Life Over Love (17 page)

Glad that the party was done and over with,
she felt better on her way home. She smiled thinking how Chelsea had kissed her cheek before they’d left saying “You’re my best momma, thank you for my pretty party momma.” She’d smiled and said “you’re very welcome, stink head, I love you.” Chelsea had squealed, saying she was not a stink head, she was a sweet head.

When Brianna got home she didn’t have to walk far before she could tell that something was really wrong the flower pots that she and the kids had painted were
broken and trampled on all over her front porch. It was eerily silent walking in because all the electrical things she’d owned were gone. The TV, Stereo, DVD player, her lap top that she was still paying on, all gone. Wow what a great night for Mrs. Jenkins to be on vacation in Vegas.  The front door had been busted in, the mattresses tossed, every cabinet was opened, and her things were strewn about the house so that she hadn’t been able to take a step without breaking something else.

She called 911 and was sitting on the porch when
they got there. She thought well, isn’t it just my luck that he’d be the one they’d send, but she was surprised when she saw it was the other officer Danner. They both had the same build, and long strides when they walked, but where Ryker had his father’s dark hair and mother’s amber eyes. Aiden had inherited his mother’s sun kissed hair and dark blue, almost black eyes from his father. They were both calendar worthy.

Aiden walked through the destruction taking notes. When he had everything he needed he gave her his card, his saw her weariness, but admired how well she was handling everything. She said “I’m just glad my kids weren’t with me. I couldn’t sleep to save my life last night, and I seriously doubt
I’ll be able to tonight. I don’t care about any of the stuff they took, I can get new stuff. The way the trampled everything, yeah I feel sort of violated I guess. Do you think they’ll come back?” He told that was highly unlikely, and told him to call if she needed anything. He got another call and had to run.

Brianna spent the next day cleaning and throwing away debris. The land lord promised to fix the door tomorrow morning and at least made it to where she could pull the door shut. She’d called Mike and asked him not to bother bringing the kids for one more night and explained everything about the break in. She told him how tired she was
both physically and emotionally, but he insisted on coming over to take her to dinner anyways.

20

A
iden had slept almost all day when he’d finally gotten off work for the night. As soon as he woke though he went to Ryker’s house without so much as even brushing his teeth. He knocked once and went in. Ryker was sleeping on the suede couch with the TV blaring. 

Aiden nudged Ryker with his boot. “Hey, wakey
wakey
eggs- n-bakery! Dude, you gotta get up, I’ve got to talk to you.” Ryker groaned and turned over. “It’s about the chick you’re seeing,” Ryker said “her numbers on the dresser, she’s all yours not get out.” Aiden chuckled “Not blondie, I’m talking about the pretty little thing with the hair dawn past her waist, you know the one that friend Dominique.” 

Ryker turned around, shielding his blood shot eyes, “You better shut up, I’m not in the mood for your crap today.” Aiden backed up waving his hands
“Noooooo, man this is strictly police business, I swear!”  That had Ryker’s full attention and he jumped up, looking like Wolverine after a weeklong drinking binge. “What happened to her is she ok?” He’d grabbed his brother’s shirt and was holding his breath, waiting. “Chill out! Yes, she’s fine, physically, but her place got robbed, dude it was terrible. She didn’t have a single thing left in the cabinets, drawers, closets. The kids toys were trampled, crushed, everything was just violated, yep that what she’d said.”  Aiden smoothed out his shirt, Ryker asked “where were they?” Aiden answered “She said they’d been at her daughter’s birthday party, and the kids were thankfully with their dad. The thing is dude, she was calm as a cucumber, but she looked about like she was going to pass out from exhaustion.

Ryker thought about her saying she’d felt violated, and felt awful for the callous
way he’d treated the last time they were together. “We got the perps, though, they were the same kids making trouble at the convenience store. Just a bunch of punks, running the streets.” Aiden took pity on his brother, he was real torn up about this girl. “Her door was busted in bro, she’ll be glad to know we got em.” Aiden was waiting he’d expected him to get up, go tell her, to put her mind at ease, but Ryker didn’t budge. “You’re right I’ll tell her I just need a little time.” Aiden was disappointed in him, he needed to go talk to this lady, and stop moping like a four year old. “Dude, you know what that’s fine, if you’re not gonna go ease her mind I will, I’ll be happy to, even dressed like this in my friggin’ underwear and work boots!”

He was almost to the door when Ryker stopped him. “I’m going ok, you just don’t understand, I acted like a complete
douche the last time I was with her, I’m ashamed man. She didn’t even call me, you see? I made her feel like she couldn’t count on me, I just need to get ready, then I’ll go ok?”  Aiden slapped Ryker’s face “Stop acting like a pansy, and go to her, I’m sick of seeing you mope around like a wuss all the time, chop chop!” Ryker pushed Aiden out the door saying “I love you too, thanks for stopping by, come back next time when you can’t stay as long.” He slammed the door in Aiden’s face.

21

B
rianna’s nerves were shot. She was upset that there wasn’t a lock on her door, she was nervous that they might come back, she almost wanted to pack up, and go back to the shelter. She planned on telling Mike once and for all that any feelings she’d had for him were in the past and that was a closed chapter now.

She was ready to go to a
restaurant, but then she’d noticed he was jumping out of the truck carrying grocery bags.  He’d planned on cooking for her. She felt ridiculous in her pink dress, but hadn’t felt like doing any laundry and most of her clothes were all just thrown into her closet so that she could clean up everything else first. Mike was sorry about the break in, but he was also glad to have Brianna to himself, he was surprised when he got inside to see it looked just as tidy as ever, with the exception of the door practically falling off the hinges.

He also thought the break in was another angle he could use when talking about the pros of trying again. He put flowers and candle on the island, because
she hadn’t bought an actual kitchen table. He put the pork tenderloin in the oven, and started to steam the veggies. He’d brought a clock radio and turned it on hoping that maybe they could dance in the kitchen for old time’s sake. When he finished all his fussing he came around the island to sit next to her. Mike pulled her bar stool close to his and held her hands together, to a casual onlooker it almost looked as if he were about to propose.

“Mike I have had a very bad couple of days, I’m really not up for this.”  He was cool with that he understood that she had been through a lot, and he wanted to comfort
her, liked always done. He bent down to kiss her knuckles. She looked at their clasped hands and wished they were Ryker’s, he tried to touch her cheek, but she moved away to avoid him. When she’d finally grown wearing of their little charade, she decided to just put it all out there. “Mike, I can’t do this. My heart’s not in it. We are divorced. If you wanna sit with me and talk about our babies, I can talk all day long! But if you think there’s ever going to be anything more than that you’re sadly mistaken.” 

He sat looking at her without saying anything, just listening. He nodded prompting her to go on. “I’m sorry Mike, but there are some things that you just can’t undo, you can’t take back.” He raised her hands, and she thought he was going to kiss them again, but instead he squeezed them as tightly as he could, the more she tugged, pulling away, the stronger his grip. He crushed her hands in his and held them up to his chest. When she started to protest he only grew more frustrated and listed them up once again, as he inhaled deeply he squeezed tighter still. She was sure that he was breaking her fingers, all the days he was in jail had made him much stronger, and it hurt further to try to pull free.

When he finally did decide to exhale he forcefully threw down her hands and pounded down on both her thighs.
The pain was sharp and severe, his arms coming down so hard and fast on her thighs felt the same as someone slamming an aluminum baseball bat across her thighs, the way people do during riots, she was sure that was how it felts.

He finally was cooled down enough to talk to her and he said “what can’t be changed or taken back? Huh?! Like you taking my entire family and leaving me on my
BIRTHDAY
!?What can’t you take back Brianna,
WHAT
?”  He was screaming so loudly in her ear that it was ringing, then everything seemed to sound dull, like there was water in it. He was holding her by the shoulders screaming, but like a maniac because he wanted her to answer, yet he was yelling the whole time too.

She knew that he was stronger than before, and he hadn’t been drinking so he was also faster. She tried to twist away, to save her eardrums, but he kept gripping her harder and harder. She wanted to be as still as possible, because everything that he’d done so far had been like that of a boa
constrictor, and she’d read somewhere that the more the prey moved the tighter they squeezed. Where he was invigorated she was spent. She didn’t even have enough strength for the adrenaline to kick in, and when she wasn’t responsive enough Mike angrier by the second.

By his way of thinking if she didn’t move or scream or anything, then she didn’t care, and he wanted her to care about everything all of it. How he’d worried, and missed her, and the kids. He’d missed Brody’s first words, his daughter’s first day of school, so much that he could never get back. During times when he was cool headed he could take responsibility for his part in missing those things, but at times like
this she was the one responsible for absolutely everything that had gone wrong in his life. The only thing he’d wanted was to come over and see that she’d still wanted him, that there was some tiny bit of love left in her vindictive heart! He grew bored of this, he wanted more from her. He wanted to remind her of how things once were, how they used to brush up against each other at night, and wake from sleep making love. He didn’t want that with anyone else.

He yanked her up beneath her arms, she grasped wildly around reaching for one of the candle sticks, something anything that she could use in
self-defense. He carried her to her room, and at the thought of him desecrating her safe haven, her soft bed, that she had bought with her own money, she got a sudden burst of energy. Surprised by her sudden outburst, he almost stumbled. She reached out for and grabbed onto anything and everything to avoid being dragged into that room. Wincing as he bumped up against her sore legs, she still tried to prolong going in there.

He hit at her fore arms as she clung to the door frame, karate chop style only with a closed fist, once there was nothing else to grasp, nothing else to keep him out she gave up. She
wondered how it would end this time. She waited for the blow that never came, he was still holding her, and she wouldn’t have been able to stand any ways. That’s when she felt him kissing her neck, and caressing her breast beneath her favorite pink dress, the dress that she had   felt was perfect for twirling.

               
Realizing what he’d wanted, she started to push him away, he’d never raped her before, but she felt him capable of anything now.  She would rather die than let this happen, and she was prepared to. He threw her down as hard as could on the futon, and that knocked the wind completely out of her. She kicked at him and he yanked her down, grabbing her waist, he brought her to the center of the futon.

                 
He held her down pinning her there with pressure on her in the middle of her color bone just below her neck. He grabbed her legs again to bring them around him, she bucked against him then, making him loose his balance. That made him so angry, he blurted out, “what’s wrong with you? Why are you fighting me? Just relax, Bri we can try again,
STOP FIGHTING ME
!” She promised herself that if she got out of this alive, she would be honest with Ryker and let him know how she really feels for him.

              
She felt as if she had nothing else to loose now any ways, and she screamed back in face. “
NEVER, I’LL NEVER BE WITH YOU AGAIN, YOU’LL HAVE TO KILL ME FIRST!!! DON”T YOU GET IT? I’M IN LOVE WITH SOMEONE ELSE!” 

         
That was it he’d had enough, he yanked her back hard, grabbing hold of one arm and one leg. When she continued to pull away, he yanked harder still, and pounded both fists down on her ribs, like one might pound a table if they were extremely angry. Using both his hands, he yanked her back one last time, as if he were a lumber jack hauling trees.