Haunted Ever After

Chapter 14

K aty! That was her name. By the time I took the turn-off back into Barron Springs, it hit me. My chin quivered and my eyes blurred with hot tears. I was here for my bridal weekend, with my bridesmaids, to celebrate my upcoming wedding to a lying, cheating, bastard. Congratulations, Sally!

Sadness replaced my anger and I cried, out loud, enclosed within Lorena’s car with no one to hear me. Yesterday I was a bride-to-be, but now, how could I possibly go through with the wedding? I knew that some people moved through the trauma and regret of infidelity, but right now, the thought of him and her together brought a sick feeling to my stomach. How could I ever speak to him, or look at him again? How could he do this to me?

All my emotions poured out, and I slowed the car a little. The Barron Springs roads were mostly deserted, only emphasising the abandonment and pain I felt. I quickly wiped my eyes, trying to clear my vision as I turned into Redwood Road. Not long and I’d be home. Well, not home, but back at the guest house where my friends would no doubt hound me about my whereabouts this evening. I couldn’t believe I’d have to tell them about this, tell Lorena that her organisational efforts this weekend were in vain. That made me even more upset, that my best friend had gone to all this trouble. For nothing.

My chest shuddered with additional tears, and suddenly, the dark, grey monotony of the road broke when something flashed in front of me. I blinked and widened my eyes. Red? A blur of white and purple shot past me, right in front of the car, and even though I knew I could not hit her, instinct made me swerve the car to the side. I screamed as the car mounted the sidewalk and onto the front lawn of a property. I slammed on the brakes, almost hitting another person, who seemed to appear out of nowhere. His hands landed on the front of the car, as though his effort would stop it, then he stumbled backwards.

Oh my God. Oh my God. I didn’t hurt him, did I?

I put the gearstick in park and scrambled out, rushing to his side.

‘Ty! Oh my God! Are you all right?’ I touched his arm as he got to his feet.

‘Sally? Yes, I’m fine. But, boy that was close!’ He glanced briefly to the road, in the direction Red had run to. ‘What are you doing here? What happened? Did you almost hit that woman?’

‘I’m just… that woman ?’ I asked, following his gaze to the road again .

‘Yeah, ran past here a second ago. Red hair, wearing pyjamas. Where is she?’ He walked to the roadside and glanced around.

‘You saw her?’ He saw Red? Oh my goodness, this night was playing havoc with my emotions. I didn’t know if I could take much more of this upheaval.

‘She was snooping around outside my house, so I went out to confront her, but she ran off. I chased her across the lawn and she ran right onto the road. Where the heck did she go?’

‘I don’t know, but she’s obviously not hurt, she must have gone through the bushes.’ I eyed the thick collection of trees across from us that led into a valley.

Ty shook his head, confusion creasing his brow. Then he looked more closely at me. I rubbed my head, half because it was aching in my fragile emotional state and half because I realised my face must be red from all the crying.

‘Are you okay? You’re not hurt, are you?’ He touched my arm this time. ‘What’s wrong?’

At his question the floodgates opened again and I couldn’t hold them back. I covered my face as I sobbed, and he grasped my shoulders gently.

‘Sally, what is it? Your fiancé?’

I nodded .

‘Here, come inside.’ He led me towards his house and I managed to get a glimpse before my tears further blurred my vision. It was an unassuming red brick house with stepping stones leading to the front door. I felt strangely comforted, even though I barely knew Ty and had never been here before. I wiped at my tears as he led me into the warm embrace of a cosy living room that had a gas heater glowing bright orange next to the TV.

‘I’m sorry, sorry for almost hitting you and for losing it like this, it’s just?—’

‘Hey, don’t worry about that. I’m fine, and you’re going to tell me what happened. Would you like a hot drink?’

‘No thanks.’ I shook my head, and he handed me a tissue. I breathed in deep and sat next to him on the couch, and he placed a cushion behind my back. ‘I went for a drive, as you can see, and… oh gosh, I can’t believe I took Lorena’s car without asking her! What was I thinking?’ I shook my head. ‘Anyway, I drove to Pebble Creek and found Greg.’

‘He was having his buck’s weekend at Pebble Creek?’

So I wasn’t the only one who thought it was a seedy place.

‘No. His buck’s weekend was already over, but he failed to tell me it was only going to be for one night. Tonight he had other plans.’ I urged my tears to stay inside. ‘I saw him get a motel room, with a woman. They kissed passionately and went inside. I went up to confront him but chickened out. Chickened out! Why didn’t I march in there and tell him off? Why didn’t I make him explain himself?’

Ty ran his hand over his short mussed hair. ‘Because you’d already seen enough,’ he said quietly. ‘Oh, Sally. I’m so, so sorry.’ He rubbed my back and I sniffed, dabbing at my eyes with the tissue.

‘I just can’t believe it’s true. How could he do this? Why? And only a week before the wedding. Why would he even marry me if he’s not ready to settle down?’

‘I wish I had all the answers, but I don’t. All I know is he’s made a huge mistake.’

‘I feel so stupid, you know?’ I shook my head.

‘Hey, you’re not the stupid one, he is. He let you down.’

I nodded, then a thought hit me. ‘What about the wedding! What am I going to do? We have people travelling from interstate, everything’s booked, and my parents! What am I supposed to tell everyone?’

‘Don’t worry about that now. It’ll all work out. And your friends and family will understand. Sort it all out tomorrow. It’s late now, you just look after yourself.’ The warmth of his arm on my back increased as he drew me in close to his side, his other hand grasping my hand .

I softened at his touch and allowed it to comfort me, surrendering to the exhaustion of grief, hurt, and sadness, as he held me close till my tears dried up.

‘Ty, your brother, where is he?’

‘He’s asleep, out like a light.’

‘I hope I haven’t woken him up.’

‘No, good thing about being partially deaf, you sleep like a baby. He’ll be up at six am though, no doubt.’

I looked at Ty. ‘But don’t babies wake up a lot and cry and generally cause havoc?’

He smiled. ‘Ha, true! It’s one of those sayings that don’t really make sense but people say anyway.’

I managed a chuckle. ‘Thank you,’ I said. ‘For listening to me and putting up with my emotional outburst.’

He gripped me tighter. ‘Like I said earlier tonight, all in a day’s work.’ He turned my chin with his finger to look at him. ‘But seriously, I’m more than happy to listen to you when you need an ear. And that Greg, geez, does he need a talking to.’

‘I guess he’ll get it, once I’ve calmed down and can think clearly about what to say.’

‘It’s lucky I wasn’t with you at the time, or he would have got what’s coming to him then and there.’

‘Thanks for your support, but a couple of men beating each other up is probably not the best solution. ’

‘I wasn’t talking about violence. Though I sure would be tempted to hit him where it hurts. I just meant that I’d make sure he knew what an arsehole he was to betray you like that. And hopefully I would have thought up a witty one-liner to really drive it home, but I can’t think of one now!’

‘You, stuck for words? I’ll believe that when I see it.’

The jagged edges of my sadness had smoothed out now; I was still shocked and hurt, but a sliver of hope wriggled its way into my heart. I’d get through this, somehow. But there was no way I was taking him back, no matter what excuse he would try to manipulate me with when I told him I knew about his indiscretion. I could never trust him again.

My phone jingled. Lorena. Oh dear, I should have told them where I was going, not just that I was going. What if I’d had a car accident and they wouldn’t have known where I was? I wasn’t used to acting on the spur of the moment, and they were probably worried about me.

I typed back:

I’m so sorry. I’m fine. Will be back soon, you guys go to bed and I’ll explain everything in the morning. Love you all xx.

‘So your friends don’t know yet?’ Ty asked.

I shook my head. ‘And to be honest, I don’t think I’m up for explaining it all over again, tonight. I’m… tired. And shocked. And I don’t want to keep reliving it. ’

‘Then don’t. It can wait till morning. For now, Doctor Ty would like to write you a prescription.’

I gave him a curious look. ‘Valium?’

He laughed. ‘No. Give me a sec…’ He went to the nearby kitchen and scribbled on something. He returned with a Post-it note and stuck it to my forehead with a pat. I peeled it off and read it:

Dr Ty’s prescription for Sexy Sally ~ 30 minutes of moderate laughter in the company of the nearest available man.

And he’d drawn an arrow pointing towards him.

A wide smile healed my despair and I stuck the Post-it to his forehead. ‘Nearest available man, huh?’

He shrugged.

‘And just how does Doctor Ty expect me to laugh for half an hour in a situation like this?’

‘I could tickle you.’

I covered my arms over my chest. ‘You wouldn’t.’

‘But I could.’

‘But you won’t.’

‘But I will.’ He reached towards me quickly and tickled my ribs, and I wriggled and laughed as I tried to get away .

‘Stop, stop!’ I laughed, trying to tickle him back but trying to cover my ticklish spots at the same time.

He gave me a reprieve. ‘See? Laughter comes easy when Doctor Ty prescribes it.’

‘But you can’t exactly tickle me for half an hour.’

‘I could, but I won’t. I have a backup plan.’ He stood and studied the collection of DVDs on a shelf next to the TV. ‘Do you have a favourite sitcom?’ he asked.

‘Oh, um, let me think…’

‘I have a large selection. Cody is addicted to them, watches one every night.’

‘Do you have Friends ?’

He looked at me like I was an idiot. ‘Do I have Friends ? It’s only the best sitcom ever made. That and Seinfeld . I have the whole series.’ He pulled out a DVD. ‘Any episode requests?’

‘Surprise me.’

‘Random episode coming up.’ He withdrew a disc and slotted it into the player, and the familiar theme song lifted my spirits and brought back memories of watching this with the girls when we were younger. ‘How about that hot drink now?’

‘Actually, that would be nice. Thank you.’

‘Tea? Coffee? Hot chocolate? ’

‘I think this situation calls for a comforting hot chocolate.’

‘As you wish.’ He winked and flicked the kettle switch, and a couple of minutes later handed me a steaming mug and plonked some cookies on the coffee table. I munched and drank, and decided to forget about Greg, if only for the next twenty minutes.

‘Oh, is this the one where Ross gets those leather pants?’ I asked.

‘Yep. I love this one!’

A smile stayed put on my lips in anticipation, and when the scene came where Ross tried unsuccessfully to get his tight pants back on by using talcum powder, I had to put my mug down for fear of spilling my hot chocolate from laughter.

‘I thought this weekend had been embarrassing, at least I didn’t have a leather pants incident,’ I said.

‘Lucky. They are tricky things, those leather pants.’

I glanced his way. ‘And you know this from personal experience?’

He nodded. ‘When I first started stripping I got a pair, and my practice run went okay, but I made the mistake of getting them washed before wearing them to a job. They seemed to have gotten a little tighter, and let’s just say the strip was more like a sumo wrestling match than a smooth and sexy display of clothing removal. ’

I laughed. ‘I might have to call you Ross from now on.’

‘Gee, thanks.’

‘It’s a compliment. Ross attracts the embarrassing situations, but he’s a sweet guy.’ I bit off a chunk of cookie. ‘Oh, and he gets the girl in the end.’

It was only after I’d spoken that I realised what I’d said, and hoped he didn’t think it related to us or anything. I didn’t mean it that way, and my brain couldn’t even comprehend the idea of eventually being with someone else. But a strange feeling arose in my mind, a realisation that I never would have considered had tonight not happened: that there may be someone in this world who’s more perfect for me than I ever thought Greg could be.

When my episode of prescribed laughter concluded, I stood and took my mug to the sink. ‘If Cody’s going to be up early I better let you finally get some sleep,’ I said, noticing it was after midnight.

‘Ah, it’s no problem, and I don’t have to work again till Tuesday so I can have an easy Sunday.’

‘You get Mondays off from your disability work?’

‘Every second Monday. On those days Cody goes to a respite centre. Gives him a break from me as much as it gives me a break from him! ’

‘He’s really lucky to have you, have I mentioned that before?’

‘Thanks.’ Ty interrupted my attempt to wash the mugs and plate with a touch of his hand. ‘And you’re pretty lucky to have those friends of yours back there.’ He tilted his head in the direction of the guest house.

‘Very lucky. I’m going to need them more than ever in the coming days.’

He gave a knowing nod. ‘And if you ever need a Friends marathon, or a reminder of how awesome my hot chocolate making skills are, you know how to reach me.’

I smiled. ‘That’s good to know.’

I went back to the coffee table and picked up my phone, and my eyes caught sight of the screensaver. Greg and I at our engagement party. All smiles, sparkling eyes, a lifetime of happiness ahead of us. Or so I thought. How did we end up here? What made him forget his promise to me and see another woman behind my back? Or had he been seeing other women all along and I, with my tendency to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, remained oblivious to the whole thing. Red had said he left her for me. Now I knew how she’d felt. I could understand why she had subjected me to a few challenging situations this weekend, and actually couldn’t believe she hadn’t treated me worse. But I, like her, had not been privy to Greg’s infidelity until later. She knew it hadn’t been my fault, and I knew it wasn’t that woman Katy’s fault. Though surely she knew Greg was engaged and that didn’t seem to stop her throwing herself at him.

‘You okay?’ Ty sidled up next to me, and noticed the photo. ‘Oh.’

I went to my phone settings and erased the screensaver, replacing it with a photo of me with Lorena, Mel, and Georgie. They would never let me down.

‘Nice.’ Ty smiled.

I tucked the phone in my back pocket and glanced around for my bag but realised I’d left it and the keys in the car. But I doubted anyone would steal it, there wasn’t a soul around this sleepy town at night, except for Red, though I had no idea where she was. I was reminded of the fact that Ty said he’d seen a woman in pyjamas, and I considered asking him about her, or even telling him about her, but bit my tongue. I’d shared enough with him tonight. It was time to go back, get into bed, and cry myself to sleep.

‘It’ll get easier,’ Ty said, as though sensing the return of my sadness. ‘Give it time.’ He rubbed my arm again.

‘I took hold of his hand and squeezed it. ‘Thank you. You made an unbearable night bearable. Fun even. I don’t quite know how you did that, but thank you. ’

‘Never underestimate the power of a good tickle and an episode of Friends .’ He smiled. ‘Take care,’ he said, pulling me into a hug.

His big, strong arms enveloped me and I closed my eyes as my chin rested against his right shoulder. I went to pull away after the socially appropriate duration but something stopped me. He didn’t pull away either. He stood there, embracing me, and instead of relaxing into it my body tensed slightly. My heart rate rose, and the touch of his hands splayed against my back sent an exhilarating sensation shooting through my body. I eased back a little, my eyes slowly gazing upwards to his. He didn’t look away, and he didn’t remove his arms from around my back. All I felt in that moment was need. Pure, unadulterated need. I recognised the same in his eyes, and before logic and reasoning could pull me back to reality, he moved his face closer and pressed his lips gently to mine. Soft, warm, luscious lips, slowly testing mine, as though he was scared to give in to the full spectrum of desire simmering between us both. My lips told him it was okay, that I wanted him to kiss me, that right now I didn’t care what was right or wrong or dangerous, I just wanted his lips, his body, close to mine. His pressure and intensity increased, and his hands moved across my back leaving a trail of blissful warmth in their wake. I had never felt so wonderful, so comforted, so… right. But when my desire for him grew so much it scared me, it felt wrong. I pulled away .

‘Ty…’

He let me go and rubbed the back of his neck. ‘I’m sorry.’

‘No, I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s got into me. I shouldn’t be leading you on like this.’

‘Let’s forget it ever happened,’ he said, standing awkwardly in front of me and avoiding my eye contact.

‘Probably for the best.’ I moved towards the front door. ‘I’ll, ah, see you around, maybe.’

‘Yeah.’ He stayed in the same spot, as if he was scared that if he came closer he might not be able to control himself.

I opened the door, my cheeks burning, my heart aching. But my foot wouldn’t step on the porch. In my mind I saw Greg and Katy, tongues down each other’s throat and hands all over each other, and a surge of anger and entitlement made my blood boil. I spun around, and a look of surprise graced Ty’s face.

I locked eyes with him and confidence straightened my spine. ‘If Greg can get it on with someone else then I bloody well can too.’ Flames of desire ignited within as I launched myself at Ty. I grasped the sides of his face and pulled him close, planting my lips on his with a fierce urgency .

He didn’t complain. He engulfed me with his arms, his mouth, his energy… his body heating mine on contact. Our passionate, desperate kiss was all encompassing; every nerve in my body buzzed with life. It was utterly electrifying.

We moved backwards and fell onto the couch. He eased back and caressed the loose strands of hair that had come out of my ponytail, as though he was sculpting a work of art. His hands twirled them while his eyes looked longingly, and with panting breath he lowered onto me and kissed me with as much intensity as before. It had never been like this with Greg. It had never been like this with anyone. I couldn’t believe how much desire coursed through my body for him right now. Where had all this come from? Had I been suppressing my attraction to him out of obligation to Greg, and now that I had no obligation to a cheating fool, it had all come out into the open? I didn’t have time to think any further, my hormones took over. I ripped off his shirt and grabbed at his back, revelling in the rewarding pressure of his hard muscles under my hands. As we rolled over I brought my hands to his chest, and they ran across his skin eagerly, appreciating the toned curves of his pecs. His body was absolute heaven. I couldn’t get enough, didn’t want this to stop.

Ty removed his lips from mine, and panting, looked me in the eyes. ‘Sally,’ he breathed.

‘Yes. ’

‘I think we should stop.’

My heart plummeted as though I’d been climbing a ladder of ecstasy and it had been taken from under me. I was falling, dropping into the unknown, as Ty manoeuvred to a sitting position and put his shirt back on.

‘I’m sorry,’ he said, his face red and flustered.

‘What’s wrong?’ I asked, suddenly self-conscious.

‘I liked you from the first moment I laid eyes on you, from when you knelt down to look at my foot after running over it.’ He gave a brief smile. ‘But I don’t think this is a good idea. I don’t want to take advantage of you, you deserve better than that.’

‘But, Ty, it’s okay. I know what I’m doing.’ I touched his shoulder with reassurance.

He grasped it with his hand and squeezed it.

‘I want nothing more than to be with you, to stay here with you, but I can’t. It’s not right.’

I swallowed a lump that had formed. Deep down I knew he was right. But I didn’t want to admit it.

‘A couple of hours ago you were engaged. You were preparing to marry someone else. I don’t want to be a rebound fling. Don’t want you to have more fallout to deal with.’

I nodded .

‘Will you be okay?’ he asked, his eyes gazing at mine.

I nodded again.

He ran his finger down my cheek. ‘You’re a special woman. You’re not like others I’ve met.’

‘I hope that’s a compliment,’ I said with a small smile.

‘It is. A big, fat, juicy compliment.’ He smiled and kissed my forehead, then took both my hands in his. ‘Sally, if something were to happen between us, I’d want it to be at the right time, when you’ve dealt with what’s happened, and in the right place, not here with my brother in the next room.’

‘I know,’ I replied. ‘Thank you, for being so respectful.’

‘Believe me, it took all my willpower to pull away, but remember what I said before? The mind can always win over the body. The mind gets final say. There is always a choice.’

‘You’re stronger than me.’

‘You’re stronger than you think you are.’ He squeezed my hands.

I stood and checked my phone was still in my pocket, and he followed me to the door.

‘Now go get some sleep, and let your friends be there for you tomorrow. Do what you need to do to handle what’s happened, and sort out the next step. I’m only ever a phone call away. ’

‘Thanks, Ty.’ I went to kiss him on the cheek but hugged him, afraid if I felt his skin against my lips I’d be too weak to resist continuing where we left off. ‘Sorry for all the drama. And I hope I didn’t run over any exotic plants,’ I said, gesturing to where the car was parked haphazardly on the lawn.

‘Women and parking, huh?’ he said with a sarcastic grin.

I smiled and slapped him gently on the arm. ‘Let’s hope I’m better at pulling off a three-point-turn,’ I replied.

‘I’ll help you,’ he said, walking out with me, and little did he know how much he already had.