Destiny Ever-Changing (23 page)

"So, are you telling me that people can't have money
and
love? That's ridiculous!"

"Yes, they can. But, priority does matter. You even mentioned money first, just then."

Alex sighs. "Come on, sweetheart. I
do
want to know you, in every way—"

A knock startles the both of us, and Alex, who is closest to the door, pulls it open before I can get to it.

"Uh, hi, Laura," Brooks croaks uncomfortably, peering past Alex to see me. "Is this a bad time?"

"Kind of. Can this wait?" I push my way in front of Alex and force him to step back into the room.

"Well, Jacqueline just asked me to drop this invitation off to you," he spits out hurriedly, shoving the envelope into my hands and looking over my shoulder at my visitor. I turn around just as Alex is sprawling himself across my bed as if he lives here. Brooks barely strains his lips into a tight smile, trying to fight back his wounded expression. "I hope you can make it, and of course, you can bring someone if you want."

"Thanks, Brooks. We'll talk later, okay?"

"I'll be gone all day, so I'll catch up with you another time." Without a goodbye, he turns and is out of the garage within seconds.

I slam the door and face Alex, who seems quite pleased with himself as he snuggles up with my pillow. "What do you think you're doing? Get off of my bed and see yourself out."

He doesn't move. "Who's the guy? Your new boyfriend?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but no. He's just a friend."

"Does he know that?"

"Alex . . . leave. What I do or whom I am friends with is no longer of your concern. I listened to you, and now I want you out. And you better pray to God that I never see your face again."

"We'll see, Laura. I won't give up just yet. I bet you're calling me within a week."

I jerk the door open and motion for him to leave. "Tell you what, hold your breath until I do."

"You're so feisty," he teases, rolling off the bed onto his feet. "One of the reasons I'm so attracted to you." As he reaches the door, he leans in to kiss me goodbye, and I shove him back.

"Goodbye," I state firmly, as he grins and slinks out the door.

Oh, good grief,
I think to myself. I have to get out of here before someone else shows up.

Chapter Sixteen — In the Company of Nakedness

Brooks:

I drop Laura off at home after the cookout and come home to an empty house. I guess Ashton and Will are still professing their love.
What a soap opera . . .

I decide to wait up for Jacqueline to get home, so instead of going directly to bed, I go into the den and settle into the plush leather cushions, turning on the television. Normally, I would avoid her at all costs, but I have to find out what she's up to and how she knew about Laura's ex-boyfriend. Jacqueline always has a hidden agenda; innocence was drowned out by deceit long ago.

Even though I try hard to stay awake, sleep deprivation from yesterday is taking its toll, and I feel myself being lulled into slumber. I put up a fight for short while, but I eventually allow sleep to overcome me, pulling me into a state of delusion in which I can't tell if I am conscious or not.

I suddenly find myself at my feet, dazed and unsure of my surroundings. Familiar white cords are attached to my hands and feet again, and I— a living marionette—quickly realize that I am back at the mercy of the puppeteer. Following the strings, I look above me to find Jacqueline and my father working harmoniously to move me down a church aisle. But this time, I am led toward the exit instead of the altar.

Spinning my head around, I see a bride wearing a layered gauzy veil, and Ashton and Will are standing on either side of her. Overcome with curiosity, I pull and thrash against the strings until they snap, one by one. Running up to the gleaming white bride, I carefully lift the veil.

Laura.

Ashton's giggling jolts me back into consciousness, and I bound off the couch, realizing that my seemingly short nap was, in fact, several hours. The first rays of sunlight are stretching across the room in thin, glowing rods, and the warm scent of coffee tickles at my nose.

Will's hearty guffaw echoes down the hallway, so I sleepily creep into the kitchen. "Good morning, you two. Did you just get in?"

"No, silly." Ashton ruffles my hair, her giddy mood apparent. "We came in last night. You were sleeping soundly on the couch, so I didn't want to wake you."

I nod. "So, did you guys get everything out in the open?"

Dark fuchsia immediately flushes Ashton's face as she looks over at Will, so he forces down his bite of toast to answer. "Thanks to you."

"Good. It's about time." I pull an oversized mug out of the cabinet and fill it to the brim. "Will, I was thinking about fishing today. Want to?" His eyes immediately dart over to Ashton, clearly torn between spending the day with his best friend or his new girlfriend.

"Don't answer that," I laugh. "You should hang out with Ashton today. I could use some time alone anyway."

"Are you sure?" Ashton places her warm hand on my forearm. "Will and I can see each other anytime."

"I'm sure. Maybe we can all go tomorrow."

After breakfast and two full mugs of coffee, I take a shower, wrap a towel around my waist, and go back across the hall to my room. Before I can turn to shut the door behind me, Jacqueline appears at my side.

"What?" I ask impatiently.

"Nothing, really. I just need a favor." She holds out a familiar envelope embellished with silver designs at the edges. "This is for Laura. Can you run it over to her this morning? She's expecting it."

"Yeah, I guess so. I didn't think there were any left."

"Not exactly," she says, sickly sweet. "More have been ordered, but I did find a few."

"Jacqueline, I can't help but wonder what you're up to. Why are you so interested in Laura all of the sudden?"

She goes wide-eyed and her mouth drops open slightly. "No reason at all. I'm trying to make peace with you and your friends. Why is that so hard to believe?"

"I can't believe you even asked that question." I reply, just before shutting the door. I know she's up to something, but I also know she's cunning enough never to reveal it.

After getting dressed, I head over to Laura's to deliver the wedding invitation before I go to the marina. Even though Jacqueline is the one who put me up to it, I am still thankful for a reason to see her. And I can't wait to tell her all about Will and Ashton; she'll be excited for them, I know. As I pull in, I notice a strange car parked in the drive, so I immediately conclude that her grandmother has company.

Unfortunately, I was wrong.

Laura is the one who has a visitor, a
male
visitor. And she seems very displeased that I have arrived at such an inopportune time. I know that she is free to date whomever she pleases, but seeing it first-hand is like a punch in the gut, especially after watching him crawl into her bed and smiling at me mockingly. So, I do the only thing I can . . . I give her the envelope and leave. Why would I put up a fight that I can't win?

Reluctantly, I force myself on to the marina, even though I just want to go back home and sulk. But, fishing has always been therapeutic for me, even when I don't catch anything. As soon as I hear the low purr of the motor, I begin to relax and attempt to force Laura from my mind. Just hearing the waves lapping at the hull and breathing in the moist ocean air immediately calms me like a hypnotic drug.

My love for fishing began when I was young. I would constantly beg my father to take me, just so we could have time to ourselves. If I could ever drag him away from his work, he was actually a fun guy to be around—back then, anyway. He didn't usually require too much coaxing, though. He and my mother have never really been fond of each other, so he jumped at any opportunity to get away for a day.

I remember that we would spend the entire day on the water, from sunrise to sunset. I regularly came back from those trips with sore ribs because we laughed the entire time. Stories of his childhood adventures and mishaps were usually our topics of choice, and I was eager to learn all I could about the man that I looked up to so much. Just as all things do, though, that all changed as I grew and his business grew.

As I putter along the coastline to my favorite fishing spot, gloomy billows begin to seize the blue above, and a low rumble echoes in the distance. I forge ahead, hoping to be able to fish for a while before the storm moves in, but at the first flash of lightening setting the sky ablaze, I swiftly turn around.

Approaching the marina, I slowly pull back on the throttle, realizing I have arrived just in time as a solitary raindrop plummets onto my cheek. The marina has become a high-traffic area in a matter of minutes; boats of all sizes are scrambling to their prospective slips. While I wait my turn, I stare into oblivion, trying to think of something else to do for the rest of the day since fishing is now out of the question.

A dazzling yellow blur catches my attention, and I focus on the swiftly moving object.  A young woman in a neon tank top brings her bicycle to an abrupt halt just before she reaches the dock, obviously out of practice. Although, I can't say that I could do much better.

I'm finally able to reach my slip, and just as I pull in, I recognize the woman now walking along the dock in front of me. "Are you looking for me?"

Laura jumps, jerked from her daydreaming. "Uh, no. Goodness, you probably
do
think I'm stalking you now, don't you?"

"Another mission?" I ask, trying to make small talk as I tie off the boat. The elephant in the room is making it somewhat difficult, though.

"Yeah, as close as I can get to it anyway. Looks like the storm is going to alter my plans, though. I guess while I'm here, I should offer an explanation of earlier this morning."

I shake my head profusely. "You don't have to explain anything. I don't have any right to have an opinion on what you do or who you do it with."

"That was Alex. You know, the attorney from Baltimore."

Considering everything she told me about him, that does make me feel a little better. "Oh, he came to visit?"

She shrugs. "Something like that. He called my friend to get my Nana's address, and he just showed up. He was actually under the impression that he could convince me to come back to Baltimore."

"I'm guessing that didn't go too well for him, then."

She cackles. "You guessed right. I sent him packing."

"Good," I sigh. "I wasn't quite sure what to think about that."

"Sorry. I wasn't exactly expecting a visit from him . . . or you."

A faint drizzle begins to fall as I step onto the dock. "You rode that bike all the way here?"

"Yeah, so?" Laura questions.

"On a flat tire?"

"Oh, geez," she exclaims, spinning around to inspect. "I swear tires have a vendetta against me. Now what am I going to do?"

I closely inspect the black rubber and find a short piece of wire sticking out. "Did you actually think I would let you ride this thing all the way home in the rain? Come on. I'll put it in the back of my truck and take you home. I have some patches out in my garage, if you want me to fix it real quick."

"I'll take you up on that," she says, patting me on the shoulder. "I'd hate to return Nana's bike with a flat."

Ten minutes later, we are pulling into my garage. I set the bike out onto the concrete and rifle through one of the utility cabinets until I find a patch kit. Looking back over my shoulder, I catch Laura attempting to fan away the sweltering heat.

"Let's go in and get something to drink before I get started," I offer, not wanting her to get too hot.

"A giant glass of ice water would be perfect," she chimes.

Oddly enough, as soon as we walk into the house, the den's surround sound system—blaring a classic rock guitar solo—nearly deafens us. Suspecting some type of technical malfunction, we rush down the hall to the den to turn it off, but Laura and I happen upon a scene that neither of us could have expected. Two naked bodies.

No, not Will or Ashton, as one may think. The two completely unclothed individuals are none other than my fiancé and Laura's ex-boyfriend, and they are too wrapped up in their extracurricular activities to notice that they have an audience. One push of a button fills the entire house with a silence that surprisingly seems more deafening than the music, and Jacqueline and Alex whip their heads around to the front of the room.

Suddenly, everyone is frantic. Laura gasps and darts into the kitchen while Alex struggles to slither his way behind a recliner to put his pants on. Jacqueline jumps up and gathers her clothing, holding it to her body as if she could make me think she was wearing it. Meanwhile, I just stand there, unable to process anything I've just seen.

"What are you doing home?" Jacqueline screeches.

"Oh," I shout, "so this is
my
fault? I think I have a right to come into my own home when I please." I direct my intense glare at Alex, who is now cowering at the back of the room. "And what the hell are
you
doing here? You were at Laura's this morning, begging her to take you back, and then I catch you naked in my floor. Something just doesn't add up here. Please, do the math for me."

"I met him a few days ago, Brooks," Jacqueline cries out. "It just so happened that he was trying to find Laura's house right as I was pulling out of the drive. We got to talking, and I realized that we could help each other out. You brought Laura around here to make me jealous, so I wanted to make you feel the same—"

"Wait a minute," I cut her off. "The invitation this morning . . . you set us up, didn't you? You wanted me to catch Laura with him."

Jacqueline only nods.

"You're both really messed up, you know that."

"Brooks," she pleads as the fake tears begin welling up in her eyes. "I know I hurt you. I'm sorry!"

"Jacqueline, you didn't hurt me. I couldn't care any less about what you do. But you hurt yourself, that's for sure. I'm calling off the wedding."