Chapter 33 JP - THANKSGIVING GREETINGS & GROCERIES #2
“Sure,” I said, angling near the kid for a smile. “Have a nice Thanksgiving, and good luck with hockey, kid.”
“Thank you!” he said, his voice tinged with a little awe.
The goofy smile stayed on my face as I grabbed the soup can and headed back to Ali.
But as I neared the colder section of the store, I heard a male voice snarl, “Look who came crawling back.”
I whipped around, searching for the voice, thinking someone was talking to me.
“Mark’s gonna love this,” another guy said.
A cold shiver skated down my spine, making me pick up my pace. I jogged back to the egg aisle, not caring that it jostled my arm.
As soon as I turned the corner, I spotted Ali in the middle of the aisle, surrounded by two men in flannel jackets. One was shorter with a straggly beard. The other taller one was well-built with a mustache. I immediately recognized them as Rossi’s high school buddies.
“And she’s pregnant! Ha!” the shorter one exclaimed.
“Wait ‘til your husband hears the exciting news,” the guy with the mustache snickered.
The world husband echoed in my head while I rushed toward them.
One of them took out their phone and aimed it at Ali. “Smile,” he ordered.
When I finally reached them, I grabbed the phone with my left hand and smashed it on the hard ground.
“Stay the fuck away from her,” I growled.
Shock registered on his face for a split second before his eyes darted between us, then he started laughing.
My body went still, confused by his reaction.
“Your husband’s gonna really love this,” mustache guy said to Ali while grabbing up his buddy’s phone. “We’ll be seeing you,” he said, giving Ali a wink.
“No, you fucking won’t,” I hurled back, shifting in front of Ali.
But they just continued laughing as they walked away, making a shaky rage build up in my body. I wanted to go after them, demand them to explain themselves, but there’s no way I’d leave Ali.
Feeling completely rattled, I stayed close by Ali’s side, keeping my left hand on her back while we made our way through the store to the check out. Her knuckles bled white as she gripped the cart in front of her, like she was using it to guard herself.
We were silent as we exited the store, and I stood guard behind her as she climbed into my truck before rounding it to climb in myself.
“Ali,” I started.
“Can we just get home?” she asked in a shaky voice, her eyes darted to the mirrors in a paranoid way. Her trembling hands went to her stomach.
“Sure,” I said, but as we drove, one question clanked around in my brain. Deep down, I knew the answer without even having to ask.
As soon as she pulled in the driveway, her shoulders scrunched up and her eyes went glassy, reminding me of how she looked across the parking lot from me at Hans’ celebration of life. We’d come so far from that time, and I didn’t want her guard flying back up with me.
“Talk to me, Ali,” I said.
She rested her forehead against the wheel.
“How are you feeling?”
“Scared.”
My heart bottomed out. “Of them?”
“No. Yes. I don’t know.” She turned and gave me a wary look. “You can leave if you want. I can have Annie drive me back.” She sniffled and rubbed her nose, refusing to look me in the eye. “It’s not a big deal.” She started twisting her fingers together in her lap.
I blinked at her for a beat. “Yeah, that’s not happening.” When I reached over to her, she flinched, and something inside me died a little for her. I touched her chin and gently pulled her gaze to mine. “I’m not mad about it. In all honesty, I’m relieved.”
Her eyebrows pulled together in confusion.
“You’re still married,” I said simply, and the very last puzzle piece fell into place. “That’s why you got weird when I brought up marriage?”
She pressed her fingers into the corner of her eyes. “Are you mad?” she whispered.
“At you? No, of course not, baby. We’ll figure it out.”
“We will?” She gave me a doubtful look.
I nodded. “We will. You don’t have to be nervous to tell me anything, okay? And I’m sure we’ll get mad at each other sometimes in the future, but it’s not a big deal. It’s not something you ever have to be afraid of with me, okay?”
She gave a hesitant nod. “I don’t want to be married to him,” she blurted out. “He refused to sign the papers, and I never wanted to call him or come back to face him, and the attorney was expensive, so I just…I forgot about it. I was young and dumb.” Her voice broke. “I didn’t care until…”
“Until us?” I guessed.
“Yeah. Until us.” Her eyes flashed up to mine. “I’m scared. Maybe we should go back to Chicago?”
“We will if that will make you feel better.” I paused, searching for the right words.
“But you look so happy with your family. You just asked to stay longer. I don’t want him stealing anything else from you, Ali.
I won’t let anything happen to you, all right?
He’ll never touch you again. I promise.”
“I’m sorry,” she wheezed out.
“Don’t be,” I said, squeezing her hand. “We’ll figure it out. Let’s just enjoy the day with your family.” I forced a smile.
But as we walked up the porch steps, my brain was already moving, detailing a list of what I’d have to tell my lawyer. I had a feeling this problem wouldn’t be going away anytime soon…
________
Even though Ali was already pregnant, her grandma was extremely upset when I tried to enter Ali’s bedroom that night.
“There’s a couch downstairs,” the little old woman said with a pointed look before closing herself into the guest bedroom.
As soon as the hallway was silent, Ali’s eyes found mine. “I’m sorry,” she squeezed out. “Are you—”
“I’m not mad,” I said with a small grin before she could finish asking. I kissed her quickly before heading back down to the living room with an extra pillow and blanket.
But trying to sleep on a couch with my arm in the sling was pretty horrible.
I was tempted to take it off, but I knew that could slow my healing.
I stared at my phone, willing my lawyer, Johnny, to text me back about Ali’s divorce situation, but I knew it wasn’t right to expect a text back on a holiday.
Then again, I also knew Johnny was probably across town at his family’s house for Thanksgiving.
The boys and I played hockey against Johnny for years growing up, then ended up on the same team as him in Ontario.
Johnny didn’t make it to the NHL himself, but he now represented a bunch of guys he played with in the past.
Dropping my phone, I closed my eyes, willing sleep to come, but instead, my mind went back to the grocery store earlier today. The last time I’d seen those guys, Mark’s goons, they were wearing matching black suits in a church…
____________
2014
“I want you there. You’re my best friend. I’m happy, JP. I just want to stay happy, and this is how I do it, okay?”
“You’re not thinking clearly, Ali. This is stupid.
” My head was pounding from stress. I wanted to scream.
I wanted to chuck my phone away from me.
I wanted… I wanted to block out the last five minutes and pretend they never happened.
Because then I could go on living my life without the knowledge that my best friend, and the girl I was hopelessly in love with, was going to marry a total douchebag.
The line went silent, and I wondered if she was still there.
“Ali?” I tried.
“You haven’t even called me since you left, JP,” she finally said.
“Because you should be focused on Nationals,” I blurted out. “I didn’t want to disrupt you, unlike this asshole who’s completely throwing your focus out the fucking window.”
She sucked in a shocked breath, but I didn’t take it back. Someone needed to say the hard truth to her.
“Isn’t Nationals everything you’ve worked for since you were a kid?
” I pushed. “I thought… After… I was going to…” I squeezed my eyes shut.
After, I was going to finally confess my feelings to her.
I was going to ask her to be with me. She’d finally be free from the rink, from her coach, from fucking Mark Rossi.
She was going to be free in two short months. And now she wasn’t.
“Marrying Mark is how I stay focused on skating. You just don’t get it, JP. This isn’t a big deal.”
My eyes practically bulged out. “Not a big deal? It’s fucking marriage, Ali.”
“I don’t know what you want me to say,” she said quietly. “I’m just trying to stay happy.”
Fuck. No. I tightened my fists. “You’re only twenty,” I said. “I thought…” I thought we had more time, I mentally finished.
“So what? My parents got married at twenty,” she snapped. “It’s my choice. I hope you can be a supportive friend and come to my fucking wedding, JP.”
“Ali—” I started, but the line went dead.
_________
The night before the wedding, we gathered at a local bar. Ali’s family wasn’t even there, but Mer said they’d be at the church tomorrow and at the small reception at a restaurant afterwards.
Ali looked beautiful in a simple white dress with her long hair down, reaching her mid-back. Her eyes danced with a smile while she listened to Mer tell a story at the bar. I wished I could smile. I wished I could feel anything other than blinding frustration.
How the fuck was I supposed to watch her get married tomorrow? It’d be one thing if I was losing her to a good guy, but Rossi was the complete opposite of good.
This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. It was supposed to be us.
I thought we’d have more time. I clutched my eyes shut.
This whole time, I was trying to avoid repeating my parent’s patterns and not date her young because I never wanted her to feel trapped.
But instead, I was having to watch her get trapped by a fucking asshole.
Because that’s what he was trying to do.
He didn’t love her. He was just trying to claim her. He was trying to—