Envious Desire
39

Chloe

It’s been almost three weeks; it’s time to return to my apartment. I haven’t really spoken to anyone, and Axle has been the ghost of what was. The gang has called to check in on my well-being. However, I required my solitude for the time being. Packing everything in my car, I stroll back into the house to bid Cassie adieu.

Bringing the edges of my lips to curl, she’s planted at the dining room table, book in hand again.

“Which book has your interest now?” I inquire with glee.

Peering above the pages, “Oh, it’s book two of the ‘Lust and Deceit’ series. It’s called Retribution. You’ll love it. Alexandra Robinson has done it again.” She raises the book in elation.

Giggling at her excitement, I saunter towards her triggering her to rise from her seat.

“You know you don’t have to go. We have made such progress the past week.”

Reminiscing about our sessions, I filter through the endless nights of explaining in detail my horrific experience and how my skin crawls at the very thought of him.

“I need to get back, I have to make an attempt, even a little ounce, at normalcy.”

In agreement, her head moves up and down. “You’re right. What are you going to do about work?”

I’ve contemplated this for weeks now, “I’m not sure, I may have to quit.”

“Oh honey, you love your job.”

“I’m aware, however, the presence of her and the baby and– him, it’s a bit overwhelming. I need to find a place of work without them.” The thought of not seeing Axle triggers my heart to slow.

“That’s perfectly understandable. However, do you have the means to go without work? I just gave you $20,000. Will that suffice?”

“I have more than enough, Cassie. Needless to say, Axle was beyond generous when he hired me. The salary was well beyond necessity.”

Smiling, she nods her head, embracing me in a huge mama bear hug, “You take all the time you need to heal. My door is always open, and you can come back anytime you want.” She placed a gentle kiss atop my head.

“Thanks, Cassie, I’m so fortunate to have you.” The sensation of her lips tugging could be felt along with our embrace.

Parting ways, I meander towards my car, settle in, find my road trip music, set up Waze, and take a deep lung filling breath. Exhaling, I prepare myself for my return to the real world.

Looking up at my building, memories crash along the shore of my brain, stacked with images of my experiences with Axle, entangled in his arms, deep, soul-shaking kisses, unbridled passion leading to hedonistic culminations of pure rapture. A sadness swarms my body as I make my way down the hall to my apartment cognizant that it will never be again.

Jiggling the keys, a creek bellows in the air when Jade flies out of her apartment in my direction.

“CHLOE!” She lunges towards me, practically knocking me off my feet. “You’re back! I missed you so much.” We both fall back with the inertia of her leap. Her hug is heartfelt and welcoming.

“Oh shit, sorry. I didn’t mean–”

Giggling, “No, it’s okay. I missed you too.” Gravitating towards the door, I twist the key in the lock, pushing the door forward; I take a moment to survey my surroundings.

“You okay, Chlo?” she inquires in a low tone.

“Yeah, I just needed a minute to soak it all in,” my voice cracks.

“Here, let me help you.” Jade grasps my bag from the floor, dragging it into my apartment. Plopping it on the floor in the living room, she twists to face me. “I’m so happy your back.” She hesitates to step forward, grasping the necklace dangling from her neck, rubbing the charm.

Strolling towards me, she grasps my hands. “To celebrate tonight, let’s go out. A girl’s night! It’ll be so much fun!” she squealed in overzealous excitement. “I’ll set everything up; all you have to do is get dressed and have fun.” Her eyes gleamed in pure elation.

“I don’t, Jade, I just back. Maybe–.”

“I won’t take no for an answer. You deserve a night out. No worries, No problems. Just the girls and one hell of a great time.”

Ugh, it does sound good right now. Huffing out a breath, “Yeah, okay.”

Leaping, she embraces me. “It’s so good to have you back, Chloe. I missed you so much.” I could hear the hurt in her voice.

“I missed you too, Jade.” I felt every word I just expelled.

Escaping my humble abode, she’s off to plan the evening. Scouring the area, everything is as I left it. Nothing is out of place, at least not that I know of.

A wave of exhaustion crashes down on me, leaving me to conclude sleep is the operative action until tonight’s festivities.

I

Clothed in a spaghetti strap Blue Ombre Ruched party dress, I made my way to Jade’s apartment. Tapping on her door, I exhale a breath when an eerie chill slithers up my spine. My head twists from one side to the next in dire hopes I will ensnare the perpetrator who has been lurking in the shadows nevertheless– nothing... the halls are devoid of any creature besides my irrational thoughts.

Shaking my head from side to side, Jade unbolts the entryway exposing her beautiful Wine colored Draped Collar Chain Detail Crisscross Backless Ruched Cami Dress.

She looks FLAWLESS! My toasty café hues bulge at her appearance. “Jade, you are stunning!”

“Girl, thank you!” She waved off the compliment.

“You looking hot yourself in the Ombre dress.” She gawked at the thigh split, pointing to my exposed flesh.

Twisting my head from side to side in the slightest motion, a small tug pulls at the edges of my lips, accompanied by my eyes sealing shut and unlatching in slow motion.

“You’ve been gone for a while. How are you Chlo?”

That’s such a loaded question. How am I? I don’t even know if it’s even possible to answer that question.

“To be completely honest, Jade. I’m not sure, but I do know I am better than before I left.”

“Fair enough! And what about Axle?”

“What about him?”

“You ready to jump back on that horse?” She playfully winked at me, unaware of my current stance.

“I’m not ready to face him yet. It’s still too fresh and with the baby.” I shook my head from side to side. “I’m running far away from that horse right now.”

Jade’s giggle caused a smile to crack on my face.

“I don’t want him to know I’m here. Please, don’t tell him.”

“I won’t, girl. We have girl code.”

“I just don’t think I can handle seeing him just yet.”

“I get it. I’ll be here every step of the way. Whatever you need, Chlo.”

My mind drifts to moments of elation with Axle when Jade breaks my concentration.

“You know he searched night and day for you. He was a complete wreck without you.”

Concern seizes my face, breath hitching in my throat.

“At one point, we thought it was Dane who took you.”

I blink rapidly; words are unable to formulate.

“We ended up going over Dane’s head to his supplier. It’s a damn mafia boss. The Italian mafia boss, Dominic Valentino.”

Am I hearing her correctly? The mafia got involved?

“Remember when I told you how I escaped Dane?”

Nodding my head, I urge her to continue.

“The money I took wasn’t his. I thought it was Dominic’s and begged him to forgive me. He was unaware that Dane had gotten into bed with a rival mafia. Axle was amazing, Chloe. He went to Dominic and requested his services. He offered to pay off my debt with interest plus payment to find you.”

My eyes widened in sheer shock.

“Turns out it wasn’t Dominic’s money, but Axle got Dominic to look for you.”

Did he do that? He went to a mafia boss to find me?

“He found you, you know. Dominic did. They dumped you in front of the hospital, and Dominic’s men picked you up on the cameras. Dominic called Axle and told him what hospital you were at. Axle dropped everything to be by your side. He was in a meeting and left because he needed to see you. You saw he stopped going to work just to be there for you.”

“Okay, Jade. If we’re going to go out tonight, I can’t hear any of this. I just want to go out and have a great time. I need a break from the cages of my own mind.”

Guilt riddles my bones. He did so much for me while I was taken. I know I treated him unfairly however, I was not in the right frame of mind. Regardless, it still wasn’t fair to him.

“Let’s go. The rest of the gang will meet us there.” Nodding my head, we make our way out of the building to Club Virgo.

Jade reserved a booth at the club, purchasing a bottle of Flor De Cana 25-Year-old Rum. I’m thrashed with memories of my recent trip to the club that ended in a tryst with Eli, whom I still have yet to speak with about that night. Huffing out a breath, I’ve come to the realization I’m in dire need of fixing my fucked up life. That eerie feeling crawls its way up my spine. Someone is out there, watching me, I know it.

Shelly comes into view, brightening up my demoralized mood. Maybe I felt her looking at me from afar. Perhaps, this is all in my head.

“Chloe, you’re here! I’m so happy you came.”

Amanda slips up from behind Shelly, waving a hand. “Hey, Chloe. It’s so great to see you.” She comes in for a huge hug. I welcome the embrace.

“How are you, Amanda? I feel like it’s been forever. It’s like we never get to talk anymore.”

Amanda nods her head. “I’m good. I’m just glad to see you out of the house.”

“I’m happy to be out as well. How’s the journey in finding your mother? Any news yet?”

Amanda’s disposition shifted; she seemed colder now. “Nothing but dead ends and disappointments. Anyway, both of you had me worried there for a while. Axle was distraught when you were kidnapped.”

Shaking my head back and forth at the word kidnapped, I knew I had to change the subject. “I don’t want to talk about that, Amanda. Let’s just have some fun.” I raise my glass to down a shot when I notice Shelly perched in the booth in my peripheral vision.

Strolling over to her, I demand answers. “Okay, Shell. I let you be when you came to your mother’s house, but now we are here to have a good time, and you are sitting with a sad puppy dog face plastered on as if someone died.”

She raised her eyes to meet mine, her emerald hues glossed over, and my heart shattered for her.

“What is it, Shell? You can tell me anything.”

“No, right now is not the time or the place.”

“Bullshit! Your eyes are telling me a different story. Now spill!”

She went into detail about how she and Eric had fallen distant. How she attempted to reconcile, and he was unable to perform. How he text her to meet him in a hotel one day. Shelly was filled with hope surmising they just needed to spice things up to get back on track. Unfortunately, she caught Eric in a four-way with Maddy. And that psycho showed up at Eric’s house while she was staying there. I couldn’t help but feel awful for her and this entire situation she’s experiencing.

“Oh, Shell!” I embraced her to allow love to flow, to assure her she was not alone in this battle, to reassure myself we were still the best of friends.

“Shell, I’m so sorry you have gone through this. I’m so sorry I have been such a horrible friend. I should have been there for you just as you have always been there for me.”

“Chlo! Are you insane? This doesn’t even compare to what you have endured over the course of the last few months. That’s why I didn’t want to burden you when you escaped to Mom’s house. I knew you needed it and didn’t want to bog you down with this menial bullshit.”

“Shell, you are just as important to me. I’m sorry you had to go through this alone. Please, talk to me whenever you need to, regardless of the situation.”

Nodding her head.

“Let’s make a pact; from here on out, we will ALWAYS be there for each other, no matter what!” Lifting a shot to Shelly’s hand, she nods, both downing our drink to solidify our agreement.

Slamming the glass on the table, I inform her of my thoughts. “Wait till I get my hands on Eric! That rat bastard!” Shelly’s lips yank at the edges at my words, lightening the weight of my heart.

“Don’t worry, I’ve already taken a few swings at him.” She winks at me.

“I don’t care. He’s getting it from me too!” We down another shot to Eric’s impending beating. Giggling, we stand and begin to sway to the music when I’m startled by a tap on my shoulder.

Twisting at the waist, I’m brought face to face with Elijah. My heart suddenly ceased to beat; the darkness of his stare froze my blood in place. A half smile materialized across his face, thawing my blood.

Thinning his lips, he speaks, “He Chlo.”

“Elijah, I’ve tried calling, texting, and leaving messages, but you haven’t returned any of them.”

“I know. I needed some time.”

I boiled over like an unattended pot of water with fury. “You could have just said that. I would have understood. You didn’t have to ignore me the whole time.”

With shame in his eyes and a downturned smile on his face, “I’m sorry, Chloe. I just had a lot to think over. This wasn’t easy; it’s complicated and messy.”

Feeling a wave of guilt crash on me. “I get it, Eli. I do.” Placing a hand on his muscular arm. “How about we forget all about it.”

“Chloe, I can’t forget about what we did. We woke up, and I was still inside of you.”

Feeling another tsunami of guilt, I almost tumble over. I hush his words, placing a delicate finger over his lips. “Elijah, it was a monumental mistake. You’re gay, and I’m into men. We had too much to drink, and we were high as a kite. We did something stupid, and now we have to move on and forget that night ever happened.”

My words were more like a plea to move forward and vanquish that night from my memory.

Flatlining his ample lips. “Okay, Chloe. Let’s drink to moving forward.”

Raising both our glasses, we click our drinks, downing them in one fell swoop. We joined the girls on the dance floor, laughing and enjoying how the music thumped in our veins.

That eerie feeling clawed its way up my spine again. Searching the crowd, I felt like someone was eyeing my every move; unsure where to turn, I scour the whole crowd yet again, unable to locate my stalker. Maybe this all really is in my head. Have I punched my ticket for the loony bin?

Elijah dances towards me, leaving Jade to grind with Amanda, leaning into my ear. “Dance with me.”

Recalling our last encounter, my initial reaction is hesitance however we agreed to ignore our previous encounter and move on. Nodding my head, Elijah finds his way behind me, placing his arms around me as we move to the music enjoying the night. It was an odd comfortability with him, and just for the moment, I craved a blanket of security, even if it was with Elijah.

~~~

Chloe’s back. What will she do next?

Chloe finally knows about Eric’s betrayal, what do you think she’ll do?

Elijah and Chloe? Thoughts?

Thoughts? Theories?

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