise, she actually stayed and began
a conversation with me.

"We
dated our entire junior year of high school, if you want to call it dating. We
hung out a lot and I guess you could say that we were boyfriend and girlfriend,
but he was always so busy with baseball and the band, that we never really
stood a chance. I didn't realize it then, but Madison is one in a million. That
boy was always genuine and sincere and he would give anyone the shirt off his
back. He's just a really good guy. I didn't know what good guys were. Hell, I
made it a habit not to know. I'm sure you have already heard plenty of stories
about me, and I wish I could say that none of them were true, but they are.
Anyway, it is what it is, but I do know one thing for sure. When a man like
Madison comes knockin' at your door, offerin' ya the world, you take it. No
questions asked."

I began
fidgeting with the earrings that hung on a metal tree. "Why are you
tellin' me all of this? Not that I don't appreciate it and all, but you don't
really strike me as the type of girl to look out for other girls' best
interests. No offense."

"None
taken, hun. I care for Madison. I've known him since we were in sixth grade,
and after what happened with his daddy, that boy deserves someone who is
willing to give just as much as he is. I just want you to make sure you are
that girl. If not, just let him go."

And with
that, she was headed out of the shop. I stood back abashed. I had a million and
one things running through my brain at that moment, and not one thing was
makin' any sense. She was right about one thing though, Madison deserved so
much more than I could give at this point in time.

It was
getting closer to closing time, so I started my endless list of chores before I
could close up. As I made my way back to check the dressing rooms one last
time, I caught a glimpse of myself in one of the full-length mirrors. I looked
like one of the zombies from The Night of the Living Dead. My face was pale and
looked frail. I had deep-seated bags underneath my sunken in eyes and my lips
practically matched the color of my skin. I ran my fingers through my dried out
unkempt hair, letting out a loud sigh.

I shook my
head as I made my way back behind the counter to gather my things. I was done
sitting around waiting for life to get better. Things weren't goin' to change,
unless I changed them. I would no longer play the martyr. It was time for me to
take my life back from that piece of shit that thought he could take it away,
again.

I closed up
the store and ran out to my truck. I had two stops to make and I needed to make
sure I got them done in enough time to be home for dinner. My first stop was at
the local beauty supply store. I threw my truck into park and ran inside the
shop before they closed. I checked the time on my phone and realized I only had
twenty minutes to get what I needed and pay.

I went to
the hair product and dye aisle first. My hair was naturally a pretty shade of
brown, but as of late it was starting to look a bit mousey. I picked up a few
different colored boxes, comparing them to one another before settling on one
that also came with bleach to add some highlights. I grabbed some of the more
expensive shampoo and conditioner and a great oil treatment for when I used my
hair straightener or curling iron.

Next stop
was the makeup aisle. I barely wore any makeup as it was, but I figured if I
was changin' my look, I could use some freshenin' up in this department too. I
grabbed a few different shades of eye shadow, black eye liner, and some lash
extending mascara. When I glanced down at the almost full basket I was
carrying, I figured it was time to go. I made my way up to the counter to pay
with five minutes to spare. The lady who owned and ran the store was a stickler
for closin' on time, every night.

I paid for
my purchases and hopped in my truck. The last place I needed to stop was the
local grocery, and that happened to be the only 24-hour place in town, so I
wasn't too worried about gettin' there in time. As I made my way down the main
road through town, I noticed a guy walkin' down the road who looked a lot like
Glenn. If I hadn't known for a fact that Glenn was in Arizona with Madison, I
would have sworn it was him. I drove past at a glacial pace, taking in the odd
similarities that this guy and Glenn shared. It was uncanny how much they
looked a like. As I passed by, he glanced up and gave a small wave. Confusion
settled into my expression as I gave a small wave back as I sped up to get to
the end of town. I wasn't sure if I was suppose to know this guy, but he sure
seemed to act like he knew me.

I shrugged
it off, as I made my way into the local market, buying up at least four-dozen
flowers. I knew I had been quite a pain in my grandparent's rears as of late,
and I knew flowers wouldn't make it all better, but it was a good start in the
right direction.

As I came
barreling out of the market, I practically ran right into the same guy I had
been stalking as I drove. Just before my face and bags of things hit the
ground, his strong muscular arm shot straight out, catching me and pulling me
up into his hard chest. I had my eyes squeezed tightly shut and was afraid to
open them, until I heard him clear his throat.

I peered up
through my long dark lashes and caught a sight of his piercing blue eyes
staring down at me.

"Are
you okay?"

The words
sat on the tip of my tongue, willing me to say them, but absolutely nothin'
came out of my mouth.

"The
strong silent type huh?"

A small
smile formed across my mouth before I realized just how closely he was still
holding me. I pushed off of his chest and scrambled to my feet. I felt off
balance and a little light headed, so I tried to keep my distance. I quickly
grabbed my keys out of my purse and started makin' my way over to my truck.

"You're
welcome." I heard him shout as I pulled open the door.

I waved and
drove home as fast as my truck would allow. A million different emotions were
raging through me and I was having a hard time sortin' out each of them. Part
of me felt guilty for letting another guy hold me that way, but another part of
me felt safe and wanted when he had his arms around me. Which in turn, made me
feel extremely uncomfortable and a little scared. A guy hadn’t touched me since
the incident with Wren, and I wasn't exactly sure how comfortable I felt having
any
guy touch me.

Madison

"Glenn!"
I shouted across the field as loud as I could, but he was engrossed in some
stupid ass conversation with the other guys. "GLENN!"

He finally
heard me and came runnin' in my direction. "What's up?"

"I need
you to tell Coach I gotta go."

"Dude,
you know he's gonna want to know why. What's going on?"

"Just
cover for me please. I have to get to the admissions building before they close
for the day."

"Alright.
Call me when you're done."

"Will
do." I ran off the field, gathering up my bag as I passed it and made my
way to my truck. I threw my stuff in the back and pulled out of the parking lot
before Coach could have a chance to spot me. As I made my way around the
opposite side of campus where the admissions building sat, I could feel my
heart practically pounding out of my chest. I wasn't sure if what I was about
to do was the right thing, but I was doin' what my grandma had always told me.
I was followin' my heart. And my heart was back in Texas.

When I went
running in to the building, I had totally forgotten that I was still in my
practice uniform, cleats and all. I made my way over to the small glass window,
but saw no one on the other side. I paced back and forth for a few minutes,
willing someone to come out and help me. After what felt like an eternity, I
finally walked over and knocked on the door on the other side of the window.

"Hello?
Is anyone still here?"

"Hello?"
A small voice rang through the window next to me.

"Hi, I
need to find out how to transfer schools?"

"I'm
sorry, you need to what?"

Was this
girl stupid? She looked to be in her late thirties, and I couldn't imagine that
she could be that dumb as to not understand what I was saying.

"I need
to find out how to transfer schools." I made sure I said the sentence nice
and slow, so she could better understand me. It wasn't rocket science for
cryin' out loud.

"Ok,
but are you sure about that?"

Ugh, was
this girl gonna give me a break or what? "Look, I need to get back to
Texas, and I need to do it sooner rather than later. I need to know what I need
to do to transfer schools?"

"Well,
have you been accepted into a school in Texas already?"

"Yes
ma'am. Before I had decided on ASU, I was also offered a scholarship to go to
Texas A&M. I just need to know if there is anything I need to do to
transfer?"

"Give
me a second and I will find out."

I watched as
her five foot nothing frame disappeared behind a partition of sorts. I blew out
a loud gust of air and ran my fingers through my hair. I wasn't exactly sure
how this whole thing was goin' to go over with Kayla or my grandparents, but if
it was a choice between Kayla and ASU, I was choosing Kayla, hands down. I just
hope it wasn't too late to accept the offer from A&M.