Chapter 4
N atalie
Mid-August
It’s amazing how quickly a bunch of people can empty out an apartment when you’re trying to avoid an abusive ex-boyfriend.
The principal couldn’t do a FaceTime interview, but we scheduled an in-person interview in town for the following weekend. As a domestic violence survivor herself, Mrs. King was more than willing to meet me in Denver for the interview. In a surprising move, she offered me the job on the spot. I asked if that was legal, since most hirings go through a school district, and not the individual schools, but she shrugged it off. The teacher they had hired quit with no notice, and they were desperate to fill the position.
Arianna met me immediately afterward to take another bag of my belongings back to Eternity Springs, and then decided to follow me back to Rob’s apartment to grab more. Her being at the apartment wasn’t unusual, but typically she had Bianca with her. It wasn’t lost on me that her daughter was not on this trip. Ari managed to sneak out a lot of my extra skincare and makeup, a handful of books clogging my bookshelf, and a photo album from my childhood that she feared Rob would destroy out of spite.
Rob didn’t take too kindly to my final decision to end our relationship. He begged, cried, and promised me the world if I’d reconsider. I asked for time, just hoping he’d leave me alone so I could get more things ironed out. Arianna had a lead on a studio apartment in Eternity Springs, and I gobbled it up sight unseen. Afraid Rob was potentially monitoring my laptop, I had another dinner with Ari, and filled out all the paperwork at her house. It gave me an opportunity to love on her daughter a little more, and I’ll never say no to that. I, of course, took a large bag of clothes with me, just to get some things out of Rob’s grasp.
We devised a plan. Arianna and Stone would be with me when I told Rob it was over permanently, then I’d take just a small portion of belongings with me. I’d come back for the furniture that was mine, along with anything else I hadn’t moved yet.
I hadn’t planned on two things: that Rob would willingly let me go, and that a handful of guys from the NHL team, the Denver Wolves, would show up to assist with emptying the apartment that very same night.
“I don’t understand —” I stammered.
“Oh, your brother called Luca. He wanted to help, and asked if any of the guys on the team could give up an hour or two. Luca already spoke to a couple of the guys, and intended to call Shawn anyway. He didn’t want Shawn to hear about a bunch of Wolves players helping you out through the grapevine.”
The apartment I’d called home for way longer than I should have was emptied of my things in record time. I removed the key from my keyring, and placed it on the kitchen counter.
“Nat,” Rob whispered. As I looked at him, I saw a glimpse of the man I fell for. “I know this is my fault. I’m sorry. I really am.”
“Get help, Rob. Don’t do this to another woman.” He nodded at me, and I walked out with my head held high.
Now, a few days later, I’m blissfully going through a haul of houseware items I got from a thrift store on the western edge of Denver. It’s a set of mismatched patterns, a hodgepodge of glasses, and way more forks than spoons, but I’m tickled that they’re mine. Nearly everything in Rob’s apartment was his, or something we bought together. These things are mine . Floral small plates, bold plaid bowls, a mishmash of patterns and designs on larger plates, and I feel like they actually represent my style pretty well. I’m generally louder than most, but have the patience of a saint when it comes to kids. I’m whimsical and bohemian when it comes to some styles, but also love an all-black ensemble. I’ve been told on more than one occasion that I need to make sure my face doesn’t show my thoughts, but what can I say? I’ve got one hell of a resting bitch face going on. As I place each item carefully next to my sink, my phone pings with a text. Checking the notification, I see it’s from my BFF group chat, and I’m already smiling as I open it up. Someone is guaranteed to make me laugh at least once a day in our group text. Kate is married to Dominic, Hannah to Luca, and Arianna to Stone. Claire is the only singleton besides me in this chaotic group chat.
Kate: A couple years ago, I believe I threatened in this very chat to try not to harm someone’s brother, and I’d like to bring that up again.
Arianna: For the love. My brother worships the ground you walk on. What the hell could you be complaining about now?
Hannah: Too much sex?
Claire: Too much life altering sex?
Me: Too much oral sex?
Me: For you, not him. I mean, we don’t really care if he gets his, do we?
Arianna: I like giving head. Stone will do whatever I tell him to do afterward.
Claire: Are you suggesting he wouldn’t do something in the bedroom before?
Arianna: No, I mean outside of the bedroom. I could ask him to paint the shingles turquoise, and he’d totally start looking up the cost of supplies.
Hannah: Please don’t ask him to do that. Your home value would plummet.
Me: I kinda want to see him try, tbh.
Arianna: Listen. I love a husband challenge as much as the next woman, but even I have boundaries I refuse to cross. Having all of the neighbors hate me more than they already do is the deal breaker.
Hannah: Your neighbors hate you?
Arianna: Well, I assume they do. We’re the youngest, and the only ones with a toddler. There may have been an … incident last week that makes me think they really do hate me.
Me: Oh, please do tell.
Arianna: Sigh. Fine.
Arianna: …
Claire: The suspense is killing me.
Kate: Just wait.
Me: You already know? No fair! Besties don’t share secrets until we can all make fun of you together at the same time!
Kate: In her defense, Stone told Dominic, and he told me. There’s probably some lost-in-translation details that they both fucked up, but I got the gist of it. And it’s amazing.
Arianna: Okay. So a couple weeks ago Stone and I started spending some time together every evening after we put Bianca to bed. It started out innocently enough, but it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that we got a little handsy with each other. Then every night after that, it became a pattern of sorts where we tried to outdo the previous night’s activities. Thus began a string of sexcapades all throughout our backyard. We were thinking it’s dark, who the hell could see?
Hannah: This is why I’m glad I live where I live.
Claire: Apartments are no fun.
Me: Surprisingly, I’ve never had outdoor sex. The thought of getting bitten by something down there keeps my panties exactly where they’re supposed to be, thank you.
Kate: That’s actually pretty shocking. I would have thought you’d done it in the middle of that roundabout near the park.
Me: Sorry to burst your bubble. Does it count that I flashed my boobs at a passing car from a roundabout?
Arianna: ANYWAY
Arianna: Last week, I took all of my delicates onto the back porch to air dry in the sun. I figured we had a six-foot privacy fence, so the neighbors wouldn’t be able to see anything. And if they did, it’s just bras. What’s the big deal? That’s when I noticed Mr. Green, the old guy who always walks around with a stick, glaring at me from his deck. I never realized that his house is a few feet higher than ours, and he needed a deck instead of a patio out his back door. So, he can look directly into our yard if he wants to.
Me: Oh no. I see where this is going.
Kate: Trust me. You don’t.
Arianna: So I waved to him, and he pointed at me with his stick. Weird, right? But then he pointed toward the back fence, and then again at his gutters above his back door. Y’all, he has CAMERAS ALL OVER THE PLACE! But it gets worse.
Hannah: How on earth could this get worse?
Arianna: He goes into his house and comes out with a bag, then yeets the damn thing into our yard. He flips me the bird, and honestly I’m surprised he even knew how to do that, since he’s older than our country and all
Hannah: He’s like seventy, but go ahead.
Arianna: You let me tell my story however I want to tell it!
Me: Focus, Ari. What was in the bag?
Arianna: Four of my thongs, two bras, and two pairs of Stone’s boxer briefs.
Me: What the fuck???
Arianna: But wait, it gets worse!
Kate: This is like an infomercial. But wait, there’s more!
Arianna: There was a USB drive in there. I thought about contacting Alex or Leo to see about scanning it for viruses, but I know Alex is pretty busy, and Leo has been pretty tight-lipped about his situation lately. And honestly, I’m glad I didn’t, because on the drive were hours of footage of Stone and I getting it on all over our yard. HOURS.
Claire: That’s awful, I’m so sorry, but also, kudos to Stone. Old man has stamina.
Arianna: That he does. Hashtag blessed
Me: Lowkey hating you right now, Ari. But where do the clothes fit in? Was he sneaking into your yard and stealing them somehow?
Arianna: Nope.
Arianna: MASON WAS STEALING THEM AND DEPOSITING THEM ON DOORSTEPS ALL AROUND OUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
Hannah: Oh. My. God.
Arianna: Never at our house! Oh, no. That fucking marmot could have left his little prezzies on our doorbell camera. That’s not fun enough! Let’s leave them at every old fart’s house we can.
Kate: Wait. Dominic only told me your neighbor had some of your lingerie. How do you know Mason didn’t leave them all at Mr. Green’s house? And how did he know they were yours?
Arianna: Because he so kindly shared all the videos from everyone else’s house too. The porches are different. Mason deposited my thongs at four different houses. The only house that got more than one item was Mr. Green’s house. And that stupid fucking marmot waved on one of the videos. I knew they were mine because Stone has a certain style he likes, so I buy a bunch at once. I’m also the youngest on our street, by a couple of decades, so I just assume none of the other women wear thongs.
Hannah: Oh my word.
Arianna: I’m telling ya, I used to be pro-Mason. I found his shenanigans endearing. No more! It is ON SIGHT the next time I see that miscreant.
Me: So only Mr. Green had the videos of you going all Animal Planet in your yard, but everyone else got clothing on the doorbell cameras. But he has videos??
Arianna: Yeah, and he shared the videos with all of the neighbors.
Me: Are you fucking kidding me? Arianna, that’s illegal! He has videos of you and Stone, without your permission, and he shared them, again without your permission? You wanna talk about it being on sight with that stupid marmot! I’d be way more pissed with your neighbor!
Arianna: Well, I mean, we were the ones out in the open.
Kate: You were on your property in the dark. If he has videos that clearly show what you’re doing, that means he has them facing your yard. And sharing that kind of video is a crime. I agree with Nat, and I think you should go to the police. Fuck what your neighbors think.
Arianna: You understand if I go to the police, it means I have to talk to my brother, right? My brother who barely smiles and probably hasn’t had sex in a half dozen years.
I hate that I still haven’t told Arianna about kissing Alex. And I hate that I still feel my stomach flip, just talking about him. She doesn’t even know I crushed on him when we were kids. He never looked twice at me, and once he met his wife, he barely noticed anyone around him. I doubt he’d even notice me now.
Claire: Wait. Not trying to derail this titillating conversation, but weren’t we originally talking about Kate’s problem with something Dom did?
Kate: Oh no. We’re not even worrying about any of that now. Keep on, Ari.
Arianna: Does everyone agree that I should speak to the police?
Me: Absolutely.
Kate: Yep.
Hannah: Yes.
Claire: Yup.
Arianna: Dammit. Do you think if I barter babysitting, Alex won’t tell my family about all the sex shenanigans and clothing going missing?
Hannah: Babe, I hate to break it to you, but this is Eternity Springs. They probably already know. You’re lucky it isn’t on the gossip site yet.
Arianna: Fuck.
Claire: Just so you know, I’m never moving there. You will have to tear my urban Denver from my cold and dead hands.
Me: Don’t hold your breath. I said the same thing.
Arianna: Nat, since you haven’t started your new job yet, will you come watch Bianca while I go talk to Stone about this convo?
Me: Of course! You know I love time with my bestie.
Kate: You totally mean Bianca, don’t you?
Me: Yep. She doesn’t talk back as much as her mother does.
Arianna: I’m removing you as godmother.
Me: No, you’re not.
Arianna: Sigh. No, I’m not.
Chuckling, I turn off my phone and throw it into my bag. Popping on the closest pair of shoes, I grab my bag and head out the door. I’m all too excited to see Bianca. It seems like every day she’s learning new things, and I love watching her mind work. It’s part of the reason why I became a teacher. Seeing children learn, how their confidence grows? It’s so unbelievably rewarding.
I’m pulling into Ari’s driveway five minutes later. I can’t complain about the commute between our houses now, although weekends and in the height of summer, the traffic is much worse due to tourists. On this late August weekday, it’s easy to travel the one mile that separates our places.
“Hi! Thank you so much, Stone is just about to start another client, so I need to go talk to him beforehand. I’ll be back in a half hour or so,” Arianna rambles as she frantically pulls on shoes.
“It’s fine. Where is little miss?” I ask.
“She’s in her room. Hannah brought over this plastic tea set that her daughter didn’t enjoy, but B is obsessed with it. She’ll expect you to sit down for some tea. Bye!” she shouts as she runs into the garage.
“Mama! Mama? Mama!” I hear heavy footsteps as Bianca toddles down the hallway, her thick shoes slapping against the hard floor. When she reaches the doorway, her eyes zero in on me. “Ah! Mama?”
I’m not sure if she’s calling me “Ah”, but I’ll take it. “Mama had to go bye-bye, sweet pea! I came to play with you.”
Bianca’s lower lip pops out, quivering, and I can tell she’s about to cry. Quickly walking to her, I scoop her up. “Mama said you have a new tea set from Aunt Hannah! I love tea. Will you show me?”
Her mother forgotten, Bianca gives me a gummy grin. “E! E!”
I’m assuming that means “tea.”
Walking back to her room, I take in the beautiful setup Stone and Arianna have created. It’s not overdone in a feminine and girly way. No pink walls or tons of florals. A few roses are painted on one wall in varying shades of pink, and a throw rug in the center of the room is a quick burst of color. Everything else is in muted colors, showcasing the roses.
After a few moments of my favorite toddler aggressively shoving various portions of the tea set directly into my mouth, the doorbell rings. Unsure of what to do, I grab Bianca and tiptoe down the hallway to peer through the glass. When I see it’s Alex, I freeze.
I haven’t seen him since I kissed him at the bar in Denver. In fact, I haven’t seen any of the Santo family members, other than Arianna, since that night. I don’t think any of the other guys saw me kiss him, but I’d rather be safe than sorry, so I’ve avoided any potential run-ins.
As I’m about to sneak back down the hallway, Bianca chooses that moment to scream bloody murder. “Les! Les, Les, LES!”
Dammit.
“Bianca? Where’s your mom? Get mama, sweetheart,” Alex says through the door. Ari and Stone have a tint on the glass so it’s incredibly difficult for people to see inside the house. Yet somehow, when Alex looks in, I know he sees me. His brow furrows, then his eyes narrow to slits. “Open the door, Natalie.”
Holy crap, he did see me! I need to tell Ari that this shit doesn’t work. Letting out a frustrated huff, I unlock the door. As I open it, Bianca lets out an excited squeal as she launches from my arms and into Alex’s. “Hi, sweet pea. Where’s your mama?”
“She ran to go talk to Stone about something. I said I’d watch Bianca,” I answer nervously. Without Bianca in my arms, I’m fidgeting. Chewing on the inside of my cheek, I tap my nails against my thigh. God, I’m wearing plaid pajama pants. Why did I come over here like this?
“Why are you even here? It’s the middle of the week. Don’t you have a day job?” he sneers. That condescending tone gets my hackles up, and my spine straightens. He doesn’t get to demean me.
“For your information, I took a new job and I start Monday. It just so happens that I was available when Ari needed someone to watch Bianca.”
“And you came in your pajamas?” Alex asks.
“Yeah, so? It’s my bestie’s house. I don’t think Miss B here judges me for my clothing. Who the heck am I trying to impress?” You, you big grumpy piece of man candy. I’d try to impress you.
“You know what? I don’t care. When is my sister supposed to be back?” he asks, and that’s when I notice the tension that seems to be emanating from him in waves.
“Are you — are you okay?” I inquire softly. His eyes whip to mine, and I feel like I could get lost in them. Sometimes they’re super dark brown, but other times they almost take on a caramel color. I think I’d do just about anything he asked me to do if he growled at me all sexily and stared at me with those eyes. Shit. I’m not listening.
“… Needs a woman’s perspective, and as much as I love my mom, she’s too old for this, and doesn’t understand what kids go through these days,” Alex finishes.
“Abbie?” I ask, surprised I remember her name.
Alex nods.
“How old is she?”
“Twelve.”
“Oh, middle school. It’s brutal for tweens at that age.” Alex snorts his agreement, absentmindedly dragging a finger down Bianca’s cheek as she stares at him adoringly. “I could talk to Abbie. If you want. I mean, I don’t want to step on anyone’s toes, but she doesn’t know me, so she might be willing to open up more to me than she would to Ari. She might assume Ari will report back to you.”
“So would you,” he retorts, as Bianca starts to get restless in his arms. Alex puts her down and she toddles over to a shelf of toys, immediately planting herself next to a tiny toy piano and beating on it with all her little might.
“If Abbie asked me not to, no, I wouldn’t,” I answer. Alex growls, and my eyes widen as the sound goes directly to my clit. Good lord. Does he know how hot he is? He can’t know that I just about came.
“Let’s get something crystal clear here, Sunflower,” he says menacingly, as he takes a step in my direction. I hastily step backward, running into a buffet table against the wall, and Alex crowds me against it. My hands are up defensively, against his chest, and I feel his heartbeat against my palm. His words are growly, but his heart beats calmly. I don’t feel scared by him, and I’m not sure how to process that. “If I let you near my daughter, you will tell me everything she says. Every. Thing. You understand?”
As Alex spits out his words, he places his hands on each side of my hips, caging me in. Trying to keep control of my breathing, I cast my eyes downward, only to have Alex’s hand slide up my arm to my neck as his thumb forces my chin up. His nose almost touches mine, and our hot breaths mingle. When he moves his hand to cup my cheek tenderly, reverently even, I let out an involuntary moan. His eyes widen, and I see the moment his thoughts come back into focus. He lunges backward, scrubbing a hand over his face.
“I have to go,” he says abruptly, turning toward the door. “I’ll have Ari work out the details for talking to Abigail if I decide to let you.”
“Alex,” I call out, my voice clearly shaking. He stops, but doesn’t turn to face me. “I’m more than happy to help. But if she asks me to respect her privacy, I won’t tell you anything. You’re going to have to trust me. And did you just call me Sunflower?”
With a shake of his head, Alex trudges out of the door.