Fighting Temptation (4 page)

Chapter 6
Cade

Seeing Daria last night had more of an effect on me than I thought it would. I never thought I’d run into her there, though. She looked skinny and sad. I wonder if she’s going to be at this baby shower today. She didn’t act like anyone knew she was in town yet.

I really wish my heart would just let me move on. But something about her… I just can’t. I want to hold her; I want to protect her, but she just won’t let me in.

The day after we were attacked, I found out she’d had a breakdown. They’d moved her to a mental facility at the hospital. I wanted to see her. I wanted to talk to her, to tell her I still loved her. By the time I got released myself, however, she was gone. I know Anna texted her on occasion, but no one actually knew where she was. It was as if she’d dropped off the face of the earth.

I pull into Gabby’s driveway. The house she and Linc bought is perfect for a new little family. I can’t help but feel somewhat jealous. I’d always hoped that my and Gabby’s kids would grow up next door to one another and be as close in age as we were.

I walk into the front door and see a bunch of the guys from the team in the kitchen gathered around the food. Gabby squeals when she sees me, even though she just saw me yesterday when I was moving my things.

“Cade!” She wraps her arms around me.
“Hey Gab.” I kiss her on top of the head. “You look pretty today.”

She smiles. “Thank you.” Ges turing to the kitchen, she says, “The guys are in there, eating everything in sight. Thanks for coming today. I know baby showers aren’t usually a guy thing. But if they thought I was going to sit around with a bunch of chicks and old ladies opening gifts and sticking bows on my head, they’re crazy. If they come near me with a damn measuring tape to measure my belly, I’m going to shoot someone.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

She shakes her head. “Girl stuff. People get crazy at these damn things. How are things going living with my sister and Russ?”

I shrug. “They’re good. I mean I’ve lived with them before.”
“I know.” Suddenly, she looks like she’s going to cry.
“What’s wrong, Gab?”
She wipes the corner of her eye. “Daria’s here. But she looks so empty and lonely.”

I turn to see Daria coming across the living room. She’s wearing a little strapless sundress with cowboy boots. Her collarbones stick out; she looks so frail.

I can tell she doesn’t want to come over here where I am. I mean hell, she practically sprinted away from me in the hall last night. After some coaxing from Anna, though, they slowly make their way over to us.

Anna smiles. “Guys, look who just came in.”
Gabby hugs the life out of Daria. “Oh my gosh, I’ve missed you so much.” All three of them wipe their faces.
Daria smiles; it’s a real smile. Not fake like the one she tried to put on last night for me.
Anna looks at her. “So… tell us about your new place.”
Daria almost looks nervous. “It’s a nice three bedroom apartment.”
Anna pushes. “Three bedrooms. Wow. Are you moving a family of immigrants in with you?”

Daria shakes her head. “No. I mean, my dad bought it for me, supposedly with my money. I don’t really want it. I haven’t even unpacked really.”

I look at the girls. "Well, as much as I like being surrounded by three awesome women, I think I’m going to take my man card and go where the guys are. I need to grunt and scratch my balls or something.”

The girls all laugh. I can tell Daria’s was a little stiff and forced, but hey it was still a laugh.
I walk over to Russ and Linc. “Hey, guys. Sorry; I was delayed by the estrogen in the room.”
Russ laughs. “I heard that you guys are going to be brother and sisters for real.”
“I don’t think our parents are there yet, but I mean, really, it’s not like we aren’t already.”
Linc laughs. “I’m just glad you were the one to walk in on that.”

I shove him. “Asshole.
I’m
not. I still can’t believe they just came out and told Gabby and Anna how I found them.”

“Dude, I don’t know what I would do if I’d walked in on my parents. Much less my mom and the neighbor.”

I shake my head. “Can we not talk about this anymore? I’m still trying to un-see all of that. I may have to seek counseling.”

Putting his arm around me, Linc says, “Come on, man. Let’s go get a beer.”

No sooner than we walk outside on the patio with them and open a beer. As soon as we settle outside, Anna yells out the back door for us to come in; Gabby’s opening gifts. We drag ourselves back inside and sit down. The guys all got Linc gag gifts. Some of the gifts were really funny. Someone gave him a “Daddy Diaper Changing Kit” It had long rubber gloves, safety goggles, a poncho, a biohazard sticker, a clothes pin for his nose. Some of the guys got him ear plugs, a couple of the guys got him liquor, and when no one was really looking one of the guys handed him a new spank mag. we decorated diapers. That was actually fun leaving notes for the new parents to think of funny stuff when they are up in the middle of the night changing a screaming kid.

I never realized how much shit you need for a baby. There’s diapers, wipes, all these little gadgets, binky’s and boppy’s most of this shit I really have no clue what it is. I also don’t think Gabby will have to wash this babies clothes because I’m pretty sure she can throw each outfit away once he wears it. Gabby looks so content, so happy. I look at Daria, who’s sitting in a chair close to the corner. It breaks my heart to see this vibrant person so broken.

My mom comes and sits beside me. She looks over at me with a soft smile. “So, I see Daria is here.”
“Yeah. She is.”

My mom knows me all too well. I’ve never been able to hide anything from her. “Baby, are you gonna be okay with her being around?”

“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?”

She shakes her head. “Honey, I may be older than you, but I know you are still in love with that girl. I really think she’s still in love with you, too.”

“Mom, lay off about it. We tried; it didn’t work. Besides, when I saw her at her job the other night, she all but ran away from me.”

“Cade, she looks lonely and sad. Going through all she has can’t be easy for her. Now, I’ll admit you getting shot was at the top of my nightmare list, but you still had family and friends to go through it with. She probably can’t say the same. Look at her; she’s a shell of who she used to be.”

“I know, Mom, and it breaks me. It does. But I can’t be with someone who can’t be honest with me. Plus, like I said, she all but ran off from me last night.”

She stands up. “All I’m saying is she could probably use a friend. Also, she’s too skinny; I’m going to fix her a plate and make her eat.”

My mom e walks over to the table, fixing a plate of food. I watch her walk over to Daria and sit down. She motions for her to eat. Daria smiles and takes the plate as my mom brushes Daria’s hair with her hand. Then my mother pulls Daria into a motherly hug. I see my mom talking with her. Daria just keeps smiling and nodding. All the time my mom is coaxing her to eat. They point and ooh and ah over some of the gifts.

A little while later, I see Daria sneak out back. I’m going to talk to her. We need to break this tension between us. I can’t live like this. We have to be able to coexist in the same group of people.

I step out back and see her sitting on the glider. “Can I sit with you?”
She jumps. “Shit, Cade, you scared me. Yes, you can have a seat.”
I take a seat on the glider. “So I’m sorry if last night was awkward.”
She shrugs. “It’s okay. I just have to get used to being around so many people.”
“I missed you. Not just the boyfriend/girlfriend thing. I missed you as my friend.”
She nods and I can see the tears burning her eyes. “Yeah, me too.”
I grab her hand and feel her tremble. “Can we be friends?”
“I’d like that.”
“Daria?”
She looks up at me with her big hazel eyes. “Yeah?”
“Where did you go? After the hospital, I mean.”
She swallows. “Um, my dad put me in a mountain cabin. I was there for almost six months.”
“Who was there with you?” “Just me.”
This is killing me; she was there all alone for six months. My mom was right; I was the lucky one.
“Who took care of you? Did you not have contact with anyone?”

“Well, my therapist and I Skyped once a week. My parents would come by every other week or so to restock my supplies. I would text Anna every so often.” She drops her head a little. “I didn’t want to cause anyone more hurt than I already had. Also, anyone else knowing where I was could only put them in danger. I just couldn’t do that.”

In that moment, I see that look in her eyes. That look of pure innocence that I love. I hold the gaze on her eyes until we hear the backdoor open.

Anna steps out. “Hey, what are you guys doing? Come in, we are wrapping it up.”
I throw a look back at Anna. “We’re coming, short stuff.”
I stand up and hold out my hand for Daria. “So Daria, can we be friends?”
She nods. “I’d like that.”

Chapter 7
Daria

As we walk back inside, I see that the only people left are Anna, Russ, Linc, Gabby, and their parents. Sans Gabby’s mom. Lydia and Richard look very chummy; I feel like I’ve missed something there. After leaving the guys to clean everything up, the girls put the baby stuff away. I finally bite the bullet and ask Gabby, “Hey, this may seem like a strange question, but are your dad and Lydia seeing each other?”

They both start laughing. Gabby looks at me. “Sorry, it’s just – well, it’s something we’re still getting used to.”

“Oh, okay. I know it’s probably kind of weird.” Anna laughs. “Not as weird for us as it is for Cade.”
Gabby pops her in the arm. “Ugh, I can’t hear all of this again.”
I look at them, confused. “What? I feel so lost.”

“Let’s just say Cade was the first one to find out about them. He, um, found them in a very compromising position on the kitchen floor.”

I burst out laughing, trying to catch my breath. “Okay, now I
have
to hear the whole story.”

They sit down and tell me about Cade walking in on their parents, about him falling over a chair. It all sounds very hysterical. “So are you guys all okay with them dating?”

Gabby shrugs. “Sure. I mean we’ve always been like family anyway.”
“Well, it seems like they’re happy together.”
Anna smiles. “Yeah. Dad seems happier than he’s been in years.”

A couple of hours later, we’ve put everything away. We walk into the living room as Linc looks over at us. “Hey, we were thinking about throwing some burgers on the grill. You up for that and some beer, Daria?

“Yeah, sounds good.”
Gabby nods. “Let’s go sit out back while the guys grill. You can drink a beer for me.”
I laugh. “Okay.”
“I’ve never been much of a beer drinker, but being pregnant during the summer, I’ve been craving one.”
“I’ll take one for the team.”
We walk outside and the guys start talking about the upcoming season.

I dawns on me that I have no idea what they are naming the baby. With all of the boy stuff, I’m guessing it’s a boy, but that’s all I know. I sit down on the glider next to Gabby. “So no one has told me what you are naming this little boy?”

Anna starts laughing. “They can’t decide.”
Linc looks over at me. “I think we should name him Otis J.”

Gabby looks at him with a glare, cutting him off. “I don’t care if the guy is some famous football player and that they would have the same initials. I am not naming my kid Ottis James, John or whatever.”

Linc looks at her. “Oh and Preston Woods is so much better. I don’t want my kid named after some character in one of your mommy porn books.”

Gabby stands up. “Hey, Abbi Glines is a great writer. She writes greats stories, not just mommy porn.”

Russ shakes his head. “Why don’t you guys come up with something completely original or after relatives? Not stars or fictional people.”

“I think Russ is right. Are there any other names you like?”
Gabby sits back down. “I don’t know.”

Cade sits down in the chair beside her. “Okay, how about this. We all come up with a guy name, we put them in the hat, and draw out two.”

I look at Cade. “That is a horrible idea.”

Gabby shakes her head. “I agree; that’s horrible. It would be my luck you and Russ would put in names like Jack Mehoff as a name. I’ll think of something. But I do agree with Russ that maybe we need to research some family names or something.”

Linc nods. “Sounds good to me.”
Russ picks something up off the patio table. “Dude, Linc… you guys should keep this kinky shit in your room.”
Gabby looks up. “What are you talking about?”
Russ holds up a box. “Nipple butter.”

Gabby starts laughing. “Russ, you are like twelve ? That fell out of one of the gift bags. That’s for after I have the baby and the milk comes in my nipples”

She’s cut off by Russ and Cade. “I don’t ever want to hear a sentence with ‘my nipples’ come out of your mouth around me again,” Cade says.

Russ raises his hand. “I second that motion.”
She throws a pillow at Russ. “Fucking perv.”
“So how much longer do you have?”

“About four weeks or so.” “Wow.” I think about the life I’m never going to have. I’ll never have that house, with the picket fence, two kids and dogs. I’d be too scared someone would come in and shoot us all in our sleep at some point.

I look around at how happy everyone is. I really wish I was part of this again. It’s just not safe for me to be. I love them; I miss them and I want to watch over them. I just can’t get past the fact that I am a danger to them. They could all be hurt because of me and now they have a new life to think about.

I stand up. “Well, guys, I had a really nice time today, but I need to get home and do some laundry and stuff for work tomorrow.”

Russ looks up. “Where are you working?”
I figured Cade had told them. I guess not. “I’m working at Chandler’s on 82
^nd
.”
Russ nods. “Cool. We might stop by sometime for a drink or two.”

“Yeah, game nights and fight nights are pretty packed. It’s okay; I haven’t been there long. The people I work with are pretty cool.”

Anna smiles. “Well, you have to come over to our house soon. We are getting ready to start planning a wedding.”

“Okay, I’ll get up with you sometime soon. You can always just text me or stop by Chandler’s.”
~*~*~

Getting ready to start classes and working have made the past couple of weeks fly by. So when Gabby and Anna called to demand lunch with me today, I accepted. Walking into the café, I see them already seated with our lunches on the table.

Gabby looks up. “See, Anna? I told you she was still alive.”
“I just figured she might be disabled or something since she hasn’t called us since your baby shower.”

I sit down. “Ha ha, very funny. Sorry; with getting all my shit ready for fall semester and working, it’s been crazy. I promise I wasn’t ignoring you.”

Gabby flips her hair. “Okay, we forgive you as long, as you give me that pickle. So have you met any hot guys at the bar?”

Anna laughs. “Really, Gabby? That quick?”

I shake my head and laugh. “I see a ton of hot guys; it doesn’t mean anything though. I’m not interested.” I hand the pregnant woman my pickle.

“So Cade said you couldn’t get away from him fast enough the other night at the bar. Well, he didn’t tell me that; he told his mom. She told me.”

“Of course. You really don’t waste any time do you, Gab?”
She laughs. “Nope, got a lot of shit to do and not much time to do it in.” She points to her belly.
Anna smiles. “So, were you really trying to get away from Cade?”

“I just wasn’t expecting hi m. I was nervous. I figured he hated me. I don’t know why you don’t all hate me.”

Anna’s smile drops. “Why would we hate you?” I shake my head. “Being close to me puts people in danger. Look at what you guys came home to last Christmas, with all of the hell you’d already been through.”

Gabby grabs my hand. “Daria, you are a victim of circumstances beyond your control.”

Anna waves her hands around. “And as far as being in danger... I’m your friend and I don’t give a shit if the guy who offed Jimmy Hoffa is after you. I’m still your friend.”

I laughed. “Well, I’m pretty sure that guy is dead, so I’m not worried about him, either.”
Gabby looks at me. “You know he’s still in love with you, right?”
“Who the guy who killed Hoffa?”
“No Cade.”
I chuckle. “Yeah, because I’d be so in love with the person who got me shot.”
“She’s serious,” Anna says.
“Look, guys. I can’t be with Cade; he deserves someone who can share everything with him and I can’t.” “Daria you deserve love, too.”
“No, not really.”

Gab by grabs my arm and I’m expecting an argument. She has this strange look on her face. She looks at Anna and me, “My water just broke.”

Anna drops her to-go cup of sweet tea on the floor. “Holy shit.” She snatches her phone out of her purse. As she puts the phone to her ear, I hear, “Linc, its go time.”

I guess lunch is over.