Derailed (24 page)

Her aggression is so unexpected, I almost lose my balance. Now I can kick her arse. God knows I’ve been waiting for this day. Ever since we’ve met, actually. Like a big cat, I slink toward her. “Shouldn’t have done that, bitch.”

“Scarlett!” Bradley’s voice booms behind me.

I spin around to look at him. He shakes his head at me.
Damn
!

“What do you want, Rival?” Bradley’s says. 

“I want to talk to you, Bradley,” she says.

“I have nothing to say to you.”

I smile.

She strides up to him. “
I
have something to say, Bradley.”

“I don’t wanna hear it. Your lies, your excuses – nope. Save it.”

“You’re gonna block me from seeing the kids, Bradley? Punish –”

“Nope. I’m
not
gonna block you from seeing the kids.”

What the fuck? Is he serious?

Rival seems just as shocked as I am – she stares like a person with an extra chromosome.

“See, I was going to,” Bradley says as he saunters towards the entrance hall table. He relaxes his frame against it, folds his arm across his chest, and crosses his ankles. “But after much deliberation, I’ve decided that that fucker, he’s just taken advantage of you.”

He’s lost his marbles, gone nuts. I swear at this rate,
both
of them are Dunhill bound. 

“You were ill, Rival, vulnerable. He took advantage of that.”

“Bradley, c’mon!” I hiss, needing to say something. “You can’t be ser –”

“He muscled in on that, being the opportunist he is, Rival,” he says, ignoring my outburst.

Rival rubs the top of her head, looking like she fell on it.

“So, I am going to allow you to spend time with your kids. You can forget about getting shared custody in court, though. That’s never going to happen, but…you can still see your kids whenever you want for however long you want.”

Rival’s head lolls. 

“I’m going to destroy him, Rival. You’re gonna watch me to do it. He’s going to really suffer. But when he sees that you’re totally unscathed, while his life is a cluster fuck, he’s gonna resent you, Rival. At first, that’s all it will be – resentment. But mark my words, eventually, he will
hate
you for the way his life is turning out. He will blame you for all the bad, and this
thing
you both have, it’s going to…” Bradley’s hand slices through the air. 

Rival groans.

“But if you
ever
take my kids to his place, to your love den, you will
never
see them again, hear?”

Silence.

“You wanna see the kids, you spend time
here
. In this house.
Only
in this house.”

I explode. “Oh, for fuck’s sake, Bradley!”

He spins to look at me. “Shut the fuck up!” he barks.

I quickly back off.   

He looks at Rival. “Let’s see how he feels when you’re spending
hours
at my place.” Again, that mirthless smile. “Starting
today
.”

“To…day?” she asks.

He nods. “We have a meeting, so I would like you to babysit the kids.
Here
.”

“It’s…Saturday, Bradley. They’ll want to go out.”

“Take them to the park, take them out, take them anywhere
except…
to Ritchie or Arena’s place. Those are my rules. Like it or lump it. If you don’t follow them, if you break them once, you’re out the door for good, and you will
never
see Holly and Phoebe again. Understand?”

She nods.

RIVAL

I feel like throwing up. Sure, it’s an absolute relief to know that Bradley isn’t going to stop me from seeing my kids, but his threats toward Ritchie are so sinister that I am terrified for Ritchie. How to I diffuse Bradley’s anger?  

Eager to escape Bradley’s anger, I take the kids to the park. But they are tired from last night’s IMAX show. After an hour, they ask to go home. Even though I want to, I don’t text Ritchie, mainly because I don’t quite know what to say to him. Finally around 3 p.m., he texts me. I sneak into the back patio to respond.

Ritchie:
everything ok?

Rival:
ye with the kids no drama x

Ritchie:
good. X

Rival:
xxx

I put my phone away, and when I look up, it is into Bradley’s face. He stands at the doorway, eyes hooded, lips pursed. Quickly, I walk past him and back into the house. Thereafter, every time I look up, Bradley is watching me, silently eyeing me as if he’s seeing me for the first time. His constant and piercing gaze makes me really uncomfortable, and it’s a relief when he and Scarlett leave the house. Finally, I can relax.

That evening, I lie in bed with the girls and read them a bedtime story. Before I know it, I’m nodding. I didn’t sleep much last night, so…

I slip into bed with Phoebe and snuggle with her. Within minutes, I’m asleep.

Then someone is shaking me. I open my eyes and look into Bradley’s face. Quickly, I sit up and look at the time on my phone. 1:03 a.m. 

Bradley silently watches my every move as I tuck the blanket around Phoebe, kiss her face, and slip on my shoes.  

When I walk out of the room, he follows me out. I grab my bag and car keys.

“I need you to take care of the kids tomorrow afternoon.” His tone is challenging.

Tomorrow is Sunday – he wants to ruin the weekend for Ritchie and me by keeping us apart.

“Sure,” I say, not looking at him.

“Expect another late one.”

“Okay.”

“Midday till…late.” His tone is now taunting.

“Okay.” Maybe he expects me to protest, since it’s obvious he’s doing this deliberately. “Night,” is all I say before walking out the house.

He follows me out of the house, stands on the patio, and with arms folded, watches me. I start the car, and when I look up, our eyes lock for a second. Even in the dark, I see his eyes – cold, hard and dark. Who is this bitter, angry stranger in front of me? Where is the Bradley I fell in love with? Flustered and feeling a pang of loss, I quickly drive off. 

Ritchie is awake, watching TV. “Hi,” I say.

His eyes search my face. “Hi.”

“Sorry, I’m late. My kids…”

He nods, but his stare causes me to flinch. Guilt over not being able to spend an entire weekend with Ritchie in our new home makes it hard to look Ritchie in the eye. To catch my breath and to allow myself a little headspace, I quickly head to take a shower.

RITCHIE

Who takes a shower at one in the morning? How can I not be suspicious? I mean, Rival disappears for the day, she only texts me
after
I text her, and she returns at 1 a.m. with messy hair and a sleep-stained face. She is unable to make eye-contact with me and…she takes a
second
shower at this time of night? Has Bradley kept to his promise and fucked her? It sure seems like that.

Rival has no idea I have been to see Bradley. I did not mention slamming the door into him, nor did I tell her about his dirty wager.  

I feel like throwing open the shower door and demanding the truth from her. The question is: can I handle the truth? I couldn’t handle it with Liefie. Am I prepared to say goodbye to Rival over the truth? My internal conflict rages.

When she gets out of the shower, she walks up behind me, wraps her arms around my waist and kisses my back. “I love you,” she whispers.

I turn around to her upturned face and closed eyes. After a moment’s hesitation, in spite of feeling tokened, I oblige and kiss her lips. When I do that, when I hold her in my arms, all my doubts and fears lessen.  

I’m being an idiot,
I tell myself.
She’s probably just struggling to cope with things. I need to reassure her, calm her down.

As we lie in bed, she fills me in on her conversation with Bradley. “Basically, he’s mad at you and feels like you took advantage of the situation. But the main thing is he’s not going to stop me from seeing the kids.”

“I see.”

“Except that he does not want his kids here.”

“Really?”

“It’s understandable, Ritchie. Right?”

I shrug.

“I’m to see them at his house.”

I nod and look at the ceiling. That’s his way of keeping her at his place and giving them opportunities to be intimate. 

“He said I could forget about obtaining shared custody in court.”

My head jerks to look at her.

She gives a dismissive wave. I have a feeling he will change his mind as time goes by. So, don’t worry.” She kisses my chest. “Guess…we should do the one-day-at-a-time thing.”

“Yeah…”

She burrows deep into me. “I love you, Ritchie.”

I don’t answer.

She looks up at my face.

“As long as you don’t change your mind about us, Rival. I love you and I want to protect you and take care of you. I want to shoulder all your burdens, so please…don’t ever think about quitting on us.”

“I would never do that, babe. I love you so much that the thought of living without you, just that thought
alone
, kills me. You once said, ‘Take my hand, don’t look down.’ Remember?”

I nod.

She takes my hand and presses it against her chest. “I’m not ever gonna look down as long as I have your hand in mine.”

Even though her words are supposed to comfort me, I analyze them. Why would she say something like that? Had she been thinking about leaving me? Look at me – Bradley has mind-fucked me.

RIVAL

Sunday morning. I wake up at 5 a.m. with my mind as busy as Central Station. To protect Ritchie, I did not tell him about Bradley’s threats. I figured, I am stressed, why stress Ritchie? After all, Bradley’s threats could be just that –
threats
. Besides, I haven’t told Ritchie that I am leaving today to spend most of the day with the kids.

As I lie in bed, my mind drifts to Ritchie’s girls. Could Bradley be right about them not being Ritchie’s? What about Gareth? If they aren’t Ritchie’s kids, who is their father? I long to ask, but with so much going on, I believe it’s best I don’t. Not right now, at least.

I slip out of bed, take a routine morning shower and get dressed.

“Why you up so early, babe?” Ritchie says in a sleepy voice.

“Morning,” I say and lean over to kiss him. “Thought I’d make you a big, caloric breakfast.”

“I’d rather have a morning fuck,” he croaks. 

I laugh.

“Come back to bed. I really, really need you. You can make me lunch instead.”

When I don’t answer, his eyes open wide. 

I tell him about me having to leave.

“Oh?” He appears to think about it. “Okay.”

Feeling bad, I pull off my top and flop over him. “I guess I have time to take care of your morning glory.”

To my utter dismay, he pushes me off him. “Nah, don’t worry.” He gets out of bed and disappears into the bathroom, leaving me staring after him. Our problems are starting already.

Chapter Eighteen

RIVAL

It’s so hard to be positive and ignore the hold Bradley has over us. But I try my best.
Take my hand, don’t look down
…

Monday evening, Ritchie and I cuddle on the couch and watch
Modern Family.
It’s great to have an evening with Ritchie. I really missed him.
I think he feels the same, because he holds me tight, kisses me a lot and tells me he loves me over and over again.

Suddenly, our door is flung open and Liefie barges in. “Ritchie!” she cries, her face flushed, her eyes wide with terror. “Ritchie, she called me!”

Ritchie jumps out of his seat and rushes to her. “Who, Liefie?”

“Ritchie, she called me. Olga. She called me, Ritchie!”

Ritchie jerks back. “What!”

Liefie nods. “Ritchie, she’s got my number, and she…she said Bradley is helping her, and –”

“You’re joking!”

“ – that Bradley is going to help her case and that –”

“Oh fuuuuck!” Richie slaps his head.

“– that…that…” Liefie starts to shake. I’ve never seen her look this rattled before. 

Ritchie hugs her. “It’s gonna be okay,” he coos. “It’s gonna be okay.”

“No, it’s not!” she wails.

Vlad rushes into the house with little Gareth in his arms. “I told her we can fight this,” Vlad says in a voice I have never heard before – an authoritative voice. It is then I remember that Vlad is an attorney. Yet, Liefie ignores Vlad and buries her head in Ritchie’s chest.

Ritchie nods at Vlad, his brow lined. In the background, I pace, overcome with guilt.
It’s all because of me.

Liefie endorses my guilt when she turns her head to look at me. The look she gives me is reproachful and accusing, and it makes me feel like I am an enemy in their camp. Quickly, I avert my eyes.

Then Ritchie’s phone rings. Everyone stiffens and looks at Ritchie’s phone as if it’s a grenade.

Ritchie untangles himself from Liefie and moves to look at his phone. 

“Out of area?” Liefie asks.

He nods.

“That’s her!” Liefie cries. “Put her on speakerphone.”

With a nod, Ritchie does.  

“Ritchiiiiie?” the accented voice at the other end of the phone screeches. “Guess what? Bradley wired me five hundred dollars! He’s going to help me, Ritchie. Finally, I can get some help with my case. He’s coming to see me on Thursday.”

Ritchie’s eyes squeeze shut, while Liefie doubles over as if she’s in pain. 

“Ritchiiiie, you there?”

“Yeah. That…that’s great, Nadia,” he says.

“Olga!” the voice corrects. “It’s Olga, Ritchie. Don’t you forget that.”

“Mm.”

I know that Liefie’s name is Olga, so I’m a little confused here.

“And Bradley, he’s going to try to work out a prisoner exchange program so that I can fight my case from an Australian prison instead of trying to fight it from a prison in Bali. Good, isn’t it?”

Liefie starts to pace.