What happened in Vegas: Didn't Stay In Vegas! (21 page)

They both
looked at me and started opening their boxes with excitement. Aria
pulled her new 10K dice earrings from her box and gasped with
aw,
“
They
’
re great! Thank
you!
”
She wrapped her arms around me and gave me a big kiss
on the cheek,
“
You totally
shouldn
’
t have!
”
Nick took a seat
next to Aria and they locked lips immediately like sex starved
teenagers. When they finished sucking face he looked at me with
gratitude,
“
Thanks
Chanel.
”

Bradley opened
his box and in it he found a 14K ID bracelet which I had
engraved,
‘
THROBBING 4U, Chanel.
’
He gave it to
me to put on his wrist and then he showed me his gratitude by
kissing me.

I would buy him
a hundred more if I got kisses like that every time. I felt
Nick
’
s eyes on us. I was getting the impression he was
having troubles seeing me with Bradley or being in the same room
with him. I could sense hostility coming from him and I
didn
’
t know what the cause was.

When we
finished our kiss Nick started talking to Bradley,
“
What did you do with the fishing case Bradley? Did the
surgeon come?
”

“He did, he
took her to the operating room to try to save her eye. I sedated
the boyfriend. Last I heard from the surgeon it
wasn
’
t good, the hook was lodged in her
bone.
”

“That
’
s too bad, I feel
sorry for the poor girl. I wanted to give her more attention but
there was too much going on. Thanks for helping me out. Did your
brother find you? I forgot to tell you he was looking for
you.
”

“No problem.
You were doing well on your own. When was Chase looking for
me?
”

“Just before
the girl came into emergency. It totally slipped my mind. I got so
busy.
”

Bradley started
reaching in his pocket for his phone,
“
I
’
m just
going to call him.
”

I excused
Bradley,
“
No problem, take your time.
”
He left
the table to make his call.

Nick was
totally focused on Aria,
“
Let
’
s go talk,
alone.
”
Nick wanted to make things right. I was happy for
both of them. Maybe he cared about her more than he
realized,
“
Thanks
’
Coco.
”
Aria looked at me and gave me another
hug, but this one was a good-bye hug. Her enthusiasm was contagious
as she didn
’
t bother answering
him, she just grabbed her purse and the two of them started heading
for the door, his arm on her shoulders.

Bradley came
back to the table,
“
Where did they
go?
”

I smiled at him
knowingly,
“
They went to
‘
talk.'
”

“So
we
’
re alone?
”

“We are. What
did your brother have to say?
”

“Nothing that
couldn
’
t wait until tomorrow, where
’
s my
food?
”

“I think
it
’
s on the warmer, be patient she will
come.
”
The waitress did come shortly after and left a huge
dish of souvlaki with buttered potatoes and Greek salad. I watched
as he started digging into his food hungrily. He appeared
starved,
“
When
’
s the last time you
ate?
”

“I forgot
to,
”
he admitted.

Bradley
’
s eyes looked
troubled and I asked,
“
Is something
bothering you?
”

He hesitated
before saying,
“
The nugget around
Nick
’
s neck was he in Vegas with you?
”

My heart
skipped a beat,
“
No, I gifted it to
him.
”

“Then when you
gave Aria and me our gifts why didn
’
t you give
Nick
’
s at the same time? I guess a better question is where
did he get his tan from? You have a choice, either you tell me the
truth or I will have Chase look at his
attendance?
”

There was no
escape, I was caught in a lie,
“
He followed me
there.
”

He started
running his fingers through his hair, I could tell by his
expression that he was furious,
“
Do you see who he
left with?
”

He put his cutlery down on his empty dish
with a loud clang. He wiped his hands and face with the napkin and
then he took a sip of his drink and studied me. His brooding eyes
looked at me in contemplation before he kissed me demandingly. His
tongue forced entry into my mouth and I brought my fingers up to
his face running them through his unshaved shadow. His mouth was
cold and tasted of alcohol from his Martini.

“You told me
you were okay with being exclusive. You obviously
can
’
t handle it with me. What did I do
wrong?
”
His eyes looked hurt for a second before turning
stone cold again.

“Of course I
can handle it Bradley. You
’
re the only one I
want to be with,
”
I said in a pleading tone.

“It seems
whenever there is a problem you can
’
t help yourself, you
go running to Nick. You
’
ve proven you will do
it again, and again.
”

“He followed ME
to Las Vegas. I didn
’
t follow him. I made
it very clear that I wanted to get back together with you when we
returned to Toronto. Remember, you left me, not the other way
around.
”

“Did you fuck
him in Vegas? You don
’
t even have to answer
that. I know the answer.
”
Then his eyes
appeared to be struck with a realization,
“
Those marks on
your ass, they were from him weren
’
t they? You let him
hit you!
”

I
didn
’
t get a chance to answer, I didn
’
t know how
to. He continued,
“
Aria
’
s with Nick. Does she
know about the two of you? Will the two of you cheat on her
too?
”

“They were
broken up when he was in Vegas, neither of us
cheated.
”

“So then
it
’
s all okay? This shouldn
’
t bother me, is that
what you are trying to say?
”

“No,
I
’
m not saying that.
”

“Did you break
Nick and Aria up? Was it your doings? You treat me like
I
’
m some stupid fuck that you can lie to. Damn it
Chanel, you had a chance to tell me when you got back from Las
Vegas. We were working things out, but instead you lied to my
face.
”

“You hurt me
before I left for Vegas. Nick followed me there and picked up the
pieces. I didn
’
t want the fact that
he followed me to Las Vegas get in the way of us getting back
together. I missed you.
”

“It
’
s
you
’
re lies that keep getting in the way of us getting
back together, nothing else. I don
’
t give a damn what
you do anymore because I don
’
t trust
you.
”

“Don
’
t say that
Bradley.
”

“Maybe
I
’
ll call Maggie and fuck her. You were so upset to find
out she was my ex-wife but at least I didn
’
t go running
back to her every time it suits me.
”
He stood up and
threw his napkin and a couple of twenties down on the table.
“
Come on, I
’
ll drive you
home.
”

~34~

He parked a block away from the Paddock. It was the
first time I wished I lived really far away from the bar. He opened
the door to let me in the Hummer and then went around to the other
side so he could get in. The truck started with that diesel sound
it always made, and I noticed he wasn
’
t quick to put the
Hummer into drive.

I
couldn
’
t look at him I was so remorseful for allowing myself
to be with Nick again, I just stared straight ahead. I knew I
shouldn
’
t keep running to Nick every time I had a
problem, but ultimately Bradley had finished it off with me and
that really hurt.

He pulled into
the Visitor
’
s parking at the loft
and turned the Hummer off. We sat in silence for some time not
looking at each other. He was pinching the bridge of his nose and I
could see the shiny path a tear had made sliding down his cheek. I
knew that as long as he didn
’
t drive away, I had a
slight chance that it wouldn
’
t be completely over
between us.

He got out of
the Hummer and waited for me to get out. We walked to the elevator
and he came up to my floor. I developed the courage to look him in
the eyes and that
’
s when I saw the look
of a wounded animal whose death was imminent. His pupils were fixed
and dilated and I was the cause, the bullet lodged in his heart. I
wanted to dislodge it, fix my wrongs and the only way I could do it
was if I walked away from him with no struggle or fight.

There were no
words left to exchange. His soft lips covered mine and he sealed
me. When our seal was broken he pulled away, and the words bled
from his lips,
“
I loved
you.
”
He kissed me one more time and squeezed me so tightly
I lost my breath, then he turned away and left my loft. This time
was different from the last time, the damage was too extensive, and
we went to our separate corners to lick our wounds. We were broken,
and I was devastated because it wasn
’
t until now that I
knew for sure, I loved him too.

~35~

Shelly and I were in the middle of doing our rounds
when THE page went off at 10:00 a.m. We weren
’
t sure who
the page was for because it sounded like it was coming from both of
our pockets. We reached for our pagers at the same time. We
realized both of us were being paged to the Emergency department. I
called the extension showing up on my pager,
“
Chanel St.
Clare. and Dr. Shelly Morden returning your
page.
”
I listened waiting to hear what we were being paged
for. It was unusual that we would both get paged when neither of us
was on call.

An unfamiliar
voice on the other end came on,
“
Resident Nick Ward
has been involved in an MVA (Motor Vehicle Accident). EMS reported
the patient is critical. Estimated arrival time is three minutes.
Dr. Hart told me to page both of you.
”
There you have it,
like the proverbial knock on the door when the police have horrific
news to tell you. This second of time was permanently suspended in
my memory as one of the worst seconds of my life.

“We
’
ll be right
down!
”
I hung up the phone and repeated what she said to
me,
“
Resident Nick Ward has been involved in a motor
vehicle accident and he
’
s critical. They are
bringing him here, in three minutes. Shelly he
’
s my best
friend! If something happens to him I
’
ll
die.
”
I dropped everything and ran. I could hear her
footsteps in close pursuit.