No answer.
I waited for a few moments, looking at the front window trying to see any movement coming from inside, before pressing the doorbell button again. I rubbed my arms trying to bring some heat to my shivering body. I glanced around the patio and yard making sure that I was at the right house. The snow covered the small parts of the yard but I was able to recognize familiar features of the house I sorta grew up in. If I squinted hard enough I could just make out the outline of what I thought was my great aunt's vintage Volkswagen beetle in the garage.
Why wasn't she opening the door? I know it's late but she should be home at this hour.
I started banging on the door, dismissing all courtesies aside and was about to start shouting for my aunt, when I saw light shinning from the front window and heard the locks being turned as the door was finally opened.
"I'm sorry to have waken you." I turned away, looking down at my suitcase and grabbed the handle before turning back to the front door to properly greet my great aunt.
"We are not interested in whatever you're selling in that bag or if you're trying to recruit us into some organization." I had zero time to process the fact that instead of my great aunt welcoming me, an unknown and topless guy was talking to me in an annoyed voice, "I don't know who in their right mind would come to someone's place at this hour. So I suggest you come back later or better yet don't come back at all and screw off completely."
He slammed the door in my face before I could even get a word in. I was dumbfounded, my jaw dropped. Who the hell was that guy? Was he robbing my aunt? I could barely look at the guy's face since I was too shocked to notice anything but abs... And the fact that some random guy was in front of me and not my great aunt. I was about to ring the doorbell again, but paused when I realized that I could have made a humiliating mistake. I thought about it for a minute before walking down the driveway to the mailbox and verifying the number on the side. I opened the mailbox and grabbed a letter from inside of it, reading out loud the address.
"Marsha J Everson, 148 Grant Street, Toronto, ON, Canada.." Yeah I was definitely in the right place, this confirmed it. I walked back up the patio steps, worried that I might have to fight some guy that could possibly be a criminal in action, and rang the doorbell a few times, shouting for the man to open up. While I was waiting I looked around the patio to see if I could chuck something at the guy's face in an attempt to rescue my aunt. I normally wasn't a violent person but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.
It felt like forever before the door swung open and the same guy, thankfully this time with a shirt on, greeted me with a scowl and crossed arms.
"Hey, I don't know who you are buddy but what have you done with my aunt Marsha?" I tried to stand taller, trying to intimidate the guy towering over me. The guy stared at my face for a long time before rolling his eyes and turning to the side, leaving enough space for me to enter.
Wait was this his sick invitation to become one of his other victims? As if, I would rather freeze my butt off out in the cold than fall for a trap.
"No way, you got another thing coming if you think I'm just going to waltz in while some guy could be holding someone I love as hostage." I was very concerned about the well being of my aunt but I couldn't let this guy think I was some easy prey.
"Well someone is the judging type. What makes you think I'm going to hurt anybody?" he snapped, his dark gaze never leaving my face.
"Are you freaking kidding me? You judged me first and slammed the door in my face just because you mistook me for a door to door salesperson." I snapped back, I assumed this shot of attitude came from a combination of different factors like being cold, tired and sad.
"You slammed the door in her face, Tyler?" A just as tall girl as the guy stood in front of me now, she hit his chest before turning to me, flashing me a small smile.
Oh shoot, was she his accomplice? Now how am I going to take two of them out?
"I'm sorry for that, are you Kate Everson?" I was lost in thought trying to remember some self defense moves that could be used as an offense attack but my attention was brought back to the two people in front of me. I nodded, still very skeptical about the whole thing.
"Please come in Kate, it's freezing out there and I can explain this misunderstanding." She seemed like she was being honest but my first impression of the guy she was standing to was not a good one. She must have noticed my hesitation and smiled again, trying to correct her partner's actions towards me, "Your aunt Marsha called earlier and told me you would be coming."
"Where is she?" My eyes squinted suspiciously at the guy, which made him roll his eyes at me once again. He muttered that he was going inside and walked away. For some reason, him leaving made me less anxious and I felt relieved, I didn't notice I was clenching my fists tightly until I saw his retreating form and relaxed for a bit.
"You don't know? She is currently in Bora Bora with Pedro. Tyler and I have been house sitting for her while she's gone. It's been a couple months now." I raised my eyebrows at these news, but I knew I could only blame myself. I was so engulfed in my relationship with Jason and work that I lost contact with so many family members. I felt an ache rise in my chest just thinking about how different I was, just trying to please him.
"Will you come in now? I can show you proof that we're not criminals or have bad intentions here." I didn't notice she had grabbed my suitcase and was waiting for me to come inside. I was amazed I lasted so long in the cold but finally I gave in and chose to trust her.
I walked in taking in my surroundings, my body praising and singing Hallelujah at the sudden temperature change. I turned to my right entering the familiar living room and breathing in the cinnamon spice aroma. I felt like I was a child again on Christmas morning. Memories of treasured family moments flooded my mind with images of competitive board games tearing relationships apart on the coffee table. I kept walking further into the room, touching the soft arms of the dark brown couch, it was like my body was weightless and I was floating as I took everything in. I was about to turn away and walk into another room when my eyes caught a glare. I walked towards the photo frame sitting on the end table and picked it up. I felt myself getting chocked up as I looked at the picture of my family.
"That's you and your family right?" I jumped slightly, hearing a woman's voice. I turned around to the same girl from before, wiping the tears that I had fallen from my face with the sleeves of my jacket.
"Are you okay?" she asked, walking towards me cautiously. I nodded, giving myself time to steady my breathing.
"Yes, this was us a few days before Christmas, when I was around 12." I pointed to each family member, "obviously that is my aunt Marsha, my dad and mom, the baby in her arms is my sister Riley and the nerdy looking kid is me." I remembered I had begged my mom to let me get bangs that year and boy did I regret those dreadful things. I smiled thinking about how bittersweet that year had been. It was the first Christmas without my great uncle, Jack, but it was also the first with Riley.
"Your family seems really close, I'm Tara by the way." she lend out her hand, finally introducing herself. I put down the picture before shaking her hand, I felt her flinch at my cold touch, "Kate you're freezing, let me go get you some blankets! I can start some hot tea or coffee if you would like?"
"Coffee is good thank you." I smiled sitting down on the sofa.
I watched as Tara briskly walked into the direction of the kitchen. I fidgeted, feeling out of place all of a sudden. It's funny how small a place can look after you have grown up. For the most part this place seemed the same but I could tell the changes that just made me feel guilty for the lost time. I noticed that the television was no longer ancient and was an actual model of this century. Also the old flower curtains were replaced with plain white window blades. I was taking in all of the details when I heard hushed voices from the hallway. My curiosity was getting the best of me and as I was getting up to get closer to hearing distance, Tara walked around the corner with blankets and Tyler behind with a mug in his hand, the familiar scowl still on his face.
"Here you go Kate." Tara unfolded the black blanket and swung it around my body while laying another across my lap. I smiled appreciatively, keeping my eyes on Tyler as he moved closer and set the mug in front of me without saying anything.
"I'm going to turn up the heat in the room."
I silently begged Tara to not walk away, hoping she would understand my panic look as a plead to not leave me alone with him. She didn't understand at all and still left me alone. I glanced skeptically at the coffee in front of me and unlike his partner, Tyler could easily read my looks.
"It's not poisoned, if that's what you're thinking." Tyler scoffed, "as if you're important enough for me to care about extracting any effort into harming you. I only brought it out because Tara just asked me to because she thinks you might not like me." His signature frown found it's way into his face again.
"Well can you blame me? You're the one that acted all hostile without a valid reason." I sneered back at him, as I took a sip of the coffee, appreciating the warm liquid provide me with much needed heat, "ever heard of this little thing called hospitality?"
"Yeah sweetheart, hospitality goes out the window when some random lunatic is banging on the door at 1 am, interrupting your much needed sleep." He smirked at me as I raised an eyebrow at the term sweetheart, trying to seem unfazed at how just a simple endearing term, even if it wasn't meant in an affectionate way, could bring Jason's voice into my mind. I suppressed those thoughts and feelings deep, deep down.
"Well sweet-cheeks, maybe you should go out the window." I smirked back at him, still sipping on the coffee. Tyler opened his mouth to say something back but stopped when Tara came back in the room. He looked away from me and grumbled that he was going to bed. I felt my body release all the tension that rises when he's around.
"I'm really sorry about him, he is usually not that..." Tara paused trying to describe Tyler's personality in a different light for me, but I already assumed the worst from his initial actions towards me.
"Annoying, rude, egotistical, arrogant, and overall unpleasant to be around?" I shook my head in disbelief as Tara laughed.
"He is not a bad guy, he had a rough day and I forgot to mention your aunt had called earlier." Tara apologized on his behalf but I was still certain I was not going to like Tyler's attitude or anything about him.
"What did she say when she called?" I chose to avoid talking about Tyler and talk about something more important.
"She said you were coming tonight out of nowhere and when she tried to call you back to tell you she wasn't here, she couldn't get a hold of you." Tara answered, tilting her head sideways, "how did you not know she's been gone for almost 6 months if you guys seem so close?"
I couldn't answer her right away because I knew the truth all to well. I just looked down at my empty coffee mug, not really knowing what to say. I knew it was because I had distanced myself for years from my family to be with Jason. All the sacrifices I made for him to feel like I was doing my part in the relationship were for nothing. I must have been wallowing in my self-guilt for awhile because I heard Tara clear her throat beside me.
"I'm sorry, I didn't realize I was asking something so intrusive and I didn't mean to make you cry." Tara handed me the box of tissue on the end table.
Was I crying? Oh, yeah I was again.
"It's okay, usually I don't mind questions but I guess I'm too emotional right now. Also my phone died on the way here before my aunt could contact me and I forgot to bring a charger." I wiped the tears with the tissue, and reached inside my jacket's pocket and showed her my lifeless phone. Tara was still looking at me like she wanted to ask why I was too emotional but thought better of it, which I was grateful for.
"Well Tyler and I have been watching the house for your aunt for those 6 months she and Pedro have been gone. I usually only stop by a couple of days, sometimes weeks but because my job makes me travel a lot, it usually means Tyler is the main one taking care of the house."
My eyes widened at the sudden realization that I would not be able to stay here now. How could I stay in this place with just that guy? The whole logic behind me running away from my problems was to avoid a guy. I yawned as I thought about my next moves and where to go from here.
"You must be exhausted, do you want to sleep in the master bedroom or the last spare bedroom?" Tara asked, grabbing my suitcase from the floor next to us.
"Is the last spare bedroom the one across from the master bedroom or the one at the end of the hall?" I asked hoping the latter one was free since it was my old bedroom from when I was a kid.
"It's the one across from the master bedroom, Tyler uses the one at the end of the hall." Tara replied, as we walked up the stairs onto the second floor. I stopped when I heard her say that.
Great now I'm just going to burn all my treasured items to disinfect them.
"Oh.." I was disappointed and annoyed even more by that guy now. Tara must have sense my change of tone because she glanced back at me, chuckling lightly.
"He packed all your old stuff into boxes before moving his stuff in." Tara said, as we reached the top of the stairs and headed to the spare bedroom.
I couldn't help lingering as I glanced at the closed door down the hall that used to be my old room. I felt my shoulders sag as I thought about how different this night turned out to be than what I originally planned. I was supposed to fall asleep surrounded by old things and hopefully regaining parts of me that I lost while I was with Jason.
I suppressed all my memories of him and the pain he ultimately caused me down and tried to ignore the ache I felt in my heart. I stared at the door of my old room for a bit longer and I noticed that the lights were still on. I couldn't help feel even more irritated with that guy.
So much for all that precious sleep that jerk complained about.
"Well I dropped your baggage in the corner and there's fresh sheets on the bed." I turned towards Tara's voice, realizing I must look ridiculous as I stood in the hallway glaring at a door. She was standing in the doorway but moved aside when I walked towards the room. I thanked her for all her help as I looked around the room my parents used to stay at when we came to visit for the holidays or any vacation. The room was pretty much bare except the queen sized bed and dresser. There was a small end table in the corner and I saw my bag laying on the floor right next to it.
"Will you need anything else for tonight?" Tara said, right before yawning.
"I'll be okay for now thank you again. You should go to sleep too." I felt guilty for keeping her up as I'm sure she had her own busy day already. Tara smiled at me before turning to walk out the room. She was headed to my great aunt's room before she turned back to say "I almost forgot, you said you needed a phone charger, I will try to find you one and bring it to you."
"Thank you." I had forgotten too on purpose because I wanted to disappear from my old life and wanted as little people as possible to contact me. I shut the door after I glared one last time at my old room door seeing that the light was still on. I walked towards the dresser and took off my jacket, laying it on top of the dresser. I sat on the edge of the bed as I unzipped my brown boots. I let out a breath as I felt my body relax a bit and release some of my pent up frustration. I let my eyes close as I remembered what happened before I ran away.
"Kate, sweetie, let me explain please." Jason grabbed my arm, forcing me to look at him. I wanted to get away, I needed to get away. I looked at his handsome face, hating that my eyes were already stung, filled with tears threatening to fall.
"Save it Jason, I don't want to hear your sorry excuses, how you weren't thinking, how it was a one-time thing, or how you blame me for leading you to another woman's arms." I spat back at him, forcing my arm from his grasp and creating as much distance as I could between us, "I've heard it all before remember?"
"Just give me a chance to explain, please for us?" Jason actually had the audacity to sound choked up. I shook my head, never meeting his gaze for longer than a second because I didn't want him to see and know how truly vulnerable I felt at that moment.
"No I-" I was interrupted by the home office's door opening and in came his secretary wearing nothing but his button down shirt that I got for him. I let out an empty laugh, looked at him like he was the most disgusting pile of garbage that I ever laid my eyes on and ran out of the room without looking back. I used the opportunity to grab the closest luggage I could find and filled it with any clothes of mine and shoes. I was zipping the bag when I heard Jason opened the door to the bedroom.
"Kate, please stop and listen!" I let his words be drown out as I ran out the bedroom, maneuvering away from his reach when he tried to grab me again. Oh you gotta be quicker than that a-hole. I grabbed the keys to my old high school car, ran down to the car parking lot and never looked back as he called my name.
Knock knock
I felt myself jump and my eyes open at the sound. I didn't realize tears were falling when I looked a myself in the mirror on top of the dresser. These people must think I'm a crazy hot mess with how I looked. My face was flushed, eyes, nose and cheeks were red. I barely could even recognize myself. All I could see was this lost and broken woman looking back at me, her sad and worn out blue eyes conveying that she's been through some stuff, so back off.
I tried to smooth my frizzy hair down before answering the door expecting it to be Tara. I felt myself frown when it wasn't Tara and instead was met with non-other than Tyler, who also mirrored my frown.
"What?" I grumbled at him, crossing my arms. I was still annoyed that he was awake even though I got a door wrongfully slammed in my face just because I interrupted his sleep.
"Tara asked me to give you this," Tyler held out his hand toward me and in his palm laid a phone charger, I was about to grab it when he pulled back, "but first, you have to say sorry."
"Why?" I rose my eyebrows, giving him an incredulous look.
"It's my charger, Tara doesn't have the same phone as you and I do, so in exchange for the service that I'm providing you, I would like you to say that you're sorry for judging me as some criminal." Tyler didn't show any emotion as my eyes tried to read his expression to see if he was serious or not. I couldn't figure it out so I just sighed. I was too tired to argue with him about how hypocritical he was being but I knew I needed to use that phone charger to get in contact with my family.
"Sorry." I tried to sound as apologetic as I could and it must have taken Tyler by surprise that I sounded somewhat sincere because I saw a flicker of emotion in his expression but as he was trying to cover it up, I used the opportunity to reach and grab the charger from his hand, "not sorry."
I slammed the door in his face and locked it up behind me. He didn't knock or yell, I heard his footsteps walk away from my door though. I smiled triumphantly, self-congratulating myself for the tiny win. I walked to the wall outlet next to the end table, plugged in the charger, and then connected my phone to it. I waited for the phone to turn on and all the text messages and missed calls to come through.
28 voicemails. 1 from my dad, 2 from my great aunt, 3 from my mom, and the rest from Jason.
After hearing my families voicemails and responding back with a simple, "I arrived and I'm safe, talk to you soon" text, I simply started at my phone for awhile. I opened the several messages from Jason that was basically him begging me to respond but I didn't listen to any of his voicemails. I wanted to cry and yell at the same time.
I was just too exhausted and emotionally drained from the recent events. I left my phone on the end table and walked to the bed and put the fresh sheets on. I glanced at my phone, biting my lower lip as I contemplated if I should listen to the voicemails. Sighing, I turned away and walked towards the door to turn off the room light. Fortunately the window in the room let in some light from the streetlights and I could make my way towards the bed without it being too dark as my eyes adjusted to the darkness.
In the silence I was left alone to all my thoughts and fears. Who were Tyler and Tara? Tara seemed like someone I could trust and if my aunt lets them stay here, they must be good people right? I turned to lay on my side and I stared at my phone. I started to reach for it but let my arm fall on the bed beside me. I felt betrayed all over again. I felt foolish for letting him take advantage of me. Was I just this sad, and pathetic person who would let someone treat them this way? I turned to face the other way, shutting my eyes to keep the tears from falling and forced myself to try to get some sleep.