DECEPTION - A Family Affair (20 page)

Marisol

She decided to take this opportunity and go check out Star since Marco was either occupied with Charley or in bed.  She and Mace were quickly out the door not before she made sure she had the codes to the alarms for the stables that’s all she needed at this point setting off the alarms and have the swat team arrive.  She parked on the far side of the barn so she can head straight to the alarm system.  Grabbing her purse and flash light she opened the door to let herself and Mace out and went straight to the side so she can turn the system off.  Leaving all the outside lights off she used her flash light to guide her to the stable where she could find Star with Mace following her trail.  Once inside she turned on the lights and approached her guy.  “Hello, Star.”  Recognizing her voice immediately he shook his head to her in delight.  “Hello there buddy boy.”  Gaining his trust first, she then began rubbing the side of his face and tried to sneak her two fingers inside his mouth and slowly glided them on the side towards the back to feel if anything felt abnormal.   As soon as she got towards the back tooth she felt a massive bump and he whined his head back with a groan.  Her theory stands correct; he must have an abscess which is causing his lack of eating.  She began to coo him again and then rubbed his side telling him he is strong and beautiful.  Once she saw him relax again she went to find a bucket to get some food and added water to it so she can soften the food to see if he was able to swallow it down.  She waited for a while until he finally started to eat and managed to keep it down.  She felt so proud of herself she started to dance only to hear the doors of the barn open and Mace barking until he saw it was Marco.  Marco with a beautiful blonde woman whose arms were draped around his waist and his arm around her shoulders they looked like they were in high spirits as if they just laughed at some joke.  Both Marisol and Marco froze as their eyes met.  A look of shock and despair spread over her face.

Dropping his arm only to find Charley’s embrace tighten he responded.  “Marisol, what are you doing here?” 

Snapping out of her frozen state she stammered.  “I um couldn’t sleep thinking of Star.  You know how she hasn’t been eating and you know Mr. Williams couldn’t figure out why.  But then I remembered I, we, my grandfather’s horse had similar symptoms and it was because of a tooth abscess so I came to check if my theory was right.  And I think I am.  He has a bump in the back of his gums so I soften some food for him and he was able to eat.”  Looking down she kicked a small pebble and looked up again and continued. “Just let Mr. Williams know it’s on the right side towards the back of his mouth.  It wasn’t his fault for not detecting it.  You have to remember that horses are Prey Animals, and prey animals hide pain in fear of predation.”  She started gathering her purse and flash light.  “Well it’s really late so I’m going to head home and I apologize if I inconvenienced you I just wanted to check on Star’s condition.”

Standing there lost for words though listening to her every word while having Charley squeezing the air out of his lungs from her tight embrace.  He finally broke out of his daze.  “No, no Marisol you know you are welcomed here anytime.  I can’t thank you enough on helping Star I was worried about him.”

“Please, it was nothing.  See you around.”  She began to leave the barn from the opposite direction so she can avoid passing them.  Her heart was broken in a matter of minutes and she prayed that she could make it out of there with her dignity in tack. “Marisol wait!  I want to introduce you to Charley.”  He shouted so he could stop her from leaving.  When she heard him every hair on her body stood and she felt like her stomach dropped down to her feet.  Charley was a female?  All those calls and debates on his NO their future plans were with her??  Oh God she was going to be sick.  
Please God let me get through this ordeal; please don’t let me vomit here in front of them.
  Turning around she put on a smile and gained courage to tackle this awkward situation. Watching them walk towards her as they closed the gap Charley finally let go of her hold on him to only have his hand grab hers as he guided her towards Marisol.

Both ladies extended a hand out to each other to greet properly.  “Hello Charley, I heard so much about you except I was under the impression you were a male.”  Marisol couldn’t help the sarcasm as she looked at Marco.

Letting go of each other’s hands Charley replied.  “Hello Marisol, I too have heard so much about you and I am glad to finally meet you.”

“Well, I know you two have a lot of catching up and its really late so I wish you guys a good night.”  Turning to leave which her feet couldn’t move fast enough without seeming rude or crazy.  Marco came to her side.

“Let me walk you to your car.”  His voice seemed nervous to her.

“I’m fine I know my way out. You shouldn’t leave your guest it’s rude.”

Once outside he replied.  “Marisol, please don’t.  I got your text and you are trying to push me away and I’m not going to let you.”  He said with firmness.

She stopped walking to face him. “Look right now you are the last person I want to talk with or whatever with.  I feel dirty and cheap and plain stupid.  So yes, I’m pushing you away far - far away.  So please respect it.”  Not able to look at him any further and still hold on to her courage she turned and began walking to her car only to find him walking beside her. His steps expressing how angry he became. 

“You are being ridiculous.  I never lied or implied Charley was male or a female.  I think of her as my partner not as a gender if that at all makes sense to you.  You, Marisol are driving me crazy.”  He spoke as he guided his hands through his hair.

Opening her jeep door to allow Mace through the driver’s side so he can jump over to the back, she looked up at him now with anger sparked in her eyes.  “Sorry that I’m driving you crazy.  But can you imagine what you are doing to me?  Plus, why did you visit my father today?  Your visit left him extremely upset they had to sedate him afterwards.”  Not waiting for his response she yanked herself into the Jeep and went to close the door causing him to step back to avoid being smacked but he grabbed it before she could close it.

Choosing his words carefully, “I did go see your father; there is unfinished business between him and me.  That’s why you and I need to have a heart to heart talk.” 

Feeling out of control she couldn’t handle another thing at the moment she felt she was about to break.  “Marco, just forget about everything that happened between us.  It was a mistake.  You have your life and I have mine.  We need to let it go and please stay away from my father he isn’t well. Good bye Marco.”  She pulled on the door and this time he let her close it.  He just stood there looking at her not able to move completely rooted to the spot he stood as she pulled out and left.  He felt like she took a dagger and shoved it right into his heart.

****♥****

Incapable of functioning on Sunday, Marisol laid in bed for most of the day watching old movies.  Her feet touched the ground only to feed Mace and to let him out.  She knew Nate should be coming home today which was her only highlight.  She couldn’t wait to hear all the details on his romantic getaway.  She had a difficult night sleeping since she had back to back nightmares that had her waking up in cold sweats.   It hasn’t been this bad since she put her father in the nursing home.  She was on edge and could not stop obsessing about Marco and Charley wondering what they were currently doing. It was driving her insane.  She couldn’t get passed on how great they looked as a couple.  She couldn’t deny how beautiful Charley was.  Her jealousy began to consume and drain her.  How did she become this woman?  She has never been one of those jealous types.  Frustration also crept in on how everything in her life always turned sour and she was tired of it. Maybe she needed to move away to get a fresh start no bad memories just a clean slate with no barriers.  How refreshing that sounded. 

Nate came straight over to her place from the airport.  When she opened up her door he was happy to see her but surprised at her appearance.  Her hair hadn’t seen a brush and she wore her old gym shorts and a faded t-shirt.  “Hey Babe, what the hell happened to you?”  Taking her in his arms squeezing her tight her feet came off the floor while he still held on to the bottle of wine he brought. “God I missed you.”

“Nate, I’m so thrilled you are home.  You have no idea how much I missed you too.”  She sounded so relieved to see him.  Urging him in and closing the door she was eager to hear about his trip.  “Tell me every detail of your romantic interlude with Lucas.”

He held up the bottle of wine to her.  “First things first, this is for us I’ll get the glasses you sit.”  He went straight to the kitchen with Mace at his heels.  “So tell me what have you been up to this week?  I haven’t heard or received any texts from you.”

“First of all you were away with Lucas and deserved privacy.”  She looked up at him as he came in the living room with two filled wine glasses and hoped she wouldn’t get sick since she couldn’t remember the last time she ate.  Despite hating herself for letting her curiosity get the best of her she couldn’t handle the anticipation any longer so she asked shyly, “Nate, did you know Charley was a woman?”

Looking perplexed, “Charley? Oh you mean Marco’s business partner Charley?”  Stalling to answer the question and avoiding eye contact she helped him out by confirming it.

“You knew.  Was I the only idiot who didn’t?”  She asked rolling her eyes taking a big gulp of wine to ease her frustration.

“Well, I did have to speak to her on several occasions over business related stuff and I must say I have to give her props she definitely knows the business.  Anyway, why are you asking?”

Playing with the stem of her glass she let out a sigh.  “Because we… I guess I had a spectacular week with him.  I did things that I never would have imagined doing.  It was wonderful and I felt so alive but as they say all good things must come to an end.”

“Why does it have to end?  What are you not telling me?”

“Well you can’t build anything on lies it was just a matter of time.  He has his secrets and I have mine.  Then Charley came and I saw them together and they just radiate a room.”  Gazing at his expression trying to gauge his vibe she moved on.  “Well, I don’t want to be a buzz kill, enough of me tell me about you and Lucas.”  She had the urge to cry again so she sipped her wine to try to avoid it.

“Wow, this must be true love.  I have never seen you upset or jealous over anyone.  Listen I am going to be working with them most of the week going over properties and plans, I will know if they are platonic or not.  I got your back babe.  Now do tell, was the sex amazing?”  He asked raising his eyebrows up and down gesturing sexual banter.

She answered even though she blushed profusely.  “It was freaking amazing.  His body looks airbrushed for crying out loud.  Oh, and by the way remember the time we got drunk and you showed me how to please a man orally with the banana?  Well let’s just say it came in handy.”

Nate laughed then choked on his wine as he leaned over in his seat to compose himself, “Oh man, maybe I should be the one jealous.  Plus, I don’t think Lucas would ever describe me in that manner.  I got to say you have come a long way babe and I’m glad I had a part in your transformation.”

She too laughed. “You are impossible; now tell me about your trip.”

“It was exactly what the doctor ordered.  I was so relaxed and carefree.  First we spoke and aired out all my concerns about me and my family.  And you were right as always, he wants to share my pain, my worries and not just the happiness.  He is everything I hoped for in a person.  Then we got up and took advantage of our time together, we water skied, went sailing, and danced the night away.  Babe, the love making was mind-blowing not worrying about being caught or judged it was simply incredible and now…we are back to reality.” 

“I’m so ecstatic you guys really deserved this and so much more.”  

“You do too and you look like shit by the way.  You haven’t been sleeping much have you?”

She shifted in her seat and poured her heart out.  “I love him, I feel so alive when he is around me.  He makes me want more to be more.  I’ve been closed up for so long I just want to dance and sing when I think of him but I know there is no future with him and the realization of it has hit me pretty hard.  I’m having my night mares again and they seem worse this time.”

“Marisol, if you love him the way you tell me you do - then fight for him damn it.  Don’t drown yourself in your tears fight be strong and come clean of all your secrets and force him to do the same and at the end if the love isn’t strong enough to withhold it all then you move on but you will never get to say – what if?”  He looked straight into her eyes making sure he reached in to the core of her heart.  “And….you always have me as a consolation prize.”  He gave her a warm smile and then moved to her side so he can hug her.  “Its going to work out, I can feel it in my bones.” 

“I’m scared to be emotionally destroyed.  I don’t know if I can survive being hurt again.  I have an appointment with Dr. Travis tomorrow afternoon hoping to sort out some of these emotions so I can hopefully get some sleep.”

“Well that’s a start in the right direction.  We will figure this out, you and me and our fucked up relationships.”  He leaned in to hug her tight and kiss her forehead. 

Chapter Fifteen

The alarm clock buzzed and Marisol felt like a canon ball just landed on her head.  She must have had about four hours of sleep in total.  Not even the wine was capable of drowning out her night mares.  Her t-shirt drenched in sweat stuck to her back like a second skin.   She rolled out of her bed immediately feeling the morning draft crusading through her wetness causing shivers all over her body and her teeth began to clatter.  Bolting from her room to let Mace out back she quickly jumped into the shower letting the hot water cascade all over her body melting away the layer of ice from her skin.   She wanted to get an early start so she can catch up on her workload.  She can only imagine how much work awaited her.  Putting the last touches of make-up on she inspected her face in the mirror only to cringe on what looked back at her.  She tried her best to cover up the circles under her eyes with an Avon sample of concealer that was left in her mailbox with a catalog.  She needed to consult with Sally on what type of make-up she should purchase to hide these damn circles.  She could use some advice since she is clueless when it comes to cosmetics.  Mascara, blush and lipstick were the extent of her collection. After taking care of Mace, she rushed outside all ready to start a new day only to be faced with two flat tires on her Jeep; it looks like they were slashed.  Eyeing around her to see who might have done this but there was no one in sight.  Letting out sigh, she told herself to stay calm and not panic.   She took out her phone and checked her contacts and called Angelo’s shop.