Caught up, p.20
Caught Up, page 20
Chapter 15 ~ Chloe
“What do you think?” asked Bleu. She was twirling her hair around her index finger and then unwrapping it. Looking up at her I shook my head. Pointing to the paper on the desk in front of me, I sighed.
“Sorry, I was doing inventory. We are really, seriously out of supplies and I spaced out. I’m sorry,” I told her. Her duties in the shop has lessened, only to be dumped on me.
“Do you want to take over my position?” she asked. I dropped my pen and she stopped twirling her hair.
“What... wait... why?” I asked. She sighed and for the first time, I noticed the dark circles under her eyes and how pale her skin was.
“Are you alright, Bleu?” I asked. She shrugged and looked at anything but me.
“Not sleeping a whole lot, just not myself. I used to love coming into work here, but now I loathe it. I want to stay home with Dom and this will give you a chance to quit working at the skeezy bar,” she replied. I felt like there was something deeper going on with her, but I knew better than to push too hard. It would just make her run away or bite my head off. Either way, I didn’t want to suffer either consequence.
“That skeezy bar pays my rent, chica,” I reminded her. She rolled her eyes and then looked down to Dom, who was sleeping in his carrier. I smiled at the little guy and then my attention snapped back up to Bleu.
“I have to think about it. And besides, shouldn’t your brother or your husband talk to me about this?” I asked. She waved me off.
“Technicality really. You’re the only person that I know would be perfect for the job and you can be here all the time,” she explained. She clapped her hands and flounced out of the office. I shook my head after her and sighed. Axel came in and stopped short when he saw me sitting there.
“Hey, sorry to take up the desk, but I wanted to get the shop inventory done before the end of the day. We seriously need supplies,” I told him. He nodded nervously and stood in the doorway staring at me.
“What? Do I have something on my face?” I asked, reaching to my purse on the floor for my compact. He shook his head.
“What are you doing, Chloe?” he asked. He leaned against the door frame of the office.
“You’re going to have to be a bit more specific,” I replied. He nodded.
“With my dad. What are you doing with him?” he asked, his voice low. His dark eyes looked sad and there were circles under them.
“Um, I love him. Why do you ask?” I replied.
“He is just going to destroy your life and then who is going to be there to pick up the pieces? Not him,” he said. I stood up, tugging my shirt down. His eyes went to my belly and then quickly back up to me. He cocked an eyebrow and I felt anger rise up inside of me.
“Let me guess, you somehow found out about the baby? And you’re pissed?” I spat out the question with more than a little bit of venom.
“Uh... yeah. My dad pretty much confirmed to me today that he hasn’t even taken you out on a date. Some relationship. I guess you guys spend all your time on your backs,” he commented. My face felt heated and I was so angry I felt my hands balling into fists.
“Who do you think you are? I’m not some goofy little ink groupie or some twenty year old flavor of the month that is aching for a seat on your daddy’s bike. I don’t want his money. I just want him. I don’t see the problem with that,” I said.
“He is too old for you. And he’s a nightmare,” he replied. God, he was stubborn and hypocritical!
“Axel, I’m in my thirties. And last time I checked, you were a pretty solid nightmare yourself. So honestly, who are you to judge me and my choices? I have one Daddy, and you’re not him. I thought all of us who worked here, we were a family. That this place... this was the only place where we didn’t judge anyone. It’s funny, but that’s what I thought. I guess I was wrong,” I said, pushing past him to leave the office. Turning around, I slapped the finished order on the desk. He flinched at the sound and crossed his arms over his chest. His face was dark with anger.
“The Axel I knew and loved, he wasn’t the pussy I see before me now. You’re fucking unbelievable! What happened to you? It’s sickening to me how much you’ve changed in the last year and not for the better. I liked man whore Axel who fucked anything with a pussy and a pulse. He was cool and open minded. This new Axel, I’m not digging him at all!” I hissed in his face. I swept past him. Slinging my bag over my shoulder, I pushed open the front door to the shop and climbed into my car. I was probably going to be fired, but I was so pissed I didn’t care.
Pulling up to the house, I smiled when I saw that Aaron’s truck was there. He came out onto the front porch as I got out of the car.
“What the hell happened to you?” I cried out, spying his left eye which was completely swollen shut. The door behind him opened and a short little lady in black shorts and a Sex Pistols t-shirt came out with large steak. She smiled when she saw me.
“He got punched, like a little bitch,” she said. I laughed, not able to help it. He shook his head and took the steak she offered, putting it over his eye. He sat down on one of the rocking chairs he had on the porch.
“I’m Ethel. I know I introduced myself before, but I figured you kids are busy. You won’t remember an old lady,” she said to me. I sat down and took my purse off of my shoulder.
“I don’t know. Anyone who can sport a Sex Pistols shirt is okay and pretty unforgettable in my book,” I replied. She grinned and poked Aaron in the arm.
“Marry this girl. I like her,” she told him. He nodded.
“Who did that to your face?” I asked. He took the steak off of his eye and frowned.
“Axel,” he replied. I stood up fast, fists clenched.
“Mother fucker!” I hissed. Ethel chuckled and put her hand on my arm. I sat back down.
“But why?” I asked.
“Because he knocked you up,” replied Ethel for him.
“Of all the stupid things. He just hauled off and punched you?” I asked.
“Pretty much. He met up with me at the cemetery and he said some things, I said some things. The next thing I know, his fist and my eye fell into one another,” he replied matter of fact.
“How can you be so nonchalant about this?” I asked. I twirled my keys around my fingers nervously.
“What are you going to do? Punch him again?” he asked with a wry smile.
“You punched him?” Asked Ethel with a laugh.
“Yes,” I replied. Ethel stood up and poked Aaron in the arm again.
“Let me get my purse, we’re going to the court house now so that you can marry this girl,” remarked Ethel. Aaron and I both laughed. She sat back down and smiled.
“It’s funny you should mention that you got into it with Axel. Because I did too,” I replied. Aaron moved forward in his chair and looked me over. I held up a hand to calm him.
“As you can see, he didn’t punch me. But I told him off,” I continued.
“Why?” asked Aaron.
“He wanted to stand there and question my motives and my actions, the little shit. So I called him a pussy and told him just what I thought of him. Since he got Harley back, he has changed. And not in a positive way. And I told him that,” I replied. He nodded in agreement.
“Yeah, I see that too. Don’t know what to make of it. I don’t have a degree in psychology so I thought I would just give him his space and let him come to me when he felt necessary,” replied Aaron.
“I honestly don’t think anyone can do anything for him. He does owe you an apology. He doesn’t need to protect my virtue or anything. He needs to fix his own shit and stay out of everyone else’s,” I said.
“Could his sister talk to him?” asked Ethel. Aaron was quiet for a moment, thinking it over.
“I don’t know. She was always the one who was able to. I can talk to her and see what she says,” replied Aaron. Ethel nodded.
“Not until you keep that steak on there!” she warned. Aaron chuckled.
“Okay, okay. Shit,” muttered Aaron as he slapped the steak back on his face. I stood up and stretched.
“I don’t mean to be a party pooper, but I’m going inside. I’m exhausted,” I told the two. They nodded. Aaron stood up and planted a kiss on my lips, then sat back down. I waved goodbye to Ethel and walked into the house.
***
Ringing. I could hear ringing. Had I finally gone crazy and this was just a precursor to it all? I opened my eyes and sighed. I had fallen asleep on the couch watching David Tutera and now not only was my phone ringing, but I had drooled all over one of the couch cushions. I glanced at the screen and didn’t recognize the number.
“Hello?”
“Chloe?” said my sister Caitlyn.
“Yeah?” I asked as I rubbed at my sore eyes. I was still really tired.
“Can you... can you come meet me?” she asked. Her voice was trembling and I could hear her sniffling. This got my attention. My perfect sister never cried. She once told me that crying made your face ugly and when you made your face ugly, it caused wrinkles. I don’t see one of her witticisms being on a box of Celestial Seasonings anytime soon.
“Cait, where are you?” I asked, trying not to sound irritated. We were sisters after all, right?
“Some... some bar called The Mill. There are drag queens and guys in skinny jeans everywhere,” she whispered into the phone, her voice laced with horror. I grinned to myself, Drag Race night.
“I’ll be right there,” I told her as I stood up and grabbed my keys.
“Oh thank you!” she gushed and hung up. I looked up as Aaron walked out of the bathroom with a grin on his face and then I stopped.
“You cut your hair,” I said to him. His almost shoulder length hair was cut short and was sexy messy like Jensen Ackles.
“Yeah, you like that Dean guy on that crazy assed show you watch so I thought I would give it a try. Almeida did it. Does it make me look like a douche bag?” he asked, running a hand through it and making it messier. My girly parts throbbed. I had more than a little crush on the older Winchester brother. He had been a regular in my spank bank before Aaron came on the scene.
“Chloe?” he asked, snapping me out of my daydream.
“I really like it. Love it in fact,” I replied, my voice all soft and breathy like an oversexed porn star. His one eyebrow raised and he grinned. He grabbed the sides of my shorts and pulled me up against him. I looked up at my massive man and smiled.
“Yeah?” he asked. I nodded. He leaned his head down and planted a hot kiss on me with his magic lips.
“Aaron, stop. I have to... holy shit I can’t remember what I have to do,” I said with a laugh. He caressed my cheek and laughed. My eyes kept going back to that towel wrapped around his waist. Say what you want, Aaron was pretty hot for an older guy.
“Where are you off to?” he asked as he pointed to the car keys in my hand.
“My sister called. She wants me to meet her at The Mill and she sounded really weird. Not like the usual put together woman that she normally is,” I replied. He frowned.
“Want me to go with you?” he asked. I shook my head and put a hand on his chest.
“Uh no. She might feel weird if you’re there. No offense or anything. I have to do this on my own. Where are you off to?” I asked. His eye was still swollen and a nice shade of purple.
“I’m meeting Willa at the shop and then I’m taking her to a metal club in Willowvale,” he replied.
“Wait... what?” I asked.
“You heard me,” he replied.
“Yeah but I’m not sure if I heard you correctly,” I replied. He laughed.
“She keeps throwing glitter at me and shit. So I thought I would turn the tables on her and take her out of her element,” he replied.
“Isn’t there some kind of law against that? Not seeing your head shrinker outside of the confines of her neutrally painted office?” I asked. He laughed.
“No baby doll. There isn’t. Maybe after tonight, she will stop throwing glitter at me,” he said with a grim expression.
“Don’t forget the fairy wings!” I yelled. He grimaced.
“I was trying to. But hey, you go take care of your sister. Let me know if you need me or the guys,” he replied.
“Who else is going with you?” I asked, following him into the bedroom. He pulled some boxers out of a drawer and slid them on under his towel.
“Jack, Matt, and Tangler. Axel was supposed to go, before he sucker punched me like a little bitch,” he replied. I snorted.
“How did you get Tangler to go? I thought he only liked southern rock,” I said with a laugh. Aaron ran his hands through his hair to tie it back and then stopped, remembering he had cut it. He pulled a t-shirt on over his head and sat down on the bed.
“We told him he had to go. Besides, it’s shark week at their house, so he wanted a night away from Almeida,” he replied.
“Shark week?” I asked. He nodded and smirked.
“The O’Donnell women have their periods. They call it Shark Week,” he said. I laughed at that.
“Listen, babe, you might want to get out of here. Don’t leave your sister all alone at The Mill, even if it is Drag Queen night or whatever the fuck they call it,” he said as he came over to give me a kiss on the lips.
“See you later. Have fun and make good choices,” I called over my shoulder. He threw his balled up socks at me which only made me laugh.
Caitlyn was outside of The Mill when I pulled up. She was pacing back and forth while she smoked a cigarette. I stared at her a minute because I had no idea that she smoked. She looked up when she heard my car door shut and she ran over to me, throwing her arms around me.
“Okay, I think I have officially stepped into an episode of The Twilight Zone,” I muttered. I pried her arms off of me and leaned back to look at her.
“Thank God you’re here! What in the hell took you so long?” she asked. She lit another cigarette and I noticed her nails were bitten down to nothing. Her face was free of makeup and I’m pretty sure her shirt was on inside out.
“Um, sorry?” I replied. She nodded curtly.
“Do you want to go back to my place? There isn’t anyone there. We can talk. It’s hard to talk inside of the bar and I’m sure it’s already packed,” I replied, pointing to the line of people in front of the door. She nodded.
“Where’s your car?” I asked. She frowned, took a drag off of her cigarette and shook her head.
“No car. I walked from the bus station,” she replied. I felt my jaw drop. That was a six mile walk in the dark in a not so nice section of town.
“Ooookay. Well, let’s go get into my car and we can just head to my house,” I replied. She nodded, grabbed her Louis Vuitton suitcase and followed me to my car. I popped the trunk for her and she loaded her suitcase inside of it. She climbed in the passenger seat and we roared off down the road to my house.
After stashing Caitlyn’s suitcase in the spare room, she sat down on the couch and twiddled her blonde hair around her finger again and again. Her hands shook a little and I almost felt bad for her. I sat down on the couch across from her and just watched her.
“Staring is impolite,” she said softly.
“There she is,” I remarked. She smiled bitterly.
“I must seem like a cold bitch to you, huh?” she asked. Her question took me aback a little.
“No. I know that you’re a bitch. Even told you a time or two. Never bothered you before,” I told her honestly. She nodded at the information.
“But not cold?” she asked. Biting my bottom lip, I tried to figure out where or what her questions were leading up to.
“No, not cold. More like a wounded animal. You like to lash out,” I replied. She nodded.
“Uh, Caitlyn. Are you alright?” I asked hesitantly. She stopped twirling her hair around her finger and looked at me for the first time since she sat down.
“No.”
“No? Care to elaborate on that?” I asked.
“My husband left me. For another aerialist. He knocked her up and left me. Emptied the bank account, took the cars. Everything, even my clothes... the cad left me,” she whispered.
“Cad?” I asked. Her eyes narrowed into slits.
“I refuse to curse, Chloe,” she hissed. I held up my hands in surrender.
“Not asking you to. But cad seems a little mild for what that douche nozzle did to you. How are you so calm about this?”
“Like you care,” she spat out. I stood up.
“First of all, you don’t know the first thing about me and how I feel about you. Yes you’re a bitch and you treat my mama like shit. You’ve spent very little time with me and when you have, more often than not you’re meaner than a snake. But you’re still my sister. Not my half-sister, but my sister. And if some dick head mime is going to step out on you and knock up some two bit floozy, well, I can be pissed off about it!” I told her with a stomp of my foot. She smirked.
“Step out? Two bit floozy? You sound like Daddy,” she replied with a laugh.
“Damn right. We might have spent a portion of the year in New York City but all those summers in Arkansas rubbed off on me. You’re a southern lady dammit! Why aren’t his balls nailed to the wall?” I asked.
“I tried,” she replied, putting her face in her hands.
“You tried to nail his balls to the wall?” I asked. God I hoped not.
“No. I tried to give him a baby. The doctor said that there was nothing wrong with me. But I know it was the stress. And the fact that we were like two ships passing in the night. Now I know it was because he was banging her little ass,” she remarked with a shake of her head.
“So he did this because you couldn’t get pregnant?” I asked. She nodded and then shrugged.
“Maybe. I don’t know. I tried to be the perfect wife. Like Belle. But I wasn’t good enough,” she muttered.
“Wait a minute. You tried to be like my mama?” I asked. Sitting back down, I tried to not look as shocked as I felt. She nodded.
