Evening The Score

 

1

Jenna’s skin crawled, as the trucker’s hand squeezed her ass.  She’d barely even turned away from him. She hadn’t even had a chance to tuck her notepad back into the pocket of her apron. “That’s a fine piece of steak,” the trucker chortled to himself.  Jenna tried to not cry. This wasn’t the first time it had happened; it wouldn’t be the last. This reality didn’t make it any easier for her.

The greasy diner stank of overcooked bacon and under-washed men. The walls had yellowed over the years. The owner hadn’t bothered to decorate since he’d first opened. The orange plastic seating was probably the height of fashion at some point, but that had been a long time ago. Jenna was used to it though. She barely smelt the foul stench that clung to her skin. She spent most of her time at work deliberately not focusing on her surroundings.

That was the only way she could cope. That was the only way she could deal with the fact that she spent six days a week there. It was never meant to be a permanent job. It was something she’d taken when she was fifteen. It was meant to be just a bit of extra money, before she set off to college. Seven years later, she was still here; still clearing tables and taking orders.

How had this happened to her? How had she managed to stray so far away from the plans she’d had growing up? She walked over to small serving hatch and leant through, so that she could get the chef’s attention. “I need a hamburger no lettuce,” she called through.

“It’ll be through in ten,” Paul, the skinny chef with bad teeth called back out to her.

“Thanks,” she turned away from the hatch and examined her side of the diner. There wasn’t anybody waiting to be served. The mugs of coffee all looked half full. The family she’d served four all-day breakfasts to, were still eating their way through the hectic plates of food she had taken over to them. There was nothing for her to do.

She felt her cell vibrate against her leg and she scanned the diner once more, before she walked down the small hallway that led to the staff toilet. “Hello?” she slid over the answer button on her phone and lifted it to her ear. “What’s wrong?”

“Jenna,” the babysitter said and she sounded stressed. “Tasha has got herself a bit worked up and she’s refusing to go to bed unless she can talk to you.”

Jenna closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. “Okay,” she said,  “you’d better put her on,” trying not to show the irritation in her voice. It wasn’t the babysitter’s fault that Tasha missed her mom, but it wasn’t Jenna’s fault that she had to work late into the night either. “Hey, baby,” she said softly when she heard the phone being passed over to smaller, more innocent hands.

“Mommy,” Tasha’s voice lit up the line. “Where are you?”

“I’m at work sweetie.” A clatter of plates from the main room of the diner caught her attention and she knew she wouldn’t have long , before someone realized that she was missing.

“But, mommy, I want you to read me a story,” Tasha’s little voice sounded broken, as she realized that her mom wasn’t coming back. “You promised.”

“I know I did sweetie,” Jenna said as she tried to hold the pieces of her heart together. “It’s just that mommy got offered some over time and had to take it. I’ll read to you tomorrow night.”

“Do you promise?”

“I promise,” Jenna said and then guilt instantly washed over her. She had no idea whether she would be home in time to read to Tasha. It was a promise that she was making to soothe that day’s upset, even though she knew that the next day might bring a whole fresh load to deal with.

“Okay mommy,” Tasha sounded convinced. “I love you.”

Jenna opened her mouth to tell Tasha that she loved her too, but the phone started to make a shuffling noise down the speaker and Jenna knew that it was being passed back. “I’m sorry about that,” the babysitter said, when she was back on the line. “I just didn’t know what to do.”

“It’s fine,” Jenna lied to her. “If my daughter’s upset then, you should always call.” The truth was that Jenna’s boss had caught her on her phone once too many times. It was never for socializing. She only ever answered calls about her daughter, but that didn’t seem to matter to him. All he cared about was how much work he could force out of a person getting paid minimum wage.

The babysitter apologized again before she hung up. Jenna looked down at her phone. The hamburger she’d put into the kitchen was due at the serving hatch any second. She couldn’t leave her tables waiting. She turned walked back over the tables. The image of her upset daughter pushed far back into her mind, so that she didn’t have to deal with the guilt of knowing that she was never around for her.

Her cell vibrated again just as she was approaching the serving hatch and she quickly pulled it out, so she could see what the message was. She was half expecting the babysitter to have sent a picture of Tasha all tucked up in bed, but she was surprised to find that it was from Maria, her old school friend who’d she lost contact with years ago. She opened the text quickly, so that she could scan it, before taking the burger over to its table.

Jenna, I know we haven’t talked in a while, but I’m back in town for a couple of weeks. I’m getting married!!! I really want you to be there, text me a time that you’re free and we’ll meet up? Xox

*********

Chapter 2

Tyler looked at the girl who laid asleep next to him on the cheap hotel sheets. She was gorgeous. She had the body of a swimmer and curves of a model. Her legs had seemed endless the night before, as he’d brought his lips up them and between them. She was still naked. Her tanned skin showed no signs of any strap marks or imperfections. What was her name? He racked his brain, as his eyes finally found their way to her face.

She looked peaceful. Her plump red lips set in an easy, unaffected smile. Her bright red hair which was as bright as like flickering flames on a fire was framing her face, as it spread out over the pillow. . What was her name? He tried to think back to when he’d met her the night before. She’d been at the after party. She’d made a beeline for him, and managed to capture his attention; what was her name?

She stirred slightly. Tyler realized he didn’t have long to work it out. He pushed off the cheap, scratchy sheets that he’d been sleeping on and walked over to the small shower room. He could still smell her on him. He could smell her tangerine perfume and her sweat on his skin. The shower poured out instant hot water that covered the room with a thick veil of steam and he got in.

The water felt good as it pounded against his tired muscles. He’d been ready for the match the day before, but that didn’t mean that his body appreciated being pushed to the brink. They’d won though. They’d won by a three-touchdown lead. That meant that his pro-team were in for a chance at the Super Bowl. It was a dream that he’d always thought might be out of his reach and yet, it was all happening-- and so, soon into his career too.

He was twenty-six. He’d only been playing pro football for four years. Four-years in the respect of a life was nothing, but yet, it had been enough time for his name to become known in almost every football loving house in America. The small home town where he’d grown up was a distant memory to him. He’d earned enough in four years to live comfortably for the rest of his life. He literally didn’t have a worry in the world.

He stepped out of the shower and wrapped a thick, white towel around his body before he went back into the bedroom. She was awake. She was still in the bed, but she was sitting up with the sheets pulled up, so they covered her large, perky breasts. “Hey,” she smiled, when he walked over to his suitcase and pulled out a shirt and some jeans. “So, last night, huh?”

He pulled on his shirt and then his jeans. He didn’t know what she wanted him to say. Well, he did, but he wasn’t really willing to say it. It had been her choice to go back to the hotel with him. It had been her choice to seek him out at the club. It had all been her choice, so he didn’t see why he should have to sit and stroke her ego now that she was starting to regret it. “Yeah, last night,” he nodded, when he realized that she wasn’t taking her eyes away from him.

“Do you want to do something today?” she asked without picking up the subtle tones of his disinterest. “I was thinking I could show you around the town,” Tyler cut her off.

“I have to leave town today,” he gave her a half apologetic smile.

“Oh,” she looked disappointed. “Do you have another big match or something?” she asked him with wary eyes, as she tried to work out her importance to him.

“No, it’s my sister’s wedding in a few days,” he grabbed his watch off of the bedside table and fastened it around his wrist.

“Do you have a date?” she asked him quickly, as she leaned forward and her hair fell down around her shoulders.

“No,” Tyler shook his head slowly.

“Do you want one?” she grinned. “I could totally come with you.”

Tyler half smiled, as he turned to her. “You want to come to my sister’s wedding with me?” he asked.

“Sure, it could be fun,” she nodded.

“Right,” Tyler’s own head shook slightly. “Look, I don’t mean to sound harsh, but I don’t even remember your name. Why would I take you to my sister’s wedding?”

She looked hurt and then angry. “You’re such a jerk,” she stepped out of bed with the sheets still wrapped around her body. “Is that what you do?” she asked accusingly, while trying to assemble the outfit she’d been wearing the night before from the jumble of clothes on the floor. “You just take random girls back to your room and sleep with them? Don’t you even care about me? Don’t you care about all the things I did for you last night?”

He shrugged. “It’s not like you’re the first one to ever do them,” he could hear the harshness to his words; he wasn’t in the mood to sugar coat anything. She’d known what she was doing. She’d known that their one night stand was never going to be anything more, so why was she making such a fuss about it?

“I thought you were a good guy,” she fumed, as she pulled on her top and dropped the sheets. “I thought you were one of the good ones.”

“Why? You barely even spoke to me last night. Look, I get that you want to act all offended or whatever, but we both knew what this was. We both knew that you wanted to sleep with me and now you have. Canwe just cut all the crap please?”

“Fuck you Tyler,” she spat, as she walked over to the door with one of her shoes on her foot and the other still in her hand. “And, it’s Alicia.”

“What is?” Tyler asked, as he watched her pulling open the door to the hotel room.

“My name,” she screamed at him as she slammed the door. She was gone.

*******

Chapter 3

Jenna had picked a little coffee shop on the outskirts of town. It was a tiny little shop that barely fit three tables and the serving counter, but it was perfect for the reason that she was there. It was a shop that she’d only gone in once or twice. The owners lived in the next town over. They weren’t as well versed with town gossip, as so many of the others were.

Maria turned up ten minutes late. Jenna had been hoping from the moment that the first minute had passed, that perhaps she’d found herself too busy to come. It wasn’t even as though, Jenna really wanted to be there. She hadn’t spoken to Maria since she’d left for college. It wasn’t Maria’s fault. It was Jenna’s. Jenna had done everything that she could to make sure that her friends didn’t find out about her secret. She’d done everything in her power to make sure that her disappointing life stayed off of the rumour mill.

Maria looked different from the last time that Jenna had seen her, but not so different that she was unrecognizable. Her long blonde hair that had made her the envy of the school was still long and blonde. The curls she’d worn during high school had gone though and she had it sleeked back to her head in an intricate bun that looked impossible to do on her own.

“Jenna,” she cried with delight, when she noticed her sitting in the corner. “Oh, my god, you haven’t changed one bit,” she was smiling, her tone was warm and friendly, she meant everything she said with nicety, but Jenna couldn’t help, but feel a little insulted.

“Well, you have,” she tried to brush any hurt feelings that she had away. “Look at you,” glancing over Maria’s expensive looking dress.

“I know,” Maria beamed. “Can you even believe it’s me?” She’d always been like that. She was the centre of attention wherever she went. She liked it too. She liked to feel every eye on her, as she walked into a room. She liked knowing that all the guys were picturing themselves with her, even though their arms around their girlfriends. She was just that type of girl.

“So, things are going well for you?” Jenna asked, as Maria sat down.

She nodded and looked behind her. “Logan is just parking the car, he should be in soon.”

“Logan?” Jenna asked her. She’d thought that the coffee was just going to be them; she hadn’t realized that Maria would be bringing others along with her.

“My fiancé,” she explained. The door to the small shop opened and in walked a man with a suit that looked more expensive than half of the houses in town. His hair was dark blond and perfectly swept back. His shoulders were broad, his smile warm, he looked like he’d just walked off of a red carpet in Hollywood or something.

“Wow” Jenna couldn’t keep that to herself. “He’s,” she didn’t get to finish, because Maria cut her off.

“I know… right,” her eyes sparkled with the same mischievousness that Jenna recognized from when they were children. “Isn’t he just the most gorgeous thing you’ve ever seen?”

Jenna gave her a tight smile and nodded. “Sure, he’s definitely something.”

“Hello, ladies,” her fiancé purredas he walked over to their table. “Can I get either of you anything?”

“I’ll have a skinny, half whip, double choc mocha,” Maria beamed at him with eyes full of admiration. Her love for him was something that couldn’t be denied, even if Jenna couldn’t understand it.

He turned to Jenna whose cheeks turned red quickly under his gaze. “I’m fine,” she mumbled, as she looked down at her already finished cup of coffee. She couldn’t afford to buy another one; not without having to make some kind of sacrifice later on in the week. “Don’t be silly, you’ve finished that one, what can I get you?”

“Oh, okay,” Jenna looked over at Maria who was still smiling at her. She didn’t want to accept the coffee. What if they expected her to buy the next round? What would she tell them? How would she explain that she couldn’t even afford to buy her friends a coffee? “I guess, I’ll have a latte,” she smiled weakly up at him.

He nodded and walked over to the small serving counter, which also doubled as where you went to pay. “He’s such a dreamboat,” Maria said, as her eyes fixed happily on his ass. “You know, I don’t even know how I managed to win him.”

“I guess he just feels the same way about you,” Jenna offered her, an answer to the question. “It’s obvious; you can see it when he looks at you.”

“Do you think?” Maria beamed at Jenna.

“Sure,” she nodded once.

Logan came back over and put the coffees on the table, before sitting down. “So, what are you ladies talking about?” he asked with an easy smile, as he reached over for the small packets of sugar that were in the middle of the table.

“I was just about to ask Jenna about college,” Maria said, as she glanced between Logan and Jenna. “You got into that fancy pants music academy right? How did it go? Are you like, I don’t know, playing concerts and stuff now?”

“Oh, you play an instrument?” Logan turned to her with an intensive kind of stare that was making Jenna feel uncomfortable.

They were both asking too many questions. She could feel the room around her getting smaller, as she tried to breath. Her throat was getting tighter; her cheeks burning with an inferno-type blaze. “So, when’s the wedding?” she blurted out. She’d wanted to be more subtle. She’d wanted to use her tact, so that they wouldn’t realize that she was changing the subject, but her reaction was far from what she had planned.

“It’s in two weeks,” Maria grinned at her. Maria was the kind of girl who was happy to talk about herself, even if everybody had fallen asleep around her. The questions she posed to other people were only because she knew that she had to ask;it wasn’t really because she cared about their answers. “I was kind of hoping that you might be my bridesmaid?”

“Oh,” Jenna’s head quickly started to scramble for some kind of excuse that would get her out of it. “I might have to work, I’m not sure.” The excuse was weak and she knew it.

Maria frowned at her. “You’re going to be a bridesmaid at my wedding,” she all, but told Jenna straight. “You were my best friend in high school.Surely you can get the day off?”

She didn’t understand. Maria had never in her life had to worry about money. She’d gone straight from a wealthy family into the arms of someone who looked even wealthier. Jenna wasn’t even sure whether Maria had ever even worked. “I can try,” Jenna said hesitantly, as she thought about a day’s missed salary. “I don’t know though.” Another thought came crashing into her mind. It was a thought, which shouldn’t have taken so long to get there, but became her ultimate focus once it had arrived. “Does that mean that Tyler’s coming back to town?”

********

Chapter 4

Tyler looked down at his cell. It was Maria. He looked around the cabin of the private jet that his team co-owned, then back to his phone. He’d seen his team mates using their cells on the plane before when it was in flight but, he’d never felt comfortable doing it himself. He wasn’t sure why, but he had a feeling it was because of the many commercial flights he’d taken as a kid. They’d always been so strict on cell phone use. It was something to do with the equipment they used to track their route;the cell phone signals messed with it.

The phone stopped ringing and for the briefest of moments he felt relieved. That relief was attacked by the cell phone’s ringtone that broke through the otherwise quiet flight. “Shit,” he said to himself under his breath, because he knew that he was going to have to answer the call or his sister would just continue to ring, until either he answered or his phone died. “What’s up?” he answered the phone quickly. “I’m in the middle of my flight, so you’re going to have to make this quick.”

Maria laughed down the phone at him. “You’re worried the calls going to bring the plane down, aren’t you?”

Had his panic been that obvious? “Just tell me what you’re calling about,” he snapped at her. He could see her smug little face in his mind, as he continued to hear her laughter play through the speaker.

“I’m sorry,” she sniffed, as though the laughter had brought tears to her eyes. “It’s just; you must be the only person on the planet who won’t use their cell on a plane.”

“Maria,” Tyler warned her with just his tone.

“Right, sorry,” she seemed to serious herself up. “So, I was just wondering when you’re due to land. I’m with Jenna having coffee. I thought it would be cool if we all caught up.”

Had he heard her right? Had she said that she was with Jenna? The Jenna, Maria’s best friend in high school and his first and if he was honest with himself, only, love? He could hear someone talking quietly in the background. He tried to catch what they were saying. “I’m actually going to have to go,” it was Jenna. He could tell from the softness of her voice.

“I won’t be there for another hour or so,” he said, feeling a deep regret pouring over him. If he’d have left earlier that morning, he would have been there already. If he hadn’t had to get that girl out of his room, then he could have been sitting with Jenna, looking at her, getting to know her all over again right at that moment. Instead, he was stuck on a plane, which was probably nose tailing into the ground because of his cell phone use.

“Apparently she has to go anyways,” Maria said with a slight stiffness to her voice. “Wait a sec,” there was a pause and then he could hear his sister forcing the phone into Jenna’s hands. “Take the damn phone and say hi to him. What’s wrong with you?”

“Um, hi,” It was Jenna. He could hear how uncomfortable she was feeling just from those two words. “Maria--she said you wanted to say hi?”

“Yeah,” Tyler said almost too quickly. “I mean, hi,” he tried to recover his reputation. “It’s been, um,” he wasn’t sure what to say. He’d thought about this conversation a thousand times before. He’d thought about all the things he would have said to her if he’d have been given the chance. That was it though. That was his chance and he wasn’t saying anything worth saying at all. “A long time,” he finished weakly; his eyes closed, so that he didn’t have to see the failure around him.

“Yeah, I guess it has. I’ve really got to go, but you know, it was nice talking to you and all.”

“No, wait,” Tyler called quickly, so that she wouldn’t have a chance to pass the phone back to his sister.

“What’s up?” she asked hesitantly.

Tyler could tell that she didn’t want to be on the phone with him. The hesitance in her voice was all he needed to hear to be sure of that fact. She had never been hesitant with him. She had never been hesitant with anyone. She was the girl that you could always rely on to tell you how it was, even if the truth was uncomfortable, she would always say it. “Are you going to the wedding?” he asked her desperately, because the idea of that phone call being the only contact he could have with her was starting to drive him insane.

“I don’t know,” she paused. “He’s asking about your wedding,” she said in a muffled way and Tyler knew that she was talking to his sister and not him.

“She’s coming to the wedding,” Maria called out over the phone.

“I don’t know if I’m going to the wedding,” Tyler could hear the glare in her voice. He could picture her pixie like face almost growling at Maria.

“You should come,” he pushed her gently. “It would be great to see you.”

“I’m just not sure I can get the time off work.”

“Oh, what is it that you do?” Tyler asked her, because he was genuinely curious. The last time they had spoken was right before he left for college. He’d thought things were going well. He thought that they were going to make it work long distance, when she left for the music academy, but instead, she’d broken up with him and left him in the dark ever since.

“I really have to go,” the phone was already getting passed back, before Tyler could open his mouth to reply.

“So, brother, did you manage to convince her?” Maria asked, as she took back over the phone.

“I really have to go Maria,” he pulled the phone away from ear and hit the end call button. What had just happened? How had he managed to blow it with Jenna in so few words? He didn’t know. How could he, when he didn’t even know why she broke up with him in the first place?

********

Chapter 5

The diner was quiet, which wasn’t unusual for a Wednesday. It was disappointing though, because Jenna really needed the tips. She was serving everyone with the warmest smile she could muster in hopes that it might boost her jar. She’d barely even covered the coffee that she’d bought earlier that day, when she’d been waiting for Maria.

Maria…what was she going to do about her and the wedding? Could she really miss it? Could she really miss her best friend’s wedding? Was Maria even her best friend anymore? They’d barely spoken in years. Maria knew nothing about Jenna’s life. She certainly didn’t know about Natasha.

The door to the diner opened and the little brass bell that was hung over the door jingled. Jenna looked over. She was desperately hoping that whoever it was would come to her side of the room, but when she saw him that all changed. He hadn’t though; he was still the strong, muscly god-like creature that she’d known before he’d left for college.  The years had slipped passed him. His eyes still sparkled with possibilities.His smile-no weight pulling it down. He looked good. He’d always looked good. That had been part of the problem.

“Jenna?” Tyler walked over to her and wrapped his arms around. She wanted to pull away and tried to, but his arms were holding onto her too tightly. “It’s so good to see you, I’ve been asking all over town to find out where I might find you and someone said here,” he rambled on.

“Tyler,” she paused. Seeing him was so good. Every long buried feeling she’d ever felt towards him was clawing its way through the dirt and to the surface at an alarming speed. “I’m working,” she glanced over at her boss’s office. “I can’t just stand around and talk to you.”

“That’s okay,” he grinned. “Which is your side?”

She pointed the booths on the left. “What are you doing here?” she asked, following him over to the table. She pulled out her pad and her pen, so that she looked, as though she was waiting to take down his order.

“I wanted to see you,” his eyes tried to capture hers, but she wouldn’t let him make contact. “I’ve missed you Jenna. I mean, I’ve had all this amazing stuff happen to me and I still miss you. Isn’t that crazy? I’m a pro-football player. This town has frigging posters of me up all around town. I’m like a superstar over here. You know, I haven’t paid for one single coffee since I arrived?”

“Really?” Jenna couldn’t help herself. She was stood in front of the same guy that had left her all those years ago. He was totally unchanged in every way other than his fame. It was funny. The dorky football player who watched Star Wars on the sly, was now a town hero.

“Really,” he leant forward and smile crept over his lips. “But, do you know what?”

“What?”

“I still miss you,” he said it so quietly that Jenna had to lean closer to him to hear what it was he was saying. “Will you come to the wedding with me? Can I take you as my date? Can we just, for one day, pretend like these years haven’t happened and that we’re still the same people who thought that we could make us last through anything?”

Jenna pulled away. She could feel her cheeks burning over everything he’d just said. “Are you drunk?” she accused him. She couldn’t help it. What he was saying was ridiculous. He could have any girl that he wanted. He did. She’d seen him with hundreds of different girls on the television. Why was he bothering with her? Why was he trying to dredge things up that were better left dead?

“What can I get for your order?” she changed the subject without replying to his question.

“Jenna,” Tyler frowned at her. He reached out, so that his hand could brush against her arm, but she moved it out of the way, before he’d made contact. “Please, just come to the wedding with me.”

********

Chapter 6

Tyler wasn’t sure whether what he was doing would be considered creepy or not. He’d been standing outside the diner for nearly two hours. Jenna had kicked him out after he’d ordered his sixth slice of pie and he hadn’t known what else to do. He knew Jenna. He knew the girl that she used to be and he knew that something terrible had happened to her. He could see it in her eyes. He could see an unbreakable pain burning behind the glossy blue-of-the-ocean and he had to know why it was there. He had to find a way of helping her.

The door to the diner opened and he turned from the sign that he was reading across the street. “Jenna,” he called after her, as she started to walk in the opposite direction from him. “Jenna,” he called again, when he’d picked up his pace to a jog, so that he could catch up with her.

“What are you doing here?” she asked him with a deep frown. “I need to get home.”

“Can I walk you?” Tyler offered.

“Do I have a choice?”

“Probably not,” Tyler smiled. He was hoping that Jenna might smile too, but she didn’t. She just kept her eyes focused on the path ahead of her. “So, you’re still working in the diner?” he asked, because he wasn’t sure what to say next.

“So, what?” she snapped at him. Her little nose wrinkled, as she got defensive. “Not all of us can go out there and get famous.”  She sounded bitter, but Tyler knew her better than that. Her anger wasn’t because she was angry. It was because she was hurting. It was because something was upsetting her and he desperately wanted to know what it was.

“I didn’t mean any offense. I was just kind of wondering what happened with your music. I mean, you were so good. What made you stop?”

She didn’t say anything at first. Tyler wasn’t even sure whether he was going to get a reply. He’d started to think of anything else that he could say to get the conversation going, but his mind was drawing a blank on him.

“I didn’t go to college,” she broke through the silence.

Tyler looked over at her. Her pale cheeks were flustered pink. She looked ashamed of herself. She looked as though she’d just revealed her deepest, darkest secret. “What do you mean you didn’t go? Everything was all set for you. What happened?”

She shrugged. “Life happened.”

“That’s not a real answer.”

“It’s the only one that you’re going to get.” She stopped outside of a dingy looking apartment building. “Well, this is me.”

Tyler took in the state of the street. There was rubbish bags piled high against the building. He could smell rotting vegetables and the burning stench of piss. “You live here?” he didn’t believe her. It was impossible. How had the girl with everything get to a point where she had nothing? What happened to her parents? They were loaded. Why had they let her get into this state? None of it made sense.

“The rent is cheap,” she shrugged.

“Can I come up?”

“No,” she shook her head softly. “I don’t think that would be a good idea.” Tyler can see a small gleam of panic in her eyes. Something about going up to her apartment freaked her out.

“What?” he asked with an easy smile, because he knew anything else would probably freak her out. “Do you have some big, bad boyfriend up there or something?”

“No, it’s not that.”

“Then what?” he pushed her for answers.

“Look, I just don’t think it would be a good idea,” she snapped at him. She started to walk over to the stairs, which would take her up and into the building.

“No, screw this,” Tyler snapped back at her. “What in the hell has happened to you? Why are you being like this? What’s your problem? What have I ever done to you other than fucking love you?” he didn’t mean to come out with any of it. He stood in the same state of shock that Jenna was in.

“I told you,” she said bitterly and with a grimace that aged her weary face. “Life happened.”

“And, I told you,” he hesitated, as he tried to calm himself down. “That isn’t a real answer. I want to come up. I want us to sit down and talk about whatever is going on. I’m not going to leave you to walk into this shitty apartment on your own.”

“Shitty apartment?” Jenna repeated back to him. “I have to work nearly forty hours a week to afford this shitty apartment,” her nose was flaring angrily. “It might not be the palace that you’re used to , but that doesn’t mean you have the right to come walking back into my life, making me feel bad;, just because I’m not doing as well as you,” her anger drifted off into sobs.

Tyler stood for a second not knowing what to do, before he walked over and pulled her into him. “I’m sorry,” he stroked her hair. “I didn’t mean to make you feel bad. I just… don’t understand how this has happened to you. You had so much going on. It just doesn’t make sense.”

She pulled away from him. “You better come up,” she pushed open the door to the apartment building and the stench of rotting food went, but the stench of piss didn’t, as Tyler walked through the door and closed it behind him.

********

Chapter 7

What was she doing? Why was she letting him into her apartment? She pushed open the door and pointed down the hall. “Just go through and I’ll bring us through a couple of beers,” she added, when she caught Tyler frowning at her.

He walked down the hallway and she turned off into the kitchen. “Oh,” the babysitter said with surprise. She quickly pulled away from her boyfriend who was sitting across the table. “I wasn’t expecting you home until later,” she looked guilty. She knew that her boyfriend wasn’t allowed at the apartment. She’d just been caught red .

“I got let out early,” Jenna walked over to the fridge and pulled out the last two bottles of beer that were inside it. “Just make sure you’re back here on time tomorrow,” she added, as a way of dismissing the babysitter.

“Sure,” she said quickly, as she pulled her boyfriend up from the table by his hand. “I’m,” she hesitated. “I’m really sorry about this.”

“We’ll talk about it tomorrow,” Jenna told her. She had too much to think about with Tyler being in the apartment. She didn’t need to worry about having discipline the babysitter too. She waited until the babysitter and her boyfriend had left, before heading down to the front room where Tyler was waiting for her. “Here,” she passed him one of the bottles.

“It’s not so bad when you’re actually in the apartment,” Tyler said, as he glanced around the room. “You’ve made this place look half decent.”

“Thanks,” Jenna twisted off the cap on her bottle and took a sip from it.

“What happened though, Jenna?” Tyler asked when he’d done the same with his own bottle. “What happened to college and music and everything else that you had planned?”

Jenna opened her mouth. She was ready to tell him the truth. She was ready to tell him everything that he wanted to know, because she’d already kept it in for too long. The truth didn’t reach her lips though. “Is that really why you’re here?” she asked him, as she changed the subject without even meaning to. “I mean, you said you missed me right? So, shall we just cut to the chase?”

“What do you mean?” Tyler looked conflicted, as she leant over to him on the sagging couch.

“I’m not stupid,” she frowned at him. “I know that you’ve got a hundred girls back in the city. If you just want to stroll down memory lane, then I suppose I’m alright with that.” She didn’t want to say any of it, but she couldn’t stop herself. It was like her mouth had gone into autopilot and the destination had been set to anywhere that didn’t involve the truth.  She finished closing the space between them and her lips brushed up against his. “Isn’t this why you’re here?” she purred, as she parted her lips slightly, so that her tongue could run across his lower lip.

She felt his leg twitch slightly over the sensation and she pushed her lips firmly onto his, so that he had no choice, but to kiss her, which he did. She let her mind go blank of all the thoughts and worries that she’d been carrying for years, as his hand slipped up her leg and under the tight waitressing uniform she was forced to wear.

It was like she was being transported back in time. Every move, every touch of his hand against her skin, was taking her back to that night. The night that they had shared in the barn together, the night that the rain had fallen so hard, that it had echoed against the open space around them.

Her body was on fire. His touch was the only thing that could cool it. She moved over on the couch, so that she could pull her body on top of his. She could feel him getting hard in his pants. Her waitressing dress had ridden up her legs and her black, lace panties were on show. “I’ve missed you,” he breathed into her ear, as he brought his teeth down gently.

The feeling made her back arch. She could feel herself pushing against the growing hardness in his pants. She could barely breathe. Her entire body only had one need. It only had one want. It only had one necessity for its survival, and that was him.

The world blurred around her, as he lifted her off him. The back of the couch hit the back of her, as he threw her down, so that he could get on top. She could hear the eager unzipping of his pants and then the sound of the fabric falling to the floor, but she couldn’t see it happened. All she could see was Tyler’s head disappearing between her legs. His hot tongue started to trace delicate little lines that were sending shivers up her spine. “Oh, shit,” she groaned out, as he took his head away.

For a moment she was upset. For a moment she thought that was it and that he’d somehow finished without her, but then his lips found her neck, as he thrust himself into her.

*********

Chapter 8

Her name was Jenna and she was sleeping in the crook of his arm. Her ghastly orange waitressing uniform was sitting crumpled on the floor next to them. Her beautiful body was soaking in the sun that was pouring in through the window. It was perfect. She was perfect. Life was perfect when he was with her. The long felt feeling of missing something was gone, when he was with her. She was what he was missing. On some level, he’d always known; now he really knew. Now he knew it to a point where it couldn’t be denied.

“Mommy?” a little voice called out from the doorway.

“Shit,” Tyler dashed to cover himself up, as Jenna’s eyes opened in surprise.

“Oh, shit,” she repeated, as she made a grab for her dress. “Sweetie, go back into your room, I’ll come and get you in a second.” She practically fell over her own legs, as she tried to cover up her body from the young, brown haired girl who was standing in the doorway.

“Okay,” the girl said and then she disappeared as quickly as she had arrived.

“You have a kid?” Tyler asked her in utter shock. “How old is she?” she ran his hands through his hair, as he tried not to think about the mental scarring he’d just caused to her. “You have a kid?” he repeated again, because he was in shock.

“Yeah, I have a kid,” Jenna shot him a dirty look. “She’s called Natasha.”

“You have a kid,” Tyler sat back down. He got it now. He got what had happened. It all made sense. Jenna’s parents were loaded. They were snobs. If Jenna had gotten pregnant there was every chance that they would have cut her off finically. “Can I meet her?” he asked Jenna curiously.

“You just did.”

“No, I mean, like properly,” he pushed. He’d barely had a chance to look at her. She was Jenna’s daughter. She was the daughter of the girl he loved

“Natasha, sweetie,” Jenna called down the hall and sporadic footsteps followed quickly. “Natasha, this is an old friend of mine. His name is Tyler,” Jenna bent down, so that she was looking at her daughter in the eyes. “Are you going to say hi?”

Natasha shook her head and dove behind her mom’s legs.

“Natasha, don’t act all shy, go over and say hello,” Jenna pushed her softly and Natasha quickly glanced from behind her legs.

“Hello,” Tyler said softly, so he wouldn’t startle her. “You’re a very beautiful little girl aren’t you?” Natasha nodded and Jenna laughed at her daughter’s reaction. “How old are you?” he asked her and he watched as she pulled out her hand to show him six fingers. “Wow, you’re practically an old lady,” he joked and Natasha laughed and stepped away from her mom’s legs.

“Listen, I need to get Natasha ready for school,” Jenna broke up the conversation between them. “You should probably go.”

“Oh,” Tyler said. “Yeah, I guess I probably should be heading off. Will I see you at the wedding?”

“Maybe,” Jenna nodded.

“Good, I know it would really mean a lot to my sister if you could make it,” he smiled at her. “I get it if you can’t though,” he added, because he was starting to understand now, why she was working in a shitty diner and why she lived in a shitty apartment. She was doing it for her daughter. She was doing everything she could to make sure that Natasha had what she needed. He wasn’t going to make her feel bad about that.

*******

Chapter 9

Tyler walked into the wedding dress shop with storm clouds above his head. Jenna had a kid? How had that happened? If Natasha was six years old, then that meant she was pregnant before he left for college. Had she been cheating on him?

“What do you think?” Maria asked when she’d turned to see him standing at the front of the shop. “Isn’t this dress just to die for?”

She looked beautiful. It was a pure white fitted to the hip dress. The skirt came out all around her in a typical ballroom fashion. “You look beautiful,” he smiled at his sister.

“What’s wrong?” she asked him immediately. She knew her brother. She knew when there was something up, even when he was trying to hide it from her. “What’s happened?”

“Nothing,” he shook his head quickly. “Don’t worry about me. Look at you, you’re gorgeous!”

“I know that,” she rolled her eyes. “So, let’s talk about what I don’t know,” she walked over and sat down in the dress. Tyler noticed the woman whose shop it must have been cringing in the corner over Maria’s lack of respect towards the dress that she was wearing. “What’s wrong?”

“I saw Jenna last night,” Tyler told her reluctantly. He wasn’t sure how much he could tell her. Jenna’s secrets were hers to tell, not his.

“And, I’m guessing it didn’t go well?” she asked, as her hand settled supportively on his shoulder. “She’s really changed over the years huh? I’m not even that bothered anymore that she froze me out. I mean, have you seen her?”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Tyler snapped, before he could stop himself.

“Then why don’t you fill me in?” she pushed for him to spill.

He shook his head. “It’s up to Jenna to tell you.”

“Look, Jenna was my best friend. I know she was the great love of your life or whatever, but she was my best friend first and I lost her too,” Maria’s eyes met up with her brother’s and she pleaded silently with him.

“She’s got a kid,” he said almost silently. “She’s called Natasha and she’s six.”

“She has a kid?” Maria repeated back in disbelief. “Jesus, I didn’t see that coming.”

“You don’t get it,” Tyler said desperately. “The timing matches up, either Natasha is mine or Jenna cheated on me.”

“And, you don’t know which it is?” Maria nodded, as she finally understood the whole situation. “I guess you need to go and ask her,” she shrugged, as she got back up from her couch. “It would make sense though, if the kid were yours. I mean, you would have never have left town and gone to college if you’d have known back then. That’s probably why she ended things with you.”

Was Maria right? Had Jenna given up her life, so that Tyler could go out and live his? Was that why she didn’t want to see him? Was that why she was avoiding going to the wedding? He didn’t know, but he had to know. “I need to go,” he said quickly as he stood up.

“Tell Jenna I said hi,” Maria called after him, as he pulled open the door to the stop and walked out quickly.

*******

Chapter 10

Three loud knocks at the door. Jenna wanted to ignore them. She was already running late for work.She couldn’t ignore the knocking because another three followed and then another three, until she was forced to go over to the door and answer it. “Can I help you?” she snapped as she opened the door. “Oh,” she added, when she realized that it was Tyler on the other side.

“I need to come in,” he didn’t wait for her to step aside, he just turned, so he could slip passed her and into the apartment. “We need to talk.”

“What do we need to talk about?” she was trying to keep her panic to herself, but she could hear the shakiness to her voice.

“Cut the crap Jenna,” Tyler snapped, even though he really didn’t mean to. “Is she my daughter?”

Jenna laughed. It wasn’t out of finding anything funny. It was panic. It was sheer panic that was pushing her nervous laughter up her throat and out of her mouth. “Don’t be stupid,” she spluttered, but she knew that her denial was only going to make the situation worse.

“So, you cheated on me?” he asked.

“No,” she said quickly. The desperation in her voice was obvious. “Please, don’t think that. I would have never have done that to you.”

“Then you’re going to need to explain,” Tyler gave her a hard look. “Because, I’ve done the math, either Natasha is my daughter or you cheated on me.”

“I think you should probably go,” Jenna made a move for the door, so that she could open it again for him, but Tyler quickly stepped in her way. “What are you doing?”

“You have to tell me Jenna. You can’t keep this a secret any longer. Is Natasha mine?”

“Yes.”

“Yes?”

“Yes.”

“How could you keep that secret from me?” his hand was running through his hair, as he spoke. “How could you keep her from me? I have a six year old daughter I don’t even know.”

“You were going to college,” Jenna tried to explain. “You were going to go into pro- football I did this for you. I did this so that you could go and have the life that you always dreamed of. Natasha doesn’t want for anything, I make sure of that. Maybe, we don’t have loads of money or a fancy house, but she doesn’t go without. I’m a good mom. I’m all that she needs.” She had to stop because there was nothing left inside, but sorrow and that making her chest heave and her eyes leak.

“You should have told me.”

“You wouldn’t have left.”

“No, I wouldn’t have. I would have stayed here with you. I would have helped to raise our baby. I would have stayed by your side, so that you didn’t have to do any of this alone.”

“I couldn’t make you do that.”

“You wouldn’t have been making me. It would have been my choice and I would have done it happily. I’ve spent the last six years trying to get over you. I’ve spent the last six years trying to find a person who can make me feel the way that you do, but there isn’t anybody out there. If there are plenty of fish in the sea, then you really are the only one that’s right for me. You shouldn’t have pushed me away; I would have been there for you.”

“Well, it’s too late now,” Jenna sniffled. “I don’t know what you want me to say? I did what I did and we are where we are.”

“You think it’s that simple? You think I’m just going to walk away from here today and pretend that none of this has happened?”

“Well, what else do you suggest?” Jenna asked him. “What do you want from me?”

Tyler pulled her into his arms. He could feel her fighting against him, but he didn’t stop, until her head was buried in his shoulder. “I want what I would have wanted back then. I want my family. I want you. I want my daughter. I want you both in my life every day. I can’t walk away from you again Jenna. You either come with me or I stay. Either way, I’m going to be by your side.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Jenna shook her head. “You don’t have to do any of that. It’s fine. You don’t have to pretend you care. We don’t need you.”

“I don’t care if you need me,” Tyler shot her down quickly. “I need you.”

“Why?” Jenna had to ask him, because she couldn’t understand and, until she understood, she couldn’t believe him.

“You are the girl who has raised our child single-handily, so that I could have a career. You are the girl who cared more about my happiness than her own. How can you possibly ask why? You are everything to me Jenna. You’ve always been everything. You’re the one who makes me smile, you’re the one who put me straight when I’m going out of line and you’re the one who turned us into a family. There is no why. It’s obvious.”

“So, what do we do now?” she asked him, as she pulled her body away from his, so that her eyes could meet his. 

“Well, I think I’ve got some family who might want to meet my daughter, so how about, we hide here for today and tomorrow, we go to the wedding as we were always meant to? Together?”

“Are you sure you want that?” Jenna asked him, because she didn’t want him to feel, as though he had to do any of it. “Are you sure that you want your family to know? You could just go back to your life. You could go back to having total freedom. Are you sure you want to leave with the responsibility of a daughter?”

“Of course I’m sure,” he looked down at Jenna and smiled. “You are the only person in this world that I will ever love in this way; I’m never going to let you go again.”

 

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THE END