My Happy Ending Part 1, page 26
“Where do you think I got it from, the tooth fairy? You know what you saw, your eyes can’t be that deceiving to you.”
I swallowed down the bile that had crept up in my throat, trying to stay as calm and as rational as possible. “If your name is in the mud, through the mud, over the mud, covered in mud, it is of your own doing. Not mine.”
“Why the hell are your lawyers bringing my name up?”
“Why the hell were you in bed with my husband?”
She bit back a laugh as I felt my heart racing a million miles a minute. I’d never... never demanded answers, never questioned her.
Why the hell was I doing it now?
“Your husband.” I could just see her rolling her eyes as she was lighting that cigarette that I heard her take a long drag off of. “Sweetheart, you abandoned your husband. He was tired of the nagging, the bullshit excuses for you not sleeping with him, so he came to me. And believe me, I took very good care of him. If you were that concerned about your husband, you wouldn’t have filed for divorce from him, now would you? So... you’ve lost your right to lay any claim on him. Now...”
“One, I’m not your fucking sweetheart so unless you want my foot crammed straight up your ass you will never refer to me in such a manner again.”
Whoa. Where the hell was this coming from?
“Two, you and I both know that I didn’t abandon my husband. I can only begin to imagine how you manipulated every single situation, and my guess is soon he’ll see right through you, if he hasn’t begun to already.”
I recognize the voice. I mean, of course I do. It’s mine. But... but...
“And last, but definitely not least, you are not the kind of person who needs to be in any way, shape, or form involved in my children’s lives, so when it comes to you? Yeah, that shark I hired? She has carte blanch. And believe me when I tell you, she knows exactly what can and cannot be said, and will be damn sure that every little tidbit out in the public eye will be nothing but the truth and therefore cannot come back on me. So calling my number? Telling me to stop my lawyer from exposing you for the run of the mill scum on the bottom of my shoe gutter whore that you are? That was, if not your worst, then at least your latest mistake. Any questions?”
Silence.
“That’s what I...”
“One question, Talli. How did it feel to see your husband on top of me?”
“The first thing that went through my mind was that I didn’t want whatever STD you may be carrying,” I replied, the venom flowing freely through my veins.
“You little...”
“You do not call me, you do not attempt to contact me in any way, and if you have a problem with your dirty laundry airing, take it up with my lawyer.”
“Oh, you want dirty laundry?”
“Goodbye, Bree.”
I hit that end button, seething, blood boiling, wishing I could reach through that line and choke the living shit out of her.
But you know what?
No. There was someone else that needed the living shit choked out of him.
Who the fuck did he think he was, giving my phone number out to his whore? Seriously? Of all the things he’d done to me, this was one of the lowest. He knew... he knew how I felt about her, and the fact that I’d caught them in bed together wasn’t bad enough... no, now he goes and gives my phone number out to that bottom feeder?
“Mr. Jason Michael Warner, you sir... are about to get... a piece of my mind.”
I hit the call button on my cell phone, recalling at the last moment how he normally wouldn’t get up this early. Oh, no...he was probably still in bed, even if that bitch was there.
“Hello?”
Yeah, I just woke his ass up.
“Why the hell did you give that bitch my number?”
“Wha... Talli?”
“You have no business giving my phone number out to your whore.”
“I... fuck you, Talli.”
Excuse me?
“You have no right...”
“Rights?” Oh, he was awake now. “You want to call my number, talking to me about rights? Fuck you!”
“Where do you get off...”
“You... you filed for divorce, you wanted this. I remember very distinctly when I wanted to talk with you, you telling me to take it up with my lawyer. It’s time you take your own advice. If your number shows up on my screen, it damn well better be the kids.”
“If you think that it’s okay for you to...”
The line was dead.
My hands were shaking slightly as I set the phone down. Oh, he had a lot of fucking nerve! First, he gives out my phone number to Bree of all fucking people, and then he has the balls to go off on me? And tell me that I couldn’t call him, that I had to contact his lawyer to tell him to quit giving out my fucking phone number?
I don’t think so.
I picked that phone back up, refusing to lie down and take his shit any fucking more. Scrolling down, I reached his cell number again, hitting the call button, ready to let it fucking fly.
Oh, great.
Straight to voicemail.
If he wanted to play that game, I could play it.
I scrolled back through the contacts, cringing as I realized I still had it listed as ‘home’.
That was not my home.
I hit the call button, still seething with anger over his outburst, wondering where the hell he got off not only hanging up yet again but also for giving out my phone number. Perhaps I was a glutton for punishment, perhaps I’d just... had it.
I’d just... had it.
I wasn’t his fucking doormat. I wasn’t someone he could speak to any damn way he chose, the way he had been for quite some time. I wasn’t someone he could treat any way he chose.
I was his wife.
I was the mother of his children.
And the days of him treating me with complete disrespect, complete disregard, were at an end.
And...
The number I had reached has been changed to an unpublished number.
Perfect.
“Are you okay, Mommy?” Michael asked as he walked into the living room.
I smiled as sweetly as I could. “I’m...”
I glared at the phone that now sat on my countertop.
“Perfect.”
JASE
TALK ABOUT A RUDE AWAKENING. It was bad enough that I’d barely gotten any sleep as I’d ended up curled up on that stupid little sofa in my office. But then to wake up to Talli bitching me out over... hell, I don’t even know what... was the icing on the fucking cake.
It was going to be a bad day.
I groaned as I looked at the time on my cell phone, shutting it off so I could attempt to get some more rest. Did it work? Hell no.
At least the basement was done. I’d stayed up until four a.m. purging that room of everything I could. A lot of it ended up in the trash, but there were two large boxes that I had marked of things that belonged to Talia.
That book was not in there.
She’d taken it from me years ago, and occasionally I’d see her curled up in her papasan chair with it. But it was mine. It was one of a long list of things that she’d taken from me that I was demanding back.
I just wish I knew what she’d done with my heart when she didn’t want it anymore. I could use it right about now.
“Good morning.”
Linda nearly scared the hell out of me as I rounded the corner. I’d forgotten she would be there again today. I half waved at her, shuffling over to the coffee pot to get it started.
“I can get that for you.”
I recognized the tone of her voice. I didn’t need her pity, and I certainly didn’t want it. I reminded myself, though, that it was Talia I was pissed off at, not anyone else.
“Thanks, but...”
“Cinnamon,” she said softly. I looked over my shoulder at her, confused. “That’s what Talli puts in it, that’s what the boys liked so well.”
I nodded, faltering for a moment. Linda gently reached over taking the carafe from my hand before gesturing to me that she’d finish.
Why the hell would something so simple as that affect me in that way? It was just coffee. Sorry, cinnamon in the coffee. Why would it matter that Talia would do something so... special?
Unique?
Damn it, I... I can’t break. Not now. Not anymore.
“Hey, Linda... that furniture store you were talking about, do they haul away the old stuff?” I asked, glancing over at her.
“They did when J... um, yeah.”
“What...what’s this?” I asked, my tone as light as I could get it.
“Nothing,” she replied, blushing slightly.
“Noooo, you made the ‘J’ sound,” I teased.
“Don’t you have to get dressed or something before Chris and Jackie come over?”
“Jackie... what’s up with you and Jackie? Oh, come on, Linda, how many years have you two been going back and forth on this?”
“You... oh, just... mind your own business.”
I finally had something to smile about as I bounded up the stairs, almost thankful that Talia had called and woken my ass up. I’d completely forgotten that Chris and Jackie were coming over, to discuss business of all things. Or the lack of business, as I was pissing people off left and right by trying to lay low. Man, today really did have the potential of getting ugly. Good for me that I had something to give Jackie shit about.
Once out of the shower, completely cleaned up and at least slightly presentable, I walked down the hallway to my office where the catalog for that furniture store set on my desk. I thumbed through the pages, making notes on what might work, what I would like, what would purge this house of things that didn’t belong there anymore.
It had to be done.
“Are you up for saving the world?”
I glanced up, grinning at Jackie as he walked in. “Well, hello Alfred, so nice to see you. Come. Sit.”
“I don’t pry into your personal business, you know.”
“That’s such a blatant lie. Soooo... you and Linda what?” I asked.
“A gentleman never answers that question,” he said with the straightest face before breaking down and chuckling softly. “We gave up one mortgage is all.”
“Living in sin, then?”
“Is there any...” he stopped, his face growing somber. “No... scratch that. There are other ways.”
“Jackie, don’t.” My voice was soft as I looked back down at the furniture catalog, placing it over to the side. “Is Chris here yet?”
“Um... yeah. Yeah he is.”
“Well?” I held my hands up, silently asking where the hell he was, and the look Jackie shot me, telling me I didn’t want to know, made me decide I better go find him.
“Man, just... give it a...”
“You can’t tell me that I can’t go up there and see him.”
Bree was at my house.
See? A bad day.
“If you have to babysit us, then...”
“What the hell, Bree?” I asked tiredly, going down the stairs. It wasn’t even noon and she looked like she was going to a club. “Why are you here?”
“You.” She pointed at me accusingly. “You tell that hag you’re divorcing to stop talking shit about me.”
“Hag?” I asked, one eyebrow raised, my eyes raking over Bree, my mind wondering what the hell I’d been thinking.
“Did I stutter?” Bree snapped, and I heard Jackie stifle a laugh behind me.
“Um... no, but... you’re going to have to call Sherise...” My voice drifted off as I recalled the brief bitchout session Talia had given me earlier. “You called her?”
“Oh, she already reported back to you? Poor thing can’t handle hearing from me?”
“Oh, fuck.”
That came from Chris, who rolled his eyes and put a hand up to his forehead before turning away.
“You called Talia this morning,” I repeated, letting it sink in.
“God, what is wrong with you? I just told you I did, didn’t I? You need to tell her...”
“That was really stupid.”
Was I honestly starting to laugh?
“Excuse me?”
“You obviously didn’t get the chance to tell her what you wanted to say.”
Jase, you are just going to make this worse... don’t crack a smile. Don’t... laugh at Bree’s expression... this is not a comical situation, this chick just made things that much worse for you.
“Can anyone get a word in edgewise with that bitch?” Bree asked, one hand on her hip.
Chris, whose face was now buried, was trying to stop his shoulders from shaking. That fucker was laughing, too. That was not going to help me in the least.
“I can,” I said without thinking, my mood sobering almost immediately.
“Exactly, which is why I’m here, and...”
“Don’t touch me,” I said, pulling my arm back.
“Apparently you can act just like her, too,” Bree retorted, her dig hitting right where she knew it would.
“Ms. Hamilton,” Chris spoke up, all business like once more, “if you have a problem with Talia’s lawyers and what they do, you need to speak with them. Here is a business card with Sherise Adler’s office number on it.” He held it out to her, refraining from rolling his eyes when she snatched it out of his hand. “But I might suggest having your legal team handle this.”
“Why can’t...”
“Jase’s legal team does not represent you,” Chris cut her off.
Yeah, they’re not representing me very well either.
“Hey...” Jackie, motioned at me to follow him up the stairs, which I was more than happy to do.
“I’m not done talking with you,” Bree called after me, but I left it to Chris to handle. Let him earn his damn paycheck, right? We headed back to the office, where I sat at the desk, my hand gently touching the picture of the kids on my way to the chair.
“This really is ugly, isn’t it?” Jackie asked, and I nodded. “I didn’t get a chance to tell you that I’m sorry. It isn’t right, Jase.”
“I kinda asked for it though, didn’t I?”
That was a loaded question. I knew it was. I mean, I asked for it, for trouble, when I stepped over the line with Bree. And I asked for even more trouble when I let my lawyers go after Talia, even though they hadn’t taken the route I’d asked them to.
“That doesn’t make it right,” Jackie said softly. “I just... you can get as pissed off at me as you want over this, but it doesn’t sound like something Talli wanted either.”
I opened my mouth to protest but found I couldn’t. I mean... the more I went over and over the whole scenario in my mind, I didn’t remember her team ever once stating that I should be kept away from the children. Of course, with the job that Sherise did on me they really didn’t have to, did they?
Stop it, Jase. Stop reading into this. She filed for divorce, she wanted this over with. Stop trying to find the silver lining of that cloud, there is none.
“You know,” Jackie said with a laugh, “I would have loved to listen in on that conversation. I... I wonder if she did that whole countdown thing.”
“Where she numbers the things that piss her off?” I asked softly, one short laugh escaping. “Yeah, that...” I frowned, picking up the furniture catalog to take my mind off of it.
“What are you doing?” Jackie asked, gesturing towards the magazine.
“Purging,” I answered with a shrug. There were so many things that just needed to go, to be replaced.
One room...
One room needs gutted altogether.
“Jase...”
“Don’t. Please.”
“Are you sure?” he asked, and I looked him in the eye.
“Yeah.”
He didn’t understand. I’m sure he couldn’t. No one could unless that saw what I did, through my eyes.
I just couldn’t take it anymore.
“Okay, first off,” Chris started as he walked into the office, shutting the door behind him, “she’s annoying as hell and I apologize profusely for ever coming up with the idea that you should collaborate with her.”
“Apology accepted,” I said softly, knowing Chris wasn’t to blame for my actions.
“Secondly, please reiterate if you hear from her again that she isn’t to come over here, okay? She’s not listening to me.”
“Is this where Talli got her numbering shit from?” Jackie asked, and one corner of my mouth lifted up in a smirk.
“And... that’s not funny... last, we have got to talk about you taking this damn sabbatical from your work.”
He was sitting directly in front of me, looking almost like death warmed over, or at least death fucking with his head a bit. I sighed and shrugged.
“I... I can’t right now, Chris.”
“Jase, you have contractual agreements...”
“That get changed all the time. Chris, please.” I didn’t want to sound so vulnerable, I didn’t want to sit there and beg for some private time away from the press, away from prying eyes, away from questions about my kids, about Talli.
He nodded once, looking down at the papers in his hand. “I’ll see what I can do. There will be a lot that will have to be rescheduled, which will put more on your plate later. I’ll give the message to the powers that be, hoping they are as understanding. And just for future reference, I’ll probably ask you about it every time hereafter, got it?” After I nodded, he asked, “Have you been writing?”
I let out a short half-laugh. He was kidding, right? One would think that I would have a plethora of material from this, have several heart-wrenching albums for the mass public to either eat up with a spoon or crucify me for causing so much hurt to begin with.
“Jase...”
“Could you?” I asked quickly, looking up at him, and he shook his head.
“I have let Ms. Hamilton’s management know that your professional relationship with her is on permanent hiatus. Before yesterday they’d disagreed, but since the hearing yesterday and the leaking of certain information, they’re now also wanting the distance. Hopefully they’ll convince their client also. All that remains is the okay from the record company since they were so gung-ho about it in the first place.”
