Misty Reigenborn Romance Boxed Set (193 page)

“You really are a bitch.  I’m not that skinny.  Your boyfriend wasn’t that big either was he?”

“He’s taller than you and has at least some muscle.  He looks like a man and not a little boy. Molli told me that your voice still cracks.  She laughed about it too.  I guess we’re both somebody’s punch line.”

“My voice does not crack.  And a lot of girls think I’m hot.”

“They’re stupid.”

“Damn.”

“I’m sorry.  If we don’t get off of the phone, I’m probably going to insult you until you hate me like everyone else seems to.  I’m in such a bad mood right now.”

“You can talk to me.  I grew up in a town full of stupid gossip so you probably can’t call me anything I haven’t already heard before.”

“No.  You don’t deserve it.  This situation already sucks enough as it is.  I don’t need to make you my punching bag, although I wouldn’t mind punching something right now.”  Mellenda made the decision that she was going to go to the community center and work out as long as she could stand.  “Goodbye Jude.”

She hung up her phone and erased his number.  There was no way in hell that she wanted anyone to find out that she’d called him.  Then she’d really be a laughingstock. 

She walked briskly to the community center.  She changed into her workout clothes and went through her usual workout routine.  She felt a little better when she had finished.  A good looking guy who looked like he was probably in college headed her way as she walked towards the women’s locker room.

He looked her up and down.  “Hello beautiful.  What’s your name?”

She almost gave him a dirty look and told him to go fuck himself, but she paused.  He was cute and she could use an ego boost.  She turned on a smile that she hoped didn’t appear as fake as it felt.

“I’m Mellenda.  And you are?”

“Scott.  Nice to meet you.  Do you come here often?”

She laughed.  “Probably not as often as I should.”

“You have a spectacular body.  Just the right combination of toned muscles and womanly curves.  Pardon me for drooling.”

Mellenda batted her eyelashes at him, while feeling like an idiot inside.  “Thank you.  Your arms are so big.  You must look so good without your shirt on.”

“Baby, I look even better naked.”

Mellenda fought an eye roll.  “I’d better get showered.”

“Wish I could join you.”  He winked at her.

His attractiveness to her was fading fast. “I’ll see you around.”

“Can I get your number?  I’d love to take you out sometime.”

“My last boyfriend tore my heart out and stomped on it.  I don’t think I’m ready yet.”  She gave him a pouty look.

“You need to get right back up on that horse.  I’ll prove to you that not all men are fools.  A man would have to be a fool to break your heart.”

“Thanks.  I’m sorry but I don’t think a man is what I need right now.  Even one who is as good looking as you are.  You did make me feel better though, so I do have to thank you again for that.”

She turned and walked into the locker room before he could say another word.  She took a long shower, hoping that Scott would be gone by the time she had finished.  She was tempted to peek out to see if he was there when she left, but she didn’t.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that he wasn’t around.  There were only two people in the gym and neither paid attention to her as she slipped outside. 

The walk back to Crestview seemed to take forever.  There was a guard outside smoking a cigarette.  He gave her a look of concern.

“Back already honey?”

Mellenda felt color rise to her face.  “It’s kind of a long story.  It’s okay for me to be here isn’t it?”

He nodded.  “Sure is.   We just don’t normally see girls come back so soon on winter vacation.  If you need someone to talk to, I have a good ear.”

Mellenda gave him what felt like a weak smile.  “Thank you.  I’m fine.”

“If you’re sure.”  He moved to hold the door open for her.

Mellenda went inside and walked down the empty halls.  Crestview Academy was truly empty.  The place felt like a mausoleum it was so quiet.  She felt a sudden urge to scream at the top of her lungs just to hear the echo in the halls, but she knew that that would make the guard come running.  She certainly didn’t want to have to explain to him why she had screamed.

Mellenda opened the door to her room.  She glanced at Molli’s bed and felt a juvenile urge to pee in the middle of it.  She shook her head at herself and started to put her stuff away.  With the thoughts she had been having lately, she was beginning to wonder if the stress of the last five years of her life had finally caused her to lose her mind.

She sat down on the bed and made herself a makeshift lunch.  It was whole wheat crackers with cheese and a granola bar and certainly wasn’t filling, but Mellenda didn’t care.  The only two guys she had ever really cared about had both dumped her for skinny girls, so she saw even less of a problem with trying to become one of them.

The thought made her shake her head again.  She knew that she was never going to be a skinny girl, no matter how much weight she lost.  She had an ample bottom and breasts and her hips were proportioned in a way that she had to admit probably would have been called child bearing hips in her grandma’s day. 

She finished her snack and then lay back on her bed and stared at the ceiling.  It hit her that she hadn’t blocked her number before she’d called Jude.  She wondered if she was going to have to deal with him harassing her.  But it wasn’t as if she was going to go back into town and find the girl and ask for his number again just so she could tell him not to call her she thought.

She let out a huge sigh and wondered if she was tired enough to fall asleep.  She felt worn out from her workout and her walk, but most of all she felt exhausted emotionally.  She couldn’t believe that Ricky was marrying Molli.  She closed her eyes and tried to shut everything out.  Luckily it worked and she fell into a dreamless sleep.

When she awoke, it was dark outside.  Tears had dried on her cheeks.  It disgusted her that she was letting this get to her so much.  She had lived with emotionless parents for five years she thought, she could deal with some stupid guy dumping her.

But unfortunately, Ricky hadn’t been just some guy to her.  She had an almost full scholarship to the university and now she wondered if she would use it.  She certainly didn’t want to run into him on campus.  She was going to have a hard enough time dealing with Molli flashing her engagement ring and bragging about how she had stolen someone’s boyfriend yet again in the halls.  There was no way she wanted to run into Ricky and see a wedding band on his finger and probably be subjected to seeing pictures of Molli’s child.

She couldn’t think of it as Ricky’s child.  She flashed back to the night that Molli had teased her about sleeping with Ricky on her bed.  She remembered that her bubble headed hopefully soon to be ex roommate had said that she had slept with Ricky without protection.  Well so what Mellenda thought?  If she was doing it with Ricky without protection, she had probably done it with both Jude and that Eduardo guy without protection too.  The only thing that would prove who the real father was would be a blood test.

Then again, she couldn’t see Jude caring that another guy was raising his child.  And she certainly saw no reason to believe that a man who didn’t bother to take care of the children he already had with his wife would either.  Damn you Ricky she thought.  If you had to cheat on me why in the hell did it have to be with a stupid slut that happens to be my roommate?

She was tempted to trash all of Molli’s stuff but instead she deleted all of the pictures of Ricky she had in her phone.  Then she took the pictures they had taken together at a mall photo booth and tore them to shreds.  She wished she could burn them but she didn’t have any reason to carry a lighter, so she opened her window and let them fly off and disappear into the blustery December wind.

She used the restroom, not bothering to look at her reflection in the mirror.  She didn’t care what she looked like anymore, though she figured she’d have to go back to putting makeup on and pasting a fake smile on her face by the time school started again.

The rest of winter vacation passed in a blur of tears and boredom.  Her parents didn’t call her to find out where she was or to wish her a happy new year.  She spent most of her time in her room, only leaving to wander around in the woods so she felt like she was getting at least some exercise and to shower and do her laundry.

Chapter 6

By the time school had begun again, there was talk that there was a new headmaster of Crestview Academy and that he was both young and good looking.  Marcune was said to have run off with a bartender and be headed to California.  Mellenda had put in a request for a new roommate with the secretary, but Molli didn’t show up by the time classes were back in session.

A few days later, the new headmaster announced that Molli had been reported missing by her parents.  Mellenda soon saw it on the news.  Molli was said to be unstable and in need of medication.  Her pregnancy wasn’t mentioned though.  She wondered if Molli had bothered to tell her parents she was pregnant before she had taken off with Ricky.  Mellenda knew she had run away with Ricky. 

By the end of her first week back at school, she had come to the decision that she was going to try to hook back up with Tony.  Even if he was into Tory, she figured that he would still have sex with her.  So that Friday after school, she dressed carefully, did her hair and applied makeup and then headed out to Tony’s house.

She took the bus, but she had to back track because it took her what seemed to be so far past Tony’s house that she figured she might as well have walked from Crestview.

Mellenda knocked on Tony’s front door.  She heard him call out “Hang on a sec.”  He opened the door a minute or so later and gave her a look that she couldn’t interpret.

“Hello Anthony.”  She brushed her dark hair back over her shoulder and gave him a bright smile.

“Mellenda.”

“What, no Lin?” she said teasingly.  “You were the only one I ever let get away with calling me that.  I don’t like to be called Mel either.  Never have, and probably never will.”

“What can I do for you?  I seriously doubt you’re here to make a purchase.”

“You’re right of course.  Are you alone?  Can I come in?”

“Carl’s helping his dad with something so yeah, I’m alone.  I don’t think it’s such a good idea if you come in though.”

“Why not?  C’mon Tony. We have quite a history together.  You’ve got to admit that.”

“I have a bad feeling that you showed up here for the same reason your roommate showed up here about a month ago.  I’m not interested.”

“Molli was here?  No one knows where she is.  Her parents reported her missing.  I personally think that she took off with Ricky, but if he wants to raise a baby that isn’t his with a slut then I guess that’s his business.”

“Huh.”  Tony sighed.  “Yeah, come in.  But you’re not staying long, and if Tory even calls me on the phone, your pretty little butt is out the door.”

Mellenda followed him into the house and shut the door behind them.  “I know that you two were together at Christmas, but it was going around school that she slept with someone else.  I heard it was Jude.”

“We’re getting married.  I guess she doesn’t flash her engagement ring around like some girls at your school would.”  Tony sat back on the couch and a lit a cigarette.

“Men are so dumb.  I can’t believe that you took her back after she slept around, let alone asked her to marry you.”

“Our relationship and the way we choose to handle it is none of your business.  I think you’re pissy because Ricky dumped you for Molli.  I hope they did run away together and I hope they’re very happy.  I can’t blame her for not wanting Jude to be the father of her baby.  Eduardo-damn that man was lucky to have a fine girl like her and his beautiful wife, but any woman with sense knows he wasn’t meant to be a Daddy.  And what he had wasn’t enough for him.  He hooks up with some crack head and then rips me off.  Tory saved my life.  She’s stood by me through more shit than one woman should have to put up with.  Of course I asked her to marry me.  I don’t care if she doesn’t marry me for five years.  I love her and she loves me, and that’s the way it’s gonna be.”

“Do you really think that she won’t do it again?  Or that you’ll be content to only have sex with her for the rest of your life?  Give me a break Tony.  You’re not a one woman man.”

“What the hell do you know?  I wasn’t in love with you.  I wasn’t in love with any of those other women either.  Yeah, I’ve had a lot of sex in my life.  I’m not really proud of the fact that it was with so many different women.  But I’ve never been in love before.  I’ve had enough women already.  Don’t think that I’m not good enough to be her man because I used to be a player or because I’m ‘just’ a drug dealer.  I don’t wanna hear it from you or anyone else.  I am going to do right by her, and she’s always done right by me, even when she didn’t want to admit that she loved me.”

Mellenda snorted.  “She was right to screw Jude?  If you can justify that, I’m sure you can justify any other affairs she decides to have in the future.  Does she give you head?”

“Damn Mellenda, you wanna get down and dirty and nasty?  Yes she gives me head, and yes I go down on her.  If Tory decided she wanted to have sex with another man, maybe I’d let her.  It’s my business.  We’ll handle our relationship the way we want to, and you can handle yours the way you want to.  Oh damn, I forgot.  You don’t have one anymore.”

“Screw you Tony.  You’re an asshole.”

“At least I’m honest about it.  Go away.  Or do you have another problem that you need help taking care of?  I’m not paying for another abortion.  I can’t believe that I paid for the first one.  But I fell for your pretty face and your tears and your begging.  ‘Oh Anthony, I can’t let Ricky find out that I’m pregnant with your child.  What if the baby looks like you?’  Grow up Mellenda.  You call Molli a slut and you talk shit about Tory when you’re no better.  You’re worse actually, because you’re not honest about it.  It’s not wrong for a girl to like sex.  It is pretty messed up when you mess around on your boyfriend and get knocked up and are too big of a cunt to tell him and have a secret abortion.  What if it was Ricky’s baby and he wanted it even if you didn’t?  Did you ever think of that?  You have the same skin tone as Ricky so chances were that the kid would have looked like you two even if it was mine.  Oh, and yes, I called you a cunt.  I don’t like that word and I certainly don’t use it often, but you acted like one and I contributed to it.  My mom and my Aunt Lori would kill me if they found out I paid for an abortion.”

“Isn’t your mom too out of it to care about anything?”

“Fuck you and your high horse.  If you’re knocked up you can go find some other sucker to pay for your scrape and go.  I will never pay for another abortion unless carrying the baby puts Tory’s life in danger or there’s another damned good reason for it.  If you’re pregnant maybe you should act like a real woman like your roommate and carry the baby and give it a chance.  Abortion is not birth control.  There are lots of people that want babies.  So get the hell out of my house and take your judgments with you.  Nobody talks shit about the woman that I love and my mother and gets away with it.  If I was a different type of man, I’d smack that smirk off your pretty face.  You’d better start to think about the way you act before a lesser man smacks you a good one.  It’s gonna get to a point when you fuck with enough guys that they won’t think you’re so damned pretty anymore.  Go away and don’t bother to come back.”

Mellenda gave him a dirty look and stood.  “You’re sure as hell not perfect, so stop acting like you are just because you think that Tory’s gonna help you turn your life around.  You’re still a damned drug dealer and your mom is still in the loony bin.  Your fiancé is a slut and you’re never gonna be faithful because you like pussy too much.”

Tony rolled his eyes.  “Was that supposed to turn me on and make me hop into bed with you?  The girl said pussy.  Yeah, I’m gonna fuck you now Mellenda, so that you can rub it in Tory’s face.  Get the hell out of my house before I call Tory and let her kick your ass.”

“As if.  Live your pathetic life with Tory Tony.  I used to think you were better than all of this shit.  I guess I was wrong.”

“Out.  Now.  I meant what I said when I said don’t come back.  I might have to take a trip to the trailer park and visit Molli’s friend Seneca.  I’ll bet she knows where Molli is, and I’ll bet Molli knows where Ricky is.  I might have to let it slip that the kid you aborted might not have been Ricky’s.  I’ll own up to what I did if I have to.  But I’m thinking that that shit should stay in the past where it belongs.  We don’t need to drag all of us through the mud now do we?  Face the facts Mellenda, Ricky is happy with Molli.  He’s over you.  I’m happy with Tory, and I’m sure as hell over you.  Go find yourself another guy to lead around by his penis.  I hear Jude’s available.  You two seem like a good match.”

“Go fuck yourself Tony.”

“I don’t need to fuck myself Mellenda.  I have someone that is perfectly willing to fuck me and make love to me and she’s not ashamed of it.  That’s more than I could ever say about you.  Now get the hell out of my house.  I mean it.”

Mellenda headed towards the door, but paused with her hand on the knob.  “When you come looking for some strange, because you know you will, I won’t be there.”

Tony chuckled.  “Damn.  You’re breaking my heart Mellenda.  Not.  Goodbye.”

Mellenda opened the door, walked outside and slammed it behind her for good measure.  She was steaming because she was horny and she was lonely.  She’d never expected a guy like Tony to turn her down.  Engaged to Tory she thought.  Ha.  They’d see how long that lasted.

She walked briskly down the street, wishing again that her parents weren’t too cheap to buy her a car.  She thought that it was also due to the fact that her sister had died while behind the wheel and wondered if they’d ever really get over her sister’s death. 

She was about a half block away when Tony called to her from the end of his driveway.  “Mellenda come back.  I’ll give you a ride.”

Mellenda flipped him off without turning around.  “Hell no.  I don’t need you to tell me how messed up I am yet again.”

“Come on Lin, give a guy a break.  I get a little irritated when women try to come on to me when I’m plainly in a relationship with another woman.”

Mellenda turned.  “It’s not plain Tony, even if you two were together at Christmas.  Maybe she hid her shitty engagement ring in her sock drawer because she was embarrassed to wear it.  You were always cheap.  It’s probably turning her finger green.”

Tony chuckled as he lit a cigarette.  “I was cheap with you because you were cheap with me.  You were always ashamed of me when Tory never really was.  It just felt like it because she hurt my masculine pride.  I have my mom to take care of, but I’ll go without something if it means that I can give Tory something she needs or even wants.”

“Ah, how sweet.  You’re pussy whipped.  Go back in your house and have phone sex with your stupid girlfriend.  Or is she out spying on someone in the woods and playing with herself?”

Tony laughed.  “Damn Mellenda you really are horny aren’t you?  Do you want a ride or not?  And no, I don’t mean on my penis.”

“As if I’d want to have sex with you after you’ve had sex with Tory.  I’m sure Jude gave her all the STDS that he got from Molli.”

“Think about it Mellenda.  If Molli gave Jude STDs, she gave them to Ricky too, so you’d already have them.  Damn isn’t it beautiful to live in a town where everyone’s already slept with everyone else?”

Mellenda groaned.  “You are disgusting.  Go away and leave me alone.”

“You’re the one that showed up on my doorstep.  If you want to swallow your pride and let me give you a ride back to school I’ll get my keys. Or you can walk.  I don’t give a shit.  But if you get in my car, you aren’t allowed to talk shit about any of the women that I love or Molli.  She’s a sweet girl.”

Mellenda let out a frustrated sigh.  “Fuck you and your ride.  Molli’s a hoe, Tory’s a slutty weirdo and your mom’s in the loony bin for a reason.  I’m glad I talked you into aborting your kid because it probably would ha
ve had defective genes.”

Tony gave her a tight smile.   “
You should give Jude a call, seriously.  I don’t think he’s gonna need to worry about gettin’ any with it going around that Molli was sleeping with Eduardo too.  Damn girl, if you’ve got STDs you’ve got STDs.”

“Oh my god.  I need to get an AIDS test.  Damn Ricky for sleeping with that stupid slut.”

“Molli is neither stupid nor a slut.  She’s very intelligent when you bother to get to know her which you obviously never did.  She likes sex.  So what?  You like sex.  You just don’t wanna admit it because it makes you feel dirty.  Get over yourself and you’ll be a lot happier Mellenda.  I was only giving you shit about the STDs.  If either Eduardo or Jude had any, it would have spread like wildfire a long time ago.  Let me give you a ride.  It’s starting to get dark out.”

“No.  I don’t want to hear you sing Molli’s praises.  I heard enough of that from Ricky.  Are you sure you weren’t sleeping with her too, since you seem to like her so damned much?  Am I really that bad Tony that no man will ever bother to be faithful to me?”

“You’re beautiful and you’re very smart Mellenda.  You’ll find the right guy for you.  You should probably stay the hell away from Jude though, because I can see him becoming another scum like Eduardo.  Let me give you a ride.  Please.  You’re making me feel like shit for being such an asshole to you.”

“I don’t want your pity.  And you didn’t deny that you were sleeping with Molli.  Shall I tell Tory?  Does she know that Molli came to your house?”

Tony groaned.  “Mellenda, sometimes you make it really damned hard to like you.  No, Tory doesn’t know and she doesn’t need to know because nothing happened.  Molli was already pregnant when she showed up on my doorstep.  She talked herself out of trying to seduce me after I plainly told her ‘no’ even though Tory and I were broken up at the time.  I love Tory.  I make her happy.  She deserves to be happy.  If you try to take that away because you’re being a vindictive bitch, I will laugh when she kicks your ass.”