This Obsession of Mine (Raine Series #5) (10 page)

Joey

The next few weeks were pure, agonizing torture. Every time Diem and I hung out, I found myself falling more and more in love with her, and it didn’t help that I saw her after every home game. She was always there at the end of the tunnel, waiting for me to tell me how great I played. Sure I appreciated it, but all I wanted to do was run up to her and pick her up in my arms, twirl her around and take her home with me. It was literally driving me insane.

Our “hang outs” became less frequent, and the sad part is, neither one of us even minded it. As much as I wanted to see her, it killed me, and I was pretty sure she felt the exact same way. After a while the phone calls stopped and went straight to texting, and the hanging out part became nonexistent. School and football took up most of my time these days, and as much as I hated to admit it, I was doing amazing in all my classes. I guess that’s what trying not to hang out with your ex, and not having sex will do to a guy. My parents were excited, and I guess at this point, that’s all that mattered.

It was only a few days away from Christmas and as much as I didn’t want to go home, Tanya had made it abundantly clear that if I
didn’t
come home, she would come out here and make my life a living hell. Like she wasn’t already doing that. I was walking out to my truck when my phone started ringing in my pocket. It was my generic ringtone, so I wasn’t sure who it was or if I should even answer, but lucky for me…I did.

“Is this Joey Green?” The voice on the other end was gruff, and it sounded like the guy had to be about fifty years old or more.

“Uh, yeah. This is Joey.”

“Hi Mr. Green. My name is Detective Sanders. I work for the Abernathy Police Department. I was wondering if it would be possible for you to come in and have a word with me?”

Shit! Shit! Shit! “Um, I wish I could, Sir, but I actually don’t live in Texas.”

“Oh I know that son. I spoke with your folks just a bit earlier, and they said you were coming into town for the holidays. I was hopin’ we could get together and chat while you’re in town. The sooner the better.”

Of course they did. Son of a… “Of course, Sir. I’ll be in town tomorrow. I can swing by the station, if that’s alright?”

“Absolutely. Look forward to talkin’ with ya. See ya tomorrow. Safe travels.”

“Yeah. Thanks.” I hung up the phone as I got in my truck, and threw it across the cab. What the hell was goin’ on? Did Tanya open up her big mouth, and start blabbin’? Well, this was goin’ to be a fun Christmas, I could feel it.

My flight got in super late that night, and all I wanted to do was head to my parent’s house and get some sleep. Unfortunately, the universe had other plans for me. As I stepped out the airport doors I looked around tryin’ to find Glenn’s truck, but it was nowhere to be seen. I reached in my pocket to call him and see where his lazy ass was, but then I saw her, waitin’ on the curb next to her beat up car.

“What are you doin’ here?” I growled.

“Is that any way to greet your wife?” She reached out for a hug, but I pushed past her and threw my bag in the backseat before gettin’ in the car.

“Do you even know what that word means?”

“Maybe I would if you actually tried to treat me like one.”

“Why are you even here? My brother was supposed to pick me up.” I cracked my neck, then laid my head down on my arm against the window.

“I told him I would do it. Were you even plannin’ on comin’ home while you were here?”

“I don’t really think you can call that place,
home
. Well maybe the cockroaches can.”

“Why are you bein’ like this, Jo?”

That’s when I lost it. She couldn’t really be this stupid, could she? “Tanya, when are you goin’ to get it through your thick ass head, I don’t love you. You are not my wife. This,” I pointed between the two of us, “is all a big ass sham. It’s not a real marriage.”

“Don’t you think I know that? But I thought with some time away, and you bein’ able to do whatever or whoever you want, that you’d come back to me and actually want to make it work.”

“What in your right mind would make you think that?”

“Because if you don’t, I can-“

I turned in my seat to face her, seething with pure hatred and anger. “You can what? Ruin my life? Keep me around? Make me do what you want? No, I’m done. Don’t you want to be with someone who actually
likes
you? I don’t like you. I will never
really
want to be with you. You’re crazy. And I don’t give a shit anymore, you can tell everybody whatever you want. I don’t care.”

“You may not care about that, but you do care about that pretty little British girl, and you wouldn’t want somethin’ bad to happen to her now, would ya?”

My mouth fell open in shock that she would even try to threaten Diem. “You touch her, and I promise you will spend the rest of your pathetic life in prison. Trust me on that one.”

She tried to say somethin’ else, but I had already turned back around in my seat and was facin’ the window. There was one thing you didn’t mess with when it came to me, and that’s my family, and Diem was family. I was busy plottin’ out how I could get Glenn and Madison to help me take this crazy bitch down when we pulled up in front of my parent’s house.

“What are we doin’
here
?” I was thoroughly confused now.

“You said you didn’t want to go to my house, so I brought you here.”

I wanted to argue with her. I wanted to confront her about threatenin’ Diem, and all that fun nonsense, but now didn’t seem like the time. Right now, I had to deal with my mom and dad, and all the crazies I call family. “So will we be seein’ each other before I go back to school?”

“You better believe it, Joey Green. Don’t mistake my kind gesture for somethin’ other than just that, a kind gesture. Now get the hell out of my car, douchebag.”

I grabbed my bag and closed the car door just as Tanya went speedin’ down the driveway. I looked up at the mansion that used to be my home. This place held a lot of good memories, and quite a few bad ones. I knew what everyone thought of my family, it’s just too bad that nobody actually knew the truth, except for Madison. I guess it was time to head inside and face the disappointed looks on my parent’s faces.

I lifted my hand to knock, but opted to just walk in instead. “Hello?”

“Hello?” Glenn’s voice echoed through the vast space, and I was extremely thankful he was here.

“Hey, thanks for pickin’ me up asshole.” I gave my brother a hug, but was quickly interrupted.

“Language, Jo.”

“Sorry, Ma.” I leaned in for a quick hug, and she quickly pulled back to examine me. “I’m fine, Ma. Stop lookin’ for somethin’ to complain about.”

“Well it’s good to see you too, son. How was your flight?” Her tone was completely disingenuous, and I was immediately irritated.

“It was good, thanks. Where’s Dad?” I glanced throughout the house, but didn’t see him anywhere, and then Glenn started to laugh.

“He went to bed like four hours ago. Ain’t
nothin’
changed here.”

“Oh hush now. So will your
wife
be joining us for all the festivities?”

“Wow Mom, could you sound any less enthusiastic to say that word? But the answer is no, and I’m not even sure I’ll be able stay all that long. Lots of schoolwork and all.”

“Alright then. Well I’m going to head off to bed. I just wanted to stay up to make sure you got in okay.”

“Thanks for that, Ma.”

“Good night boys. We will see you guys in the morning.” She gave Glenn a chaste kiss to his cheek and me a quick delicate hug. Ah, memories.

As soon as she disappeared into her bedroom, I looked at Glenn with the
please kill me
look, and immediately went for the alcohol I knew Mom and Dad hid around the house. I mean how else do wasps survive in the country? Glenn and I dove right in, polishin’ off what was left of Dad’s whiskey, and then movin’ straight on to Mom’s vodka. We made our way out back, settlin’ in around the fire pit out back, when Glenn started in on me.

“Sooooo, how goes it with the wife, and Diem?”

“Remember when you said you would help me no matter what it was?” He simply nodded. “I’m cashin’ in, bro. I think we’re going to need Madison for this too.” I sat back and downed the rest of my drink knowin’ this was gonna be a long night.

Diem

“I know Daddy, I really was trying my hardest to make it back home, but I got wrapped up with a ton of school stuff. You know you can always come out here and visit me, right?”

“I know, baby girl, I just thought you’d want to come home for a bit.”

It wasn’t that I didn’t
want
to go back home and visit, I truly did, but I also didn’t want to see my dad in the state that I was in. Since the communication with Jo and I came to an abrupt halt, I was slowly falling into a deep depression. My schoolwork was lacking, my looks were lacking, and worst of all, I barely even wanted to leave my house. Even Troy was having a hard time dealing with me, and she was my best friend and roommate. Things had gotten so bad that I was even having people cover my shift at the arena just so I wouldn’t have to be reminded of him.

“Look Daddy, I’ve got to run to the grocery if I want to be able to get a turkey in time for Christmas. You sure you don’t want to come out here? I would love to have ya.”

“I would love to, love, but I’ve got work that needs to be tended to and I just don’t have the time to hop on a plane right now. I love you dearly though, and I promise I’ll call you tomorrow. I gotta run though. Love you and talk to you later, baby girl.”

“Bye Daddy.” Of course the phone disconnected before I could even finish my sentence.

Not only was I depressed about Jo and school, I was also feeling like the relationship I once had with my father was now deteriorating, and fast. It was as though he didn’t need me anymore, and I needed him now more than ever. I grabbed my food list and headed out to the grocery. Troy had taken off up north to visit her family, but luckily she would be back down tomorrow night, just in time for Christmas Eve, and Alex agreed to join us too. It was nice feeling like I was building my own family out here, and knowing that we all had one another to lean on.

There wasn’t a single person in the store today, and I wasn’t entirely surprised by this. I’m sure I was the only nitwit who forgot to go shopping
before
the actual holiday. Luckily there was one turkey left, and I was just about to celebrate my small victory when someone else’s hand reached for it at the exact same time as mine. I clutched onto the package tight, not willing to give up. I was going to be fighting to the death on this one.

“I’m pretty sure I grabbed this first.” A familiar yet terrifying voice echoed throughout the empty store.

I pulled my hand back with a quickness that anyone would find inhuman. “What are you doing here?” I was in complete and utter shock.

“I thought I might just pop on by and make sure you were keepin’ your word.”

“I left him alone, what else do you want from me? I even went the extra mile, and
pushed
him away.”

“Well good, but from what I hear, you’re still reachin’ out to him?”

“Look, I did exactly what you asked of me. I pushed the one man I could see spending the rest of my life with as far away from me as possible, all because you are an overbearing wanker who can’t stand that you’ll never leave that one horse town.”

“Look you prissy little princess.” Tanya now had her finger poking against my chest. “I don’t buy what you’re sellin’. I think you’re just lookin’ to take advantage of a nice guy who is most likely goin’ pro one day.”

That’s rubbish and you know it. I have my own money, I don’t need to ride his coattails, or whatever you are insinuating. Maybe you should look in the mirror, because I’m pretty sure
you
are the one just hoping he will play professional football, so you’ll have it made. Go back to your double-wide, and leave me alone.”

I reached out and yanked the frozen turkey from her devilish hands, and threw it in my basket before leaving this twit in my dust. I finished gathering up everything I needed, and was headed to the checkout counter when my phone started to ring. I glanced down at the caller ID, and happily answered when I saw Troy’s face light up my screen.

“Hey love. How goes the time with the parental units?”

“Ugh, remind me why I came up here again.”

“To tell them how much you love and miss them, drop off presents, and then come back home to be with me.” I laughed.

“I promise I’m on my way first thing in the morning. How was your day?”

“Well let’s see, I had a
brilliant
conversation with my father that ended with him running off to work, as usual. Oh but the best part of my day just happened.”

“Oh, I’m sensing heavy sarcasm. Don’t leave me hanging.”

“I just had a run in with
the wife
.”

“Nooooooooooooo! And I missed it? Son of a-“

“Yeah. But you’d be very proud of me, I told her off,
and
I stole my turkey back from her.”

“A tell off AND a turkey. Look at my girl go. I couldn’t be more proud if I had given birth to you.” We both started laughing and I was finally starting to feel a bit more like myself. “Well get out of there before she finds you again, and I’ll see you first thing in the morning so we can start cooking. I hope you have a good night.”

“Thanks, love. You too.”

Arriving home a half an hour later, I felt as though she was still watching me, and I would be a daft fool to think that she wasn’t. At this point, I didn’t really think there wasn’t anything she
wouldn’t
do to get me to stay away from Jo. Luckily, I had reinforcements. Just then the doorbell chimed. “And here he was now.”

I swung open the door, happily ushering Alex in the door, and locking it behind him. I wrapped him in a tight embrace, and then grabbed his hand as I led him to the kitchen. “Thank you so much for showing up tonight. You are literally saving my life right now.”

“So crazy stalker, huh? I like it!” He laughed.

“It’s not funny.” I playfully smacked his hand. “She’s quite scary.”

“Oh I bet she is.” He joked. “Alright alright, so what do you need me to do?”

I tossed some veggies and potatoes his way, “Chop!”

“So what’s going on with you and that jock?”

“He’s not a jock, Alex, and nothing. I’ve decided it’s time for me to let him go.” I could feel the tears beginning to well up, so I grabbed the onion and started chopping. It’s too bad Alex wasn’t dumb.

“I’m sorry, Diem.” He slowly wrapped his arms around my shoulders, and pulled me close to his chest where I completely lost it. “Do you wanna talk about it?”

Okay, I take it back. Maybe he is a little stupid. I pushed back from his chest and wiped the tears from my flushed cheeks. “Do I look like I want to talk about it?” I joked as I pointed the knife I was holding, at my face. We both began hysterically laughing so hard that the tears returned to my eyes, but this time they were happy tears. Okay, maybe not happy but at least distracted. “Oh, I needed this. Thank you for always being there for me, Alex.” I looked up at him with wetness in my eyes, and our eyes instantly locked. I tried to look away. Hell, I even tried to convince myself that it was a bad idea, but instead…I went for it.

My hands flew up, caressing his face as my lips came crashing down on his. Our kiss was primordial and full of need. For the first time in a long time I felt wanted, and free. My hands instantly went for the buttons on his shirt, but instead of undoing them slow and meticulously, I ripped. Buttons went flying across the kitchen like tiny bullets, and my primal instincts took over as I unzipped his pants, pulled them down, and climbed on top of him. I felt euphoric, and I didn’t want it to stop, but then flashes of memories of my time with Jo flickered through my mind like an old reel-to-reel movie. My body slowed its motion as the memories became more prominent, his face coming into full view every time I closed my eyes.

I pushed down on Alex’s chest with both hands as I stood up off of him and ran upstairs. I was humiliated, mortified in the most complete sense of the word. I ducked into my bathroom, locking the door behind me as I slid down the cold splintered wood down to my knees. I balled myself up on the floor, and silently prayed that he would just be the gentlemen I knew him to be, and just leave. As I heard the front door click into the frame, I slowly closed my eyes and let sleep envelope me.

~~~

“Diem? Diem, are you in there?”

I slowly raised my head, wiping the sleep from my eyes as I heard a light rapping at the door. The bathroom was pitch black, and I was completely confused as to how I ended up in here in the first place. That was until I looked down, noticing that I wasn’t wearing any knickers.

“Diem?”

“Troy?” I lifted myself up on one arm long enough to pull the door open a smidge. “Hi.” I half-smiled as the sun instantly blinded me. “What are you doing here?”

“I live here. Honey, are you drunk?” She pushed open the door enough to notice my lack of clothing, and she started to chuckle.

“It’s really not funny.” She laughed harder. “Troy, you’re going to feel quite bad once you hear what happened.” She laughed even harder. “TROY!”

“Unless you tell me that you were mugged and or raped, then this is hysterical. Get out here and get some damn pants on at least. I can’t take you serious when your hoo-ha is just staring at me.”

“Fine.” I tugged my shirt down enough to cover my bits as I made my way across my bedroom to grab a pair of knickers. I tugged them on, and turned around with my arms out to my sides. “Better?”

“Yes, very. Now sit down and tell me all about it. Oh, and what the hell happened to the kitchen?”

“Sit down, love. I’ve got a nice story to tell ya.”