Chapter Forty Five
BOO, BITCH!
“We never did anything for Halloween, don’t you think it should be different for Clay?”
I said as I clutched the phone.
As I waited for Ardley to answer me from the other line I looked out of the window, wondering if it was going to pour like this tomorrow night. It couldn’t, right? Not on Halloween night.
Not that I thought the weather was going to care what day or holiday it was. If it was going to pour just like this tomorrow it would be in the hands of God. Nothing we could do.
“He’s barely conscious enough to remember.”
Ardley sighed.
“So?”
I protested, “it’s a bonding experience for the two of you anyways.”
“For Juliette and—”
“No—”
I quickly cut him off as I turned on the windshield, “for you and Clay.”
I was parked in front of the Four Seasons, trying to convince Ardley that he should join Juliette and I for Clay’s very first trick or treating.
I meant what I said. It would be for Ardley and Clay. Their first father-son bonding time. Me being there and seeing Juliette would be a great plus. I’d get to witness Ardley being a father—maybe that would shed a little light in his life. Since everything he’d been so shut down and I didn’t blame him. Not in the slightest— God knew I’d be off way worse if I lost the love of my life. Ardley would’ve had to drag me out of random bars every night. I’d say he was holding up better than I would be, but he was still…not there with us, and I thought seeing Clay in his cute little Halloween-themed outfit would cheer him up. That would cheer anyone up honestly.
“Isn’t there gonna be a big party at Molly’s?”
I nodded. “Yeah, we could do that after—”
“If I say yes, will you let me hang up to enjoy my drink in silence?”
That was great progress. If I knew annoying the shit out of my baby brother would get him to be more compliant, I’d be taking the piss out of him every chance I got.
“Promise,”
I replied.
“Then yes. I’ll see you tomorrow at—when?”
“Six,“ I quickly said before he changed his mind, “Florence will come around seven-thirty-ish for Clay. He has a bedtime.”
Florence was tight about Clay’s night schedule—something about routine and getting Clay used to sleeping at night. He was still a baby, and he slept throughout the whole day sometimes, so that meant a long night for Florence while Juliette and I slept through the night like babies.
“Okay, got it. See you tomorrow.”
“Alright, see you—”
He hung up before I could even finish my sentence. So, this is what Crystal felt like whenever I dropped the call while she was in the middle of telling me something. Whenever it wasn’t important, or I had already figured out what she was going to say next, I’d just hang up with a clipped thank you or bye, insinuating that was all I needed from her. But just now, when Ardley hung up on me, it felt like a small slap against the face.
I brushed the feeling off as I sighed and dropped the phone on the passenger seat and opened my car door. It was still pouring, but I wasn’t going to let that get in the way of my plans. I released a heavy breath as I fixed my jacket over my shoulder, with heavy and quick steps I made it under the awning in front of the hotel—it was getting colder by the days lately. We should expect snow in a month or two.
I looked at the tall building. The tourist attraction building—possibly the only place in this town that was open twenty-four-seven. It was barely affordable to locals, which was why mostly tourists booked rooms here. The price for those rooms were a different level of cruel and unusual punishment, but it didn’t seem like anyone was complaining. Those who couldn’t afford it stayed away from the Four Seasons and those who could just booked a room without blinking twice.
Christian was currently in one of these rooms. Well—if Crystal did her homework right then I knew the exact room he was staying in. Since I talked to Ava nights ago, I had Crystal find out everything she could about Christian. She found out things the FBI would probably dig up—school records, his paper trail, the many times he’d been in and out of jail, unfortunately he’d never been arrested, but there was a first time for everything so I still had my hopes up. She even dug up his old therapy sessions with his old doctors. I was amazed and scared of technology. It had the power to destroy you and be your biggest ally at the same time. I knew about all his previous addresses, the house he currently lived in now, his past, brief four years with Juliette, there was quite a paper trail there. I knew everything but the reason he was still haunting down Juliette.
Was it to taunt her?
Punish her for finally moving on?
For becoming someone without his help?
People like Christian were like that.
I walked in and paid for a room next door because they weren’t going to let me in unless I got a room. Hanting down Christian was the only way I’d ever get a room in this fucking hotel. I’d spend way more than I had to anytime just to hunt down Christian, give him a taste of his medicine and a piece of my mind, and a final farewell from Juliette.
I was wet from the rain, hair sticking against my forehead as I pounded my fist against his door. I released a heavy breath as my nose flared. I was already getting worked up by just the thought of seeing his face. After everything I’d heard about him? After everything he’d done? Yeah, I was ready to re-arrange his fucking face.
I couldn’t tell if Juliette was too nice to tell him to piss off or if she was taking the high road and ignoring him while he was in town. I didn’t know and I didn’t care, all I knew was the fact that I wouldn’t know peace until I at least broke his nose. He was rich enough to afford a nose job anyways.
It was decided. I would not be taking the high road. I planned on getting lower than he was at.
I could hear his loud existential groan from the other side of the door, “Jesus Christ I said I was coming—”
he unlocked the door, and I pushed it open before he could have the chance to close it. Maybe he thought it was room service.
He looked at me confused. “You? What are you doing here?”
I punched him without any hesitation, I couldn’t even wait until I told him off for all the taunting he’d been doing. He had a punchable face. There was no way in hell I’d be able to talk to him without taking a hit at him and I didn’t want to talk or hear him talk. I licked my lips as I sucked in a breath, shaking the hand that just met his nose and sent him stumbling backward. He wiped his nose, and his eyes widened seeing the blood over his fingers.
Now I didn’t expect that, but I was more than happy with myself. I was a little disappointed that his bones didn’t snap in half.
He stood fast and threw a sloppy punch, but I dodged it and kicked his knee. He buckled and I punched him again as he fell down on the ground. Blood painted his teeth, and he sniffed as he squinted his eyes to look up at me.
It looked like he was taking a moment and from the looks of it, he needed one. He was out of breath and didn’t even bother to stand up.
Laying on the floor, he chuckled as his nose bleed intensified. “Did Juliette ask you to do this?”
Disgust washed over me as I crouched down and pulled him up by his collar just to punch him down again. “You ever get tired of dragging her name?” I spat.
I hated the fact that he could talk about her with this much ease. Like they really did know each other. It made me sick.
Guys like him were truly revolting because how do you land a girl like Juliette and do anything but worship her?
He makes me sick.
He looked up at me as he pushed his hair back, “nah,”
he smiled, his eyes were cold—almost dead, “some days she’s Juliette, some days she’s a whore, some days she’s a loyal dog—”
My jaw clenched as I cut him off with another punch. He wheezed as he held the bridge of his nose. He laid flat on the ground. This time I thought he’d really stay down but I didn’t care anymore because I was now haunted by his aggravating voice. Everything he just said about Juliette replayed over and over and over in my head. I needed it to stop. I wanted his voice out of my head.
I’ve never been so angry before.
I grabbed his collar and punched him again. I pulled him up and knocked him down with another punch. Christian’s eyes rolled back as more blood leaked out of his nose. My knuckles were white as I clenched them, his blood spilled over my hand.
“Piece of shit,”
I bit out as my jaw clenched. I pushed him down and dropped on my knees in front of him as I started pummeling him. All I could think about was Juliette. My Juliette being treated like shit back to this half-wit piece of shit. People like him always liked to be special, unique, and when they had nothing going on for them intellectually, or just in life in general, they liked to strike down women as if they were the reason he was a fucking loser.
He fucking did that all on his own but of course he’d try to take her power, ruin her life, and try to control her just to make himself feel better to try and cover up the fact that he was just a fucking nightmare.
The truth was, anyone who took a single look at him could see he was a fucking nightmare. A waste of breath. A waste of life.
Christian sucked in a ragged breath as he nearly choked on his blood. His hands were weakly wrapped around my wrist, trying to get me to stop. I almost didn’t stop. But if I caused him to pass out, I was afraid I wouldn’t call 911—just leave the room and leave him there to die, then by tomorrow I’d make headline news for homicide, and I didn’t want to throw my life away over…him of all people.
I grimaced as I pushed him on the ground. He turned his head to the side and finally coughed up a deep breath, like he was having trouble breathing this whole time, and witnessing that wasn’t any help because it made me want to keep going. Instead, I forced myself to stand up and flex my wrist in the process as I finally started to feel the stinging sensation from my bones and flesh.
“Stay the fuck away from Juliette,” I warned.