Transcending Queen (9 page)

“You’ve been spending time with Clayton?”

“Not like you think.”

“Maybe it’s the same situation with this
chick.”

“Why are you here, Jack?” I asked losing my
patience.

“Just to see where we stand, if you’ve gotten
any good information from him.”

“I have nothing.”

“If you did, would you tell me?” he
asked.

“Would you tell me?” I asked furious with him
for not letting me in regarding his little sleepover.

“You remember he’s a priest, right?

“How could I forget?”

“He could be a major player in this case and
at the end of the day if he walks, acts and quacks like a priest,
he’s still a priest.”

“What are you getting at?”

“He’s unavailable.”

“If he’s the greedy bastard you think he is,
then would he really be true to his vows or whatever he has agreed
to?” I argued.

“You’re wasting your time falling for a man
like him.”

“You sound jealous.” I threw back in his
face.

“If you proceed I’m not going to bail you out
this time.”

“There’s a real connection. I can’t explain
it, like I’ve known him before. The other night I witnessed the
real person behind that dreaded uniform, a man free from all his
issues and he knew how to have fun. Most of all, he was happy to
share that moment with me. I don’t know if I can stay away.”

“I know you’re hearing me but you’re not
listening, I see you falling back down into treacherous territory
igniting some sick pleasure. You’re trying to fill some kind of
empty void without working through your own issues, jumping from
one messed up person to the next looking for a fantasy, someone who
doesn’t exist.” He sighed as exhaustion set in. Then he lowered his
voice before admitting, “Maybe it’s a good idea to call Alice after
all so she can help.”

“No, I’ll call if I need her!” I
exclaimed.

“God, why can’t you see this for yourself?
Are you done chasing Clayton then?”

I had no idea how to answer that question.
Fearful and scared, I wish I could walk away.

Jack was at a loss searching for words of
wisdom to enlighten the situation with the hope of knocking me out
of this rut, nothing came. His regret stung as he wished he could
rewind the past never bringing me to this place, but I was
here.

“Jack?” I asked solemnly.

“If I could’ve been that guy, at least then I
would’ve been able to keep you out of harm’s way.” Jack
confessed.

“I understand you want to protect me, we will
always have our friendship. It’s not your problem.”

“I’m going to hate this, but go and find what
you need to move on. If you run across any important information
you better come find me. Got it?”

“I want answers like everyone else in this
town, otherwise it’ll haunt me.” I admitted.

“You know you’re a fucking pain in my ass,
right?”

“Never had a clue”, I shot back with a
smile.

“You’re stubborn too, that might be your
worst quality.” He said breaking the tension with a snort.
“Melissa…” he held strong.

“Yes?”

“I do love you.”

I acknowledged his declaration with a nod as
I let him slip out the door and shut it after he left. I felt pangs
of loneliness stabbing at me until I refused to accept it any
longer. I flew out the door and down to the parking lot, I had to
keep going. Something kept tugging at me and urging me to follow my
gut instincts. I didn’t think, but just sprinted until I found
myself on a porch. I positioned myself staring a hole through the
door aching for what was on the other side.

“Melissa, is there something wrong? You look
disheveled. Come in, come in.”

“I had to come, I don’t know why. Is it
ok?”

“I’ll get you a glass of water.” Father
Clayton insisted.

He left the room when I thought, “Shit, what
am I doing?”

He reentered and I couldn’t muster the words
to speak. His demeanor differed immediately as we were not able to
take our eyes off each other. We found ourselves late at night with
the rest of the town sleeping. He invaded my space slowly and in
complete control leaning in for a kiss that commanded my complete
attention. Forgetting the glass in his hand, I ended up with water
sprinkling my blouse much like a baptism until he tipped it back
and set it on his desk. I grinned to let him know not to worry,
when I soon realized he knew exactly what he was doing releasing
any question in my head he might be a virgin. At his mercy, he
demanded to be in charge and dominate when I relinquished into a
submissive role eager to please as an explosion burst between us,
the very thing I waited so long for. My conscience flipped back and
forth wondering if God frowned upon this union, but my earthly
desires couldn’t be squashed. I needed him right then and
there.

“It’s ok.” He reassured leaving me without a
prayer to hold onto. Before I could blink, Colin stood before me
stripped of his persona and in raw form of his true self. In the
midst of crossing a delicate line that could never be erased, we
laid down together in the throngs of ecstasy mixed subtly with the
agony of sin.

Chapter 12 – Getting There

I found myself back in the motel room the
next morning, a smile crept over my face as visions of the night
before came flooding in. I rolled over to find a more comfortable
position remembering I had imagined us together much differently,
but reality is sometimes much better and far more exhilarating than
any fantasy.

Father Clayton rose that same morning,
showered and dressed while finding it nearly impossible to erase
Melissa from his thoughts. He felt like a new man while thinking
about her sweetness and recalling their more salacious occasions
together. This exact instance is what he feared most, he’d spent
years hiding behind the uniform praying to give himself to divine
intervention to shake the darkness for good, but never quite able
to achieve it. Over the years, it became too easy to hide this wolf
draped in sheep’s clothing. The lifestyle became draining as
expectations were immense with townspeople practically drooling in
his presence. They expected perfection adding so much pressure to
endure alone. His true desire is her, but once she sees him for who
he truly is that could potentially destroy people around him,
herself included. Questions kept hammering away at him as he
grabbed the keys off his desk and marched towards the alleyway to
open the garage when he heard a voice which made him stop dead in
his tracks.

“Colin?” I asked waiting for his
response.

“I didn’t see you there.”

“I gathered. You seem to be in a hurry.”

“Yes, did we have a meeting scheduled?”

“No, I just thought I’d drop by.”

“Right, well as you can see I have somewhere
to be.”

I stood motionless gawking, speculating what
thoughts were running through his mind.

“I really got to go.”

“Ok….Colin?” I called before he
disappeared.

“Yeah…” he waited.

Seconds ticked by as I saw how distant and
cold he turned which told me all I needed to know.

“Nothing, I’m holding you back. Just go.”
With that he rushed off to get his car and vanished without as much
as a goodbye wave.

The sunny day turned dark with a storm fast
approaching. The wind carried a chill as the clouds moved in
overhead. I studied the sky when a thunderclap sprang out across
the valley startling me shortly before a lightning bolt streaked
down to the earth. I knew the storm longed to be at our backdoor as
I rushed to my room to find shelter before the drencher came
pouring down.

Father Clayton stuck to the paved roads
driving right into the storm. It looked dangerous, but he was
already close to his appointments so he kept moving forward. He
reflected for a time wondering if she’d ever come close to
understanding the problems that followed him. She’s so fresh and
untainted, probably still believing in romantic stories of epic
proportion. He didn’t have time to coddle a relationship. “Is it
possible? Could I leave this all behind and start a new life for
myself, a new life for us?”

Melissa watched as rain poured out of the
sky. Disgusted her night with Colin was nothing more than a one
night stand, she quickly came to understand she’d never break
through his barriers. Tears trickled down her face as she thought
about how much she has suffered at the hands of men when John came
to mind. She was reminded of better times before Alice disappeared,
wishing his death to be a cruel hoax. She curled up under the
covers as raindrops gently tapped against the window lulling her to
sleep.

Father Clayton got to his next destination to
meet the others after his hospital visit. He ran to the warehouse
allowing the rain to soak his hair and give him more of an
impromptu shower when his foot landed in a puddle, “God…bless it.”
He entered the building sweeping his wet hair over to the side when
he saw them, “Boys…”

“Good to see you again, Father. Here’s your
profit this week.” Angus stated expecting Father would then see
himself out before another altercation ensued.

“Where’s the asshole I beat to hell last
week?”

“You told us to get rid of him, so we let him
go. Wasn’t any good to us anyway, if a priest could kick his ass
then how helpful could he really be?” Rich said laughing. Angus
held his breath knowing that Father Clayton wouldn’t see the
humor.

He studied both of them, raised an eyebrow
and then grinned. “You boys better be frugal with those comments, I
got the Lord on my side. You know what they say, leave it to the
wrath of God.”

“Your right, it was a bad joke, I apologize.
I was just trying to lighten the mood.” Rich stated as Angus
breathed a little easier with that being said.

Father Clayton studied him with a look of
disdain until deciding it wasn’t worth his energy, “I have a lot on
my plate today. Is there anything else of importance?”

“No, it’s all good on this end.” Angus
interjected.

“Next week then, keep it status quo.” He
stated making sure no one had any other words for him.

He rushed back to his car, got out of the
rain and checked his phone. There were no new messages. He dialed
the number of a man he needed to hear from. “Hey, haven’t heard
from you in a bit. What have you got for me?”

“Jack took the bait and she’s distracting him
like we told her to.” Joseph informed.

“Gretchen never disappoints and the lawyer’s
office?”

“The case has been dismissed. No one could
prove the funds were skimmed.”

“Beautiful, take a couple days off and get
some rest. I’ll be fine.” Father Clayton commanded as he
disconnected the call.

Chapter 13 – Abandoned

“Hello?” I said answering the phone.

“Melissa? It doesn’t sound like you?”

“Yes, it’s me.”

“Jack asked that I call, he filled me
in.”

“Alice, this whole thing is a mess.” I
whined.

“I knew you weren’t ready. Are you coming
home?”

“I miss John so much and I thought a change
of scenery would help, but it hasn’t. I don’t even know what I’m
doing anymore.”

“Melissa, you’re not in any condition to get
into another relationship. This has to stop, I can’t stress this
enough.”

“You don’t understand, our connection is
palpable when it’s good.”

“Listen to me, run away in the other
direction and clear your head.” Alice insisted.

“I hear you.”

“I’m coming there right now!”

“No Alice, you have your own problems. I have
to figure this out on my own. I’ll try to steer clear of him.”

“You promise…”

“I promise.”

“I’m only a phone call away.”

“I know.”

“I love you, you’re my best friend.”

“Same here.”

“Be careful.”

“I promise.”

“I can’t stand it I’m coming to get you!”

“Alice, trust me, you’ll see.”

“Ok, but call me if you need to.”

“I really need to get off the phone now.”

“Bye.”

“Give Maci a hug for me.” By the time I
clicked my phone off I had made my way to the end of the bed
brushing my fingers through my hair trying to image when this
nightmare would be over. Then rubbing my face trying to guess when
I’d start to feel better. I had no friends except for Alice and
Jack. The walls seemed to be closing in on this pity party as I
felt cabin fever squeezing into my very existence. I needed fresh
air regardless of the weather. After grabbing a jacket, throwing it
over my head and rushing out into the storm I ended up with Tony at
the bar again. “Hi Tony, long time no see.”

“Oh God, you see the weather out right? Isn’t
a young lady afraid of the shit storm out there? What if it
hails?”

“Shove it, this weather is invigorating. I
never had a better run than coming to see you and if it hails you
better stay inside, you don’t want to dent that perfectly bald head
of yours. You can’t afford a dip without any hair to hide it.” I
rambled sarcastically as I waited for the other guys to chime
in.

“Oh, she got you that time Tony and right
about your delicate skin. If it doesn’t make a dip, you’ll
definitely get a gash and that would be a bloody mess.”

“Everyone shut up! Enough…leave my head out
of this.” Tony insisted. “What are you doing here anyway? You’ve
been banned.”

“I’m not banned and besides I’m not drinking
tonight, just bored is all. I’m looking for a meal with soda or
tea, whatever’s easier.”

“Have you cleared this with Clayton?”

My eyes became little slits as I glared at
Tony, “He doesn’t control me.”

“Last time he carried you out of here, he
told me as much. And he threatened to put me out of business if I
didn’t listen. He has more leverage than you think.”

“I know.” I admitted.