“Please, calm down,” Whitney pleaded. “Oh, I will, as soon as your family stops humiliating me!” Etta shouted, setting Katie off crying again.
With a great flourish, Etta stormed out, leaving her suitcases by the door for Whitney to take down. “I-I guess we’d better go to a hotel,” Whitney said, putting down her empty tumbler. “That might be best,” I agreed. “I see you later tonight,” I said, hugging her goodbye, “just you.” “Of course,” Whitney said. I helped her carry the bags down to the corner and gave her money for the cab.
Chapter Eight
Ashlyn
I tried to tell myself it hadn’t gone as bad as it could have. Though it was honestly difficult to imagine how meeting Whitney and Etta could have gone worse — without actually coming to blows anyway. But still, it was a thread of hopefulness I could cling to in an attempt to maintain what was left my sanity. I didn’t know Chase well enough to be sure if he was intentionally baiting Etta or just saying what came naturally, all of it being awful. Part of me hoped it was the first one, a small, petty part that wanted revenge for her comment about my pussy being gross. It was both an awful way to think of childbirth and not true.
Either way, there was clearly more going on with Chase and Etta than I really knew about, and it looked like it might get nasty if it went any further. I had been around nasty before and had no great desire to experience it again and I defiantly didn’t want Katie around it, no matter how good Chase was with her.
A lot of the time, nasty behavior between exs meant that there were still feelings there. Love could so easily lead to hate and switch back again. I had seen the rage in Chase’s face. Etta was still under his skin. I had to admit to myself that it bothered me. I knew I was his fake fiancée, but still, a part of me had started to wonder if we could be more. It was a dream I needed to ignore, before Katie and I got hurt.
Closing the door behind his sister, Chase went back over to the mini-bar, pouring and throwing back a double scotch. Neither this, not the one he had while the guests had been there seemed to have any effect on him. It made sense that he could hold his liquor, particularly considering his size but the man seemed to have the tolerance of a baby elephant. “I’m going for a walk,” he said, breezing past me, the smell of scotch hanging around him like cologne. “Okay,” I said, not sure what else to say. Chase didn’t slam the door. If he had, I would have been a lot more worried. He didn’t seem to be about to beat me, which was always a good thing, though it did surprisingly little to assuage my fears about the current situation.
Etta didn’t strike me as the most charming person in the world, but she seemed to still be really into Chase. I couldn’t blame her, really, because I was too if I was honest with myself. Yet he had been so cruel to her. From what he told me, he hadn’t expected her to come, and they definitely had a history but he had basically set her up and, despite my distaste for her reaction, my heart went out to her a bit when she stormed out. I probably would have been upset too in her position, especially if I suspected he was lying. Which, of course, he was. And I was helping him. Worse, I was involving my daughter in the lie.
The guilt bubbled up like thick black acid from the core of my being. Adrenaline hitting my brain like a brick. I had to do something. I had to move. Going over to the minibar, I drained an entire bottle of orange juice that I assumed Chase used as a mixer, in an attempt to wash down the rising tide of guilt and nausea. It worked on the first but not the second.
Searching through the apartment, I found a good-sized suitcase and started piling it with everything I owned that I could get in, urgency burning inside me like a fever. This whole thing had been a mistake and there was only one way out.
I had no idea where we were going to go. I just knew we couldn’t be there when Chase got home. Something in the back of my head was telling me that we were going to have to go anyway now that the deed was done. We had served our purpose in throwing off his ex. Now we were at the end of our usefulness to him.
I didn’t want to believe that Chase was like that — like he would use us like that, but then I remembered how he had threatened the landlord. He made the nasty little man completely change his approach with just seven little words ‘you wouldn’t like me when I’m angry.’ I wasn’t about to hang around and find what that was really like.
Getting the suitcase full, I went into the guest room where Katie was already awake and wiggling on the bed. Putting her on the floor so she couldn’t fall off, I closed the door and found her bag, starting to fill it with as much of her stuff as would fit.
“We go?” she asked. “Yes, honey, we need to find a new place to stay. You need to go to sleep.” “Chase!” Katie shouted, meaning she wanted him to read her a story before bedtime. “Chase isn’t here, honey,” I said. “Chase!” she shouted again, not understanding at all. I picked her up and rocked her as she kept saying Chase’s name, the declarations soon giving way to sobs. Just when I didn’t think I could feel any worse, there it was. I had let Katie get attached to Chase, and now we were leaving — like we had left her dad.
It was surprising how fast Chase had grown on her, it had only been two days, but there was no denying that he had. Finally crying herself to sleep, I put Katie down on the bed, surrounded by pillows just in case while I finished packing.
It was dark out by the time I finished. Putting Katie’s bag on my back, I wrapped her up and carried her to the door, pulling the suitcase behind me.
Chapter Nine
Chase
The apartment was eerily quiet as I opened the door. Katie might have been down for bedtime, and Ashlyn was keeping quiet, but I still got a feeling in my guts, like I always did before something bad happened. I usually had a pretty good idea of whether or not I would win a case the minute I walked into a courtroom. The last time the answer had been 'no' was more than three years before.
I wasn't sure what I would find when I opened the door; the premonitions rarely being clear. I just knew that it wasn't good.
Stumbling into the dark, I searched for the lights switch with little success. “Ashlyn?” I called into the dark. “Katie?” A cold fear seized me as I realized that them leaving without a word was the most likely of the options. I found the light switch and prepared myself for the worst. The newly installed track lighting burst to life, shedding light on the situation. The apartment was deserted, though I could still see some of Ashlyn's things around. I checked the closet, and sure enough, the big suitcase was gone — though this was the only thing of mine that had been taken.
Why would she take my suitcase but not all of her own stuff? It hit me like a bolt from the blue. The only logical reason for her to do that was if she had to get out quickly, taking the suitcase to hold as much of her stuff as she could. This new realization set of a whole new set of questions. Did the landlord realize that I wasn't home and start giving her shit? Had her ex caught up with her and made her have to flee? Or worse, taken them somewhere? I had come across his kind in the army and knew no good could come of it if that were the case. I got out my cellphone and dialed Ashlyn's number hoping for the best and preparing for the worst. I let it go for nearly twenty rings before finally hanging up. I thought about calling the police but couldn't think of what I would tell them. Besides which, the LAPD weren't exactly known for their sterling reputation in terms of honesty and goodwill. It really was best if I tried to handle the situation myself. Or at least it would be if I had a better idea of what the situation was. As it stood, Ashlyn wasn't picking up and I didn't know where to start looking for her.