After losing my way only two times, I finally ended up at the door Mia described to be Lucas' office. Only a matter of time before I would be able to know my way around here without getting lost. I took a deep breath, and gave myself a few seconds to clear my head, then knocked on one of the large double doors. I expected that he would be here since I took a damn long time to find it.
His deep voice boomed from inside, "Come in."
Well, here goes nothing, I thought as I pushed the door open.
As I walked in, my eyes quickly took in the surrounding. Like every other room I had been to in this house, it was large, with a desk covered in stacks of folders, and a lap
My eyes fluttered open at the sound of my alarm the next morning. I had barely gotten enough sleep, which could explain why my eyes were still heavy and sleep-filled. The lack of proper rest was probably due to the unfamiliar environment or the conversation I had heard last night. I had so many questions I wanted to ask, but I had to keep them to myself. If they did not tell me about it, it meant I had no business with it, and I was not going to poke my nose into their matters.I was tempted to go back to bed and sleep for at least one more hour, but I knew that was a bad idea. The last thing I wanted was to wake up late on my first day.As the rays of the sun filtered into my room through the open window, I dragged myse
Sunday was my day off, but I spent the day playing zombies and many other games with the kids. Mia went out with her fiance, and I had not even seen Lucas all day. Which was good. At least my job would be easier that way.Evening came too soon, and we had not realized it until Emma came to call us for dinner. Just like before, everyone else was present at dinner except Lucas. The conversation at the table was fun, with Abigail and Aiden talking non-stop about how much fun we had. We watched cartoons, played tea parties, did a few science experiments, and built another dollhouse, quite an eventful day.After dinner, I joined the kids to clean up their playground, then gave them both a bath and tucked them in.
The rest of the morning ran slower than I expected. I cleaned my room, and the kid's room, read a book, and gave myself a mini-tour of the house. Emma was busy with laundry, and I had offered to help but again, she said no. It would still take a few more hours before the kids got back from school, I had to keep busy till then or I would probably die of boredom.I thought of doing some crochet, but I only had my pins and not even a ball of yarn. I would have to wait till I had the time to go to the store to pick up what I needed. I watched a movie on my phone and played a few games.I had not seen Lucas all day, but it was better that way. I picked the kids up from school at the exact time they finished and took them home. After they had a snack, we played hide and seek and ran around a little before going ove
"Your wife?" I asked in shock. "Ex-wife," he corrected sharply. I knew something had happened with her, and after my first interview with Mia, I just assumed she had died. It never did occur to me that they might have gotten divorced. "I thought she was dead." I blurted, not meaning to sound so nosy. He chuckled humourlessly. "I wish that were the case." We stood there motionless, Lucas still had his hands wrapped around my waist and I still had my hand on his chest. I could not help but wonder what kind of dumb woman would leave such adorable kids and this beast of a man, that was not only sexy but also super-wealthy, and actually cared about his f
"What?" Lucas turned to me sharply. I could almost see the fumes from his head."Benard didn't pick us, so Chris took us on the subway," Abby continued, oblivious to the anger seeping from her father as he glared at me." It was so much fun. But Aiden fell asleep the way.""Abby," I called, with a nervous laugh, desperate to stop her from talking more. "Would you like to have dinner now? I know you're super hungry.""Yes, but I want daddy to feed me.""Um... Princess, go with Chris, I still have a lot of work to right now." He brushed his hand through her hair, and slowly brought his eyes to mine in a gripping glare.Oh boy... I had a lot of explaining to d
After lunch at the cafe, we went spent the rest of the
The next few days went by really smoothly. The kids loved the car and insisted I drove them to school every day in the car. I had to give Abby a new style of hair every day before school, and they no longer found it difficult to talk to me about school problems. A milestone for me, because I enjoyed listening to them and knowing their challenges, and helping them.Lucas and I had not been best friends, but we had managed to be in the same room without exchanging death stares at each other and without all the sarcastic remarks for more than one week. I could tell that he was still very uncomfortable from his one-word replies around me but he was putting up an effort and I was helping him by giving him as much space as possible.After doing homework with the kids and some numbers and letters, I got the kids ready for the park.
I pulled the blankets over the bed and rearranged the pillows for the hundredth time since I came up to my room, my eyes never leaving the door. We hurried back from the park almost two hours ago, after a drizzle. These two hours had been the longest, or maybe it was because I could not get my mind to think of anything that was not my hands on Lucas's body. Lucas put the kids to bed and read them their bedtime stories while I went to my room. Knowing that he enjoyed spending time with the kids only warmed my heart more. But instead of taking a break as I expected to, I found myself waiting for Lucas, almost impatiently. I had heard him come out of the kid's room a few minutes ago, and I half expected him to be here now, but he wasn't. I turned on my back and slumped on the bed, disappointment running thro
Mia got married at the Terranea Resort. It was one of those places in California I had heard of but never so much as dreamt of being in. The ceremony took place by the beach cove overlooking the rolling mountains that gave way to a panoramic view of the sea. I was even more awed to see how they had turned it into the fairytale every girl dreamed of.The four pillar altar was decorated in red roses all around the roof—a befitting color for the month—with green branches curling around each pillar to the root. Red rose petals arranged in large cursive hearts littered the aisle leading to the altar, and golden candle lanterns were lit on either side. Even the seats were dressed in pink fabrics and red bows attached behind. It was like an early valentine's day, only more magical.The day became even more magical when Mia arrived in a carriage, yes a frigging carriage. As I got to my feet along with everyone else in attendance, I watched with the same awe and fascination with which I had wa
Christmas had never been anything special for me. I had spent my last two Christmas' before this working an all-day shift at work, wiping vomit off tables and getting yelled at by unhappy customers taking their anger and frustrations on me. Afterward, C and I would spend the morning drinking on a rooftop and dancing to Fuck Christmas by Eric Idle. It was not exactly like I was the grinch or that I forbade the holiday spirit, there really was just nothing to celebrate or be happy for. After spending most of my childhood holidays hoping I would escape some beating or screaming from the matron on duty at the foster care that day who would rather be drinking her guts out on her day off, it was not exactly my favorite time of the year, so I said a big fuck you to it every year.This year though, it was a whole different story. Like I had stepped into this perfect, in your dreams life belonging to someone else. And for the first time in my life, the reality was the more preferable option. T
Where do I begin? From our awkward first meeting to having bad guys and crazy exes thrown in jail, Lucas and I had been through one hell of a journey. The longest one I had ever been through my adulthood, I would dare to say. It was amazing to think how much my life had changed in the months I had known Lucas and the twins. I had gone from independent and never needing anyone besides my best friend to this woman who could not even do so much as breathe without them."Are you okay?" Celine asked, tilting her face to meet mine in the mirror."Nervous," I said, going for honesty as I tugged on the hem of the white fitted dress clinging to my body."'Oh bess," she cooed, adjusting my veil, "you have every right to be, it's your big day."I smiled sheepishly at the thought, staring down at the ring on my finger that would be joined by another in a few minutes, "It is my big day. Oh my God, I'm getting married bess." The words slammed a fresh dose of unrestrained happiness against my heart
Every story I'd hard about the afterlife was a big fat lie. There were no angels in white robes, no opera waiting to usher me into the gates of heaven but then again who said I was going to heaven. The pain shooting up my body felt everything like hell, or at least I knew the one coming would. I clamp my eyes closed tighter as I lay on the floor in what I know is my pool of blood, waiting for the pain I hope to come. She succeeded and I let her win, I let Sarah shoot me. There was no longer going to be the amazing sex with Lucas, no spending afternoons with the kids, no harmless gossips disguised as Sunday lunch dates with my best friend. No more of Lucas's family, all of that was now simply gone, just gone.The thought left a hot burning scar on my throat and I gasped, fighting to take in the air that was not coming. This really was it, I had lost and she had won. But the arms suddenly wrapping me in a warm embrace felt too familiar to be related to the icy feeling of dying."Chris?!
You know that feeling when you wake up to a day that just feels off right from the moment you open your eyes? It could be the harsh rays of the sun nearly blinding and forcing you to wake up early on a Saturday morning or the annoying sound of your alarm reminding you that it's a Monday Morning again after you spent Sunday evening drinking your guts out. That small, seemingly unimportant detail in your morning that makes sure you have a bad rest of your day. I was having one of those mornings, but unlike most, I knew exactly why it was going to be a bad day.After laying motionless in the same spot for what felt like an eternity, body unwilling to move and mind refusing to come alive, I finally found a reason to get up, thanks to my pressing bladder. I walked back into the room after finishing my business and realized for the first time this morning, that Lucas was not here and the kids had not come to barge down my door in search of me.I knew Lucas would leave early for what he had
It was sweet effing relief. After almost two months here, we were finally making the trip back home. While there were less than relieving reasons involved, it still brought a wide grin to my face when the sound of the wheels scraping the runway of Lindbergh field reached my ears.Martha and Calvin were the first to welcome us home, with Calvin giving the usual manly hugs and pats on the back to his two sons and Martha going through a long streak of teary hugs and sobbing her thanks that her grandbabies were okay. She had insisted all three of them rode in their car with them as we came home from the airport. I realized it had probably been a wise choice to keep them oblivious to my pregnancy. Martha, for one, would have thrown a fit if her hopes of having a new grandchild were suddenly crushed by my miscarriage.After almost two months away, I had almost forgotten what it felt like to be normal. My usual routine, the one I had when my life was still a simple cycle of getting Abby and
What happened to the curious cat again? Ah yes, she got her neck snapped by her fiance's supposed best friend because she would not simply stay out of trouble. I was fairly sure, no most certainly positive that was what Adrian would do to me as his eyes bored into me with something that looked rather far from the friendliness I had seen when we first met. Maybe my body would be found in a nearby dumpster in a week or more.And then it hit me. Lucas had told me he was coming here to check on security hours ago and as I stood there scanning the room briefly, he was absolutely nowhere in sight. Oh, my God! Maybe he hurt Lucas and was now taking out whatever anger was left in him on Baron. I thought they were supposed to be best friends.The thought had not completely settled in my mind when a familiar figure stepped out of the shadows, wiping his hand on a towel stained in crimson. It was Lucas. He halted in his steps as his eyes landed on me, shock and a slightly less version of anger f
It was hard to tell how long we lay there, with me half-naked and asleep in Lucas' arms. But when I woke up to the light scruff of grass against my knee, the red-orange of the sky told me we had been there in that position for quite a while."I'm sorry," Lucas rasped, and I realized we had shifted from the position we were in when I fell asleep. Lucas sat with his back against the wall of the maze, holding me to himself. It was the closest we had been to each other, with the obvious exemption of how intimate we had been before I drifted asleep. "I didn't mean to wake you up,""How long did I sleep?" I asked, with quite an idea in mind."Not long enough, you needed the rest." he stroked my head as he spoke."You should have woken me," I gave a brief chuckle, followed by a wince at the numbness in my hands as I attempted to pull myself away from him and sit up.Lucas held on to me tighter though, tutting and shaking his head as he did. "I don't want you to leave just yet, stay here in m
I had not realized just how much I needed to breathe fresh air that was not sullied by a mixture of stale air, pills from the doctor, and a large dose of my sadness. For what first like the first time in forever, the sight of food did not make my stomach churn, or at least it did in the right way. The scent of freshly made orange juice and blueberry danishes set out on the picnic table only made my mouth water and my empty stomach growl. I turned to my best friend the closest thing I had to a sister with a smile. "You planned this?" Of course, she did. I had to be the luckiest human on the planet to have everyone I had in my life now. She rounded the table, taking her seat with a knowing smile. "I was hopeful that today would be a good day." I tilted my head, a fresh wave of guilt pulling at my chest. I had been so drowned in my sadness that I had completely neglected everyone, myself included. "I'm so sorry for shutting you out too, Bess." She shook her head tersely, "Nope, we ar