21 Don't Call Me That

Standing back, I admire the wall I just finished painting.

Everyone took their own section of the bar to paint. At first, Toph and I were painting together, but we got separated by his aunt because we were ‘goofing around’ too much. So then, he got sent to the other side of the building.  To make up for it, Sammi put some music on and started dancing around with her paint roller. Needless to say, Aunt Ruth gave her a look as well.

Now, I’ve just finished painting my portion. They’ve picked this grey color a few shades lighter than the one already on there. It’s nothing lavish or brilliant, just fresh; something that hasn’t been soiled by cigarette smoke and drunkards’ booze. Aunt Ruth didn’t want to draw eyes to it; she wanted it to look clean.

“You missed a spot,” Toph’s arms wrap around my torso, nearly scaring me half to death. He chuckles as I jump and spin around to whack him in the shoulder.

“You scared me!”

He places a light kiss on my lips and uses his still linked hands to pull me to him. “I’m so very sorry, my love. I would never want to do that,” his devilish smile and hitched eyebrow match his condescending tone.

Shooting him a dirty look, I turn back around in his arms to look at the wall again placing my hands on my hips, “I didn’t miss anything.”

“Did you miss me?”

Laughing, I shake my head, “Nope, it was peaceful. And that was horrendous.”

“Horrendous?”

“Incredibly cutesy,” I chuckle.

“Do I hear laughing over here?” I hear Sammi trying to impersonate her mother behind us.

Spinning both of us around, I smile over at Toph’s cousin, “Yep. He came over to distract me as usual.”

Scoffing, my husband moves me to the side slightly, “First you don’t miss me, now you’re tattling on me. Aren’t you supposed to love me?”

“You forced me into this marriage,” my smile feels like it’s going to break my cheeks as his cousin laughs.

As he tries to pull his arms away, I start to chuckle again and grab his hands. Bringing my body around to face him; I plant a small kiss on his lips. He narrows his eyes, but I can tell he’s not mad. There’s a hint of a smirk playing at the corners on his mouth. Raising an eyebrow seductively, I bite my lip before letting it pull into a pout. It works as I hoped and he noticeable swallows.

As I’m about to apologize, the phone starts to vibrate in my pocket between us. We both jump at the sensation and look down to the offending object. Simultaneously, as our eyes connect again, we start to crack up. Sammi looks at us like we’re crazy, but I just hold my finger up as I fetch the mobile and walk away from the two.

“Hello,” I put it to my ear without looking at the caller ID. I should probably try to break that habit.

“Damian Moore-Hill?” The voice isn’t familiar to my ears.

“Well, Damian Ashton, but yes. How can I help you?”

“It’s been too long. And your last name will always be Moore-Hill.”

“Who is this?” I question, turning my back to my newest family members.

There’s a gravel laugh as the man shuffles on his end, “You don’t remember my voice?”

A shiver runs down my back involuntarily, “No.”

“You would think a man would remember his father.”

My blood runs cold. I lower my voice a bit as to avoid attracting any attention, “How did you get this number?”

“I told your mother I would find you with or without her help.”

“I would appreciate if you would never call me again.”

I start to take the phone away from my face when I hear, “We need to meet up, son.”

“Don’t you ever call me that,” I raise my voice at him. I can’t help it. Something inside of me just reacted to that word. “I am not your son. Nor will I ever be.”

I can feel a presence come up behind me. Without turning, I know it’s my husband. He doesn’t move to touch me; he just stands there as moral support.

“When will you meet with me so we can talk about this?”

“Never,” I tell him lacing my voice with acid. “I will never see you again.”

He chuckles again lightly, “That’s just not an option. Just like I told your mother, I will see you again whether you consent or not.”

“Leave me alone,” my body starts to shake with anger or fear. I can’t tell which.

That’s when Topher takes my unoccupied hand in his. He turns me around to face him with a simple tug. I know my face shows whatever emotion it is that’s running through my body because Chris’ eyes fill with anger. He holds his other hand out as to ask from my mobile, but I just shake my head. I don’t want him to be a part of this.

“Damian, you can’t run forever,” my father’s voice becomes menacing.

“I’m not running from you, you sick bastard. I’m living my life with my wonderful husband. I’m doing my job and I’m finally happy. Stop calling me,” a tear runs down my cheek as I shallow hard. I’m not sure where it came from. “You mean nothing.”

“You listen to me, you inconsiderate little shit. You are my son, you do as I say. And if not, just like when you were a kid, I will make you do as I say,” his voice is so loud that I have to move the speaker from my ear.

“Day, hand me your phone,” the anger raises in Topher’s voice as he looks at me. There’s no room for argument as his hand tightens around mine, but I still shake my head.

“Was that the faggot that conned you into marrying him?” my father’s quieter again and a bit arrogant.

Gritting my teeth, I shake my head at him even though he can’t see, “No one conned me. I love him.” I purposely leave out the part about the name calling. I don’t need to rile my husband any more than he already is.

“You can’t fucking love him!” I guess we’re back to the shouting then. “You are both men.” He takes a deep breath, “Don’t worry we’ll fix this.”

“There’s nothing to fix, Clark. I told you I’m happy. Now please, leave me be.”

“You will meet up with me, son.”

“I TOLD YOU NOT-”

I didn’t get to finish my sentence because the phone is taken out of my hand. I watch as my husband puts it to his ear with a sneer on his face.

“I’m only going to say this once,” his voice is low and murderous. “Do not call this phone again. Do not try to find him. Do not try to contact Damian ever again. If you do, I will call the police and report everything you put this family through in the past. These people are no longer your family; they’re mine and no one hurts my family. Do you hear me?”

He doesn’t wait for a response; he just removes the mobile from his ear and presses the end button.

With a deep breath, Christopher looks back into my eyes. His have lost the anger they once held and are now filled with worry. He slips my phone into his pocket as he pulls our joined hands toward him.

Clumsily, I let myself fall into him. We don’t exchange words; we just wrap our arms around each other.

After a few moments of aching silence, I take a step back with my head hung, “Why did you do that?”

“What do you mean?”

“Christopher, why did you threaten him? What if he retaliates?” I look up into his eyes as I arch an eyebrow.

He shakes his head and grabs my biceps with his hands. I know it’s meant to be a supportive gesture, but after hearing my father’s voice, I shrink back involuntarily. He immediately releases and takes a step further away from me.

Chris tucks his hands into his pockets before continuing, “Day, I’m not going to hurt you. I’m not going to let anyone hurt you ever again. You don’t have to worry about him.”

I feel horrible for shying away from him. Logically, it makes sense that he wouldn’t do anything negative towards me, but it was just a natural instinct. Just like now, I can’t go back over to him. Although I want to nuzzle into his neck, my body won’t move. I just keep standing here, staring.

Once he realizes I’m not going to say anything, he reaches a hand toward me. It stops halfway between us, testing the water. He’s trying not to frighten me and at any other time it would seem silly.

My eyes connect with his again. There must have been something in my graze that told him to keep going because he takes my hand lightly, “Damian, listen to me. Nothing is going to hurt you. I love you too much to let that happen.”

His words hit me hard. It’s like I can’t control my own emotions. I feel stupid for letting all this get to me. I feel vulnerable. I feel weak. I feel like that little boy that I haven’t been since my father left my life the first time.

My eyes start to burn as Topher continues to reassure me whilst slowly moving closer.

It’s when he’s only a few inches from me that I collapse against him. He doesn’t miss a beat holding me to his chest as my eyes release the last fourteen years’ worth of tears. Fourteen years’ worth of pain. Fourteen years’ worth of fear.

I vaguely hear him talk to someone near us before he lifts my legs to wrap around his waist. Then, we’re moving. He continues to walk, both of us quiet. When we stop, I pick my head up to notice we’re in an unfamiliar bedroom, completely alone and sitting on a bed. Well rather, he’s sitting on a bed, I’m sitting on him.

“Where are we?” I croak after a few moments.

He pulls me to lie back with him and starts to drag his fingers through my hair, “I brought you up to Sam’s spare room. I didn’t think you would want everyone to see you like this.”

“You carried me up all those stairs?” I prop myself up on an elbow to look at him.

His smirk appears, “And I’m alive to tell the tale.”

Shaking my head, I rest my body against his again, “Christopher, what if he does retaliate?”

“He won’t hurt you.”

Then a thought hits me that makes me sit straight up with panic, “What about Mum?” And then another that makes my eyes bulge, “What about Angela? No one’s there for them. Maybe we should just move to England. What if he tries to go there?”

He slowly sits up next to me as wraps his arms around me, “We can’t just move to England, Day. I mean, I guess we can if you want, but I don’t think it’s the best idea. In fact, I have a better one. What’s your mom’s address?”

I gave it to him as he pulled his mobile from his pocket. Feeling a bit worn out, I lay down again as I watch.

After pressing a few buttons, he puts it to his ear, “Gordy! How are you?” A smirk plays at his lips as his eyes shift to me for a second, “Yea, a week ago today. Best day of my life, man.” He chuckles, “I know, I know. We’ll have to get together soon. Yea, you’ll love him; he’s a great guy.”

“Hey man, are you at work?” There’s a slight pause as he changes topics. “Great! Can you do me a favor? I need to set up an installation.” He turns to me and puts his hand on the receiver, “What time is it in England?”

“What time is it here?” I ask since he took my phone earlier.

He brings the device away from his face to glance at the screen, “One.”

“6pm,” I don’t even have to think about it as I close my eyes.

“I need it done as soon as possible, but it’s in the U.K,” he continues to talk to ‘Gordy’, telling him my mother’s address and other details. “No, no, the best package you have. Put it all on my account; the monthly and everything. If you can send a technician out there now, I will pay extra.” There’s a quick silence were I feel him move on the bed. “Awesome. Give me just a minute Gordy, let me find out.”

I hear the click of a mobile unlocking then a few seconds later, “Hey Angela, its Topher.” He chuckles a bit as I open my eyes, “I’m good. No, he’s fine, napping really.” Another laugh, “I’ll let him know he’s a lazy bum. Is your mom around?”

Chris catches my eye and gives me a cheeky smile. “Hey Mom,” he goes back to his conversation. “No, he’s fine. He’s taking a nap.” Another chuckle, “We woke up early this morning. We’ve been busy.” A smile spreads across his face, “Actually, I was calling to see if you were home. Damian and I got you guys something for Valentine’s Day. It’s going to be delivered in about an hour. Will you be there?” he nods with the phone, “Great. Listen, I’m sorry to rush off, but I have to confirm a few things. Did you want me to have Day call you when he wakes up?” More nodding with a huge smile, “Will do. Thanks, Mom. Yep, love you too.”

He hangs up my phone just to pick his up off the bed, “Gordy you still there?” My husband lies down next to me before continuing, “Great, well everything is confirmed for an hour from now then.” He turns his head to look at me, but still talks to the device in his hand, “You’re a lifesaver, man. If you need anything, let me know.” My best friend lets out a loud laugh that makes me raise an eyebrow, “Dinner sometime soon, I swear. You’ll love him.”

After a few minutes of small talk, Toph hangs up his phone and rolls to side, sliding an arm under his head, “Are you feeling better?”

“I might if you tell me what just happened,” I admit rolling toward him.

His eyes are intense as he scans my face, “Gordy was one of my dad’s friends; I’ve known him forever. He works pretty high up at a global home security company. The same one we have at home. I just had him install it in your mom’s house so you won’t have to worry about her as much. If that thing goes off, the cops will be at her house in minutes.”

“You did that?” I sit up again looking at him, completely gobsmacked.

His genuine smile spreads across his face as he rolls to his back, “Yea. They’re my family now too. I want them safe. It’s the least I could do. I’m not sure why I didn’t think of it before,” his expression becomes thoughtful, as if he’s trying to remember something.

Without another word, I throw myself at him. I don’t try and molest him or kiss him or feel him up. I just wrap my arms around his body and lay my head in the crook of his neck.

No one has ever done anything that thoughtful for me. It makes me want to cry and shout and laugh all at the same time. If I wasn’t convinced before, I know now I’ll never find someone as amazing as my husband.

Once his brief stun wears of, he wraps one arm around my shoulders. The other one he uses to gently play with my hair as he tilts his head into mine.

We stay like that for a while. I’m not sure how long, but right up until Christopher says, “We should probably go back downstairs. Or we can just go home, if you want.”

“No,” I pick myself up and smile at him. “Let’s go finish what we started. I feel a bit better now, but we have other things to talk about later tonight, yea?”

“That’s fine, babe. Whatever makes you feel better,” he places a peck on my lips before standing and helping me up.

I do feel slightly better. There is still that nagging feeling that my father is correct. He will find me eventually. I can’t run forever. Unfortunately, Clark is a very powerful and determined man. I just hope it doesn’t go like that last time I saw him. I hope that no one gets hurt.