Chapter 15: Chapter 15
Chapter 15:
Grace
Ken opened the door s soon as I’d knocked on it, her hands filled with greasy junk food and chilled bottles of beer.
She sighed in relief as soon as she saw me and handed me one of the two trays she was holding, as soon as I’d shut and locked the door behind me. “Thank God you’re here! I’d ordered too much food and I was worried me and Ty would be bouncing around the house tomorrow if we were to eat this by ourselves.”
“How is she?” I asked her as I placed my purse and the tray on the coffee table and took off the jacket I’d worn over the flowy orange dress I’d worn to the club today. I picked the tray back up and walked to Ken bedroom where Ty was.
“She’s taking a shower.” Ken pointed towards her bathroom door where I could hear a shower running. “She’s been crying all this time, but I think it’s good for her to let it all out. Who’d have thought Connor would turn out to be such n asshole?”
I gritted my teeth as the image of Connor shoving Ty by her throat flashed through my mind. If only I could get a chance to beat him bloody…
“I second whatever you’re thinking,” Ken said as she plopped down on her king sized bed. “How’s Daniel by the way? He took quite a hit.”
“Four stitches.” I told her through gritted teeth. “But he’s fine for now.”
“You okay being here tonight?” Ken asked seriously. “It’s alright if you want to head back, we understand-“
“Ken,” I sat down on the bed next to her, placing the tray on the bedside table next to hers. “I was with him till now, wasn’t I? But right now, Ty needs us more than Daniel.”
Ken nodded in agreement before getting up and heading to her wardrobe. “Here,” she threw me a change of clothes from the stash I had in her house. We often sleep over at each other’s place so all of us have clothes in each other’s apartments.
I went to her living room to change into a pair of loose shorts and an oversized t-shirt. Ken worked as an Event Planner and ran her own successful company, however small it might be, which is why her apartment was a lot bigger than mine. It had a living and dining area, a separate kitchen one bedroom and a smaller guestroom completed with their own attached bathrooms. Being a tech geek was my favorite job; I loved working with computers and decoding complex codes for my company and occasionally Government enterprises, but I have to admit being the IT girl didn’t pay all that well.
I came back into the bedroom after changing and caught Ty coming out of the bathroom. Her hair was still wet and she had changed to lose pajamas that had strawberries all over them. She smiled when she saw me but it soon turned to worry. “How’s Daniel? He took that hit for me…I’m so sorr-“
“Ty, it’s not your fault.” I went over to her and wrapped my arms around my best friend, my sister, as she burst into tears once again. I held on to her for a while, until she was calm enough to stand on her own.
Ken and I made room for her on Ken’s bed so all three of us could huddle up together and ate all the greasy food we wanted and washed it down with cold beer. Ty didn’t eat much but at least she ate something. We sat in comfortable silence, me and Ken contemplating how to bring up the topic of Connor, but we couldn’t find out any way to ask her without hurting her feelings. So we waited until she spoke about it herself.
“It’s my fault.” She said in a voice that was barely above a whisper.
“Ty, whatever Connor did to you wasn’t your fault! How could you-“
“No Kendra, you don’t understand…it was my fault.” Ty shook her head. “Connor and I have been over months ago. I felt it happen, I felt our connection fade every time I looked into his eyes, but…” she chocked on a breath. “I was so scared about ending this relationship that I held onto him to tightly.”
“Ty,” I rubbed her back comfortingly. “It’s okay; you don’t have to tell us.”
But she shook her head. “No…I need to get this off my chest.”
Ken and I looked at each other, thinking if this would affect her health, but Ken nodded at me, telling me that she should indeed get this weight off her chest. So we stayed silent and listened to her as she told us what had actually happened.
“Connor wanted to break up a long time ago but I kept insisting on continuing our relationship, hoping that with time everything will be alright. I really did love him…you know. We were in a relationship for more than two years; we’ve been friends since college. I didn’t want to mess it up. We had another big fight yesterday and Connor had finally ended things. But I wanted to talk to him once more, make him change his mind…but I guess I just couldn’t get the memo that we were truly over.”
Ken and I both stayed silent as Ty started crying again. Only now we knew that it wasn’t just Connor’s behavior that was the cause of her tears. No; Ty blamed herself for dragging on something that should’ve ended after running its natural course. And no matter how wrong Ty must have been in doing so, I knew I’d do the same if Daniel and I were to end after some time. And Ty and Connor have known each other for over three years.
“You know, when a woman loves someone, she can do some pretty stupid things to hold on to them.” It was Ken who said that to Ty, surprising us both. “Trust me, I know stuff.” She gave a rueful smile in the end.
“I second her,” I told Ty. “If Daniel and I were to end even after a few months or so, it’ll be pretty hard for me to deal with too.” I wrapped my arms around Ty from her right while Ken did so from the left. “So don’t worry about it anymore. I’m pretty sure Connor won’t come near you anymore, especially after he sobers up and realizes what he’s done-“
“Yeah, that’s something I wanted to ask too,” Ken interrupted. “Has he been physically violent with you before this?”
Ty shook her head. “Today was the first time, which is why I feel hurt and guilty. I brought this upon myse-“
“Alright stop!” Ken and I both scolded her.
“Enough with the pity party! If you have the guts to forgive the bastard even after he physically hurt you, then have the guts to forgive yourself for all the shit you’ve pulled!”
“Kendra!” I snapped at her while trying to digest what she’d just said. I had to admit, girl had a point.
Tatiana looked at her wide eyed for a long time before nodding her head in agreement. “You’re right…it’ll take me some time, but I think you’re right.”
“Alright, enough about violence and break-ups; Grace, how are things with your man?” Ken asked me much to my horror.
Your man.
I winced. I wasn’t sure Daniel would even want to meet me again. “I kinds…confessed to his today.”
Both Ken and Ty stared at me with wide eyes. “And?”
I looked down at my hands on my lap. “And he told me to come here since Ty needed me more. I think he’s going to break up with me.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?!”
I winced at Ken voice, but nodded my head, telling her that’s exactly what happened.
“Seriously? He didn’t say anything? Just showed you the door?” Ty asked incredulously, her frown deep and a pillow clutched to her chest.
“Well….he did kiss me before I left…”
Both of them sighed in relief and shook their heads.
“What?” I asked looking from Ken to Ty and then back.
“He’s not going to break up with you silly! He’s probably speechless and needed time to gather his thoughts.” Ty said with Ken vigorously nodding her head in the background.
Could that really be true? Could it be that Daniel wasn’t repulsed by me and just needed time to process everything?
Well…only time will tell what the future holds.
Daniel
Because you’ve become my first priority now.
I took a deep breath as Grace’s voice rang in my ears.
And I know I’ll probably regret saying this but I think I’ve fallen in love with you.
I tilted back the whiskey and winced as it burned down my throat. I messed up, big time and now she probably thinks I got the wrong impression.
I winced when my injured hand started to sting and I realized that I’d been fisting it tight and straining the stitches in the process. Uncurling my fingers, I watched as the bandage Doc had placed on my hand turn pink on one side. “Shit!” Looks like I might have ripped open the stitches. But when that tiny spot of pink didn’t spread even after ten minutes, I was able to breathe a sigh of relief that maybe it was a minor twitch.
I really need to be careful with my stitches or Grace would worry herself out for me. On the plus side, it’d mean that she wouldn’t leave my side ever again. I leaned back against the headboard of my bed and stared up at the lighting fixtures to pass the time, but the truth was, I was fucking whipped and I wanted Grace all to myself. I didn’t want her to go to her friends tonight, especially not after everything she told me.
And I know I’ll probably regret saying this but I think I’ve fallen in love with you.
Jesus Christ! Why hadn’t I just held on to her and told her I loved her just as much; that I have loved her since the first time I saw her walk into my club with her friends wearing that ridiculously hot bodycon dress that brought out her curves and her brunette hair in a tight braid that I had wanted to twist around my fist and pull her to me so I could kiss those deliciously plump lips of hers.
But I couldn’t be selfish, not with her. Grace is the person she is today because of her friends, they have a right to her affection. She’d given me her body and her heart, two priceless gifts and I plan to cherish them forever, however long that might be.