Almost Beautiful, page 10
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I just switched classes, and I’m lost. Is this Ancient Greek Philosophy?”
“Switched classes? This late in the semester?” Thankfully, she didn’t wait for me to answer her question. “No,” she blurted out, annoyed. “This is The Eastern Star.” When she saw that I didn’t understand, she sighed. “The college newspaper.”
My eyebrows shot up, and I mouthed, Oh as she turned on her heels to rush to her desk. I observed them for a few minutes, and then retreated down the hall to the exit.
Ricky and Justin were at The Red for information, that’s why they’d been waiting for Travis to come back. It was fortunate one of them was stupid enough to insult me before they could question him. They could be doing a story about The Circle. Or worse, Travis’s involvement in the fire.
I clenched my teeth, trying to figure out how I was going to stop them from running a story. Even speculation could get students talking when they’d originally declined.
College students might be hesitant to speak to the police, but a curious fellow student could potentially jar a survivor’s memory.
I stopped in the middle of the hall, walked a few steps backward until my ass touched the wall, and then slid down to the floor. My elbows pressed into my knees as I perched my forehead on my arms. Would it ever end? Would Travis ever be safe?
Two pairs of shoes began walking toward me, stopping just inches from the toes of my Chuck Taylors.
“Abby?” a familiar voice finally said. “Are you all right?”
I looked up, into Ricky’s eyes.
Justin stood next to him. His cheek was still purple from Travis’s left hook.
“That depends,” I said.
Justin and Ricky traded glances. “On what?” Justin asked, nervous.
“Where are you guys headed?” I asked.
“To ... To, uh,” Ricky stuttered. “Why?”
I narrowed my eyes, but before I could speak, Justin stiffened. “Are you following us? Why are you following us?”
Ricky snorted, smug. “We caught you. You thought you could sit here in the middle of the hall, and we’d just pass by and not notice? We’re journalists. We notice everything.”
I didn’t give away my confusion, I just watched them become more paranoid with every new speculation.
“So I guess Travis knows we write for the Star?” Ricky asked. “He heard we’ve been asking questions?” He swallowed. “What’s he … What’s he going to do?”
I stood up, allowing the tiniest hint of a smile on my face. “You’ll see,” I said, turning slowly before walking away. I pushed through the glass doors and jogged down the steps, inwardly panicking. Of course, I was bluffing.
They were doing a story on Travis. They were heading out to ask more people more questions. If they kept digging, someone might crack.
I touched my jacket pocket, feeling for the car keys. My mind was racing, wondering how to head this off. How to stop Ricky and Justin without implicating Travis and without anything short of blackmail, threats, or bribes. After all, what is the most important thing to college student? The one thing I didn’t have: money.
A deep voice said, “Whoa!” just as I ran head-first into someone’s chest.
“Oh, God, I’m sorry. I—” My stomach instantly sank.
“Hey, Abs. I was hoping I’d run into you. Maybe not so literally.”
“Parker,” I said, accusation in my voice. I took a step to walk around him, but he gently took my arm in his hand.
“C’mon. Don’t be like that.” He released my arm and smiled brightly, as if the last three months hadn’t happened. “Can’t we just ... talk?”
“No.”
“Abby. What do you want me to do? Beg? I’ll do anything to make things right. What about lunch?” I made a face. “Or just coffee. Can we just discuss over coffee?”
“Coffee?” I asked.
He nodded.
I looked over my shoulder to the building I’d left behind. I felt nauseous with just the thought. “You’ll do anything?” I asked, returning my gaze to Parker.
“Name it.”
I swallowed back my bile. I was about to sell my soul to the devil.
“You okay?” he asked, genuine concern on his face.
I looked down to my watch. “Did you just get out of class?”
“Yeah?”
“What are you doing now?”
Parker offered his most charming grin.
It was pitiful next to my husband’s. My husband. My throat felt tight.
“Are you saying you’re free for coffee now? Somewhere off campus?”
I nodded. “Yeah, that’s probably best.”
The triumphant grin on his face made me want to punch him, but he was the only person I knew who had access to enough money to appeal to Justin and Ricky.
“My car’s this way.”
I looked around, hoping no one noticed. I followed a few steps behind, and Parker seemed to be getting a kick out of my attempt at secrecy.
When we got to his Porsche, he opened my door as always. I hesitated, nearly telling him not to do that, that it wasn’t a date, but it’s easier to attract flies with honey, and Parker Hayes was most definitely a maggot.
Parker took us to a boutique coffee shop far away from campus, full of hipsters and moms fresh from yoga class.
We sat down, and I looked over the absurd menu, trying to ignore Parker’s stare.
“I just want a fucking cappuccino,” I muttered.
“Done. But … wow … you’re spending too much time with Travis. You didn’t used to talk like that.”
I closed the menu and glared at him. “I did, you just never knew that side of me. And yes, I spend quite a bit of my time with my husband.”
His face screwed into disgust. “I don’t get it. To be frank, I’m at a loss for why you would marry someone like him.”
I crossed my arms and perched my elbows on the table. “You said you wanted to talk. Is Travis really what you wanted to talk about?”
“Don’t you?”
“More about the elopement.”
He sighed, relieved. “That’s what I thought. I’ve heard via mutual friends how different you’ve been. It occurred to me that you might be feeling some regret. My parents have very good attorneys at an even better law firm. I could help arrange a quick annulment.”
I choked on my spit, holding my fist to my mouth while I tried to breathe again. “You … What?”
“You must feel trapped, and I hate that for you. An annulment looks far better than a divorce. It’ll be like it never happened.”
“Look better for who?”
He hesitated. “For you, of course.”
I stared at the table, speechless over the audacity. “Parker, I agreed to talk to you today because of the elopement, yes, but not for that.”
“No?”
“We were in Vegas the night of the fire.”
“Debatable.”
I frowned. “Parker, we were. I promise you, we were. Now the campus paper is planning an exposé. You said you’d do anything.”
“That’s what you’re worried about? Why? If you weren’t there?”
“Hi,” the server said with a smile. His thick-rimmed, rectangular glasses, five o’clock shadow, and dark, wiry goatee must’ve been part of the uniform. Several of his co-workers sported the same.
“Just a cappuccino,” I said.
“Just a cappuccino?” the server asked, confused.
“Yes?” I replied.
“I’ll have a matcha latte with soy and one pump of hazelnut,” Parker said.
His order was significantly more acceptable to the server. “Great choice.”
I leaned in. “Everyone knows Travis fights. No one really believes he wasn’t there.”
“I heard he was there. He’s always there, he’s Adam’s main fighter.”
“Not that night. That night there was something more important.”
“Trapping you into marriage.”
I glared at him. “It was my idea.”
Parker’s mouth fell open. “I don’t believe that for a second, Abby. I have to say, if you’d stop lying, I’d be more inclined to help with whatever it is you need, if it’s not an attorney.”
“Justin and Ricky from The Eastern Star are a problem.”
“Those idiots? Why on earth would you be worried about them?” His expression turned to disgust for the umpteenth time during our conversation. “They can’t find their way out of a card game. I took them for nearly eight hundred dollars last week.”
“You what?”
“They write half the term papers and essays on campus because they’re both obsessed with gambling. They must’ve been at the fights that night and saw for themselves whether Travis was there or not. Oh … that’s right. Adam banned them for non-payment.”
“What card game?” I asked.
“Poker night at the Sig Tau house. Every Thursday night. I was actually planning to invite you sometime. Normally women aren’t present, but once in a while we bring them for entertainment.”
I raised an eyebrow.
Parker chuckled and held up his hands, palms out. “A joke, of course.”
“Sure.” I picked up my phone and began tapping. “Thanks for the coffee, Parker, but this ran longer than I thought. I have to tutor a student in fifteen minutes. I’m sorry but I have to go.”
I stood, and Parker gestured for me to wait. “You need me to drive you?”
“I just ordered a ride.”
“Wait! Just … wait a moment. What was it you needed from me?”
“Nothing. I need nothing from you. Take care, Parker.”
Not two blocks from the coffee shop, Travis’s face lit up my cell phone.
I touched my phone, trying to psych myself up to sound normal while choking on guilt. “Hi baby!”
“I just got out of class. Want to meet for lunch before I head to Mrs. Pennington’s?”
“Who?”
“Dad’s neighbor. She offered me a shit ton of money to clean out her garage.”
“Oh. That’s… that’s great, Trav. I wish I could, but I promised coffee with Finch.”
“No worries. I just miss you. I’ll see you after this job okay? She said it’ll probably be six or so hours.”
“Yes, you will. I miss you, too, babe.”
I hung up the phone, tapped out a text to Finch and waited. As soon as Finch replied, I tapped the Uber driver on the shoulder. “I need to change the destination, is that okay?”
“Sure, sure,” he said, looking at his navigation. “Do you know how to do it?”
“Yes,” I said, tapping the buttons.
Within fifteen minutes we were at Finch’s apartment, and I sat on the stoop until he pulled up in his white G-Wagon.
He lifted his oversized glasses and shook his head at me. “Why you always messy? Stand up, we’re not peasants.”
“I don’t have time to go in, Finch, I just need to … confess.”
“Oh, yes, you came to the right place. Spill it.”
“I can’t give context, but … I just met with Parker for coffee and then lied to Travis about it.”
He wrinkled his nose. “Ew. Hashtag fuck Parker.”
“I know, I know, but there was a good reason for it. I was going to ask him for money to help me with something, but then got a better idea. I left but if Travis knew, he’d be pissed.”
“He would. That was stupid. How much do you need?”
“I don’t need it anymore. Like I said, I got a better idea.”
“Such as?” he asked, looking at his nails as if he were bored. He wasn’t. He was enjoying every word.
“Um … so … bribery? I guess it’s more blackmail. But also like a tradeoff for debt.”
“Prostitution …” he said, nodding.
“What? No! Nothing like that. I’m going to get them to owe me money, a lot of it, so they stay in their own lane. Basically.”
“Them who?”
“I can’t say.”
“Thanks for wasting my time,” Finch said, walking up the stairs.
“Finch!” I called after him.
He stopped but didn’t turn around.
“Should I tell Travis about Parker?”
Finch looked over his shoulder at me. “Meeting up with your ex whatever and lying to your husband about it is cheating. I don’t care what any bitch tells me, it is.” He turned around. “And you’re no cheater.”
I sighed and nodded.
Finch went inside and I ordered another Uber, heading back to campus to grab the car and then home. I kept myself busy, putting away dishes, vacuuming, starting dinner in the crockpot, finishing an essay and chatting with a tutoring client about her homework.
Dusting, laundry, and reorganizing the closet took up the rest of my time before Travis finally got home.
“Where’s my girl?” he called from the front door.
“I’m here,” I said, rounding the corner from the hall. “How was your day?”
He leaned me back and kissed me. “Long.” He stood me upright and then sighed. “I missed you all fucking day. It was torture! But I made a shit ton of money, so I hung in there.”
“I’m proud of you. Dinner’s ready. Are you hungry?”
“Best wife ever! I’m fucking starving!”
I led him into the kitchen, and Travis spooned out the beef stew into two bowls. “Dear God, this smells amazing.”
“I added mushrooms this time, hope that’s okay.”
“It’s perfect. You’re perfect.” He kissed my forehead and then took our bowls to the small table near the wall that separated the kitchen from the hall.
Just when I got up the courage to speak, Travis beat me to it.
“Damn, this is so nice. Coming home to you, a hot meal, just sitting here enjoying each other with no drama to talk about. This is how it should be.”
I nodded, taking a bite. There was no way I was dropping a bomb on him after that.
We finished our bowls, and then Travis got up for seconds, grabbing another beer on the way back to the table. We talked about the weird things he came across in Mrs. Pennington’s garage, the stupid text Brandon sent him about coming in to fill out paperwork, anything else that got on Travis’s nerves, and our classes.
“Damn, I feel like I’ve been talking your ear off. Sorry. I told you, I’ve missed you like crazy today! This is why people take honeymoons. It’s not right to get married and then have to go back to classes and jobs and normal life. All I want to do is be around you all day. What did you do after class?”
“Oh, you know, that essay, housework. I stopped by Finch’s.” As soon as I said it, I wanted to bang my head on the table.
“How’s he doing? He’s got a new man, doesn’t he?”
“He’s fabulous as always, and yes,” I said, grateful he didn’t ask more.
“Welp, I’m disgusting. I’m going to hop in the shower. Want to watch a movie after I get out?”
“I do.”
He smiled and winked at me. “God, I love this. I don’t know what all these guys bitching about married life are talking about, it’s fucking amazing. Hey, leave the dishes, I’ll get ’em.”
I smiled at him as I watched him rinse out his bowl, put it in the dishwasher and then leave me for the bathroom.
The water whined as it gushed through the pipes and the metal rings grated against the shower rod. Travis hummed a tune that I couldn’t quite make out while I rinsed my own bowl and set it in the sink.
As I settled onto my spot on the couch, my body felt heavy. I was an asshole. Travis was going to be livid when he found out I’d had coffee with Parker. I wondered how I would react if Travis told me he’d had coffee with Megan.
I could make all the excuses in the world, like he’d slept with her, but I hadn’t slept with Parker. Or that my intensions were pure, but I wasn’t sure that justification would satisfy my husband. And I couldn’t blame him.
My nerves were getting the better of me and waiting to tell him seem impossible.
The bathroom door opened and then he padded to the bedroom, returning to the living room shortly after in a fresh T-shirt and shorts. He crawled onto the couch and lay on my lap looking up and smiling.
“Jesus Christ, this is Heaven.”
“What do you want to watch?” I asked.
“There’s a new Ryan Reynolds movie on Netflix. What do you think?”
“I think … we need to talk.”
He sat up, and I sighed. “God, you’re having such a good day, I don’t want to ruin it.”
Chapter Eleven
In the Wrong
Travis
I HESITATED. “RUIN IT HOW?”
She swallowed, staring at the dark television screen.
“Please don’t tell me you’re in love with Tommy.”
She chuckled but worry still flickered in her eyes. “Trav ... I love you. I love you so much, I do stupid things. So, please, please remember that when I tell you what I’m about to tell you.”
I frowned. “Just tell me.”
“I …” she sighed. “God, I’m just going to say it. I’m just going to say it. I … I asked Parker for a favor today.”
“Parker?” I seethed, already feeling my temper flare.
“Yes, but,” she closed her eyes. “It was for you. I’m worried about you.”
“What does that have to do with Parker?”
“Just ... please hear me out,” she said.
I clenched my teeth and nodded.
She continued, “Remember the guys from The Red? The ones you and Shep beat the shit out of? They’re not cops, Trav, they’re from the college paper. They’ve been asking questions about you. The people who go to The Circle, they won’t talk to the cops. But I’m afraid they’ll ... what if those wanna-be reporters get someone to admit you were there?”
I waited a full minute to calm down before I spoke, breathing through my nose, trying to get my hand stop shaking. “You,” I began, feeling that old but familiar rage bubbling to the surface. “You come to me about our shit, Abby.” My face twisted. “You don’t go to Parker fucking Hayes. He is the last person you should …” I sighed, feeling my eye twitch. It had been a long day, and I’d rather take an elbow to the face than hear from my wife that she was talking to Parker.
