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Holy shit. I feel like I was just mind fucked. The woman is a mental ninja, how did she get that? "It wasn't a date. Why would I go on a date with her? Of all people when I'm in a committed relationship with you?"
"Are you? Is that what's going on right now, because if so, don't you think letting me know that the same woman who had basically tried to snatch you away from me last night, was going to be here alone with you for hours was a vital piece of information?" Ella's face is getting bright red and her hands clench in anger.
Camille was talking to her? Shit, that must mean the evil witch had planted some seeds that are already starting to grow in Ella's mind. "Ella, if you want to communicate, I'm open to communication. But I can't read your mind. Tell me what happened so we can get to the bottom of it. I have nothing to lie about. I've done nothing wrong no matter what Camile might have told you."
"I don't like this." Ella takes another sip of water, but still doesn't look in my direction.
Reaching over I grab hold of her face and turn it, so I can look at her. "Don't like what? Please just talk to me." Now the panic is starting to rise. Being with Ella has forced me to experience so many highs and lows in such a short amount of time. It feels like I'm on a fucking roller coaster; I was never a fan to begin with.
"Percy, I was down at the cafe across the street with Carrie. We were having lunch when I saw Camile coming out of the building. I was going to leave it alone, but Carrie had other plans. Camile explained to me that you invited her here for lunch, and you invited her to lunch tomorrow when I'm at work, and that you were here with her for hours. She let me know that you're much more compatible with her and from everything that I'm seeing it doesn't seem like she was wrong. I don't like feeling like I have to compete for you. Not just compete, but prove that I'm good enough to even be in the running." Ella lets out a deep breath and pushes her fingers through her hair.
"Who are you competing with? Yes everything she said is true, but she left out vital parts. The most important is that her father will be with us tomorrow and the only reason she was here this afternoon was to suggest we meet for dinner … and I thought that to be inappropriate. I do business with her father. Unfortunately, she's a part of that package deal. There's no competition with any other woman Ella. All I want is you. I don't care that you may not have grown up in the same society that I have or that you're not on the snob committee with half the women that I know. There's no competition, because the race is already over and you've won. They want what you have and the only way they get it now is if you give it to them." She has to see that no one else has me in knots like this. How can she not notice that she's so much more to me than any of these other women.
One of her eyebrows raises all the way up, "There's no way you're always this damn impressive. Did you practice that? You got cue cards somewhere?"
I chuckle at her absurdity, "No, why in the hell would I practice that? I didn't even know I was going to have to say it until the words came out of my mouth."
She puts her hands on my arms and lets her head fall against my chest. The cold wall she had up when she came in is falling brick by brick. "You're right she did leave that part out. I didn't know she was here for business. That makes sense. I appreciate you telling me." She bites the corner of her lip as she looks back up at me, "Though, next time if an ex who's still got the hots for you shows up for lunch, could you shoot me a text or something? It's easy to get the wrong idea."
"Agreed." It's a simple compromise. "But you never told me why you were here in the first place? We're supposed to have dinner later."
Her smile fades slightly and something about her eyes tells me she's tired. I'd think it's from all the activity last night, but this seems like it's about something else.
"Yeah, I was having a bit of a dilemma. My editor seems to think my article shows too much personal emotion. He basically told me the same thing that Camile said. You wouldn't want me for long. You will go back to your normal high society women. Then I met a woman who put out a killer article in Connecticut. But instead of being praised for her great work, they basically black balled her until all she could find was work at Nova Tribune. She tried to make it sound like she liked Nova better than the big city, but I don't believe it. What if I put this out and it tanks my career? What if it's not as good as I think it is? What if it hurts you? I'm second guessing the article. I don't know if I want to publish it now, especially not at a place like Nova Tribune." When she's finished she lets out a harsh sigh.
"You went to Carrie with this first, why?" I think I know why she went to her best friend about this before she came to me, but I want her to tell me for herself.
Ella rolls her eyes before she starts talking again. "You didn't want me to do the article in the first place. Everything would go back to normal for you if I just let this die."
I can't believe she'd think of me that way. "Ella, I want you to write what's true to you. I'd never stop you from doing that. I believe in your talent and I'm going to support you no matter what. I'd never let them "
"Jesus Christ, Percy. Are you trying to have sex or something, because you're just saying all the right things." Ella grabs hold of me tighter and I can't help but laugh. By the time I press my lips to hers for the second time the roller coaster is back up to its peak. This happiness is addictive, I want it more and more.
31
percy
Ella stayedwith me for the rest of the day until we went out for dinner. She was just as relieved to be in my space as I was having her there. I’d tried to persuade her to stay at my house again tonight, but she decided she needed to go home and decompress as she put it. It had worked out well for me anyway as I have to go visit my brother. I need to check on him after the blow out with my father and figure out what the hell he's doing inviting my girlfriend into his house after midnight.
I trudge up the stairs to his place and before I knock on the door I can hear the sound of heavy metal blaring through the door. The man is going to go fucking deaf. I bang hard on the door a few times, but when I don't get an answer I use my extra key and let myself in. I peek around the door and see him sitting on the couch. A huge bottle of liquor is right in front of him with three lines of coke on a small piece of metal.
"What the fuck! You fucking swore. I can't believe ..." I stop screaming and look for the remote for the stereo, so I can turn the blaring music off. "I can't believe after all the shit I've done for you I find you doing this shit again."
Ian's face is pale, yet his eyes are bloodshot red. His hair looks like it's been yanked around, but mostly he looks destroyed from the inside out. He jerks his eyes up to mine without moving his head and two large tears trail down his face. His glare is steady and focused. Usually after he's done a line he's jittery as fuck. I look down at the drugs in front of him and realize that it doesn't look like he's done any as of yet. The bottle of liquor in front of him is still sealed as well.
"Go on. Tell me how much of a disappointment I am. Tell me how much you wish you didn't have a bastard like me for a half brother. Tell me how worthless I am." More tears trail down his face and honestly it feels like he's dying right in front of me even though I see no wounds.
"I won't say that. I'm disappointed you don't see how much your life is worth. These drugs are going to kill you, you know this. Why are you doing this Ian?" I walk around the table and squat so I'm eye level with him.
"I don't know ..." His voice cracks badly, "I don't know what I did to make him hate me so much. I didn't ask for him to be my father. I try to be everything that he wants, but it's never enough. I'll never be enough." He drops his head and sobs into his hands.
My chest squeezes with sorrow for him. I don't know what happened, but it had clearly pushed him back to the edge. "Is this about the argument?"
"No." He uses his arm to wipe his face of the tears. "This is about his response to the argument." Ian reaches under one of the pillows on the couch and pulls out a small stack of paper.
I take it from him and sit on the couch next to him to read over what it is. My mouth goes dry and my hands tremble slightly as I read over this fucking atrocity. My father had issued a restraining order against my brother. He's not to be within two thousand feet of him, my mother, or any of their homes. He's not allowed to call, write letters, send pigeon carriers—nothing. My father had effectively cut him out of his life, because of that argument.
"Ian, I'll talk to him ... I'll ..."
