I'll Take a Chance (6 page)

“Willow
, what’s going on?” Asher demands a little louder.

Willow is up in this man’s face now and pushes him backwards a step.
I glance at Amelia, and she looks like a child who was just yelled at. She nervously twists her hair so tight I wonder how the whole bunch doesn’t rip out of her head. Waiters and waitresses are making their way to our table because we are now creating a scene.

“What kind of man are you anyway?
Don’t answer that, allow me, none. You can’t speak to a woman that way. Ever!” she enunciates every letter rather loudly.

“
And, if that wasn’t bad enough. You had to take it so far as to spray paint graffiti on her bedroom walls. You are a fucking monster,” she shrieks at him.

Amelia gasps and pulls her hand out from under mine and covers her mouth
. Tears are streaming down her cheeks.

Wait. What? I didn’t know anyth
ing about spray paint. I am quickly losing my temper. I look at Roger then back to Amelia and she looks completely devastated, like she is ready to hide under the table. I stand and place both my hands on her shoulders for support. I try to shield her from the stares coming from everyone in the restaurant. Asher grabs Willow by the waist and pulls her back into his body away from Roger.

“What way did he talk to Amelia? What’s this about spray paint? Will someone tell me what the fuck is going on here?” Asher looks from Ame
lia to Willow for some answers, and neither of them are offering any.

The restaurant manager
makes it to our table and picks up Willow’s chair and asks us what the problem is. Amelia has hung her head and can’t look anyone in the eye anymore. She is twirling a large strand of hair with both hands now.

“You need to leave and if I ever find out you came within a mile of Amelia again
, we will have problems. Do I make myself clear?” I tell Roger.

Roger places his hands up in surrender and backs away
, while the manager escorts him from the restaurant. But not before he catches Amelia’s eyes and winks at her. I move to go after him, to get just one good punch in, but Amelia has let go of her hair and takes my hand in hers. She looks up at me with those devastated eyes, and I know the best place for me is to stay right here with Amelia. I take my seat next to her and look at her with serious concern.

“Amelia, are you alright?” I ask her.

She looks at me with her pale blue eyes as fresh tears spill down her cheeks. I grab her hand and stand.

“If you guys can excuse us for a fe
w minutes we will be right back,” I tell Asher and Willow.

Amelia stands and I guide her outside the restaurant. She is plastered to the side of me with her head resting on my chest. Once outside I wrap her in a tight warm hug
and hold her for the longest time not saying anything.

“Amelia
, look at me, please. It’s over and he won’t bother you again. I promise you that.”

I take her hands away from her hair and hold them each in mine. She slowly looks up at me and the look in her eyes just kills me. How can another human being have so much control over another person’s emotion
s like this? How could a man break a woman like this? I let go of her hands and gently wipe the tears away. She still has not said a word, and it’s totally scaring me.

“Amelia, say something please. Do you just want to go? I can take you home if that’s what you need.
”

She sniffs and takes a deep breath.

“I uh, just need a minute to get myself under control,” she says with a shaky voice.

“Take as long as you n
eed.” I wrap her in another tight hug.

After a few minutes she has composed herself and says she is ready to go back in now. We stop at the bathroom and she asks me to go back to the table and send Willow to the bathroom.

“Sure, I’ll just wait for you at the table. You’re sure you are OK now?” I ask, still concerned.

“I’ll be alright, I prom
ise. I’ll just be a few minutes,” she says and attempts a small smile.

I head back to the table and catch the look on Asher’s face. I would guess that he had no clue about Roger at all
. By the look of murder he has on his face, I’m guessing it was a good thing. Willow must have filled him in on all of the details though, while we were outside.

“Willow, Amelia is in the bathroom now
. She says she is doing better, but she would like you to join her in the bathroom for a few minutes,” I tell her.

Asher grabs her hand and stands as she stands and gives her a nod before she heads to the bathroom.

“Did you know about all this?” Asher asks me angrily.

“I knew about all of it except for the spray paint. I think she kept that from me knowing I would want to rip his head off
if I ever saw him.”

“Amelia is lucky I didn’t know about this. I would have taken his head off just now myself. He’s lucky he only got the wrath of Willow
.” Changing the subject, Asher asks with concern for his little sister, “Is she going to be alright?”

“I don’t know
, she only just told Willow and me the other day. She’s kept this bottled up for two years. I’m not sure how she’s going to feel about you knowing all the gory details either. She was pretty embarrassed to tell me. I don’t know if you noticed, but she started twirling her hair the second she saw him. I took some psych classes in college and that can indicate depression. I want you to know that I care a lot about Amelia and I would never hurt her like that. I am just as upset about all of this as you are,” I tell him, trying to reassure him that I would never treat Amelia or any woman like that.

“I appreciate how you protected her. I can see you really care about her. Just know though
, that if I ever hear otherwise, you and I will have words.  And by words, I don’t mean words,” he says and gives me another taste of that murderous look.

“
I respect that and I understand,” I tell him sincerely.

Willow and Amelia
walk up to the table, and both Asher and I stand. I take Amelia’s hand and help her in her seat. Willow whispers something in Asher’s ear and his face changes to a less murderous look. Amelia grabs her hair, and I place my hand on hers and gently remove her hand from her hair and set it in my lap. A single tear rolls down her cheek, Asher notices and stands, startling both Amelia and Willow.

“Son of a bitch, where
is he? I’m going to kill him,” he says and begins to walk away.

Willow grabs his hand and pulls him back into his seat. She again whispers in his ear and I can see him visibly trying to calm himself. Amelia wipes her
tears with the back of her other hand and clears her throat.

“Asher, I know Willow told you everything
, but can we just please not talk about it anymore. I’ll be fine. It’s over now. I’m so sorry if I ruined the evening,” she says in a shaky voice.

“Amelia, honey you didn’t ruin the evening. You have nothing to be sorry for.
I need to say just one thing, and then I will drop this. If I ever see Roger near you again, I will tear his mother fucking head off with my bare hands,” Asher says, looking deep in Amelia’s eyes as his eyebrows disappear in his hairline.

We place o
ur orders and the table is uncomfortably silent. I’m at a loss for the right words to say to her in a restaurant. All I can do is hold her hand. Willow is still trying to calm down Asher and avoid another scene.

Our food arrives and it seems like Amelia has go
tten herself put back together. She remains quiet the rest of the evening, but everyone understands and tries to cheer her up. She didn’t touch her food and a few times I had to pull her hand away from her hair. I have great respect for her for sticking out the evening and trying to put on a brave face. I am, however, very concerned how she is holding up inside. She tries to throw out a few weak smiles, but I can see right through her. She has it written in her eyes.

Amelia

I am so embarrassed about the scene
in the restaurant. Everyone keeps looking at me with these looks that make me want to crawl inside my own skin. Everyone is trying to cheer me up, and I love them all for it. I guess what Roger did has had a bigger effect on me than I realized.

I can’t eat anything
. I think if I did I might throw it all back up. Kyle has been so amazing, I can’t imagine what I ever did that was so good to deserve to have this man in my life. He hasn’t let go of my hand all night. Asher keeps going back and forth between looking like he wants to kill someone and like he just has no clue how to make this better for me.

T
hank God for Willow. I’m mortified that my brother knows, but Willow being here helps. I’m not at all mad at her for telling Asher. I know after what happened there was no way she could keep it from him. I am truly thankful that I have someone like Willow in my life. She would really go to the ends of the earth for me. I know for a fact that I would do the same for her.

Asher pays for the meal and shakes Kyle’s hand
, this time though, he does it with a smile on his face. Kyle leads me back to the car holding me close the whole time. On the drive back to my apartment, he keeps glancing at me every few minutes. I wonder if he is waiting for me to break down or something. He parks in the garage and shuts off the engine. He removes the keys and plays with them in his lap.

“Amelia
, I don’t feel comfortable leaving you alone right now.”

“If it’s alright with you
, can you come up with me for a little while? I really don’t want to be alone either,” I say to him.

“Sure, I don’t have to be at the hospital until noon
tomorrow. I can stay as long as you need me to,” he says exhaling in relief.

He comes around the car and opens the door and takes my hand
. He doesn’t let go until we are at my apartment door. I open the door, and he leads me to the couch where we sit side by side.

“Why didn’t you tell me about the spray paint?”
he asks in a quiet voice.

“I saw the look in your eyes when I told you the things he said to me. I knew you wouldn’t take it wel
l if I told you the whole story,” I confess.

“Honey, I
know we’ve only known each other a little while, but I wish you felt like you could tell me everything. You’re right though, I probably would have wanted to kill him. I’m not here to judge you. I hope you believe me when I say that you can trust me with anything. I know you had a bad experience with Roger, but I’m nothing like him. I hope you can see that when you look at me. I’m here for you, Amelia. I’m not going anywhere either. I can tell this has had a deep psychological effect on you. Do you know that you twirl your hair every time we talk about Roger?”

“I do?” I ask shocked. I had no idea I twirled my hair.

“I’m not an expert or anything, but I have a friend from college who you can talk to if you wanted to.”

“I don’t know about that, I
don’t think I need to talk to a professional or anything about it. It’s just stupid, and I think I’m making a bigger deal about it than it really is. It’s done and over with, I just need to let it go now. I still haven’t digested the fact that so many people know already. I don’t even know if Asher plans on keeping this to himself or telling my whole family. I do feel better now that I have told people.”

“Honey,
it is a big deal and it’s not stupid. Your family will want to be there for you too. You need to give them more credit. They won’t judge you either, they all love you. If the rest of your family is anything like your brother and sister-in-law they will walk on fire for you.”

“What about your family? I know you said you didn’t want to talk about it before
, but you know my deepest darkest secret now. I think its only fair you tell me yours.” I know it is a cheap shot, but I do completely trust him and I want him to feel that he can trust me with whatever it is that is weighing him down.

“Alright
, I will. I told you that my sister and I lost a patient and her baby in the beginning. That it almost caused me to walk away from it all. It affected my sister even worse. She was even closer to dropping out than I was. She was having such a hard time with it that she completely shut down and wouldn’t talk to anyone.

“
Three days after the deaths she disappeared. We reported it to the police, they did their investigation, and they said they couldn’t find any reason to believe foul play. They said that she had run away on her own accord. I didn’t believe them not for one second. My sister used to say that we had wonder twin powers, and we could always sense when the other one was hurting or happy or any emotion really.

“
I just feel it deep down in my soul that something bad happened to her. It tore my parents apart. My dad believed she ran away. My mom just couldn’t accept that, and she thinks something bad happened to her too. Her apartment wasn’t broken into, there was a little bit of a mess, but the police said she did it because she left in a hurry, only grabbing a few clothes and personal items.

“
They dusted for prints and didn’t find any that didn’t belong there. There was absolutely no sign that she didn’t leave on her own. I refuse to believe that she would just leave and not tell anyone. That she wouldn’t tell me. The two of us have been best friends since we were in my mother’s womb.

“
For a while I drove myself crazy looking for her. She has never used any of her credit cards or her bank account. She hasn’t contacted anyone in the family. Eventually it tore my parents apart and they divorced six months after she disappeared.”

“Kyle
, that is just horrible. I am so sorry. Nothing that has happened with Roger comes even close to what you have been going through.”

“Honey
, there is nothing to compare here. What happened to you is a crime. You could have pressed charges against him. It sucks that there is this big gaping mystery about what happened to Chloe, and I will never stop looking for her. What happened tonight was horrible. Did you want to talk about it some more?”

“No, I think I’m all talked out. What do you think about just sitting here and watching some TV?” I ask
, hopefully I don’t have to talk about it anymore tonight or if I’m lucky ever again.

“Sure honey, whatever you need. I’m right here if you change your mind.”

“Thanks, Kyle, you have been so wonderful to me through this whole thing.”

W
e sink back in the couch and relax. I try to clear my mind of everything and try to drown my thoughts in mindless television. I can’t though. The thought of his sister missing for the past two years is just so tragic. It’s not even just that, but it caused his parents to get divorced too. I don’t know what happened next because the next thing I know my eyes are opening and I can hear movement coming from the kitchen. My thoughts of Roger are still fresh in my mind, and I jump off the couch in a panic.

“Amelia, it’s OK. You fell asleep. I didn’t want to wake you up
, and I didn’t want to leave you alone so I slept on the other couch. I hope that was alright.”

It’s taking me a minute to download what’s going on. Kyle is in the kitchen making breakfast and I can smell coffee and then I realize what I must look like at this exact moment. I desperately grab at my hair trying to smooth it down and tame it into some sense of order.

“No, it’s fine. Can you excuse me for just one minute?” I say in a panic.

“No problem
, honey, breakfast is almost ready.”

I do a walk/run to my bedroom and close myself in the bathroom. I scream in my head when I take a look at myself in the mirror. I quickly run a brush through my hair and brush my teeth. I take a deep breath and walk back
out to the kitchen and take a seat at the counter.  Kyle has two places set and places a plate of scrambled eggs and some cut up fruit in front of me. He fills a mug with coffee and before the last drop hits the cup it’s at my lips.

“Someone li
kes their coffee in the morning,” Kyle says with a chuckle.

“Try all day long. Willow knows not to even speak to me until I have
at least one cup of espresso in me in the morning. Thank you for staying last night and for breakfast this morning.”

“It’s not a problem. I felt better about staying with you than leaving you alone after running into Roger last night. Are you
sure you’re alright?” he asks with such concern in his face it melts my heart. He is so concerned about me, and I just can’t imagine what he has been going through. I should be the one asking him that.

“I won’t lie.
I am still a little shocked. I’m more shocked about how Willow reacted to him. She’s a nut. It gave me a sense of relief though. I don’t know maybe because I never stood up to him. Having someone else stand up to him about what he did to me felt good.”

“I hop
e you know I’m here for you too,” he says.

“I do know that and thank you. I hope you know I am here for you too. If you ever need
anything, I’m right here.”

We eat our breakfast
, and I really need to get ready for work. The temp will be at my office bright and early.

“I need to get a shower and head into the office, you’re welcome to st
ay and we can walk out together,” I tell him hopeful that he will stay.

“Sure, I’ll just clean up the kitchen
,” he says and throws me a wink.

That sent
warm shivers down my body and to my happy place. For the first time I don’t think my happy place is so stupid after all. I lock myself in the bathroom and get ready for work.

Kyle

I won’t lie, the thought of Amelia in the shower naked did things to me I wasn’t exactly proud of. I channeled my mother in my mind scolding me on the art of dish washing and that took care of the problem. About thirty minutes later she comes back out dressed for work in another pair of
have mercy heels. Think of my mom, think of my mom.

I walk her to her car, turn her up against the door and press my body against hers. Reaching in her hair
, I place my hands against the nape of her neck. Slowly I kiss her, her lips are warm and soft and she smells like vanilla.

She drops her bag and keys and grabs my face and holds me to her
tight. The kiss is hot and slow. She ever so softly touches my lips with her tongue. From that moment on its hot and heavy, and if I weren’t in a parking garage I would seriously consider laying her down and showing her what a real man is like. I can’t do that though. She may still have some lingering emotions connected to being with a man like Roger. I have to let her take this at her speed.

And I can do that.

For her.

“I don’t have to be on shift until noon. How about if I bring
us lunch to your office today around eleven? I’ll even bring you coffee,” I ask. I want to spend as much time with her as I can.

“
You fed me breakfast, now you’re going to feed me lunch?”

“
I’m guessing you’re going to have another busy day.”

“You are probably right. I would lo
ve to have lunch with you today,” she says and gives me a squeeze.

I give her one last kiss, bend over
, pick up her bag and keys and hand them to her. I watch as she gets in her car and drives away. I head home to shower and get a few things done before picking up lunch and heading back to Amelia’s office.

I knock softly on her halfway open office door and glance in to see
, she has a phone to her ear, elbows on top of her desk with her hands resting on either side of her bent head. I can see that her eyes are closed. She didn’t hear me come in, so I just stand there and watch her for a few minutes. She sounds like she’s having a hard time with whoever is on the other end of the call. The take out bag in my hand makes a crinkling noise, startling her. The phone drops from the crook of her neck with a clang on her desk. She looks at me and quickly picks up the phone and ends the conversation.

“I’m s
orry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” I tell her.

“No
, you didn’t scare me. You just startled me a little. I didn’t hear you come in. Is my temp not at her desk? She’s been more trouble than it’s been worth. I think I’m better off just waiting for Willow to return.” She puts her head down on her desk and literally bangs it a few times softly.

“No,
no one was out there. Are you hungry?” I ask and take a seat in front of her desk. I place the bag between us, lean forward, and kiss the back of her head.

“Yes, starved,
” she mumbles and slowly lifts her head.

“Those are
some pretty orange roses you have there, your whole office smells like roses.” I point to the arrangement sitting on the side of her desk.

“Yes
, they are gorgeous, they’re from Asher. I think he’s still worried about last night so he sent me my favorite flowers.”