AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She was right. The creepiness of picking up an unconscious woman and manufacturing an entire fake life around her aside, James was the perfect man. He loved in the most beautiful way, with awe and adoration, and his violence was kept only under the sheets. And boy, he was hot. All that sexy, manly, muscular nerd aesthetic could catch the eye of any woman. They threw themselves at him. I'd seen it every time we went out; women eyed James like he was the shiny prize and looked at me like I was the Cerberus who was keeping them at bay. One day soon, one would get to him. She'd be showered with his attention and caressed by his hands, and she would be fucked into oblivion every night...and I wouldn’t be here to dig a hole big enough to fit her body.
A new wave of nausea settled into my stomach. Everything about this made me want to throw up everything inside me. The pain had become physical.
Luckily, Wendy came back with the water and glasses filled with ice and lemon. These two lived a fancy life.
"Hey, we ran out of sparkling water, Rita, I'm sorry. I know you prefer that, but I'll go to the grocery store later. We could go together, take Chelsea for a walk." I didn’t answer, just nodded absently and took the glass from her hands. "Everything alright? Jessica what did you do to her?"
"Nothing! I just pointed out the obvious. She loves James, and she doesn't need to move out of the fucking country. They can still make it."
"Jess, look at her, she's almost in tears. Rita, don't get mad at her; you know how my wife is."
"I'm fine. Jessica is right anyway. I'm leaving behind the best thing that ever happened to me. Fuck! The best thing that ever happened to anybody. It just feels like I'm cutting a corner taking a man that's not mine and someone else's child."
"Babe," Jess said. "James is yours, period. Even if you leave, I don't think he'll ever give himself to someone the way he did with you, it's just too fucking amazing to happen twice. You lived a nightmare, Rita. This is your happily ever after, why not grab it with both hands?"
Yeah, why not? Because of what James did? I could have laughed at myself right then. I was too ashamed to ever say this out loud, but the first time Trujillo whacked me, he threw an 'I'm sorry' my way, and I forgave him. I forgave him the second time, the third time...It took me months to see what was happening. I was the victim and there was no forgiveness left in me. So how could I forgive that and not give James a chance.
James Sullivan did the craziest most amazing thing: he fell in love with me, maybe too soon and maybe in the wrong way, but how could I not grant his forgiveness? How could I not venerate him for it?
"Um, girls? Is it ok if I leave Chelsea with you for a few hours?"
"Are you trying to sneak out of the country right now?" With suspicious eyes, Jess pointed a finger at me.
"No, no. I just...I need to go see James. I know he's working, but I want to be there when he's done."
Before I knew it, I was pushed into a tight hug by Wendy who couldn’t contain her smug happiness.
"I will drive you. Jess can stay here and babysit, and I'll go do that grocery shopping while you wait. Oh, my goodness, I'm so happy, I could cry."
"Please don't because if you start, I'll start again, and I have had enough of that. Or maybe I'll puke on your floor. This nausea has been picking on me."
"Huh." The sound had come from Jessica.
"What?" She shrugged and played it cool, but there was an enquiry in her eyes that messed with me. "Jessica?"
"Oh, nothing. Are you feeling anything else, any pain? Your head all right?"
"No, just nausea and some headaches, but probably from not sleeping."
"So fatigue and nausea?"
"I am fine."
"Huh."
"Wendy, can we go? She's freaking me out."
"Yep, she's a weirdo, let's go," she said over her wife's laughter.
I kissed Chelsea's soft cheek, and we walked out the door.
When I got out of the surgery, I found pandemonium in the ER.
"What the hell is going on?" I yelled at the girl behind the ER admission desk.
"Road rage driver almost crashed into a school bus." Fucking hell! "To avoid the impact, he took the car on the sidewalk and hit many pedestrians in his way. Eight people have been admitted, and we have seven more ambulances on the way; we're all hands-on deck."
This day just got more dreadful by the minute.
