Warning Track (21 page)

“Luke, can we talk?”

“No, we can’t fucking talk. Just tell me where my keys are so I can get the fuck out of this hell hole. I don’t know why I came here in the first place; you’re probably still seeing that douche that I ran into when I first came here. I know you’re a filthy whore; you always have been.”

Molly stepped back from the hatred that was spewing off of Luke. How could he be so cruel to her? Especially after everything they’d gone through. Where was his heart?

“Why did you come here last night then?”

“Why the hell do you think? I needed to get laid, even though it was decent, I at least was able to blow my load. Now, tell me where the fuck you hid my keys so I can get out of here.”

“Decent?” Molly ignored his demand for his keys.
 

“Yeah…decent. What, did you really think you rocked my world?” a maniacal laugh escaped Luke’s mouth as he threw his head back in enjoyment. “Fuck, you are delusional. But good for you if you can pretend, keeps your spirits up, right?”

Without another word, Luke went to the bedroom to search for the keys. Molly followed after him, even though her heart was pounding against her chest, ripping in every possible way; she was not going to give up, no matter what he said to her. She knew the man she once loved was still hidden in the devil of a man that was in front of her; she just had to find him.
 

Tearing through the night stand, Luke stopped in his tracks and looked up at the photo of him in his dress blues. He picked it up and inspected it, touching the frame as if he was looking into a mirror from ten years ago. The two men were completely different. The one in the picture was strong, confident, and nothing could get in his way. The man standing before Molly was lost, confused, and fighting a boatload of demons that were slowly destroying him.
 

Before Molly could speak, Luke lifted the picture, slammed it against the wall, and then tossed the nightstand over on its side and dropped to the floor to look under the bed.
 

Molly screamed as she went after the picture. “What are you doing?” When she looked at the picture, luckily it was unscathed, but the frame was going to need to be replaced. She held the picture to her heart as she looked at Luke.
 

“Why would you do that?”

“You’re holding onto something that no longer exists. I was trying to get rid of it for you. You lost that man the minute you started seeing another guy.”

“Stop!” Molly screamed. “You have no fucking clue what I went through after they told me you were dead. I didn’t want to move on and I didn’t, I never moved on, you still owned my heart. I never moved on, even though you told me to.”

“Okay, psycho, I would never tell you to move on. Why would I tell you to move on when you were supposed to be mine?”

Molly seethed as she pulled her pillow from her bed, reached into the pillowcase and grabbed the note that Luke left her and was delivered to her when he “died.” She shoved it into his hands and said, “You fucking told me to move on, to be happy. Even though I wanted nothing to do with it, even though I was close to committing suicide many times, I never moved on. I filled my nights with meaningless sex, drugs and alcohol. I lost our child to your parents. Yes, our child Luke, and almost lost my life. Thanks to my friends, they pulled me out of my Luke-coma and helped me live again.”

“So, you just moved on like we had nothing, like we were nothing. How could you do that?”

“Read the fucking note! Read your own goddamn words, you asshole. Read it!” Molly shouted.
 

Luke looked at Molly for a second before opening the letter and reading it. His brows furled in the center of his forehead as he read and, when he was done, he looked up at Molly and shook his head.
 

“Molly’s man,” a laugh escaped him. “That fucking ship has sailed.” Before she could stop him, Luke tore her letter, the last piece of him she had left, into shreds, not even flinching at her wail of a cry as she fell to the ground and sobbed as he finished tearing it up and tossing it in the air.
 

Scrambling around on the floor, Molly gathered the pieces and held them to her heart as tears ran down her face.
 

“You fucking monster!” she screamed, as she cried on her knees, not believing what he’d just done, what he just took away from her.
 

“Glad you finally realize that.” Luke continued to search for his keys, destroying the bedroom she’d just put back together. “You want me to continue to rip everything apart until I find them? Because I have no problem with that, I have no problem tearing everything up.” He flipped the mattress up against the headboard and tore at the sheets. Molly just watched as he went into destructive mode.
 

There was nothing she could do but watch, watch him demolish the bedroom they once shared together, the one she’d just put back together. Once he was done, and everything was scattered on the floor, he turned on her and stormed to the next room. Winnie’s room.
 

She didn’t care if he destroyed everything in her apartment because he was mad at her, disappointed, angry…whatever it was, but she would not stand for him going into their daughter’s room and taking apart everything in there. Winnie had nothing to do with Luke’s rage; she didn’t deserve to have her room torn apart.
 

Molly chased after him as he threw the door open. The minute he took in the room, he was struck with the vision of what was inside. The sight stopped him in his tracks. The walls were pink, with fairies and princesses in every corner. Her crib sat against the wall, with sparkly drapes that cascaded down from the ceiling hanging over the sides. Tea sets, miniature dolls and furniture scattered the room, sending off the signal that a precious little girl occupied the room.
 

Before Molly could warn Luke not to touch a thing, he dropped to the floor and picked up one of Winnie’s slippers. He held the miniature foot apparel in his hand, studying it as if it was the hardest math problem he had ever come across. He set the slipper down and moved on to the tea set that was scattered across the floor. Sometimes Molly didn’t bother picking up after Winnie because she was destructive and there was no point in cleaning up after her every single night.
 

Molly just watched as Luke went through Winnie’s room, examining everything from her crib, to her clothes, to the princess dolls that littered her room. He took his time as he looked at everything, touched everything, and smelled everything. When he got up off the floor and went back to her crib, he took a look at the mobile that Jane had made for Winnie. Molly held her breath as Luke examined the little pictures of him that Jane had put together so Winnie would always know who her father was.
 

Luke turned around, clutching a teddy bear, as he looked into Molly’s eyes. “I have a daughter, don’t I?”

Molly nodded her head, not being able to speak from the lump that was in her throat.
 

“I have a daughter,” he whispered to himself as realization set in. He looked back up at Molly and said, “Is she funny?” Molly nodded, still not able to talk. “Can she walk?” Molly nodded again. “Does she talk yet?”

Clearing her throat, Molly said, “Only small words, but she’s getting there.” Luke nodded as he looked back at the empty crib. He traced the outline of the wood as he took in the entire scene.
 

“I want to meet her,” Luke said, as he continued to stare at the crib.
 

This was it, she needed to stand her ground. She could tell Winnie was a weak spot for Luke, especially after the way he reacted to seeing all of her things, so she needed to use his weakness to her advantage, but not just for her, for Winnie. Molly wanted nothing more than for Winnie and Luke to have a relationship, the one every little girl deserves to have with her daddy, but hell if she was going to introduce Winnie to the shallow, empty man that stood before her.
 

Molly took a deep breath and said, “You can, once you get your shit together.” Luke was about to protest when she held up her hand. “You are not well, Luke, I think you can agree to that after what happened this morning.” Molly couldn’t believe the ordeal they’d gone through was only this morning; it felt like days ago. “If you don’t want to get better for me, then so be it, but if you want to see your daughter, you have to get better for her. No excuses. She can’t see the man I’m seeing right now; she can’t ever know him because he is scary, terrifying actually, and not the father I want for my little girl. So, if you want to see her, then you need to start seeing a psychologist and start working out your issues; until then, you will not be allowed anywhere near her.”

Luke nodded his head as he continued to look into the crib. Molly was shocked; she’d expected him to at least put up a fight, but after he saw where his daughter resided, he was different, less angry, more sedated. She should have brought him into Winnie’s room earlier.
 

“I want to help you, Luke, I want to help you get better, but you’re going to have to let me and you’re going to have to want to get better. Do you want to get better?”

Luke nodded. “For her, yes, I do.”

Molly tried to ignore the pain that seared her soul at Luke’s confession of wanting to get better only for Winnie, but she couldn’t help but feel upset. Was she wasting her time on him, were they ever going to be the same again? She couldn’t help but wonder if she should just let him go, help him get better for Winnie, but just let him go.

As she studied the man in front of her, she thought, there was no way she could let him go. He meant the world to her, he was her heart, her soul, her family. She would help him; she was at least going to go down trying because hell if she was going to let him walk away from her so easily, not now, not ever.
 

**Margo**

Parker’s back was turned toward her as he drove his friend’s boat out to the middle of the ocean. They weren’t that far away from the dock, but just far enough so they felt secluded. When Parker picked her up, the last thing she expected was for him to take her out on a boat; she was pleasantly surprised.
 

As she took in the sights around them, she noticed just how good Parker was looking tonight. He wore some ass-hugging jeans, a navy checkered button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a pair of boat shoes. The shoes made her giggle to herself because he was really trying to play the part, but when he put on a cheesy captain’s hat, she lost it.
 

He turned around and said, “This spot good?” He was still wearing the ridiculous hat, so it was hard to take him seriously.
 

“Looks good to me. Now that we’re here, do you mind telling me what we’re doing out here? You don’t plan on cutting me up and feeding me to the sharks, do you?”

“That would be a brilliant plan for a deranged human, but no. I kind of want to keep you around and cutting into human flesh is not my thing.”

“Oh, what’s your preferred flesh to cut into then?”

Parker shook his head and laughed, “There’s something wrong with you.” He didn’t give her a chance to reply, because he was pulling her up from her seat and grabbing a blanket.
 

They were on a speed boat that had a net that extended over the water that passengers could sit on. Parker slipped his shoes off and nodded for her to do the same, which she did. He then put the blanket over the netting and helped her onto it. It was a little scary at first, hovering over the water with only a close-knit net holding her up, but once she was settled, she realized it was rather comfortable. Parker went back to the helm and grabbed a picnic basket, returning in no time at all.
 

“I think we made it just in time,” Parker said, while looking at his watch.
 

Fame hadn’t changed Parker; he was still the same goofy, kind, and caring guy from college, but there were little touches here and there that Margo noticed that were different from College Parker. MLB Parker had a fancy watch, one that definitely looked expensive. It had a larger face than normal watches, with a black background and silver casing. There were no numbers on his watch, just little markings. How he could read the damn thing, Margo had no clue. But his jeans and shirts still looked like they came from the local mall, just like College Parker. It was reassuring to know that all the fame and popularity hadn’t changed the man she knew.
 

“What are we just in time for?” Margo asked, as she took a glass of wine from Parker.
 

“The sunset.” Parker pulled Margo into his side as he draped his arm around her and pointed her toward where the sun was setting over the ocean. His arm hung loosely over her shoulder, but his grip was also tight, like he didn’t ever want to let go.
 

“This is beautiful, thank you, Parker.”

“Of course. I’m glad you decided to come out with me.”

The mood was a little awkward, which was strange because they were never awkward with each other, but given the fact that they were on a real date and that they were both nervous made for an uneasy tension between them.
 

“When did you learn to drive a boat?” Margo asked, trying to lighten the mood. She poked him in the ribs, making him laugh.