Breaking Josephine (15 page)

As I yelled at
him, I saw his expression change, from anger, to shock, to resignation. But I
couldn’t stop myself and I didn’t give him an opportunity to explain. He shook
his head in disbelief and stood there, staring at me, all his anger gone. Finally,
he turned to go. As he opened to door, he turned to me and said in a quiet,
calm voice, “You honestly have no idea what you’re talking about Jo. You should
think about the source of your information and whether he can be trusted. Then
think about me and whether I’ve given you any reason to doubt me. I would have
thought I’d get at least the benefit of the doubt.” He walked out the door,
closed it gently, and was gone.

I slid down to the
floor, and sat there, in a crumpled heap. What had I done? I’d let what Colin
said explode from my mouth and I hadn’t even given Dex a chance to explain. I
leaned back on the kitchen cabinet and let the tears that welled up in my eyes
as Dex walked out on me pour over my lashes and down my face.

I hugged my knees to my chest and sobbed in a heap on
the kitchen floor until my apartment grew completely dark. I’d let my anger
take over and I threw a tabloid and Colin’s words in Dex’s face instead of
confronting what really made me angry—Dex not trusting me. After my tears
had dried in salty streaks on my cheeks, I picked up the phone and called Macy.
By the time she pulled up outside, I had managed to drag myself off the floor,
turn on the kitchen light, and change into running shoes and a hooded
sweatshirt. I’d scrubbed my face clean and tied my hair up into a bun to keep
it off my face.

Macy offered to
let me stay the weekend at her place, to keep my mind off Dex and keep me
company. As she waited inside, I packed an overnight bag and we headed out to
her car, driving away from my apartment in the dark Oregon night.

“You’ll be okay,
you know?” Macy said, looking at me and offering an encouraging smile. “I’m
sure there’s a reason why Dex freaked out on you, and your reaction seems
completely reasonable to me given the situation. You two will work it out. You
just need some time apart to think and get your thoughts in order.”

I hugged my
sweatshirt closer around myself and pulled my legs up in the passenger seat. “I’m
sure you’re right, Macy. It just doesn’t feel like it right now. Thanks again
for picking me up.”

“Any time, that’s
what friends are for,” she said, giving me another smile.

I woke up in the
morning in Macy’s guest room, smothered by goose down pillows and a giant pink
comforter. We had spent the rest of the evening eating pints of ice cream,
going over everything that happened from Colin’s conversation, to my fight with
Dex. Then we watched terrible reality TV until I was too exhausted to keep my
eyes open. I rubbed my eyes, dragged myself out of bed, and trudged downstairs.
I heard Macy talking and I stopped just before entering the kitchen, noticing
her tone.

“What do you mean
you have to cancel? It took me months to get that reservation. My mom called in
favors for it. William, this is ridiculous. You’ve never cared a minute about
your father’s estate and now, all of a sudden, when we have plans you have to
cancel on me to meet with the family lawyer? This makes no sense…. What do you
mean Colin insists? … Fine, whatever.”

I walked into the
kitchen then, just in time to hear Macy tell William good bye and hang up.

“I hate men
sometimes,” she said as she set down the phone.

“Something wrong?”
I asked, not wanting to make Macy uncomfortable by letting her know I’d heard
her fight.

“Oh, it’s William.
I’d set up this dinner tonight at a new restaurant in Portland and I’d had to
go out on a limb to do it because he really wanted to go, and now he’s canceled
on me at the last minute. My mom is going to be so mad. I used her name to get
the reservation, and now she’s going to look bad because I’m not going.” Macy
sat at the kitchen counter, drumming her fingers on the counter in a state of
extreme annoyance.

“Wait!” she said,
a smile lighting her face. “Screw William and Dex, let’s you and I go to
Portland. We can go eat the fancy dinner William can’t be bothered to go to and
we can go clubbing afterward. It’ll get our minds off of them and hopefully
onto some hot Portland strangers for a few hours!”

I rolled my eyes,
but laughed and agreed to go. “Okay, it will be good to get out of Cannon Beach
and into the city,” I said. “But I warn you, I’m not that much of a dancer.”

“Don’t be silly,”
Macy responded. “A few drinks and you’ll find your inner dance superstar just
waiting to be unleashed!” We both laughed and turned to planning our evening’s
adventure in Portland.

Later than afternoon, I climbed into the town car Macy had hired
for the evening and almost fell into the seat. I pulled the short silk dress I
borrowed from Macy down and looked at my naked legs. Maybe borrowing this was a
bad idea, I thought to myself. It was beautiful watercolored silk with swirls
of black and grey and white all over it. And it looked amazing next to my pale
skin and the silver of the same heels I’d borrowed from Macy the night of the
social. But I didn’t usually dress this revealing and I felt a bit
self-conscious. Macy climbed in after me, open bottle of champagne in hand,
looking perfectly at ease in a ridiculously tiny strapless dress, 5-inch,
patent leather sandals on her feet.

“Macy, you know,
maybe I should go change, I feel a bit out of sorts in this,” I said, tugging
at the dress.

“Don’t be silly!”
she answered. “You look amazing. Get some self confidence Jo!” She poured us
each a glass of champagne and we toasted to our night in Portland. I sat in the
town car, enjoying the champagne, watching the tiny town of Cannon Beach go by
the window.

“Why do you think
Colin would tell me that story about Amber if it wasn’t true?” I asked Macy as
we were driving.

“I don’t know,”
Macy said, sipping champagne. “Maybe he likes you and doesn’t want Dex as
competition. If he could break the two of you up, then he’d have his chance.”

“Maybe,” I said,
doubtful of that explanation. “But I get the distinct impression he doesn’t
like me. That he would drive me home was surprising, that he’d share a bottle
of good wine, even more so. And I don’t understand why he’d lie. Have you ever
heard about Amber? You spent summers out here back then, do you remember her?”

“I’m sorry, Jo, I
don’t remember,” Macy answered. “But I’m six years younger than Dex. So what he
did as a teenager wouldn’t even have been on my radar then. And after his
parents died, I didn’t have a relationship with Dex at all. He turned his back
on Cannon Beach and all of his friends here. He could have dated her and I
never would have known. I’m sorry, I wish I could be more helpful.” Macy gave
me a small shrug and smile.

 “How well do
you know Colin?” I asked her.

“Not very well,
honestly,” Macy said, taking another sip of champagne. “William and Colin
aren’t very close. Apparently they fought a lot when they were younger—Colin
always thought their dad favored William and felt it was unfair. I think it’s
gotten a bit worse since their dad died too. William said that Colin’s been
kind of obsessed about getting his share of his father’s money, but there’s
some issue about his father’s will and Colin hasn’t gotten control of anything
yet.”

“Really?” I asked.
“William’s never seemed bothered by any money problems like that,” I said.

 “That’s
because he’s not,” Macy said. “Their trust funds end when they turn
twenty-five, so William has access to his now, and he doesn’t need the money
from his father’s estate that’s tied up because of the will. He makes his own
money from water polo tournaments and from the film studio, so he’s got more
than enough money for whatever he wants to do. That’s why he can be here for
the summer and not have to travel all over for competitions. I also think he’s
finally getting actively involved in the studio’s business and that’s probably
driving Colin crazy too. The impression I’ve gotten is that Colin is jealous of
William’s ownership of the studio and resents him for it.”

“Geez, Macy, he
sounds like a creep!” I said. “And you were trying to set me up with him at the
beach party, if I remember right. Thanks a lot!” I teased her.

“I don’t think
being focused on money is creepy,” Macy answered, “and until this whole thing
with Dex, I’d never seen Colin’s crazy side. I just thought he was a spoiled
trust-fund kid who wanted his cake and to eat it too. And he’s hot—not
William hot, of course—but still,” Macy laughed, teasing me. “Honestly,
Jo, I’d never have even introduced you if I thought he was a creep.”

“I know, I was
just giving you a hard time,” I said, smiling. Maybe Macy was right, and Colin
was interested in me and jealous over Dex. But he didn’t seem interested in me,
he seemed just the opposite, and the whole episode still confused me. But I
tried to let it go and enjoy the rest of the champagne and Macy’s company.

By the time we got
to the restaurant about an hour and a half later, the champagne bottle was
empty and we were both a bit tipsy. We split another bottle of champagne at
dinner, and by the time we left, we both felt buzzed. We drove down the road to
Blur, a new nightclub that had just opened in Portland, climbed out of the town
car and made our way to the bouncer at the front door. Macy flashed him a
smile, showed him her ID, and we were ushered inside, bypassing the huge line
outside.

“How did you get
us in without waiting in line?” I asked, a bit louder than a whisper.

“My mom is friends
with the owner. They went to boarding school together,” she answered, leaning
into me so I could hear. I rolled my eyes. The rich and their boarding school
connections, I thought to myself.

We each grabbed
another drink at the bar and headed out to the dance floor. The music was loud
and unfamiliar to me, but it had a good beat, and before long, I found myself
lost in the rhythm, alone in my own world on the dance floor. I danced for what
felt like hours, enjoying myself and letting the stress of the previous day go.
I decided I would apologize to Dex for my outburst and see what came of it
tomorrow. I owed him a chance to explain what he said when he was leaving and
why he disliked Colin so much. But for tonight I would put Dex out of my mind,
enjoy myself, and have fun.

As I was moving to
the rhythm, I felt a man’s hands grab my hips. I opened my eyes and saw large
hands on me and a stranger smiling at me. “Helllooo gorgeous.” He said as he
pushed himself closer to me. His purple dress shirt was opened one button too
far, revealing his sun and wind burnt skin and his breath reeked of alcohol. I
turned my head to escape the smell and put my hands on his chest, pushing him
back.

“I’m not interested,
thanks though,” I said, as I tried to get out of his grasp. As I wiggled to try
and get free, his hands dug harder into my hips. I looked up at him as he
smiled a drunken, dangerous smile.

“Hey, baby, come
on, it’s just dancing,” he crooned, trying to get closer to me. I tried pushing
him off me again, but it was no good, he didn’t budge. Feeling my anger rising,
I took my high heel and stomped on his foot as hard as I could, grinding the heel
into his toes. I felt the leather of his dress shoe rip under the force of my
heel and the sensation gave me a modicum of satisfaction.

“Ow, you crazy
bitch!” he said, finally letting me go.

“Next time, listen
when a woman tells you no thank you,” I said, turning around and walking away. I
headed toward the doors to go outside and take a breather from the club. I
scanned the room for Macy on my way out, but didn’t see her anywhere. I wanted
to get in the town car and get out of there, go home, and go to bed. I walked
outside and asked the bouncer where the cars waiting for people inside parked. He
motioned around the back of the building and I headed that way, figuring I
could take a break in the town car for a few minutes and find Macy after I’d
collected myself. I needed to clear my head and think, and figure out what I
was going to say to Dex when I called him to apologize.

I walked down to
the edge of the building and around the corner, lost in my thoughts. Before I
realized it, I was alone, with no parking lot or waiting town car in sight. I
must have walked right past the lot, not thinking, I thought to myself. I
turned around ready to retrace my steps when I saw two men coming toward me. Although
my heart beat faster, I tried to keep calm as I kept walking toward them, back
toward civilization and the club. As I got closer, I recognized the bright
purple dress shirt and malevolent stare, realizing one of them was the man I’d
stomped on inside Blur. Sensing his anger, I panicked and turned down an alley
between two buildings, thinking if I could out smart them, maybe I’d get away. But
I was in Macy’s ridiculous heels, which were loud and slow, and before I knew
it, the men had caught up to me.

The man from the
club grabbed my wrist and wrenched me around. “That’s her alright. And look,
now who’s running scared? Not so big and tough now that you’re all alone, are
you?”

Instinctively
reacting to the situation, I turned to face him and spit in his suntanned face.
He cursed me under his breath, wiped his face, and slapped me hard across the
cheek. He grabbed my arms and pushed me up against the side of the building,
the brick pushing into my skin. He ran his calloused hand up my thigh as I
clawed at him and struggled to get free. His friend just stood there, watching,
with this grin on his face like he was enjoying the view. I screamed as loud as
I could and he took his hand off my thigh and covered my mouth.