Inferno (14 page)

“Baby, all I can say is that I’m sorry.  I know what it must have looked like, but I promise you that there is nothing going on between us.  I’m not good with this relationship stuff, but I’m trying.  You are the only girl I want,” he pleaded.

My eyes began to mist, and the aching in my chest intensified.  “If that were true, you wouldn’t have her photographs hanging above your bed,” was my quiet denial.

Shock transformed Ethan’s features as if I had landed a fatal blow.  He shifted, preparing to walk towards me, and I held up my hand in a silent plea to stay away.  A single tear trickled down my cheek.  He attempted to speak, but never got the chance to spout a justification.  The door opened, and my friends looked between the two of us, interrupting whatever excuse he would have uttered.

“You want us to come back later?” Bella asked cautiously.

“No,” I answered on a choked sob.  “We’re done here.” 

Chapter Seventeen

The drive home was insufferably long.  The four of us rode in the Pathfinder with Ethan trailing us the entire way.  Thankfully, he didn’t make any attempts to talk to me, although I did catch him speaking with Jack at the gas station.  My stink eye in their direction ended that quickly.

After spending the night at Bella and Tate’s, we carted cleaning supplies up to my apartment with the expectation of a long day of work ahead of us.  Jack and Makayla met us just outside in the hall, and Jack quickly unlocked and opened the door.  Now we are all standing in the room with similar expressions of disbelief. 

“I’m going to freaking kill him,” I growled.  “Jack, did you know about this?”

“No ma’am.  He just gave me a key and said the locks had been changed.”

The apartment was spotless.  Broken furniture, ripped clothing, and shards of glass were all missing.  The brick had been cleaned of the offensive writing, and the inside walls had a fresh coat of buttercream paint.  Kitchen cabinets that had several layers of chipped paint and recently added text were replaced with brand new oak ones. 

Continuing to seethe, I surveyed all of the new additions around my space.  Centered in front of a new flat screen TV was a red couch.  Two end tables, each holding an antique looking lamp, were perched on either side.  A matching chair, in red and beige stripes, sat off to the side.  An elegant floor lamp sat next to a new mattress set, topped with brown and white bedding, embellished with a wide strip of tiny red flowers and several matching throw pillows.  I walked over to the oak wardrobe, opening the door to reveal a collection of clothing in my size.

Bella had wondered into the kitchen, opening doors and inspecting everything from new glassware to pot holders.  Pulling on the refrigerator door, she released an amused snicker and said, “well, at least he’s thorough.  I’ve never seen your fridge this well stocked.”

My blood pressure was continuing to rise when Makayla answered the knock at the door.  I pinned Sebastian with a glacial stare, and he immediately began to claim complete innocence.

“I had nothing to do with this.  This was all Ethan and Sophia.  Yell at them.”

“Why would he do this?  We aren’t even together.”

Sebastian watched me for several minutes before deciding to speak.  “I told myself that I wasn’t getting involved.  That this was between you and Ethan, and the two of you needed to work it out.  But there’s something I need to say, and I’m asking that you hear me out.  After that I’ll support whatever you decide.”

Peeved at the position I found myself in, I told Sebastian to make it quick.

“Ethan’s like a brother to me.  I probably know him better than anyone else does, including his own family.  He’s a hot head and takes life way to serious.  He sucks at relationships, mainly because he has never been in one before.  And as much as it kills Mr. Perfect, he’s going to screw up.”  Sensing my waning patience, he motioned with one hand and continued.  “Let me finish.  When you took off without telling anyone, he went berserk.  I’ve never in my life seen him like that.  He was a man possessed, frantic to find you.  I know that bitch gave you some kind of bullshit story about her and Ethan being together.  The truth is they have never hooked up, past or present.  Ethan is completely devoted to you.”

“I appreciate your opinion, but just because they haven’t, doesn’t mean they both don’t want to.”

“Lex, listen to me when I say Ethan is the most loyal, sincere person to the people he cares about.  He is unwavering in his dedication to them.  And I know for an absolute fact that he loves you with everything he’s got.”

“Then how do you explain the photos?”

“Talk to him.  Give him a chance to explain, it’s not what you think.  I promise.”

One by one, my friends headed off to deal with the lives they had put on hold for me.  I spent several hours reacquainting myself with my home, learning where everything had been stored, moving things when need be.  At this point, what else was I going to do?  I know the Storm siblings will never tell me where to return the items or how much they cost.  No, the best I can do is to take an inventory and attempt a mental calculation on how much I need to repay. 

I mulled over Sebastian’s request and replayed the showdown in Virginia.  Ethan had solid arguments for almost everything.  I grabbed a pair of jeans (which by the way, made my ass look fantastic), a sage green top that brought out the color in my eyes, and headed to
Inferno
.  I needed to discuss the restitution for my apartment anyway, and perhaps revisit the conversation that we never finished. 

Tank was working the door, giving me a knuckle bump when I walked up.  “Please tell me you’re here to put the boss out of his misery.  He has always been a demanding bastard, but since you left him, he is down right unreasonable.  I’m not sure how much more we can take.” 

“I am here to talk to him, but I’m not making any promises.”

“That’s all we can ask for I suppose,” he replied with a nod of his head.

It is standing room only in
Inferno
tonight.  I weave my way through the crowd, reaching the office, whose door was partially open.  Ethan is sitting in his chair, pushed back away from his desk.  His attention is on the tramp roosting on one corner of the wooden slab.  She was wearing a lilac slip nightie that barely covered her nether region and allowed her ample cleavage to spill over.  I couldn’t make out the words she was purring, but her body language told me everything I needed to know. 

“FUCKING UNBELIEVABLE!”  The motion of the door and my unexpected outburst rewarded me with a very startled Ethan.  Lydia, however, flashed a cat that just ate the canary expression.  Ethan’s face quickly morphed into one of dread as he jumped to his feet, calling out in panic for me to wait.  He chased me out the door and into the crowded club, but his size hindered his pursuit through the thick crowd.  Reaching my car, I drove off into the night.     

My hands were shaking, and my sight was a blurry mess.  I pull off into a deserted lot, giving myself time to calm both the anguish and the burning hate that was tormenting my body.  Completely distracted by my own suffering, I didn’t realize I wasn’t alone until it was too late. 

God my head hurts. 
I pry my eyes open, waiting for them to adjust.  I feel like I have been hit by a Mack truck, and my head is splitting in half.  A musty smell fills my nose, and dampness has settled on my skin.  I can’t get my eyes to focus in this murky darkness, and I’m so tired. 
Why am I so freaking tired?
  My lids are incredibly heavy and keeping them open is becoming more and more difficult.  Full darkness surrounds me as it becomes totally impossible.  

********************

Group Message

Makayla – Bells, have you heard from Lex?

Bella – haven’t talked to her since we left her place last night.  What’s up?

Jack – she’s not answering us.  Tried last night & this morning

Makayla – Jack & I are going to head over to her apartment

Bella – k, keep me posted

********************

“Jesus dude, why would you even agree to listen to what that bitch had to say?” Sebastian asked, placing a mug of coffee in front of Ethan.

Seated on a stool, elbows resting on the counter, Ethan was cradling his skull in his hands.  He lifted his head towards the man standing on the other side of the bar.  “Because I’m an idiot.”  He ran a hand across his face before settling both around the warm mug.  “God, the look on her face, it hurts thinking about it.  I’ve never seen such a look of devastation and betrayal on anyone before.”

“Why didn’t you go after her and make her listen?”

“I tried.  She slipped through the crowd faster than I could push my way.  I made it out the door in time to see her taillights turn the corner.  Tank said she was out of her mind, running out into the street without looking, and almost getting hit by a car.  I went to her place, sat outside her door all night.  She never came back.”

“What’d the bitch want anyway?”

“She called earlier, apologizing.  Said that she was misled to believe Lex was a gold digger, and she made that shit up to get her to move on to a new target.  Said if she had known that I loved Lex, she never would have interfered.  Then she said she had some regulation papers that she didn’t understand and asked if I would help her one last time.”

“And you trusted her pure motives?”  Sebastian said in disbelief.  “Dude, she’s a snake.  She always has been.  How could you, of all people, not see that?  No wonder Lexie thinks you’re lying.  I’m having a hard time believing you’ve got nothing going with Lydia myself.”

“You’d have no qualms about accusing me of being a cheating bastard if you would have walked in when Lex did,” he said on a grim exhale.  “Lydia came in, dropped her coat, and sat on the edge of my desk wearing freaking lingerie.  Started in on how we would be the perfect power couple.  How she didn’t mind if I wanted to keep a little action on the side as long as I was discreet about it.” 

“And you didn’t toss her out on her ass why?” 

“I had just pushed away from the desk to get up and throw her out when Lex cried out.”

Sebastian looked down at his feet in a pensive stare.  Meeting Ethan’s eyes, he slowly shook his head back and forth.  “I don’t know man.  I’m not sure this can be fixed.  I hope for your sake that it can.  Maybe Lexie will calm down enough to listen, but…” he trailed off, letting his unspoken words hang in the air.  

“I doubt she gives me another chance.  I missed my shot at fixing this last night,” he said rubbing his forehead.

Both men were quiet for a long time.  There was nothing left to say, and no sure fire way to repair the damage. Sebastian’s phone was the only thing brave enough to break the stillness.

***check w/ E, c if Lex is there***

***E’s w/ me***

“What’s up?” Ethan asked.

“It’s Makayla asking if Lex’s with you.”

“Call her,” Ethan demanded.

“Hey babe,” Sebastian began.  “I’ve got you on speaker so Ethan can hear.  What’s going on?”

“No one’s talked to Lex since we left her apartment yesterday, and we’re starting to get worried.”

“Maybe she just doesn’t want to talk to anyone,” Sebastian offered.

“No, we aren’t like that.  Even if she needed space, she would have contacted someone by now.”

“She came to see me last night,” Ethan confessed.  “It didn’t go well, could she be running again?”

“Not without us.  We’re at her apartment.  Nothing is out of place, and her suitcase is still empty.  She wouldn’t leave without a bag.”

“I sat outside her place all night.  She didn’t come home after leaving the club.  I figured she was with one of you.”

“Ethan, I’m going to kill you if you did something else to hurt her,” Makayla snarled.

“Kill me later; we need to find Lex first.”

********************

The sound of muffled voices coaxes me from sleep.  My head is throbbing, but my thoughts are clear.  I lay unmoving, straining to pick up any of the words drifting through the wall.  It sounds like a man and woman arguing, but I can’t make out what they’re saying.  The voices stop, and I can hear footsteps, the sound becoming more distant as they move away. 

After an eternity of shallow breathing and listening for their return, I decide it’s safe enough to move.  I sit up trying to touch my hand to my head, but the action is halted by a tug on my wrist.  I feel the encircling cuff and blindly feel my way across the chain to where it’s attached to a ring anchored in the stone wall.  I yank with all of my might, repeatedly, with no results.  Yeah, that never works in the movies either, but I still had to try. 

Light sneaking in around the door casts a weak glow for a few feet, helping the shadowed areas seem bleaker.  As I adjust to the varying shades, I study my surroundings for possible escape routes.  The dirty cement floor is cracked and pulling apart in spots but offers no help.  Pin pricks of light filter in through tiny holes in various places.  I can vaguely see small piles, of what may be rubble, scattered along the wall bottom.  My hope is that if the door won’t open, perhaps the walls have weakened enough that I can create a hole.  That is after I figure out how to get this cuff off.  

I have been fiddling alternately with the cuff, chain, and hook for the past several hours to the point that the tips of my fingers are stinging.  The locks take some type of circular key, and I’m sure I could pick one if I had something with a long narrow point.  I started testing the links again when I heard movement outside the door. 

Wedging myself as far into the dark corner as I could, I sat with my knees up in front of me causing part of the chain to dangle in front of my face.  The door opened, revealing the quickly fading daylight.  A silhouette came into view, and I strained my eyes to capture any details that may reveal their identity.  A lantern was placed near the door and far out of my reach, blinding me momentarily with an influx of brightness.

I attempted to burn his image to memory so I would be able to recall it if necessary, and God do I hope it’s necessary.  He was a thin, scraggly man with thinning hair.  He couldn’t have been more than an inch or two taller than me.  His ill-fitting clothing hung on him like old rags, and he was old.  If I had to guess, which apparently I do, I would say he was maybe mid to late seventies.