Personal Possessions (23 page)

Laying her phone back down
on the table, I looked at my phone and noticed I had several missed
calls. They would have to wait. I was not worried about anything at
this point in time other than Elle and me.

Elle came back to the
table and grabbed her phone. She must’ve been looking for it when
she was in the restroom. I laughed inside knowing what she would
eventually end up finding.

“Would you mind giving me
one more moment I need to postpone my next appointment?”

“
Postpone
away.”

Elle turned to make her
phone call. I noticed she had a tattoo, tucked behind her ear. I
would’ve never seen it if her hair hadn’t been up.

An anchor.

She had a tattoo of an
anchor, hidden behind her ear.

SHIT! I knew it! She was
still attached to me, just as I was to her. I didn’t let on that I
had noticed the ink, but I knew that this bullshit conversation was
now over.

I had never left Elle’s
mind, in fact, I was present not only mentally, but physically.
Every time she went to put her hair up, she would see
me.

Forever and always, we
would be anchored together.

I thought of the words we
spoke to one another as I left for school, words that kept me going
as they were wrapped around my neck. It took everything in me not
to grab her and lay her across this table, and fuck the shit out of
her in celebration.

“Could I get another
coffee please, since it seems I’m going to be here a little
longer?”

Oh baby, you can have
whatever the fuck you want right now.

“
Of course.”

I called for Rosanna to
bring us more coffee and relaxed. I needed for her to calm down so
that we could really talk. I pushed away prick Trevor, and
attempted to bring back TJ. Really, I needed a fuckin’ drink, but
since she wasn’t asking for alcohol, I thought I’d stay away from
it as well.

“Rosanna, can we get 2
more dessert coffees please, hold the ice cream.
Thanks.”

I turned back around to
face Elle and noticed she was off the phone and looking at me. Her
eyes twinkled as though thoughts were filling her head. God, what I
would give to know what was going on in her head right
now.

“
Look, I’m sorry Elle if I
seemed demanding. I just want to spend some time with you, I
haven’t seen you in years, and I just want to catch up.”

“
You weren’t being
demanding, it was more like bullying.”

I laughed - hard. Shit, I
missed her. Elle had always had a way of healing me. I was drawn to
her. Lost if I was away from her. I couldn’t stand the thought of
her not being beside me. My laughter died down as my eyes met hers.
The smile left her face and we just stared at each other, as though
our eyes were carrying on a conversation our bodies weren’t welcome
to.

Rosanna returned with our
coffees and broke off our silent discussion, as we both thanked
her. I decided it was time to get to the good shit, I was done
fucking around.

“So, tell me about the
ink?”

She looked around for a
minute and reached down for her purse. I didn’t know what to
think.

“What the hell is
that?”

What the fuck? Why was she
handing me a pen?

“
Duh, you asked for a
pen”

Did she really just say
“Duh?”

“What are you eighteen?
And no I didn’t.”

“Yes you did, you said
where’s the ink pen.”

I chuckled as I looked
down into my lap for a moment and then lifted my eyes straight to
hers. This was going to hurt, I could feel it.

“
No I didn’t. I said for
you to tell me about the ink.”

“
What the fuck are
you-“

It hit her. It took a
minute, but she had just realized what I was talking about. I
didn’t know if she was opposed to me knowing about it, or if she
just didn’t want people to see it. From her expression and the
reaction that was coming, it was definitely the former.

She reached back behind
her and pulled her hair down. I went to demand that she leave it
but it was too late.

“I have to go.” Elle
hurriedly grabbed her purse and phone, and before I could catch her
was gone.

“Elle, stop…wait!” I
exclaimed attempting to stop her, but she was gone.

“Fuck!”

I yelled as I reached over
and grabbed the table flipping it onto its side. I did it again. I
lost her…

Again.

Chapter 13

This wasn’t going to
happen again, I would make sure of it. I pushed the door to my
suite open, grabbing my cell out of my pocket and pressing Elle’s
number on my speed dial.

“I’ll be damned if she
thinks she’s getting away from me that easy,” I declared to myself
either attempting to calm the storm that was looming within or to
find some type of reassurance for myself of this fact. I paced
around the room, anger, worry and disappointment flooding me. I
wasn’t even sure which one overpowered the other, at this point in
time, I really didn’t fuckin’ care.

The phone rang four rings
before going to voicemail. I hung up. I paced a minute and then
tried again. This pattern continued for what seemed like all
afternoon. I didn’t know where Elle had run off too. What if she
had been in an accident, she was quite upset when she ran out of
our lunch. I dialed the phone again - nothing.

“Goddammit, Elle,” I
sighed, “pick up the phone, baby.” Walking over to the bar, I
poured myself the drink I had been dying for all morning, I didn’t
even add ice. I just shot it back, hoping it would calm my nerves a
bit, I did one more and felt the beginning of the numbing that
would start deep in the tissue of my muscles. My shoulders
beginning to unwind. I flipped my head around, hoping to accelerate
the effects. Pushing Elle’s button once more, and praying she’d
answer.

“This is Elleny,” she
answered.

Thank god. I knew she was
alive and ok, now that I knew she was fine, I was pissed. Fucking
raging pissed.

“What the fuck is wrong
with you!”

I wasn’t pulling my
punches. Fuck her she made me feel like shit. I had no clue I felt
like this anymore. I was actually worried about someone, well not
just someone - Elle. I never thought I’d be given that chance
again.

“Mr. McHale, I’m sorry but
this is not a good time.”

“I have been calling and
calling you. Do you know how fucking worried I’ve been?” I made my
voice deep and menacing, I wanted her to know that I was
livid.

“I’m sorry Mr. McHale, I
believe I told you I had another appointment that was on my
schedule for this afternoon.”

“Cut the bullshit,
Elle!”

This game was over!
Pretend time was done. It was time to grow the fuck up and look at
what was right in front of her. Me.

Still pacing, I wrapped my
finger through the chain around my neck and held the ring in my
finger. Comfort.

“Mr. McHale, I don’t know
what you’re talking about.”

“
You know exactly what I’m
talking about. You, running out on me! That was totally uncalled
for. You were distraught when you left, that concerned me. Then you
were not answering your phone? I’m not a happy person here, Mrs.
Barker-Jackson.”

That made me throw up a
bit in my mouth, but it had to be done. You were not going to get
up in my face and tell me not to do something, and then play like
you don’t see or in this case, feel what was between us. I was done
with the defiance ploy.

I heard her clear her
throat.

“
I apologize, Trevor! I
meant no disregard on leaving so suddenly. As you can hear, I am
perfectly fine since I answered my phone. As for you not being
happy right now, that really sounds like more of a personal problem
than something that concerns me. Now, if you will excuse my
rudeness, I have to go have some blood drawn. I will speak with you
later. Oh by the way, since you decided to be a dick concerning the
contracts, I will expect you to have them couriered over by late
morning tomorrow, signed.
You
are picking up the bill for the courier
service.”

I froze. Did I hear her
correctly? Did she say blood work?

“
Blood work? You’re having
blood taken! What for? Are you sick?”

“Mr. McHale, I believe
that would be a personal question. Have a wonderful
evening.”

She hung up on me. Elle
closed her phone before I even had a chance to find out what was
going on. This woman was going to be the death of me. I couldn’t do
anything else at the moment, so I decided that instead of throwing
my phone across the room and having to pay for more shit, I would
just get drunk.

So I did. Very
drunk.

The sound of my cell
jingling and vibrating across the glass coffee table beside me woke
me. I was half on the couch, and half off. The room was black so it
must’ve been night.

Shit, I was still drunk. I
reached for my phone that was creeping across the table, not even
looking who it was.

“Ello?” was all that ended
up slurring out of my mouth. No one said anything. I could hear
breathing, and soft breathing, then gasping. Whoever it was… was
crying. I sat up quickly, attempting to pull a rapid sober move but
it failed. My spiritual body was up but my physical body was on a
five second delay.

I said the first thing
that popped in my head.

“Elle?”

I heard more whimpering,
no voice just gasping and crying.

“Talk to me, what’s
wrong?” I could hear I was still slurring.

“I can see she still holds
your thoughts.”

No fuckin’ way.

What was it with women who
didn’t understand “get the fuck outta my life!” I thought that
statement pretty much said it all. Obviously, I was
incorrect.

“Tasha, I told you to stop
calling.”
“I can’t stop thinking about you, Trevor. I miss you. I love you,”
She whispered the last part. She didn’t love me, and she certainly
didn’t miss me. More like missed what came with me.

“You don’t miss me,
Natasha; you
love
and
miss
my
money. Now, it has been months. Move on -let go.”

She began laughing. Her
laughter had growing louder, and getting more ridiculous. Even
though I was still drunk, her laughter was annoying and pissing me
off. I pulled the phone away from my ear, so she could finish her
rant.

“Listen to you, Trevor. Ya
know what? You should take your own advice.” She paused a moment,
probably to down another glass of alcohol. I could only imagine
what she had been up to, possibly the same thing she was up to when
I moved her into my house. Nothing!

“Move on, huh? Let go, ey?
Well considering you haven’t moved on, or let go in what - oh,
twenty years? I think it’s safe to say your advice on this subject
isn’t worth shit. Look at you, still following her around like a
little pathetic puppy dog,” I heard the glass clink and her gulp
down more of whatever she was drinking.

“You’re just wasting your
time, she’s not going to leave her family to be with you. You and
I, Trevor. We’re just alike. That’s why we get along so well. We
need to be together, we’re apart of each other.”

I couldn’t take this bitch
anymore. She was pissed off that she didn’t have shit anymore, and
I was done handing it to her on a silver platter. Plus, what she
had done to me, the hoax she just pulled on me, I’m pretty sure
would have been grounds for a free pass if I opted for
murder.

“Night, Tasha. I’m
finished with this conversation. Have a good life.”

“She’ll never
lov-“

Hanging up the phone, I
cut her off. Really need to get in contact with Loren and draw
something up, possibly a restraining order. I was done.

Despite cutting her off,
her words echoed throughout my head.

She’ll never love
you.
Repeated through my mind like an
echo.

What if she was right? I
had been wasting seventeen years of my life on someone who would
never love me again.

Setting my phone down on
the table, I walked to the kitchen to grab a glass of water when I
heard the chirp of a message. I wasn’t going to deal with her right
now, I knew it was Natasha. The digital microwave clock that read
four twenty-two in the morning, told me I needed to go back to
sleep, but my mind was restless. I took my glass of water back over
to the couch and sat.

Unlocking my blackberry,
and pushing the button to retrieve my messages When I opened it I
saw Elle’s answer,

“Meet u @ RL mfg
6pm.”

but there, at four
twenty-two in the morning, I read the message I had been waiting
seventeen years for:

I’m still anchored to you.
Completely. Love, Ellie-bean.