The Call: A Psychic Paranormal Romantic Comedy Page 12

  "Left far corner pocket. Break," she said, still all business.

  "I'll take right-far-corner," Jake said.

  Matilda nodded.

  She's tenser now. Damn Bella.

  Jake broke, dropping two solids and two stripes. "Stripes," he called.

  Matilda studied the table. Two and Five were already sunk. The one-ball was out of position. Her pocket was blocked by a bunch of out of sequence balls.

  Fifteen turns later, neither had dropped a ball out of sequence or dropped an opponent's ball. Matilda had the seven and eight balls left. Jake had eight, fourteen, and fifteen. The table favored Jake, though.

  The crowd around the table had grown. People were cheering and booing at each shot.

  Rather than try for the seven-ball, Matilda scattered Jake's remaining balls.

  "Gee, thanks Matty," Jake said with playful sarcasm. She didn't react.

  Jake took his shot, missed dropping 14, but managed to line up the 8-ball in front of the 7-ball, out of sequence in front of Matilda's pocket.

  Jake grinned. "This ain't over yet."

  Bella called, "Yay honey, you show that gimpy bitch who's in charge."

  Jake's face went completely blank.

  Matilda took a deep breath and lined up her shot.

  Is Matty just going to throw it now? She's lining up to hit straight at the pocket or bank off the rail. It'll drop the balls out of order. Fuck you, Bella. This is the best game pool I've played in years. Leave it to you to fucking ruin it.

  Matilda hit the cue ball low, sending it with force off a rail toward her pocket. It hit the seven-ball off the pocket corner, which knocked the eight ball away from the pocket. Seven and eight bounce off each other in a way that 7 knocked into the pocket. Then the cue ball finished caroming around the table to drop the eight-ball after it.

  "Wrong again. We're done here. Good game," Matilda said. She handed her cue to Noah on her way out of the bar.

  ✽✽✽

  Gimpy bitch. Of course. Air. I need air.

  There was an exit to the back-garden patio at the end of the hallway. It was raining, but the patio was mostly covered. She slammed out the door.

  She stood in the rain, arms wrapped across her chest. It felt good, refreshing. It made her feel less like she was crying and more like she was just getting wet. Someone came out the side door a few minutes after her. She didn't look. She didn't care.

  "Matty -"

  She shook her head without looking at him

  Sam came up behind her and dropped his chin on her head. He was a full head taller than her. Matilda thought there might be a hug coming. Instead, he pulled her arms away from her body, holding them out wide with his.

  "I once caught a fish this biiiigggg," Sam said.

  It was, without question, the silliest thing she'd ever seen Sam do. Absolutely ridiculous. She burst out laughing.

  They laughed together, then she turned and gave him a hug. When she started to pull away, he held her close.

  "I need to talk to you about something that's none of my business," he said. "I can't watch things continue as they are. Act on it. Don't act on it. Share in it. Don't share in it. Whatever you want. I just need you to understand it, OK?"

  She nodded, her head tucked into his shoulder.

  This is nice. It's nice to be hugged. There should be more hugging in my life.

  Sam's arms tightened as if he expected her to pull away. "Jacob has loved you since the day he met you."

  And then she did try to pull away. She pushed against him. "Sam, let me go."

  "Please wait," he murmured. "I think you could use a hug. Just two more minutes. Please? For me?" His arms loosened so she could pull away if she still wanted to. She stayed.

  "I'm going to tell you what I know. Let me finish, and then you can ask me anything you want. Anything at all. OK?" Sam asked.

  Matilda nodded.

  Sam paused to collect his thoughts.

  "I didn't intend to become this rich. It was an accident. Processor chips, then social media, then online shopping, and now everything else. It snowballed. My family and I have more money than can be spent in ten lifetimes. None of us ever have to work another day in our lives, and we don't have to put up with shit from anyone. We can paint with colors that don't match, and people would call it an artistic expression."

  Matilda nodded again. Sam didn't talk about the money. She knew he spent a lot of time and energy trying to give it away. He had reached a level of wealth where it just continued to grow of its own accord.

  "Sudden wealth came with its own host of problems. Long-time friends became ass-kissers. People we didn't know claimed close friendships. And, people crawled out of the woodwork, trying to attach themselves to us romantically. We are nouveau-riche, wealthy in the extreme, and tight-knit. People are determined to gain access to our inner family circle.

  "Noah did what Noah does. He chases skirts and looks for romance that lasts a weekend - no longer.

  "Ethan fell into it and got trampled by assholes a couple of times. One of them even tried to blackmail him about being gay. We've known Ethan was gay since he was about 11. The blackmail failed. He stays out of the social scene now, as much as he can.

  "William was still in the service and removed from it. He struggles with it now, but he's more like me. He doesn't give a flying fuck what anyone thinks.

  "Adrian was in medical school. He's never really been into the social aspects of the money. Beautiful women make him nervous. But, he always seems to have a down-to-earth date when he needs one.

  "Beth, Luke, and Matthew were fairly sheltered from it. They were still in high school and college when the money started rolling in. Now. Well. You show me the guy that's going to pull one over on Beth and I'll hand you my fortune. They're pretty immune to the whole thing.

  "I have never shown any interest in anyone. When pushed, I effectively shut down communication and walk away. I don't care what other people think. I'm not inclined to coddle anyone."

  He paused for a minute, looking for the right words.

  "Jake had trouble. He was too outgoing and nice to shut people down. He wasn't interested in rotating bed partners. And he hated being chased. His solution - and I'm not saying it was a good solution - but, his solution was a long string of girlfriends that were so bitchy and repulsive, they kept the socialites and matchmakers away.

  "Bella was the longest-lasting and final girlfriend in that pattern. She is the most manipulative, so she has managed to stay when he would have otherwise made her go. She's claimed everything from a miscarriage to self-harm to keep him under her thumb."

  She really is a horrible person. Poor Jake.

  "The evening after he met you, Jacob bounced into my apartment after work, downright giddy. He babbled on about getting thrashed at 8-ball by a tiny little redhead that fell into a 'shit-puddle' on her way to a meeting. He's always so eloquent, right?

  "He was radiating joy, something that I had not seen from him in years. He kept saying, 'She was fucking magnificent, bro. You shoulda seen her.' I asked if he asked you out. He was startled. He hadn't thought about it. It'd been so long since he actually dated someone he liked, he forgot that dating was a thing people did.

  "The next morning, Dad walked into my office with your contract in hand and said that he'd hold the contract if I'd counter-sign. I agreed and signed off without question. I don't know if you ever really understood the significance of Hank holding your contract. Hank doesn't hold any contractors or have any direct reports other than you.

  "There are very strict ethics guidelines in our employee handbook. Bosses don't date people that report to them. If they do and they're caught, the higher-ranking job is forfeit. There are very strict repercussions for discrimination, favoritism, and punitive actions.

  "For Dad and me, it was never really a question of 'if' things would happen with you and Jake. It was a question of 'when'. From a corporate hierarchy perspective, Hank is my peer. There is no c
hain of command under him. No one reports to him. He doesn't report to anyone. He's my dad. I can't be his boss. My brothers report to me. Technically, at least. Hank holds your contract because no one can cry ethics foul. There's no favoritism; no one else reports to him. You could date anyone in the corporation but Dad without issue.

  "The same day I met you, just to fuck with Jake, Noah called dibs on you. I know the 'dibs' concept is ugly. But, there are eight of us guys, each almost exactly eighteen months apart. There were issues over girls in high school. We worked out dibs rules.

  "That was six months ago? Seven? Jake's been trying to ask you out but not push you since then. Bella keeps getting in the way. He can't seem to shake her.

  "The night we were at Connor's, he was tipsy but not as drunk as you thought he was. The invitation to go back to his place was intentional. He pushed the drunken act a little more than he should have because he didn't want things to be awkward after you ignored him.

  "As for Sunday, well. He's a guy and she's a giant pain in the ass. If she was offering head, he wasn't declining. He didn't know you were there. He thought he imagined you there. His body was with Bella, but his mind was with you. Yes, I agree that's repugnant.

  "When he realized you were actually there, he was mortified. I found him in the country-western bar, two-thirds of the way through a bottle of whiskey. He spent all day yesterday puking and all day today looking for you. You surfaced just long enough to shellack him - again - and for Stephanie-Bella to be the raging bitch we all love to hate.

  "That's it. Longer than two minutes. Maybe more like five. I under-estimated. Your turn."

  There was a long pause as Matilda gathered her snarled thoughts.

  "You've been kind to me. More kind than you typically are to people. Because you think Jake likes me?" She asked.

  "No. I have been kind to you for the same reasons Jake loves you. You fit naturally in our circle, our peas to your carrots." He tugged a strand of her hair.

  Carrots. Sigh. Love the ginger jokes.

  "Why don't you date?" Matilda asked.

  "Oh. That's a whole thing. Before we go there, no more questions about Jake?"

  She shook her head.

  "What are you thinking? What are you going to do?"

  "I don't know that there's anything for me to do. Next time I'm invited to his bed, I'll take him more seriously, I guess. Maybe scratch the itch and move on."

  "Scratch the itch? Really? Before this minute, I would have sworn you had real feelings for him, too.

  "I'm not sure what to say to that. Up until now, I have fought off serious crushing on him because he dates a fucking supermodel. No one goes from that to a tiny ginger 'gimpy bitch.' I've struggled with keeping things straight in my head. Same as I told him the other day. It's a completely different league, and I'm trying to remember my place." Matilda swallowed hard.

  "There were a lot of things extremely wrong in that statement. Most of all, though, I can't decide if you're just lying to me or also lying to yourself. Either way, I suggest thinking over the last several months with this new perspective. No other questions?"

  "Do you guys call me a gimpy bitch?"

  That made him laugh. A true laugh that rattled his chest. "No. Don't be neurotic about Stephanie-Bella being a bitch. She's an ugly person in disguise."

  "Are you going to tell me why you don't date?"

  "I will. Do you need to sit?" He asked.

  She shook her head against his chest. This was easily the longest hug she'd ever had.

  "This is not known outside my immediate family, so you'll keep it to yourself? Not even Ellie and Charlie?"

  "I promise," Matilda said solemnly.

  It was Sam's turn to pause and take a deep breath. "I have dreams when I sleep.

  "Sometimes nightmares where the world is burning around me because I've done something wrong. People are suffering and dying because I haven't done something. The land is destroyed and the oceans are boiling.

  "Sometimes nightmares where all the air is gone. People are gasping and dying around me, begging for help, and I can't help.

  "Sometimes, dreams where everything is in balance and right. I've done everything right. The world thrives around me.

  "I dream about walking through houses with different views out each window and fireplaces burning without fuel.

  "I've had these dreams since I was young. Very young. Darla says I would talk about fire in my dreams as soon as I could talk."

  "That is absolutely horrible. No wonder you don't sleep," Matilda said.

  He nodded. "They've done sleep studies and scans and all that crap. There's nothing abnormal."

  "When I was about twelve, I started dreaming about a little girl with true black hair and pale lavender eyes. Now, you're going to tell me that lavender eyes are impossible and I know that. Nonetheless, lavender eyes.

  "She was maybe four or five at the time. We would play hide and seek in a tavern. There was a double gauge shotgun under the bar that she'd point at and shake her head, as if to say 'we don't play with that.' There was a picture of Wile E. Coyote over a fireplace that burned without fuel. She never talked. Even then.

  "When I travel, I visit every tavern I can find. I have been in every last tavern or bar in Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa. I haven't found the bar yet, but I keep looking.

  "As I've aged, so has she. When I see her now, we're in a forest. She holds her head like it might fly apart if she lets go. She cries bloody tears, screaming without sound, then explodes into flames.

  He paused for a few heartbeats.

  "Anyway, I can't find her. I know this sounds nuts. That's why I don't tell people this. But, when I sleep, I'm either with her, on fire, out of air, in a house with changing views, or in a peaceful world. Those are my options. So, I look for the girl, I buy every piece of land I can find, and I invest heavily in ideas that might improve climate change.

  "I have tried dating and being intimate with women I find interesting. It just feels wrong. Wholly wrong. Foreign. Akin to hurting a child. So, I don't do it. And I sleep as little as possible.

  "When I go too long without sleep, it's like the day we met. I'm there but not there; it's a feeling of 'otherness'. I see some things very clearly and miss others. Everything is hazy, but I feel more of what people truly are. What they feel. Sometimes I feel it whether I'm rested or not. I felt Stephanie-Bella's ugliness immediately.

  "The day we met, I felt your sorrow when I asked about your dad. I felt your sense of being alone, your surprise when I asked about your CP, and the little spike of joy that came with seeing Jake.

  "I hold to what I said then. Use your colors without fear. You are welcome among us. And you can call me."

  Matilda smiled. "What were you waiting for that day? You said you were waiting for something before you went to sleep."

  "Did I? Hmm. Maybe you. I'm not sure. That day, though, I got eighteen hours of the world at balance. I woke up wondering about the girl."

  "What if she's not real?"

  "Then she's not real. I'll be everyone's favorite uncle, just like I'm everyone's favorite brother." He grinned.

  "You believe she's real?"

  "Yes. I know it."

  "What about the rest of it?"

  "I don't know."

  ✽✽✽

  Exactly twenty-two hours later, the Trellis Industries private jet touched down in Chicago.

  Jacob interrupted Bella in mid-sentence.

  "We're back in Chicago. Bella, I don't want to see you again. Ever. This thing between you and me is over. It's not healthy. I'm ashamed it went on as long as it did."

  No one on the plane moved. Bella sat next to him, completely startled, mouth agape.

  "Jacob, how can you say that? We have-"

  "We have nothing. I'm saying it because it's true. We're through. You do whatever it is you need to do for closure. You don't have anything in my apartment - we never visit my apartment. I don't know what I
have in your apartment, but I don't want it back."

  Her eyes started filling with tears.

  "Save the waterworks. They won't help. It's over. We're done. I've transferred $250,000 to your bank account to 'see you through' and guarantee you have no reason to ever reach out to me again. Lose my number. The town car waiting is for you."

  "Jake, I lov-"

  "No. No, you don't. You never have. Just as I have not loved you. If you think this is love, you're seriously fucked in the head. I don't doubt you love the money. But, it's done."

  Jacob could see the anger and maliciousness simmer to the top of her emotional stew. "You're a lousy lay. I've fucked a hundred guys while we've been together and you were too stupid to know it," she spat at him.

  "Then be glad to be done with me. You're the one that's begged and lied to stay together all this time. And I knew, Bella. I knew before Sam handed me the PI report three months after we started dating. I just didn't care."

  When the plane door opened, Bella stormed out. Her suitcases were the first out of the luggage hold by design. She grabbed them as the driver came over to help her. She slammed the car door and was gone.

  The rest of the Trellis family hadn't moved. They all sat, staring at him.

  "You know, when you said you were going to dump her the minute we touched down in Chicago, I didn't think you meant the actual minute we touched down," William was full out laughing. "That had to be the best thing I've ever seen. Did you see her try to move those stupid suitcases?"

  The family erupted in laughter.

  "Well, that's done," Sam said.

  Jake sighed in relief.

  Chapter 16 - December

  Life used to be less complicated.

  Leave it to a bunch of damn billionaires to fuck me up. Rich people and I just don't mix well.

  Sam laid everything out at the conference and then left Matilda to deal with it on her own. Left her to decide what she wanted to do. In the end, she did nothing.

  What was she supposed to do? Jake was dating a fucking supermodel. Matilda couldn't compete with that. Heartache was destined to follow if she tried.

  Plus, Jake said it himself. Bella served a purpose as arm candy.