Crossed: Book Two (A NEW ADULT ROMANCE) (5 page)

I get the call back from Nicky, but it’s tonight, not tomorrow. Her words are fast and frantic and I can’t understand what she is saying.

“Nicky, calm down. Slow down. What is going on?”

“It’s Marcus. Oh my God, I can’t believe it. I just got a call from Tyson… and it’s… its Marcus.”

“Marcus? What? You’ve got to slow down so I can understand you.”

“Marcus… he’s hurt really bad.”

“What do you mean? Where is he? Are you with him? Is he there? Where are you?”

She regains some of her composure and continues, “I’m at my apartment. Tyson says Marcus is being flown back right now. But it’s bad. He’s hurt really bad. He didn’t say much more. Oh Kasey…”

“Where is Tyson?”

“I don’t know, he didn’t say and I didn’t think to ask because I was so concerned about Marcus and what he was trying to tell me. He was really broken up too. I couldn’t hardly understand what he was saying, but I know what I just told you. That’s what I heard before he stopped talking and we hung up.”

“Nick, do you want me to come. I’ll be there as soon as I can. I’ll get on a plane right now. You know that.”

“I… I don’t know… I don’t know what’s really going on yet. I need to see him as soon as he gets back. I have to know what’s going on. This is just terrible.”

“I know Nick. I hope everything is okay. Call me right away when you know something. Any time of night. Okay?”

“Yeah, I will. I’ll call. I will.”

“Nick?”

“Yeah Kase. It’s going to be okay.”

“Thanks Kase. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

I hang up with Nicky and immediately dial Tyson.

No answer.

Hang up and dial again.

No answer.

What the fuck? He better not just be avoiding me because of us. This is not about us. I need to know what is going on with Marcus. Jesus Tyson. Come on. Pick up.

No answer.

I put the phone down and just sit at the kitchen table. I don’t know what to do with myself. I’m so far away from Nicky and there is nothing I can do but wait to hear back from her. It’s pure torture.

My Dad.

“Dad, thank God you picked up. What’s going on with Marcus?”

“Kase, I’m sorry, he had some bad things happen to him. He was doing some work in Juarez, and they got to him there. Those fucking bastards. They got to him.”

“What the hell do you mean? Who got to him? Does this have something to do with you and Tyson and what you guys are doing?”

“Slow down Kase. I don’t know. We first learned that he was mugged and his wallet was stolen, but at the hospital in Juarez they said it appears he was hit in the back of the head with a baseball bat. That doesn’t make it look so much like just a mugging. So I don’t know, but it might be connected to our work in Mexico, but it might not. I’m not at that conclusion just yet.”

“Oh Jesus Dad. That’s bad. Marcus shouldn’t have been there. Why did you guys pull him out there?”

“We didn’t Kase. Honestly. Unless he had his own arrangements. He ended up there, from what we understand, doing work on the housing boom north of the border in Las Cruces, New Mexico. We don’t really know why he was in Juarez. He could have just gone there for fun.”

“Gone down there for fun? Isn’t that like the murder capital of the world? Isn’t that the whole Mexican drug cartel thing? Isn’t that there?”

“Well, yeah, that’s there. But there’s a lot of fun to be had there too. Cheap booze, gambling, easy women-“

“Easy women? Whoa Dad, Marcus wouldn’t be down there for women. He’s in love with Nicky and they have a good thing going. Why would he be down there for that?”

“I don’t know Kase. I can’t explain another man’s motivations whom I don’t know very well. A lot of guys are going down there for that. Anyway… I’ll try to find out more about what happened and I’ll have to let you know if I find anything. Maybe he was just there to have fun, minus the women. Juarez has a reputation, but you’re right, from what you’ve told me about him Marcus always has sounded like a stand up sort of guy,.”

“Yeah Dad, he’s one of the good guys. Call me back, any time, and let me know what you find out.”

“Got it. Will do. Love you sweetheart.”

“Bye Dad.”

Hit in the back of the head with a baseball bat. Oh Jesus. That sounds terrible.

The torture continues for me. I can’t do anything but sit here. This is so terrible. I just sit… and wait. In pain.

No calls for a long time and I give in to laying down after a while. I try to sleep, but the weight of the situation keeps me up. I go out for a walk and that does nothing to clear my mind either.

“Yeah Dad.”

“Kase. It doesn’t sound good. I’m hearing that Marcus went into a coma on the flight home. He’s in North Carolina now and they are transporting him to Duke Raleigh Hospital. He’ll be there in an hour.”

“A coma? Oh Dad. That’s terrible,” I say in disbelief. I feel like I’m going to throw up.

“Kase, you want to go, don’t you?”

“I don’t know Dad. I have nothing there. Nowhere to stay. Nothing there anymore.”

“Well, you could stay at Tyson’s cabin. And I’ll get you a car. I’ll make all the arrangements. I’ll get you there quick. I’ll have a car pick you up in an hour and you’ll fly out of Bozeman within two. You’ll be with Nicky by morning. She probably needs you right now, Kase. Probably needs you really bad.”

“I know Dad. I’m torn. I want to be there for her and I want to be there for Marcus, but…”

“Forget about that Kase. These are your friends. You should be there for them.”

“You’re right, Dad. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but you’re right.”

“So, Bozeman?”

“Yeah, Bozeman. I’ll have a car there for you soon. Get your things together. Call Nicky and tell her you are on the way.”

“Okay.”

“Travel safe, sweetheart.”

“I will.”

“Okay, bye now.”

“Bye Dad.”

I am about to hang up and then quickly try to catch him, “Dad?”

“Yeah Kase.”

“…Thanks.”

*****

I get to the cabin by morning as arranged. There is no sign of the black sports car outside and I walk to the side of the garage to see if it is in there.

Nope. Not there either. That’s a relief.

I go inside and the cabin is quiet. I put my backpack down and look around a little, recalling what happened there and all that’s happened since. I walk back to my room and the bed is made neatly. There’s no sign of any disturbance inside or outside of the cabin. I look at the cabinet that houses the old movies and I open one of the doors. Lined up neatly, the old classics spread from full left to full right, top to bottom. Only two empty spaces. I recall having taken Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Casablanca and don’t know where they are now. Maybe in Montana, or maybe in Vancouver. I’ve lost track.

I’ve lost track of a lot of things lately. And being back in North Carolina is just reminding me of what I had before and where I was going before I met Tyson.

Before I met Tyson.

Nothing has been the same since I met him. It’s been a whirlwind tour of the country and one frantic engagement after another.
When will it end? Is it all over now?
I ask myself many questions and I still have no answers. And now poor Marcus. And Nicky.
Why is everything going so far downhill? Why is this my life?

I walk over to the closet and I open the door. Movies stacked neatly against the lower right side. The tall safe is still there. The door is open. Just cracked. I move some clothes out of the way and give space to open it further. I look in and see the papers I looked at before. I read them again and see my dad’s name at the bottom just as before. Same papers. I look elsewhere in the safe and on the top shelf, in the back corner, I see it. I see what I didn’t see last time. Or what wasn’t there last time. I don’t know. I look around the room, behind me and out in the corridor. I check the windows. I have an eerie, unsure feeling. I feel my nerves coming up and beads of perspiration forming on my forehead. I reach into the back corner of the safe and pull it out.

It is heavy, but fits comfortably in my hand. It is sleek. Good looking. I see a magazine in the grip and I wonder if there is… if there is one in the chamber? Cody taught me enough in that brief session in Montana to figure out if guns are loaded. And I’m glad he did. I know where I stand right now. I pull the slide back and check the chamber. I release and am done. Locked and loaded. I move back away from the safe and it all starts coming back into my head. The death of my mom. The fucking bastard who did that to her. My dad never being there for me, ever.
WHAT THE
FUCK?
The way I treated Marcus. I could have just given into to his wants. We would have been fine. At least
he
was in love with me. And I could trust
him.
And the whole mess with Tyson…

It’s all so goddamn complicated. Why does my life have to be like this? Why did I listen to my dad? Why did I come back here? I don’t know what the fuck I am doing anymore. I don’t know what is happening anymore.

I sit now on the bed. The bottom of my chin gets cold as the barrel presses into it. The gun isn’t warm, yet. My hands go over the grip, tighter. I close my eyes.

I just close my eyes and sit here, sinking.

Just sit here thinking.
What a mess my life has become.
Wetness covers both of my cheeks and droplets run down my neck. I feel the trigger.

I hear a door in the distance. I don’t move. I hear footsteps. I don’t look.

I hear a voice. Barely audible.

I hear it again. Louder now.

“
KASEY, NO
!
Oh Kase, please put it down. DON’T
.”

I open my eyes and Tyson is coming closer. His eyes are redder than I’ve ever seen them and tears are streaming down his cheeks as well. He crouches in front of me and puts his hands on my knees.

“Kasey, don’t do it. Oh please don’t do it. Just put it down.”

I feel like I have some control for once in my life. This is going to happen my way. It feels good. But something inside of me knows this isn’t right. I start to move the gun to the side and down. I feel an involuntary tug and want to move the barrel towards him, but don’t. I can’t do that either.

I lay the gun down next to me and collapse. I fall forward into Tyson and he catches me softly.

“Oh Kasey, I’m so glad you are okay. Oh my god. I don’t know how I could have lived. I would have taken that gun up right after you, I would have.”

I see that he has already pushed the gun away from me and I know that it is over. I’m safe again and in his embrace. I am flooded with emotions. So self-deprecating, but so good too.
It’s over,
I tell myself.
It’s over now
.
No more fight. No more Juliet
.

“We’re going to be alright Kasey,” he says lifting my chin. His hands reach up behind my neck, lift my head further and softly his thumbs wipe the sides of my eyes. Then my cheeks. I throw my arms around his neck and pull myself in tight. I don’t have any intentions of ever letting go again.

“I’m sorry,” I say in his ear, “I’m so sorry Tyson. I’m damaged goods. You can’t love me. You can’t possibly…”

I look up and into his eyes. I see them burning. Burning with determination.

“No, Kase,” he responds, “We’ll take it slow now…You hurt me back there… You put me in a bad place for a little while, but I knew… I just… I just had a good feeling- a
spectacular
feeling- from the moment I first saw you. I’ve never looked back and I won’t now. You and I are going to be alright, Kasey Cross… We’re going to be alright.”

My heart races like never before and I kiss him with everything I have.

Nicky is slumped back in the chair with a blanket pulled over her tightly. She is sleeping quietly amongst all the beeping and chirping. And beeping and chirping. There are dozens of machines hooked up to Marcus and he has a large tube coming out of his mouth. His head and face are covered with bandages. He’s hardly recognizable in this bed.

I walk to Nicky and grab her arm gently.

“Hey Nick. We’re here.”

“Oh Kasey,” she says as she wakes, “I’m so glad to see you.”

“Hey Nick,” Tyson says. “Sorry about Marcus.”

“Thanks Tyson. Glad you are here too. We’re all the people Marcus would want here.” His parents are coming, but they were off in Hawaii on vacation so it’s going to be a while before they get here. They had a flight today, but it was canceled because of the bad weather they’ve been having out there. Something about some major flooding.”

“Yeah, there have been some major typhoons lately. I’ve seen it on the weather reports the last few days. Lots of damage and many deaths. At least they are okay, right?” Tyson says.

“Yeah, they are okay, just trying to get here.”

“I can imagine how terrible
that
would be,” I say, just wanting to be part of the conversation. “I missed you Nick.”

“I just saw you Kase.”

“Well, I know but for some reason it feels like months ago.”

“
Drama
,” Nick says, winking at Tyson.”

“Tell me about it!” Tyson comes back.

“You guys are all very funny,” I say as I walk over to Marcus to get a closer look.

“Has he moved at all, or said anything yet?” I ask Nicky.

“No, they have seen some eye movement and they are picking up signs of brain activity, but no physical movement yet,” she responds.

“Brain activity,” Tyson intervenes, “Must be all those wet dreams he’s having about you now Nick.”

“Quit being a jerkoff, Tyson,” she says as she punches him in the arm.

“Ow,” he says, “What was that for?”

“Alright, cut it out you two. You’d think you two are the ones in love.” I say, looking at both to make sure they aren’t smiling at each other or otherwise conveying some secret between them. “I’m keeping my eyes on you two,” I say.

“How long are you staying here,” Tyson asks Nicky.

“I don’t know. I’ll stay for a while today, but I’ll probably go home tonight. They don’t really…” she tears up, “They don’t really know when he’ll… if he’ll…”

“Oh Nick. He’ll come out of it soon, I promise,” I say rubbing her shoulder. “Come stay with us tonight. We’ll sleep at the cabin and come back in the morning. “He might be up by then, you know.”

“Thanks Kasey. You’re the best. I’ll do that.”

“Deal,” I say, pulling her close into me and squeezing her tight.

*****

The first week at the cabin is slow. Very slow. We spend a lot of time together and I take a lot of walks with Bear, just to get out and take my time with things. Tyson seems changed in a slight way. Somehow not as cocky as he was before, but still having that ‘everything is going to be alright’ attitude. Perhaps not having his military commitment has left him wondering a little what he is going to do for “work” now. I try to reassure him not to worry about working so much. He turns his attention to working out and reading more. We watch movies at night and enjoy being together, without that feeling that the world could end at any minute.

Nicky visits often and we soothe her frequently about Marcus. She drinks a lot of Tyson’s wine and that seems to help. It helps us maybe more than her because after a few days we’ve developed some rituals around it and are having a good time. The weight of not having Marcus at the table drags at us, but Nicky continues to be the loose spirit she’s always been and after a glass of wine, she eases up further and is having fun with us.

Midway through the second week, we get an ecstatic call from her that Marcus is awake. We pick her up and head to the hospital straight away to see him.

“Hey buddy,” Nicky says getting close to him and kissing him on the forehead.

The tube is no longer in his mouth, but the bandages still cover his head. “You’re a sight for sore eyes,” he says quietly and cracks the slightest of smiles. That lights up Nicky and she covers him with more kisses.

“So glad to see you guys too,” he says looking at Tyson and me.

We can see now that many of the bandages are removed that his face is heavily bruised. The largest bandage remains wrapped around his head at the back and top.

“It’s great to see you Marcus. Ready for a drink?” Tyson says.

“No doubt. Get me out of here,” Marcus returns.

“Well they say you have another few days, Marcus. They have a lot of analysis to do now that you are awake again. And they want to be sure that things are okay before they release you. Did your parents come yet today?” I ask.

“Yeah, they were here. Left to get some lunch. They’ll probably be back later tonight,” he replies.

We visit with Marcus for a few hours and he sleeps part of that time. We agree that we’ll be back in the morning and then Tyson and I take off. Nicky stays behind with him.

Tyson and I are going out for the night. We agree it will be nice to go out for a ride, have a drink and a nice dinner. And try to just get back to what we are calling our “normal” life. Things have gone really well the last week and a half. And I feel like we have made some real progress towards working through everything that’s happened between us.

We stop at a local bar to have a drink.

“Everything okay?” I ask him. He’s been very quiet today, but I’ve assumed it’s because of everything with Marcus.

“Yeah, uh why?” he responds.

“Oh nothing, you’ve just been very quiet today.” I say and when I look over at him, I notice a quiver in his lip.

“Well, Kase,” he says.

“I’m just so happy right now. I don’t know how to even tell you about it. I just thought walking away from Mexico and my work with your dad would be a total disaster for me. For us. And it’s not. It’s been the opposite. I feel so free. So relieved. I’ve come to realize that it is all going to be okay. I can handle this.”

“You’ve been holding onto that, I know. And I can understand it now. It was so hard a few weeks ago. There was so much going on. I knew it was right and I still know you made the right decision,” I say.

“I’m so happy with you Kase. And I’m so happy we’re taking it slow now. Actually is a good thing for me now too.”

I see his smile again. That smile that I knew before. It’s come back. Butterflies fill my stomach and I feel like I’ll take off at any minute with their flight. Confirming his feeling, I put my hand on his thigh and give a light squeeze. His face lights up and as he is turning to me, he says, “I’m so happy now, Kase. Thank you for being here for me.”

“Always, Tyson. Thank you for coming to me,” I say. I lean over and kiss him gently on the side of his face. I feel the heat of his skin and it makes my hand move further inside his leg.

Our drinks come and go and we walk out of the bar to the street. We are planning to go to a local diner that we both love, but Tyson pulls my hand in the other direction and starts moving faster. We are at a steady walk, and I pull back to slow him down, “Why are we walking so fast?” I ask.

“Just come on,” he says, pulling me faster. It is nearly dark outside and I wonder if we’ll eat yet tonight. We get to his motorbike and he motions me to get on the back, handing me the helmet for that purpose.

We get going and we ride north getting off the road about ten minutes later, well short of the cabin exit. “What are we doing?” I ask.
Where is he taking me now?

“You’ll see. Just relax.”

We get to the road and I recognize it as the same road into the hills where I went with Nicky and Marcus for that party. We get to the site where the fire was and I see there is a much smaller stack of wood sitting there. We stop, get off of the bike and he opens one of the back compartments. Everything comes out for a picnic and I start laughing.

“What, why are you laughing?” he asks, more seriously now.

“Oh, sorry it’s not funny. I am impressed with your skills. I didn’t know you could put something together like this.”

“Well, I do have some talents that you don’t know about.”

“I don’t think I want to know any more about your other talents,” I say joking. “Haven’t we had enough shooting and fighting to last us awhile?”

He lights the fire, looks over to me smiling and says, “Well, now I’ve turned my attention to cooking. So maybe you can benefit from that effort too.”

I’m about to melt again with that smile when he hands me a flute, pulls one out for himself, and pops the cork off of a bottle of champagne. He pours both and holds up his glass to me. I raise my glass to meet his with nervous anticipation. I don’t know why we are about to drink champagne.

He moves close to me.

I anticipate.

As he sits there, eyes focused intently on me, he opens his mouth to speak.

Before he gets anything out, I say, “To LOVERS!”

I have so many good emotions flooding back into me now with those words. They mean something to me now. Not like when Marcus made that toast months ago. It means something now. Yes… lovers. We
are
lovers. His lips curl at the ends and he nods in agreement.

We take a drink. And then another. We get closer to each other and just watch the fire dance and the stars float above. We don’t say anything. There is nothing left to say. We just sit, hold each other, and drink our champagne. Comfortable. Relaxed. No longer chasing anything. Either of us. It feels good. It feels like it should.

In the morning, Nicky calls again and we visit the hospital with her, hoping that we can take Marcus home today. He is feeling much better, but still sore. His complexion has returned and some of the bandaging has been removed. We can see him for who he is again.

“Doc says I’ll be out of here tomorrow,” he tells us.

“Awesome,” Tyson says.

“Totally sweet,” Nicky says.

“Yeah, I feel so much better today. He thinks I’ll be back to work in no time. There won’t be much in the way of therapy or anything. Just rest,” he adds. “I’ll fly back to meet you and John in a few days, Tyson, we’ll finish what we started.”

Tyson turns to look at me and then back to Marcus. “It’s over Marcus. There is no more Mexico. I’m done with all that. Out of the game. I’m staying home now.”

“What? What do you mean? You’re giving it all up?”

“Yeah, comes a time when that is the right thing to do. To just move on to the next thing in life. And I’ve found that next thing.”

I wrap my arm around his waist as he says this and I see Marcus glance towards Nicky.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I kind of know what you mean,” Marcus says, “It’s a lot to walk away from, what about the-“

“-It’s nothing Marcus. Money doesn’t mean anything. It’s nice to have but the other things are more important.”

Tyson’s phone rings while he is talking and he motions that he needs to take the call. He walks out of the room. And Marcus just smiles at me, giving me that approving, but not condescending look. “I’m happy for you Kase. Really happy for you.”

“Thanks Marcus. Thanks.” The moment is slightly awkward considering all of our history and with Nicky standing there. But we all get it. When you are tight, really tight, with your friends you get past that stuff. The things that affect most people don’t affect tight friends. We just have that understanding.