Seven
Paisley
I was starting to wish for more freedom. Never had I wanted it more. Now that I couldn’t have any peace, I was desperate for it.
With the situation at work resolved, I didn’t have any excuses left to stay away from home. For a change, Travis loved having me around. He seemed desperate to spend every available moment in my company. For a while, it made me hopeful that he might want to end things with me… but then I realized he’d just gotten more possessive. He was jealous often, but it helped that I mostly worked with women.
That day, he was at home, and it was a Saturday. I made us brunch and we ate together, then he went for a jog in the park. I was doing the dishes when he came home, and I could tell he was in a good mood when he came home. He wasn’t sweaty at all, and it was only ten minutes later when he came back home. His plans of working out were forgotten. He had a friend and two six-packs of beer with him.
I was vaguely introduced to the guy (James), then the two started playing video games. I finished up with the dishwasher and idly listened to their conversation. I couldn’t remember if James went to our school - he didn’t look familiar, but he was also older than us.
The hours ticked by. For a while, Travis left the apartment and went to get more beer, leaving me in awkward silence with James. I was grateful when he finally returned, but not too happy when I noticed he brought a keg with him. He said it was on sale.
I want a quiet day to myself, but that proved to be impossible the longer the day stretched on. Finally, I got sick of pointlessly sulking around, so I joined the two guys for a game.
I wasn’t very good, but at least they were drunk enough to laugh at my failures on the screen.
Getting a beer I pretended to sip at, I let Travis slide me onto his lap.
“So, how do you two know each other?” James asked.
“We went to the same high school,” Travis replied with a grin, nuzzling my neck. His breath smelled like beer and I had to fight an urge to gag. “Same age. Knew I had to bag her straight out of school, right, Paisley?”
“Right,” I grinned with fake confidence, winking at James. “What about you two?”
“Our parents know each other,” James replied. “So we met in summer camp.”
“Oh?” I raised my brows, looking at my boyfriend. “You never mentioned you went to summer camp.”
“Sorry,” Travis grinned and shrugged. “Boys’ thing.”
“So you must know the whole poker night gang, then?” I smiled innocently at James. “Elias, all the other guys…”
“Right, Elias,” James laughed out loud. “Awkward. After Travis made such a spectacle of him, I doubt he’ll show his face around our poker nights again.”
“Shut up about that,” Travis muttered, pushing me off his lap.
“Why?” James laughed. “Didn’t you tell your girlfriend you spent a night in jail for assaulting a cop?”
My jaw dropped open.
"You punched Elias?" I asked. "But why? I thought you guys were friends..."
"He touched a sore spot," James grinned, winking at my boyfriend.
Suddenly, Travis got up from the couch. He was no longer a very hospitable host. He pointed to the door and barked, "Out. Right the fuck now."
James furrowed his brows and picked himself up. He was a little taller than Travis, with dark gelled back hair and a lot of tattoos underneath his clothes, peeking out from under the fabric. I was starting to worry they would fight each other, but finally, James just laughed as if it was all a joke, shaking his head as he left our apartment.
The front door slammed after him and suddenly, I couldn't hear anything over the alarm bells ringing in my head. The guy, James, looked a lot like the prick who knocked me out and caused me a head injury. I snapped my eyes at Travis. I tried to find any sign that he was lying to me even more than I knew he was.
He smiled at me. It was menacing, like he had me right where he wanted me - eating out of the palm of my hand.
A sudden urge took over me. I needed to get out of the apartment, and clear my head. Would it be silly to chase James down the street and ask him more questions?
I hurriedly grabbed my jacket to get away, but Travis' heavy palm landed on the front door before me.
"Where are you going?" he hissed at me.
I fought every urge not to scream. "Just thought I'd go for a walk."
"In the dark? Are you fucking crazy?" he rolled his eyes.
I glanced at the window. He was right. James and Travis played so many games on that stupid console, the day was almost over. It was the weekend, so I had no excuse about having to rush to the office either. I was stuck with Travis whether I liked it or not.
He stepped back once I took my jacket off, a smug smile on his face as he followed me back into the living room. I was seething, ready to start an argument just for the sake of it, but I kept remembering Hawkes and Rubi.
I promised Hawkes I'd get information. So far, I'd done fuck all.
"I'm going to see Sarah soon," I said conversationally as I started the kettle. It looked like I wasn't going anywhere. "I haven't caught up with her in a while."
"That old hag?" Travis rolled his eyes again. "Why do you keep going round there, anyway? That whole life's got nothing to do with you now, has it?"
"Well, I'm still trying to find Rubi," I said, stirring sugar into my tea. "You remember, my best friend?"
"You need to lay that girl to rest once and for all," Travis said grumpily as I set the teacups on the table before him. "She's been dead for years. Why is that so difficult for you to accept, huh, Paisley?"
I hesitated. I wasn't sure myself, but I never believed Rubi had died. I thought I would've known deep down if she really was dead. Perhaps it was my guilt that made me chase her this far. But I knew I couldn't rest until I found out if my best friend was safe.
I could tell by then Travis was pretty drunk. I watched him mutter to himself as I drank my tea, playing another game. When he lost, he angrily tossed the controlled aside and pushed away the teacup, reaching for another beer can.
"So, why did you punch Elias?" I asked sweetly over the rim of my cup.
Travis' eyes snapped to mine. "So you were listening, huh?"
"I'm always listening," I smiled. "I just want to help you, babe. Did he piss you off?"
"Damn right he did," Travis muttered. "Damn fool was saying so much shit in front of our friends, I couldn't let him disrespect my family like that. Not in company. It gets back to my Dad, you know."
I nodded empathetically, pretending not to be repulsed. I rubbed his shoulders, trying to get more information out of him.
"Does your father not like Elias?" I prodded.
"Hates the guy. Dad never liked coppers," Travis said.
I pricked my ears. I had no idea Elias went into the police force. "Oh, he's a cop now?"
"Detective," Travis said bitterly. "Bitch ass thinks he's so important he can accost me at a fucking private poker name. He's nothing. He's less than nothing."
"Right," I purred. "What did he say, babe? I mean, why did you punch him? I bet he deserved it..."
Travis relaxed against my hands as I kept massaging him. I nearly tipped over in a desperate word not to miss anything that left his lips.
"He went asking about the Rizzo girl, didn't he," Travis hissed. "No business of his, is it, though?"
"Mhm," I nodded, heart pounding wildly. I never told Travis' what Rubi's last name was. He knew her as Rubi Smith, the name she came into foster care with. I only found out her last name was Rizzo through Hawkes, her father. "Who's the Rizzo girl, Travis?"
He tensed beneath my fingers again, quickly picking himself up. He was facing me now, looking menacing even though he was a bit drunk. I walked behind the couch, instinctively trying to shield myself and feeling silly. Travis had never hit me, and he never would. Even though there was no love lost between us, he'd never laid a hand on me.
As he stared me down, I became afraid for the first time that he would.
"You know exactly who she is, Paisley," he said coolly. "Don't you?"
This time, a chill went down my spine. I looked at my boyfriend like a deer caught in headlights.
"Maybe you should tell me," he said in a menacing whisper. "Why you were seen with Hawkes Rizzo in Dolce some time ago?"
"T-That was years ago," I whispered.
"It was," he smiled victoriously. "And you've been talking to him since then, haven't you?"
I was frozen, speechless. I was so scared my heart was practically doing somersaults.
"Haven't you?" Travis roared this time, and I flinched at the threatening, intimidating tone of his voice.
"Yes," I chirped.
"Well," Travis smirked. "At least you have the fucking decency to admit it."
I thought I was going to faint as he closed the distance between us, wrapping a fist around my throat. I clawed at his fingers, but his grip was so strong, he could have killed me if he wanted to - and we both knew it.
"Have you fucked him?" he asked.
My first thought was relief - oh my God, he doesn't know.
Then fear. Oh my God, he doesn't know. What will he do when he finds out?
I fucked Hawkes.
I kissed Hawkes.
I let Hawkes threaten me with a knife.
I came moaning for him.
He took my first orgasm.
In the grand scheme of things, Travis was deeply inconsequential to me. The moment Hawkes said I could drop him, I would. He was dead weight. But as he stared at me with the eyes of a killer, he was also a starker, more terrifying danger to me than Hawkes Rizzo.
I swallowed thickly and shook my head, forcing myself to keep my eyes trained on Travis'.
"Good girl," he muttered, and finally his fingers unclasped my neck. I sputtered, but he barely gave me any time to recover.
He hit me so hard my knees gave way and I saw stars. The punch bit into my cheek with such force it felt like it knocked me out of my body. I landed on my butt and cried out in terror.
"You've hit me!" I screamed. "What's wrong with you?"
He knelt down next to me and caged my chin between his fingers, ignoring my tear-filled eyes and the way my bottom lip was quivering with fear.
"What's wrong with you, Paisley?" he hissed. "I give you everything, and you do this?"
I whimpered.
"Listen, sweetheart..." Travis turned my head to the side forcibly, wincing at the damage he'd done to my face. "I don't want you going to see Sarah. Just sit tight, work like you always do, and open your legs for me a bit more often. We'll be grand."
I seethed.
"I don't care what kind of poison Hawkes Rizzo's been filling your pretty little head with," he hissed. "But I'd advise you to stop digging. Unless you want to end up like Rubi."
Terror crawled down my spine as he walked away from me. I was so grateful when the front door slammed shut I started sobbing openly. I thought I'd never be able to stop.
What he'd done was unbelievably humiliating, but at the same time, it triggered something in me, and for the first time, I'd gotten some information out of him.
Now I knew Travis McCormack was complicit. He had something to do with Rubi's disappearance.