“Well, what do we have here.” Her voice is like nails on a chalkboard. I look up and see the proverbial womb donor. She’s standing on the back deck to my rental, but she’s looking right at me. Of course, I would forget my phone that’s sitting on the kitchen counter next to my abandoned glass of ice water.
“Hello, Aggie.” I have never called her Mom or Mother. That’s not who she is to me. This woman standing before me is a money-hungry leech. I shoot a text to Fox, thankful we both have an app that allows us to call, text, or FaceTime from my computer to his phone. I have no idea what she’s going to do next, and that’s the biggest issue.
“Is that anyway to talk to your only living relative, especially your mother?” She arches her eyebrow. This woman might be a relative, but she’s not family and I tell her that. “You’re not my mother. You never have been and never will be. Why are you here?”
“That’s not the answer I was looking for.” She saunters in her stiletto heels, somehow managing not to trip in the sand between our decks while inviting herself over. That’s another reason I could never be anything like her. Who comes to the beach dressed in a black skirt suit, stilettos, and a face full of makeup? It’s a no for me. I’m in one of Fox’s shirts, which is hanging down to my knees, and I even stole a pair of his boxers, my hair is in a bun, and there’s nothing on my face. The best part about looking at Agatha is that it brings home the punch that my dad was the best parent I could ever have, and I’m more thankful than ever he was my foundation, even if it guts me daily that he isn’t here.
“That’s the only thing you have to say? If so, it’s time for you to leave.” I get up, my laptop secured to my chest, and walk inside Fox’s house.
“Not so fast.” She must have walked double time to get closer to me because by the time I make it to the sliding glass doors, Aggie is gripping my upper arm so bad, it’s painful.
I stand my ground, not wanting her to follow me into the house. Who knows what she’s capable of?
“What do you want?” I grind out, shrugging her off my arm. She moves but is way too close and in my personal space.
“Why do you think I’m here? After Gene got the judge to throw out my contesting of the will? Still not too sure how he went about that. I thought I had an in with Judge Smith. Shows just how much reach your father and Gene have in California. Too bad the same can’t be said for South Carolina.” I see my chance while she’s searching for something in her purse. I’m already crossing my fingers it’s cigarettes, but after her grabbing my arm and the way she’s talking, I can’t be sure, and I don’t know if Fox got my 9-1-1 text alert yet. So, I take matters into my own hands, watching her every move. When she pulls her hand out of her purse, I know it’s time for me to do what needs to be done.
She has a gun in her right hand. While she lights her cigarette with her other, that gun is going willy nilly. Christ, this is a mess. I really hope my plan works or that Fox gets here, and fast. That’s my last thought as I use my laptop as a weapon, using all my might, hitting her hands and her head all at the same time. My last thought when her gun explodes and before I lose consciousness is how I barely got any time with Fox, then I’m falling backwards.
19
Fox
I’m slamming my door shut to my truck when I hear a gun explode. I run around the house, phone in my hand, calling the cops when I round the corner.
“Christ.” I drop the phone. Mel is on the ground, no blood in sight, but she’s out cold. Her limbs lying haphazardly as I rush to her.
“Sunshine, baby, wake up.” I feel her pulse. It’s strong and steady, and she’s breathing. Those are all good signs, but why the fuck isn’t she waking up?
“I killed her, oh my God, I killed her!” That’s when I look around. I already know without even asking that she’s Melanie’s mother. If I weren’t worried about Mel, I’d probably grab the gun that’s close to me on the ground and kill her myself, but it won’t do Mel any good if I’m in prison, and Mel is my first priority. Instead, I block Aggie out and cradle the woman who has my hearts head in my lap until the ambulance arrives. I think about all the memories we’ve made in the short amount of time, the way she laughs, her smile that’s my ray of light on the rare occurrence I wake up in the middle of the night, unable to sleep. It’s Mel who helps me find comfort in her arms and body. When she’s having a rough day, she’ll come lay her head on my chest, and I’ll run my fingers through her hair until her breath evens out and she’s either asleep or all is right in her world again.
“You gotta wake up, baby. I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s going on,” I tell her, whispering it lowly so only she and I can hear my words.
“Alright, what do we have here?” a police officer asks.
“Not sure. I got a 9-1-1 text from my girlfriend, heard a gun discharge, then found her on the ground. No blood or anything that I can see. My guess is the woman over there, which Melanie has a restraining order against, is the reason,” I state.
“Ambulance just pulled up. I’ll go deal with the lady.” I hear him murmur a few words then hear a wailing. “That dumb bitch! She’s the reason everything happened. I lost my body, then the man who was my meal ticket. That whore over there got it all.” Agatha is blabbering as the female Police Officer places her silver bracelets around her wrists.
“I’d love to hear all about that, but let’s go out front.” She escorts Agatha, then the paramedics are making their way over to Melanie, fucking finally.
“Who do we have here? Any information you can give me? Next of kin, date of birth, drug allergies?” he asks. I rattle off what I can and let him know I’m her fiancé. This way, I have some way of obtaining information until I can grab her phone and call Gene.
I watch as they take her blood pressure, take her pulse, and then finally my Melanie wakes up.
“What the hell? Don’t poke me.” She wakes up fighting mad.
“Sunshine, calm down, let them work on you,” I tell her, reaching to hold her hand.
“Tell him to quit poking around my head. It fucking hurts,” she complains.
“She’s showing signs of a concussion, probably nothing major. Just the same, we’d like to take her to the hospital.” I nod my head in agreement even if the blue-eyed beauty is glaring at me.
“Can I ride with? I just need to grab her cell phone and lock the place up.” My mind is already on autopilot thinking about the shit we’re about to endure at the hospital.
“Yeah, but be quick. The sooner we get there, the better.” I nod my head, then tell the woman who is mine from infinity and fucking beyond what I’m about to do.
“I’m going to go inside, grab your phone, call Gene, put your laptop away. Great thinking, by the way. Couldn’t be prouder of you than I already am, protecting yourself.” I kiss her forehead even though she’s in a neck brace.
“Don’t be gone too long, please.” Her fingertips brush my hand.
“Not a fucking chance.” I leave her but definitely not for long. I look around, seeing her laptop is trash. I grab it, put the dented thing on the counter, grab her phone and keys just in case, then I’m locking the house up. My only goal is to get back to Melanie, and fast.