Burned (7 page)

They became quiet as Lincoln tried to regain her composure. Orlando’s ringing cell phone echoed in the silence. “Sorry about that,” he said as he walked into another room.

Regan hugged her sister tightly. “I’m so sorry, Lincoln. I’m here for you whenever you need me.”

Lincoln shuddered from the cold settling in her bones as she cried on her sister’s shoulder. Crying was not high on her list of things to do, but she had never experienced a broken heart such as this before.

Chapter Seven

The good day he had planned for his day off went to hell in a handbasket. Nick signaled the bartender for a refill. His head pounded from the two double shots of Jack Daniels he had drank on an empty stomach. He pushed the empty shot glass across the bar to the bartender. “Make this one a single,” he said rubbing his temples.

“Nick, what woman has you throwing back the alcohol?” the bartender asked, refilling the glass.

Nick held up the glass, admiring the golden hue of the liquor swirling around. “Jet, it is a woman making me drink.  The sad thing about is she doesn’t belong to me but to another man.”

“But you want her?”

He shook his head. “Nah, I feel sorry for her. The bastard is fooling around on her and she wants my help to nail his sorry ass. The drawback is he’s a friend of mine.”

“That’s tough. What are you going to do?”

“Drink,” he said swallowing the contents of the glass down at once. “She’s a nice girl too.  I hate to see her go through this shit.”

“Is she pretty?”

“She’s gorgeous,” He said smiling as he described Lincoln. “She has those beautiful, honest eyes that can make a man spill his guts. And her skin is so soft you don’t want to stop touching it. And she’s tall. I like tall women.”

The bartender leaned on the bar. “She sounds like a knockout. Is she a blonde or a redhead? And does the carpet match the drapes?” He winked and smiled in a snarky way.

Nick chuckled. “She’s neither. She has long silky black hair, and I’m sure the carpet matches the drapes.”

“Ah, she’s Asian. You are the man, Nick. How old are you now?”

“I’ll be hitting the big thirty-four next year, Jet. And she isn’t Asian either, she is African-American.”

Jet laughed loudly. “You with a Black woman—that will be the day Hades freezes over.”

“You don’t know me as well as you think. Yeah, I was a jerk way back when but my life has changed. I’ve learned you have to live for the moment and not regret anything when you die.”

“Is that because of your accident?”

Nick nodded. “Ya know, I don’t remember how long I was in a coma, but I promised God that if he gave me another chance, I would change. So far, I have. I have work yet to do, but I’m getting there.”

“Back to this woman; is he beating on her too?”

“Nah, I don’t think it’s physical. Anyhow, she doesn’t strike me as the type to let a man hit on her. The Hathaway women I know are no pushovers.  I have a feeling they would cut a man’s balls off and serve them to him for dinner before they’d let a man physically abuse them.”

“Ouch! Anyhow, mental abuse is just as bad. But, if she is getting mistreated by a friend of yours, you should intervene.”

“You think so?”

“It would be the right thing to do.”

Nick shook his head. “It’s a hard decision which shouldn’t be since I’m not that close with him. I mean I got his back when we’re battling blazes but other than that, we don’t hang out together. And the differences we’ve had in the past almost came to blows.  Jet, to be honest, I couldn’t stand this man at one time.”

Jet wiped down the surface of the bar with a damp cloth. “You’ll kick yourself in the ass if he decides to harm this woman, and you did nothing.  You gotta protect her.”

“I don’t think that will happen. Anthony is not the type to hit a woman. I agree he is fucking with her mentally though.”

“Do something, Nick. Let her know she has a shoulder to cry on. I have customers to take care of at the other end of the bar. Are you good for now?”

He nodded and shooed Jet away. “I’m cool. I’m waiting for a friend to talk to before I stick my big nose where it doesn’t belong.”

“Nick, sorry it took so long to get away,” Orlando said, sliding onto the barstool. “You sounded desperate on the phone.  What’s up?”

Nick called for the bartender, who was at the other end of the bar. “Jet, get my friend a double tequila and me a beer when you get a minute.”

Orlando asked again. “So, what’s going on?”

“I think I got myself into something I can’t get out of, Orlando.”

“Okay. How far along is she and are you sure the baby is yours?” Orlando joked.

“You got jokes tonight. I’m serious. Anyhow, your soon to be sister-in-law came to me for help earlier today. I don’t know what I should do, and I kinda blew up at her.”

Orlando sighed and took a sip of his drink. “You aren’t the only one she blasted today. Lincoln is pissed, and I’m pissed at Anthony for putting us in the middle of his crap.”

“Give me some advice, Orlando. Should I apologize to her?  I don’t want her to think I approve of what Ant is doing.”

“I wish I knew what to do. She told Regan she didn’t want to have anything to do with the wedding since I betrayed her.”

“I’m sure she doesn’t mean it.” Nick drank half the beer in the mug and pushed it away. The shots of liquor with the beer chasers were creeping up on him.  If he didn’t stop drinking now, he would need a designated driver to get home. “Yeah, well, I want to kick Ant’s ass.”  Scowling he said, “He was sitting in that restaurant holding hands with Melanie not caring what it would do to Lincoln if she found out.”

Orlando nudged him on the shoulder. “The old Nick would have punched him out. I’m glad you showed some restraint.”

“I hate the new Nick sometimes,” Nick said. He grabbed some pretzels from the bowl, putting a one in his mouth.

Orlando laughed. “It’s part of growing up. Hey, I have a favor to ask you.”

Nick bucked his eyes. “No way, Orlando! It was offering to do a favor that got me in this predicament. Anyhow, who do you want me to spy on…Regan?”

“Calm your horses. Regan and I are going to Puerto Rico next week to visit my family who can’t make it to the wedding. Lincoln has friends, but I’d feel better knowing you are looking after her while we’re gone.”

Nick choked on a pretzel.  He took a drink of the beer to clear his throat.  “You’re kidding right?”

Orlando finished his drink. “Nope. I’m dead serious.”

“I’m not saying I will do it but, what should I do if Ant drops by while I’m visiting her?”

Orlando raised his brow. “I have a feeling Lincoln isn’t going to jump to take him back, especially after what you told her. You don’t have to go to her place every day. Call her or maybe take her out to eat or to a movie. I don’t want her sitting in the house sulking over Anthony. And Regan won’t rest knowing her sister is hurting, and she isn’t around to  comfort her.”

Nick blew out a deep breath. “I’m not one of Lincoln’s favorite people at the moment. I doubt she wants anything to do with me.”

Orlando poked Nick in the arm playfully. “Turn on that Italian charm—she won’t be able to resist you.”

Smiling broadly, Nick boasted his chest and said, “Yeah my dimples do have a way with women. I’ll check in on Lincoln. However, if she tells me to buzz off, I’m doing just that.”

“That’s fair. Well, I gotta go. I promised Regan I wouldn’t be away long or drink too much.”

“C-R-R-A-C-K.” Nick laughed as he imitated the belt cracking sound.

Orlando smoothed down his goatee and grinned. “You damned Skippy I am.” He eased off the barstool. “Adios, buddy.”

Nick spun the barstool around and hopped down. “Hold on; I’m leaving too. By the way, there is a flaw in your plan to have me look after Lincoln.”

“What is the flaw, Nick?”

He slapped a hand on Orlando’s shoulder. “I don’t know where Lincoln lives, bro.”

“I’ll text it to you.”

Chapter Eight

Lincoln’s angry stance spoke volumes. She stood against the wall with her arms folded tightly across her chest as she watched Anthony pack the belongings he kept at her apartment. She hated her apartment now. There were too many memories of him there.

He had the nerve to pretend he was angry with her. He showed balls coming to her apartment in the middle of the night to crawl into her bed. Did he forget how his first attempt to make love to her ended?  He should; it was not that long ago.  For the life of her, she did not now know why he risked doing it again. Nothing had changed with her.  If anything, she despised him more today than she did yesterday.

When the weight of his body settled on top of her, it awoke her from a deep sleep. Scared for her life, she fought with him thinking he was an attacker. She punched and scratched at his face until he pinned her arms above her head and yelled out his name.

An intense argument ensued between them and two hours later it was still going on.

“You’re going to regret this, Lincoln,” he fumed as he packed his clothes.

Finally, she unlatched her arms from around her body. She didn’t realize how tight a grip she had on herself until she saw the red marks on her arms from her fingernails digging in her skin. “What do I have to regret! You enter my apartment in the middle of the night and expect me to have sex with you! You’re an asshole, Anthony! I’m not sleeping with you when you’ve been with Melanie.”

“I did not say we have had sex! You’re assuming that we have.”

“You admitted you’ve been with her!”

“So what!” He shouted as he shoved clothes in a garbage bag. “She is a friend of mine. Men and women can be friends without having sex. Dammit, why can’t you get that through your head?”

“I do believe that is possible but not with you and her. God, Anthony, everyone is not lying to me. You are the only person lying. Why can’t you just tell me the truth?”

“You are listening to Orlando and taking Nick’s word over mine! Yeah, he saw me with her but we were eating breakfast. We were not screwing on the damn table in the middle of the restaurant.”

“Anthony, forget what Nick or Orlando told me. I want to hear it from you. Are you interested in pursuing a relationship with Melanie again?”

“I thought I was in a relationship you. If you don’t trust me, then I don’t know what to tell ya.”

“For the love of God, getting a straight answer from you is not going happen is it?”

He whipped his head around to look at her. “You want an answer, Lincoln?”  His dark eyes were large and filled with anger, and the scratches on his face were bleeding. “My answer is maybe we should cool it for a while. Apparently, we need some time apart from one another to evaluate where to go from here.”

Keeping the tears at bay was a losing battle as they fell down her face. “So, you agree we should break up too?”

“I didn’t say that.  I said we needed a break.  I don’t want it to be permanent.”

Her voice trembled as she said, “It might as well be permanent. Once you go to her to heal your broken heart tonight; there won’t be any coming back to me.”

She saw the offense he took by her comment. His nose flared. Her stomach twisted in a knot as she waited for his response, which she expected would be as nasty and hurtful as the look on his face.

“Fucking grow up, Lincoln. You are running me away with your constant need to know where I am every minute of the day. I’m tired of the phone calls, the questions, and now you’re bringing my friends into our shit! I’m a grown man and not your kid! Call Nick and tell him to back off, or this shit is gonna get real nasty.”

“I don’t have Nick doing anything for me.”

“Really?  It is just coincidence he follows me around the firehouse or if I’m on a phone call he just happens to be in earshot. Nick is one friend I won’t lose sleep over if he is gone. So no big deal there, but you know Orlando and Jon are closer to me and you got them doing your dirty work too.”

She snarled. “You’re crazy! Orlando doesn’t even work with you! As for Jon, I have not talked to him or Gabby in weeks. You’re rambling like a paranoid man, Anthony. The lying will eventually drive you crazy. Come clean and clear the conscious, baby.”

He knotted the garbage bag and threw it on the floor. “My conscious is clear. I have done nothing, and I’m tired of defending myself to you.”  He picked up his jacket from the bed and tossed it on top of the garbage bag. “I came here to prove to you this is where I belong. You pushed me away. I have never pushed you away. No matter how badly my day went, I made sure to be available to you. I don’t know why you won’t believe me.”

“Anthony, it’s not about me believing you. My problem is I’m not good at sharing. In your own way, you are trying to protect my feelings by remaining silent about Melanie. I respect you for that. Anthony, I love you, and this is why it hurts so much for me to do this.”  She opened another plastic bag and arched her brow as she said sarcastically, “I agree we should cool it, only I want it to be permanent. So let me help you pack all your stuff.  There is no need for you to come back after tonight.”

“What?”  Anthony appeared stunned and slowly straightened his body to face her.

“You seem stunned by my decision. I would think you’d be jumping for joy that I dumped you. You’re free, Anthony. You and Melanie can come out of hiding with your relationship.”

“Well, I’m not happy about it,” he said touching her arm. “We have something special and you want to throw it away because your imagination is running in overdrive.”

She tucked strands of hair behind her ear. “Anthony, I am not imagining anything and I don’t make snap decisions; you know that.  I’m sorry, but I will not lower my standards to be a side-chick for any man and that includes you.”

Although, she loved him, she refused to allow him the privilege of bed-hopping between her and Melanie. Her mother raised her better than that. And with the little proof of infidelity she had on him, it was enough for her to call it quits. Anthony was too weak to stand up to Melanie and declare he was in love with her and Lincoln had to protect herself while she had her dignity intact.

“I’m done with this conversation,” he said as he knelt down to dig under the bed for more of his things.