Page 88 of King
“I don’t know how much longer I can keep up the goddamned act though, brother. I couldn’t wait for her to leave this morning, because I’m desperate for a good fuck for a change.”
I couldn’t see through the haze of my tears, and my mind was reeling in horror at what I was hearing. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, it did.
“Hey, DD,” Dante yelled, “get your sexy ass upstairs to my room. I want you naked and bent over for me by the time I get up there.” I heard an excited, girlish squeal and knew it had come from DD out in the common room.
“I can’t fuckin’ believe you,” Cowboy muttered, his voice so low I could barely hear him.
“Oh come on, Cowboy, you know me better than anyone. You didn’t honestly believe I was interested in Ella.” Dante retorted. “She’s pretty enough, but she’s a little too old for my tastes. Gravity is a bitch when it comes to the female body, man. Besides, she’s too much of a lady. You know I like ‘em wild in the sheets,” Dante’s voice sounded harsh through the ringing in my ears. I was shaking, and I reached for the shelf to steady myself.
“I gotta get back to work,” Cowboy grumbled, sounding pissed off.
“And I have a sweet piece of ass waiting upstairs for me. Catch you later, man, and make sure I’m not disturbed for the next couple of hours.”
I stood in the pantry as the sound of their boot steps faded. I was stunned with disbelief, and my mind raced as I tried to absorb the powerful blow from the conversation I’d just heard. I was barely aware of the tears streaming down my face. My stomach pitched and rolled, and I was afraid I was going to be sick all over the floor. I forced myself to take some deep breaths, as I felt the walls closing in on me. I was suddenly frantic to get out of here before someone saw me. I’d be damned if I let Dante or any of those fucking bunnies see me like this.
I reached for some napkins from the shelf next to me, furiously wiping my eyes and scrubbing the tears from my face along with most of the makeup I’d been wearing. In the process, I dropped the birthday candle I’d been clutching in my fist, but I couldn’t be bothered to pick it up. I forced my feet to move, creeping silently to the pantry doorway and listening to be sure the kitchen was truly empty before I stepped out and made a dash for the exit.
I pushed open the heavy door and almost ran over Camille, who was walking up the sidewalk. I grabbed her by the hand and all but dragged her back to the car.
“Oh my God, what’s wrong?“ She tried to tug me to a stop, but that wasn’t happening.
“Just get in the car,” I hissed frantically. “I need to get out of here. Now.”
I collapsed in the passenger seat, fumbling with my seat belt as Camille jumped in, started the car, and put it in gear. She kept shooting worried glances my way, especially when I ducked down as we drove by the front of the clubhouse and exited thecompound. I didn’t want to take a chance that anyone would see me, and the sobbing mess I was at the moment.
As I sat back up, I caught sight of the clock on the dashboard, barely able to make out the numbers on it through the haze of my tears. I was amazed to find that I’d been in the clubhouse for less than five minutes. Less than five fucking minutes for my entire world to implode around me.
“What happened Ella? Are you hurt?” Camille’s voice was calm now, and I knew she was relying on her years as an emergency department nurse to deal with the situation.
I took a shuddering breath and swiped at the tears on my cheeks.
“No,” I said. My throat was constricted, and my voice sounded tight and hoarse even to my own ears. “I heard Dante…” A sob escaped me then, and I couldn’t continue. Through my tears, I watched as Camille pulled into the parking lot of the small shopping center about a mile from the compound. She parked well away from the road and other cars to give us some privacy, then turned to look at me.
“What the fuck did he do? Did that bastard put his hands on you?”
“He said…awful things about me… to Cowboy. He’s…” I paused again, trying to catch my breath between sobs, “he’s been lying…using me…to take care of Pop.” Camille cursed angrily, then leaned across the center console and wrapped her arm around my shoulder, not saying a word as I cried until I had no tears left.
By the time I finally calmed down enough to explain the whole sordid tale to her, I was a red-faced, swollen-eyed, snotty mess. Once she’d finished cursing him to hell and back, thenback to hell again, she reached into her purse and pulled out a small travel pack of tissues.
“Here, hon. Let’s go back to my place so you can grab your cell phone and clean yourself up a little.”
I nodded, and she put the car in gear and pulled out of the parking lot. I wasn’t even aware of the drive back to her place. Mercifully, my mind was blank, probably due to the shock I’d had. Camille unlocked her front door and motioned for me to go inside.
“You go on into the bathroom and wash your face. You know where the washcloths are. Be sure to drape a cold cloth over your face when you’re done. It will help. There’s Tylenol in the medicine cabinet, so take a couple. I have a feeling you’re going to have one bitch of a headache after crying like that. I’m going to get your key fob and grab your phone out of your car.”
I nodded blindly at her list of instructions, then made my way into her bathroom and closed the door behind me. I needed a few minutes alone. I stared at my reflection in the mirror above the sink, horrified at my appearance, and even more horrified that it was the result of yet another man treating me like shit.
Dante’s words kept ringing in my head. I was too old, too saggy, and too boring to keep him interested. The hell of it was, those words hurt even more now than they when Clayton had said similar shit after I’d caught him cheating with Sabrina. I think I’d become immune to Clayton’s snide comments in the years leading up to our split, so that by the time he’d spewed his venom at me, the words didn’t hurt as much. Dante though, he had me completely fooled. I’d completely bought his act.
“I’ll miss you,” he’d told me this morning, looking and sounding completely fucking sincere. I couldn’t even let myself remember all of the things he’d told me when we’d been in bedtogether. He clearly hadn’t meant them. Any of them. I’d just been the desperate dumbass who’d fallen for his lies. He had probably been counting down the minutes until I left town.
Hell, I should have known something was up when he’d courted me so sweetly, and then said he wanted to hold off on having sex. If I hadn’t pushed the issue, he’d probably still be stringing me along while getting his rocks off with theyounger, wilder, perkierclub girls.God, I’d been nothing more than a pity fuck for him.
I imagined him laughing behind my back with them, or worse, picturing other women when he was in bed with me. Bile rose in my throat, and I barely had time to whirl around and raise the toilet lid before I threw up. The sound of my retching, and the foul, sour smell of vomit filled the room as I sank to my knees. I had never felt so pathetic in my life.
Once I was sure my stomach was empty, I shakily flushed the toilet and rose to my feet. I reached for the faucet, then rinsed the awful taste from my mouth. There was a quick knock on the door, and Camille opened it without waiting for me to answer. Without a word, she opened a drawer in her vanity and pulled out a new toothbrush still in the packaging.
“Toothpaste and mouthwash are in the medicine cabinet,” she murmured quietly, then gently patted my arm in a gesture of support before turning and leaving the room.
