Chapter Ten
Taleah
TODAY IS MY first day back at Fantasy Realm in two weeks.
It opened again last week. I had Sarah, my longest working employee, open the store while I waited to be cleared to return to work.
I still have to go to physical therapy and use the walker, but I was finally cleared yesterday to return to work.
Dr. Keen wasn’t happy about me coming back here, but there isn’t really a reason to keep me home.
As long as I complete my physical therapy and rest when I need to, she signed off on my paperwork.
My mom and Elara were with me and they promised her I would do everything asked of me.
Elara can be very mean and I know my parents will use her if I don’t follow Dr. Keen’s rules.
So, I’m back at work this morning. Honestly, it doesn’t look as if anything happened at the store.
The carpets have been replaced with the exact same thing and my safe has been upgraded to something new.
Rex took care of it and showed Sarah how to use the new safe.
You can’t open the door unless it’s during certain time periods of the day.
A safety measure he made sure works properly.
Elara and my dad came with me to open the store.
Rex met us there and walked me through the new security system F.D.
Security installed. Yeah, I found he runs the company and also does a few installations when he’s needed.
It doesn’t really surprise me because that’s right up his alley of things he loves to do.
He personally worked on the system at the store so he knows it all works properly.
Rex has already left and so hasn’t my dad.
Elara is the only one here with me and she’s wandering through the aisles to find a million more books to add to her list.
“Tally, you okay over there?” she calls out as I make us each a cup of hot chocolate.
“I’m okay,” I respond honestly.
When we first entered I almost had a panic attack because all I could see was TJ attacking me.
Rex got me out of it the same way he did at my house.
I almost collapsed to the floor, but Rex held me up and wouldn’t let me go.
He took charge of the situation and didn’t release my hands until I was breathing properly and my heart wasn’t about to beat out of my chest. Elara watched what he did so she’d know if it happened again while she was here with me.
Elara meets me at the coffee station of the store and I hand her over a cup of hot chocolate.
It’s loaded with mini marshmallows and whip cream.
This baby definitely has a sweet tooth and Elara is fully embracing it as any excuse to have something sweet to eat or drink.
The two of us make our way over to the couch I used to sleep on.
I help Elara sit down and get comfortable after setting our drinks on the table in front of us.
After I take my seat, I pull down one of the blankets and cover us while my employees cover the store.
Sarah brings over my walker because I forgot it at the coffee station. Oops!
“So, I have to tell you that I had dinner with Rex a few nights ago. He called me and asked me if I’d meet up with him,” Elara tells me as I take a sip of my drink.
For a few minutes, I don’t respond to her.
I let the words sink in and process what she’s just told me.
Elara cut Rex off the night he destroyed me completely.
She hasn’t talked to him in eight years and has stood by my side every single day.
I never asked her to do this, she made the decision all on her own.
My best friend is loyal as hell and chose my side over her brother’s.
I’ve regretted the decision on her behalf every single day because I don’t know what I would have done if I were in her position.
“Good. I’m glad you met up with him. I hope you two were able to talk through some things so you can repair your relationship.
You never should have chosen my side over his, Elara,” I tell her honestly as I take another sip of my drink.
“Do you think this is the start of fixing things between the two of you?”
“I do. We still have things to work out, but it was a start. He knows he fucked up that night and said he regrets it. Do you know he can’t even say Bhodi’s name?” she asks me, her voice a whisper as she looks down into her mug while letting it warm her hands despite the hot temperature outside.
“I noticed that the day I got discharged from the hospital when he saw the jerseys in my office. He refused to say his name at all. It’s hard for me to say it some days, but I at least mention him.
I’m leaving here early today so I can go to Bhodi’s grave.
I missed the anniversary and my visit the last few weeks so it’s definitely past time for me to go there,” I say as I send a message to the florist a few stores down for my usual bouquet to take with me.
“He still hasn’t worked through his grief,” Elara says nonchalantly.
“I don’t think any of us have truly worked through our grief, but he has done absolutely nothing about it.
It might be time for him to see someone, but I doubt he will.
Rex will always believe he can handle everything on his own and doesn’t need the help.
How many times have you seen him since he saved you? ”
“I’ve seen him a few times. He showed up at the house the day I was discharged and has stopped by my parents’ house once I think while I was there and awake.
Then he stopped here today to show me the security system.
Elara, what’s his end game here? Does he want my forgiveness for what he did all those years ago?
” I question my best friend as she looks up at me from over the rim of her mug.
“He could want your forgiveness. If I’m being completely honest with you, I would guess my brother is still in love with you and will end up trying to win you back,” she answers me, causing me to choke on my drink as I turn to face her.
“Your brother never truly loved me, Elara. He wanted a girlfriend who would deal with his bullshit and I was an easy target for him. If he loved me at all, he never would have treated me the way he did when we were younger. I couldn’t even get on his bike with him.
Who the hell does that?” I return, my voice breaking a few times because it’s the most I’ve talked since leaving the hospital.
“Rest your voice, Tally. You’re pushing yourself too damn hard,” Elara says when I cough a little and sit back against the couch and pull the blanket tighter around me.
Before I can respond to my best friend’s demands, my phone rings where it sits in my pocket. I pull it out and see it’s the realtor calling me. My house was listed days ago after the club moved all of my things out and fixed all the damage. I haven’t been back there since the day TJ got arrested.
“Janice, how are you doing today?” I answer my phone as Elara leans closer to me so she can hear what’s being said.
“I’m doing fantastic. Taleah, your house has sold. We got a cash offer higher than the listing price. He wants to close fast and is ready to move in right now,” Janice informs me as I freeze on the couch and let her words sink in.
“Wow. That was definitely faster than I expected. I won’t put a stop to the sale. I’ll sign off on whatever you need me to,” I tell her as tears fill my eyes and I can’t stop them from falling. This is definitely a more emotional experience than what I was expecting it to be.
“If you can come in tomorrow, we can sign all the paperwork and get the process ended,” Janice says because she knows what happened at my house. Most of Glendale does at this point. Well, they know a version of what happened because the rumors are running rampant through town.
“Thank you,” I say before hanging up and laying my phone on the arm of the couch.
Elara pulls me into her arms and holds me while I cry.
She doesn’t say a word or ask me questions.
She knows I need to process and that takes time.
Right now, I think it’s time for me to leave.
I can go to Bhodi’s grave and be alone. Elara hasn’t been there since his funeral and I don’t blame her.
It’s really hard to visit him knowing I’ll never see him in person again.
However, I also know it’s something I have to do because I’m the only one who does visit him.
Bhodi doesn’t deserve to be forgotten or left behind because it’s too hard to go to the cemetery.
“I’m gonna head out now. My car is in the back parking lot,” I tell Elara when I can finally calm down enough to speak.
“Okay. I’ll walk you out,” she says, pushing herself off the couch and grabbing our mugs to take care of while I fold the blanket and grab my phone before standing up and grabbing my walker.
Elara and I slowly leave Fantasy Realm after telling my staff goodbye.
They know I’m not putting in full-time hours right now.
None of them are angry because they get to work longer and make more money.
I love the girls who work for me and they all deserve a raise.
I can check on that once I get home from the cemetery and can sit in front of my laptop.
Elara walks outside first to make sure no one’s hiding in the parking lot.
She wouldn’t let me go in front of her when she’s pregnant and shouldn’t be taking risks like that.
TJ won’t hesitate to hurt her if it means hurting me. He’s that big of a monster.