Derailed (Terminal Book 2) (13 page)

Chapter 18

“So, you want to fill me in?” Landyn asks while we wait for his pancakes to arrive. I stretch my arms across the back of the bench and the vinyl feels cold under my fingers. We're sitting at our regular booth on an irregular day. However, my cousin still gets his same fucking pancakes.

“What's there to tell?” I lift my mug and take a deep drink of my hot coffee, before raising my sunglasses to the top of my head and shifting in my seat. “Let's see... I fucked a chick, and when my dick was buried deep inside of her I noticed a picture on her wall. It was her and Evan. So after I fuck her...”

“You still fucked her? DES!” He looks shocked. Who the fuck is he to judge me?

“I was already fucking balls deep, I had to finish it off. And then we got carried away but as soon as I woke up the next morning…”

“Fuck,” Landyn whispers in disgust and closes his eyes while rubbing his temples.

“When I remembered where I was, I got up and got the fuck outta dodge. I wore a condom every time. If Lex wants to be pissed at me for something that happened before she even came into my fucking life she can go fuck herself.”

“You never told her that you got…”

“I DIDN'T KNOW! Fuck! I don't know what fucking Evan told her, but I found out that night too. Don't you think that if I knew about it, I would have dealt with it?”

Landyn looks over my shoulder and smiles at our waitress as she nears. I take another sip of coffee and swallow while she places it in front of him and puts her hand on her hip, turning to me.

“So, Des.” She purrs. “When are you gonna take me for a ride on that motorbike of yours?”

I take another pull from my mug and set it down on the plastic table top before slowly turning my cynical smile to her.

“Sweetheart, the only way I would take you on my motorcycle is if I was going to fuck you. That's all you would be to me... a fuck. If you don't want to hear the truth about how much you mean to me, don't flirt with moody musicians. We don't really want you in our lives more than an hour.” Calmly I lift my mug to my mouth and take another drink while she hurries away, probably to find another waitress to take over our table.

I don't give a fuck.

“You dick.” Landyn shakes his head at me.

“Fuck you too, Landyn. She's the one that left. She quit.”

“You're pouting too. I mean look at you.” I slide out of the booth shaking my head and turn to walk away from him. “Desmond, stop being a dick and call her.”

Turning back to him, I lean on the table and stab the finish with my fingertip to emphasize my point. “SHE.QUIT.ME. And I say good fucking riddance.”

Turning, I pull my sunglasses back down over my eyes and walk out of the restaurant. Taking a deep breath, I strut to my bike parked at a meter on the next block. Removing my helmet from the saddlebag, I slap it on my head and throw my leg over the seat. Revving the engine, I pull into traffic without shoulder checking and hear tires squealing behind me as I do.

Fuck rehearsal.

Fuck Landyn.

Fuck Lexi.

Fuck Terina.

Fuck Evan.

Weaving carelessly through traffic, I make my way home. Climbing the stairs two at a time, I reach my apartment and pull out my cell phone. Fumbling though my contact list, I find Sal's cell number and press call. As it rings, I grab my bag and start stuffing shit into it.

“Ooh, Desmond. This must be important. What the fuck do you want?”

“We need to meet now. I can't wait until Monday, some shit has come up.” I demand, still stuffing clothes and toiletries into my bag cradling the phone between my shoulder and my ear. My desperation gets her attention.

Sal gasps, “Did you kill someone, Des?”

“WHAT? Fuck no! I just need this done now. Where can I meet you?”

“An hour at my office, fuck, Des. This better be good.”

“You'll get paid extra, what does it matter if it's good or not?” I remind her after tossing my bag on the bed.

“That's true. See you in an hour.” She ends the call and I zip up my bag and toss it on my sofa while stuffing the phone in my pocket. Walking over to the kitchen drawer, I remove a manila envelope and tuck it into my inside pocket.  Patting myself down for my keys, I leave the suite and lock the door behind me.

Climbing into my car, I drive downtown to Sal's office and of course I arrive later than her.

Fucking LA traffic.

I pull open the glass door and remove my sunglasses. Sal is leaning against the reception desk. Her hair is up in a ponytail and she's wearing a scowl.

“Make it quick, Des.” She taps her manicured fingertips against the lacquered desktop.

“Do you have all of the drafts?” I ask as I approach her.

“Yeah, they're all there on the table. Waiting for your signature.” She waves her hand.

“Good, there's something else I want you to do for me.” I insist and hand her the envelope.

Furrowing her brow, she unwinds the string and pulls out the paperwork inside.

“This is your contract with Terminal,” she tells me, stating the obvious.

“Yeah it is. Get me out of it,” I demand and sit down with a pen to sign every line that has a sticky arrow on it.

Chapter 19

I pack up the last of my things. I don't have much, never been home long enough to acquire anything so I never bothered. I just put the last of my vinyl records into a storage box when there's a knock on my door. Standing, I shake the pins and needles out of my foot and hobble to the door.

When it opens, I see Micha standing there, nostrils flaring. Obviously very pissed waving rolled up paper in my face.

“Um, so I just got served this request to terminate your contract with Terminal. What the fuck? Des! You can't fucking do that!” He's visibly upset, but he needs to fucking grow up.

“Don't be a drama queen.” I roll my eyes and walk away from him to tape up the box in the center of the room. There's only a few boxes but they carry all I have left of my life. Living in a bedroom not a home for your entire life doesn't give you many boxes of memories.

“What the fuck is going on, Des?” Micha asks as he walks around the room tapping the box on the sofa.

“Micha, whether you agree with my petition or not, I am getting out of the band. I just…” I rub the top of my head and drop my hand to my thigh with a clap, “it's time for me to move on. I'm done.”

“Get her back,” Micha tells me. “Make it right.”

“Fuck you, Micha. Fuck her too. Just done.”

He pushes the box to the side and sits on the edge of the sofa. “Landyn is pissed at you. He was yelling into the phone the whole time I was talking to him about it. He is wiping his hands of you, and I think he may want to file a counter-suit.”

“Let him be pissed, but I have to live my life for me. I'm tired of the fucking martyr that is Landyn Pierce. He acts like his shit don't stink.”

“Yes, he's made some mistakes. But, dude, you've got to admit. It's better now.”

We stare at each other. Both knowing the history behind every bad decision in Landyn's life. In my life. Most of those decisions were caused by pussy. But what about Micha?

“Micha, are you using?” I just come right out and ask. I'm tired of talking about me and my decision.

“No, I swear I'm not using. I have other shit going on. I can tell you about it when the time is right.” He mindlessly scratches his chin and looks around the room. “Where are you gonna go?”

“Away. I'm just going to go away,” I reply sadly.

“I'll miss you, brother.” Micha stands and wraps his one arm around my shoulder, clapping his hand down a couple of times.

“I'll miss you too.” It's true, I'll miss him. He has nothing to do with this shit. He's just Terminal and it's time to absolutely clear my life of anything that has to do with this band, anything to do with Lexi.

I walk him to the door. “Just do me a favor, bro. Just sign my petition and allow me to leave. I'll go quietly, but I gotta go. I don't want to go to court for it. Talk to Lan. We were thinking you might need some help when we got home, but…” I sigh. “You need to talk to Landyn about your shit, okay?” Micha nods and I clap my hand on his shoulder. Micha nods and blows out a puff of air.

“Okay. I'll sign it and send it to your lawyer first thing in the morning.” He shakes his head and leaves my apartment for the last time. Neither of us say goodbye, he just goes quietly the way I want to go.

I close the door behind him and get back to packing up my belongings. The storage people will be here tomorrow and everything is going into one of those stackable units. I'll send for them when I figure out what's next for me. When I have a place to land.

Walking through the kitchen I make my way into the bathroom and look in the mirror. I have bags under my eyes and my beard is taking on an unruly appearance. I might be scared if I saw myself down a dark alley. Opening my mouth, I stick my tongue out and look inside. My tongue is white and my teeth have shit stuck between them. Picking up my toothbrush, I spread some paste over the bristles and begin to brush. I brush until my gums bleed and follow up by swishing a strong menthol mouthwash.

Leaning on my arms on the counter, I turn my face from side to side, looking at my beard and my hair. I dig under the sink and come across my beard trimmer. Plugging it in, I slowly run it over my chin and tidy up the nest that has grown on my face. Once it's finished I look again at my reflection before holding up a chunk of my hair and pressing the beard trimmer against my skull, successfully removing the shoulder length hair.

Desmond Charter needs a change.

Once I'm done and all of my hair is trimmed to the same length as my beard, I stand back and look at the carnage in the sink. It looks like a small animal lives in there. Pulling the garbage can closer, I scoop handfuls of my hair into it and use a rag to remove the whiskers that stick to the porcelain.

My phone rings as I remove the plastic bag from the can. Tying a knot in the end, I look at the caller ID and see Terina's number. I do not want to deal with her. I knew she was going to be served today with the suits and she's not going to be happy. Maybe I should have sent a restraining order too.

“Terina,” I answer the phone. No pleasantries.

“What the fuck, Desmond? Entrapment? WHAT THE FUCK? You do know that this won't hold up in court, don't you?” she yells the last part into the phone and I barely manage to save my hearing.

“Look, you need to talk to my lawyer. I will not have this conversation with you,” I say to her calmly not wanting to say anything that will come back and bite me in the ass.

“You are a fucking asshole, Desmond Charter. I hope you realize I will be talking to whoever will fucking listen. The poor waitress taken advantage of by a celebrity, left to pick up the pieces of her pregnancy alone.”

“Actually you can't do that either. I have also sent you a petition for paternity testing. Look, Terina. I suggest you just read everything before you call with threats and accusations. My lawyer has explained everything in detail. If you have any questions about anything listed, CALL HER! Now kindly FUCK OFF!” I stab end call with my fingertip and shake my head. I am going to have to remember to either change my number or go off the grid.

Tossing it on the counter, I pick up the garbage bag and carry it out into the hall to the garbage chute. My cell is ringing again as I enter my apartment. Stalking through the suite, I pick it up and look at the screen.

Lexi.

Nope. Not going to deal with that right now. It can go to voicemail. I toss it back on the counter and grab my keys. I need to fucking escape all this shit. Taking the steps two at a time, I leave the building and hop on my bike. I'm going to the fucking coast.

Hours later, I finally return home to an empty apartment and toss my keys on a box in the living room. In the kitchen, my cell phone's notification light is blinking. I swipe the screen and see three missed calls, two voicemails and four texts. Rolling my eyes, I walk away from the phone and go climb onto the mattress on the floor in my bedroom. It's here I realize that I haven't jerked off in weeks, and I have no desire to do so. This is going to have to be fixed very soon.

Laying here in the dark I think about all the things that have happened in the past few months and I start to laugh at how fucked up I am. If this wasn't my life, I wouldn't fucking believe it was real.

Chapter 20

Leaning into my trunk, I'm rearranging the boxes and bags so they fit better when I hear her voice call to me. Slowly, I back out of the trunk and turn to face her. Oh, my God she's fucking beautiful. Long skirt, little button up blouse, curled hair. She smiles gently at me and begins to chew the inside of her lip.

“Hi, Desmond,” she nearly whispers. Her eyes are glassy and it seems like she might cry any moment.

“The fuck do you want, Lexi? I'm a busy man.” I lean back against my car and cross my arms over my chest. I lift my sunglasses so they rest on the top of my head.

“You look good, Des. I love your hair.”

“Look, I'm not a fucking chick. You don't need to compliment me. What do you want?” I cross one leg over the other and bite down repeatedly. She looks fucking amazing, and oh man could I go for her lips around my cock right about now.

“Don't go. Listen, I know I jumped to conclusions. Landyn filled me in and so did Evan. He's a real fucking dick, isn't he?” She shifts her weight between her feet and looks at the ground.” I fucked up. Don't punish everyone else, they don't deserve for a minute not to have you in their lives.”

“What's your game, Lexi?” I squint at her, partially to protect my eyes from the bright sunshine and partially to glare at her. “I mean, you want to call me names too? How about threaten to go to tabloid magazines or other media outlets? Or hey, why don't you just take me where you can be humiliated publicly? Your choice.” I nod in her direction before turning back to the trunk and waving at her dismissively.

“I still love you, Desmond Charter.”

Angrily I push myself off of the car and stalk over to where she's standing. She suddenly looks afraid of me. Her eyes widen and she stutter-steps back. My nostrils flare as I breathe loudly. Grabbing the nape of her neck, I fist her hair and forcefully take her lips with my own.

My tongue doesn't have to swipe at her lip for long before she's granting me complete access. My free hand on her breast, my tongue in her mouth and my other hand holding her fast to me. Her arms reach around me, tugging my shirt, pulling me closer to her. Biting her lip I take her by the hand and drag her into the building's stairwell. She's practically running to keep up with my stride.

Staring into her eyes we are both breathing heavily, anticipating the next move. My hands find the edge of her blouse and pull it apart. Buttons fly in all directions and we both laugh as I find her tits with my lips. Licking and sucking, I taste her tits as she gasps and moans against the wall. Her fingers make short work of my belt and buttons. She wraps her soft hands around my hard cock and begins to stroke furiously.

I pull up the long skirt and tuck it into her waistband, before ripping her underwear off of her tight body and tossing them to the floor. Lifting her up, her legs wrap around my hips and I press her back into the wall. Pulling a way slightly, I bury my cock deep into her pussy. Both of us groan with pleasure. My head drops to her collarbone and her head falls back against the brick.

Lexi's moans egg me on, and I thrust into her desperately seeking release. Her fingers fist my hair and press my face into her tits. Taking full advantage of the position, I lick and nip until my mouth is full of her taste.

Moments later, I'm thrusting deeper. Groaning louder and exploding into her. Everything feels amazing. My blood pumps through my veins and I feel something I haven't felt in weeks.

Satisfaction.

We look into each other's eyes and smile. Placing her feet firmly back on the ground, I tuck my cock back in my pants and fix my belt.  Turning my back on her, I place my hand on the doorknob and look over my shoulder as she is straightening her skirt. She's going to be wearing that just fucked look all day.

“So thanks for that, Lexi.” I toss over my shoulder and pull the door open to walk away from her forever. I hear her gasp as the door closes behind me.

I close my trunk and pull the keys from my pocket, when I hear her heels clicking on the cement in rapid succession.

“DESMOND FUCKING CHARTER,” she yells across the parking lot. “What the fuck was that?”

Turning around I raise my hands to the sides and shake my head. “What the fuck do you want from me, Lexi. YOU fucking walked. I'm just supposed to take you fucking back? ”

“But we...”

“Here let me finish that for you.” I change my voice to a higher pitch and bat my eyelashes. “But we just had S-E-X and I thought maybe we could go get an ice cream.” My normal tone returns as I flip her off. “Fuck you, Lexi. It's all I wanted to do.”

She's holding her blouse closed and her lips are pursed as she glares at me. “You are an asshole, Desmond. I can't believe I was coming to tell you I'm sorry.”

“So am I. Now, if you don't mind. I have nowhere to go.” I climb into the driver's seat and slam my door. Throwing it into reverse, I watch her in my mirrors as she sadly walks away with her arms hugging her shirt closed, and her head drops in sorrow.

Pulling into traffic, I don't even look back. The past needs to stay right where it fucking is. Rolling down my window, I turn up the radio and sing along to the song that's on as I drive down Sunset Boulevard toward something unknown, something different. Away from Los Angeles, away from Terminal, away from Lexi.