Torn (3 page)

           
“Look
guys I’ll just go stay at my house. I really don’t want to cause you all any
grief,” I spoke up, at that Archer slammed his hand down on the counter top.

           
“I
said she is staying here. She is my mate, I don’t give a damn about the
technicalities of her being married to Richard Higgins. Fate says she and I
belong together,” he looked at me and picked up my hand again. “I don’t want
you to go stay in a house that will cause you nothing but sorrow by reminding
you of your children.”

           
“Wait
a second, he took your kids away from you?” Darla asked. I nodded my head yes as
fresh tears fell from my eyes. “That’s just wrong,” she said quietly.

           
“Fucked
up is what it is. A child should never be separated from their mother,” Jagger
said. “What a dick, I’m really sorry.”

           
“Yeah
me too,” Darla chimed in. “Screw that dude you can stay here as long as you
want.”

           
“Thanks,”
I said as I wiped the tears off my face. “I really appreciate it guys.”

           
“And
if Richard even tries to show up around here, he will be the one that is
sorry,” Archer said as he cupped my face in his hand.

Chapter
6

         
I finished up my
spaghetti which was really just me picking around on my plate. Once the subject
of Richard and my children were brought up my appetite had vanished and had
been replaced with depression. Archer and Jagger conversed for a few while Darla
prepared something on the stove. I sat there staring at my plate of food
questioning what in the hell was going on in my life and wondering if I would
ever get to see my kids again. After a few minutes Archer glanced over at me
and I saw a look of concern flash across his face.

           
“Liz,
you ok?”

           
“Yeah
I’ll be fine,” I answered.

           
“You
wanna go for a ride?”
 
he asked with his
eyebrows raised.

           
“Uh I
don’t know”- I started but he quickly grabbed my hand and began to pull me out
of the kitchen.

           
“I
want to show you something,” he said smiling at me over his shoulder.

           
“What
about my plate? Shouldn’t I clean it up?” I asked. I guess I was used to being
the one left to clean up all the messes in the house.

           
“Don’t
worry about that Darla will clean it up,” he said and I felt kind of bad for
leaving a mess for someone else to clean up.

           
“But
that’s not right,” I said stopping at the doorway of the kitchen and looking
back at Darla. She had already picked up the dirty plate and had placed it in
the dishwasher. She looked at me and smiled waving her hand for me to go on
then she winked at me. I smiled back at her brightly and let Archer pull me
down the hallway to his room.

                                   
***

           
After
I quickly got dressed we headed off into the night. We rode for quite some time
and I found the stress leaving my body as the brisk night air rushed by me. I
clung to Archer tightly turning my head and lightly laying my cheek on his
back, taking great comfort in being so close to him. We rode up to the highest
point right outside of Talon Hills. I had never been out here before as it was
nothing but a bunch of woods and I was never much of a nature person until
Archer had taken the time out to show me such beautiful things like the
waterfall. I never imagined Talon Hills held such hidden gems. I was excited to
see what he was going to surprise me with this time.

           
He
pulled over on a lonely road, again he grabbed my hand and took me through a
narrow path. We began to climb up and I felt like we would never get to the top
of the steep hill but finally the ground under our feet began to level out and
the thick forest began to clear and open itself into a large field. The dew on
the grass reflected the moonlight and it cast a strange glow around everything.

           
“Oh
Arch it’s beautiful,” I said still clinging to his hand telling myself not to
make the same mistake I had made at the waterfall.

           
“There’s
more,” he said as we walked through the clearing and he pointed across the
field. My eyes followed the direction of his finger and I gasped as I saw an
old cemetery and church. It was clearly abandoned but it was still beautiful.
It had a gothic look and a huge bell tower where you could see the large bell
still atop it.

           
“Come
on, let’s go,” he said egging me on.

           
“Can
we go inside?” I asked.

           
“Of
course we can, it’s mine,” he said smiling at me.

           
“Wow
you are just full of surprises huh?” I asked slyly.

           
“Sure
am and this is only the beginning.”

           
We
walked through the graveyard and I noticed he looked at some of the old
tombstones with a small look of pain.

           
“People
you know?” I asked gesturing towards the tombstones.

           
“Uh,
my family,” he said quietly.

           
“Oh, I
am sorry,” I said feeling terrible that I had brought it up.

           
“It’s
ok, let’s leave that story for another day shall we?” he said as we finally
crossed the graveyard and had made it to the church steps.

           
“Ok,”
I answered not wanting to push the issue. We walked up the steps and into the
dusty old church. Inside it held wooden pews and the pulpit but little else
which made sense since it hadn’t been used for decades it seemed.

           
“So I
guess the myth about crosses and churches is just that…a myth,” I joked.

           
“You
don’t say,” he said as he led me to the steps of the bell tower. We climbed up
to the top and sat facing the town. From this point you could see everything
and the view of the small town in the valley below was breathtaking.

           
“Thank
you,” I finally said after we had sat there for a few minutes taking it all in.

           
“For
what?”

           
“For
sharing with me such beautiful things I never knew existed,” I said looking
into his eyes.

           
“A
beautiful woman deserves nothing less than to be surrounded by beauty,” he said
as he put his hand to my cheek. I put my own hand over his and closed my eyes
feeling the warmth rush through my body knowing he was feeling it too. I wanted
to do so much more with him to show him how much I cared for him but I just
couldn’t. Not yet, not until I knew where this situation with Richard was
going. Thinking of Richard definitely turned me off a bit and cleared my head
of all the fantasies I was having about Archer. I slowly opened my eyes and he
was still staring lovingly at my face.

           
“Oh
Archie, I wish I could give you so much more”- I started but he put his fore
finger to my lips to quiet me.

           
“Let’s
just enjoy what we can,” he said and we sat in each other’s arms all night in
the bell tower, eventually watching the sunrise break over Talon Hills.

Chapter
7

           
Once
daylight washed over us we headed back to the old house on the hill. We were
getting ready to get some sleep when my cell phone began to ring. My heart
pumped in my chest because I knew it had to be Richard or Deborah as no one
else had my cell phone number. I looked over at Archer with a look of fear on
my face. I was worried maybe something had happened to one of my children while
I was out all night again with Archer and I wasn’t sure if I could live with
that kind of guilt. Archer just shrugged his shoulders as if he couldn’t
understand why I didn’t just answer the damn thing already. I swallowed the
lump in my throat and picked the cell phone up, it was Richard.

           
“It’s
Richard,” I said to Archer.

           
“Oh I
will give you some privacy then,” he said as he got up off the bed and he and
Pharaoh walked out of the bedroom leaving me alone with my fear and a vibrating
cell phone. I took a deep breath and calmly answered.

           
“Hello.”

           
“Lizzie
how are you?” Richard asked coolly.

           
“I’m
fine and yourself?” I replied politely.

           
“I’m
ok. I drove by the house yesterday and noticed you haven’t been staying there
much,” he said.

           
“I’ve
been staying with some friends actually. I couldn’t handle being there without
the kids,” I said honestly.

           
“Ah,
friends right, so Lizzie can I ask you something?”

           
“Uh
sure Rich,” I said not liking where this was going.

           
“Just
what in the hell do you think you’re doing?”

           
“Richard
I don’t know what you are asking me exactly,” I said and I wasn’t trying to
play stupid I really had no idea what he was getting at.

           
“I’m
asking what you’re doing Lizzie. Why all of a sudden have you decided to hang
out and now stay with a bunch of dirty bikers? Where is the Lizzie I used to
know? You know the wife and mother Lizzie not this new biker Lizzie that likes
to curse at her husband and then run off abandoning her children. Are you going
through a mid-life crisis or something? Do you need counseling? I just want to
help you Lizzie before you throw your life away for a bunch of garbage. I don’t
want to see you turn into trash you are way too good for that you know.”

           
“Richard
I didn’t leave you and I sure as hell didn’t abandon my children. I love my
children to death and every day that goes by I miss them more and more. You can
say whatever you wish about the people I am staying with but since you don’t
know anything about them personally you come off sounding like a judgmental
prick. Let’s get one fact straight Richard you took the kids and left me so if
anyone was abandoned it was me. I am not having a mid-life crisis and no I do
not need counseling, you don’t like this new Lizzie well she doesn’t like you
very much right now either. You want to know what I am doing Richard I’m
fucking living for once! I have people around me that are interested in me not
just my ability to cook and clean up after them. People that take me places and
show me things I’d never imagine existed. That is what I am doing Richard!”

           
“Well
um ok Lizzie. Look are you having an affair?” he asked and I knew it was
coming. I had a sneaking suspicion that this is really the question he had
wanted to ask me all along.

           
“No, I
am not. I’m sure you will draw your own conclusions but I am not that kind of
woman. We are still married by law and I would not betray my vows that way,” I
said. I think it shocked him because he didn’t say anything for a few minutes.
“Hello?”

           
“I’m
still here,” he said quietly. “Would you like to see the kids for a few hours
this weekend?”

           
“Of
course,” I said excited. I was so ecstatic he was going to let me see the kids.
I figured he was going to be bitter and keep them from me until we went to
court, if we ever went to court.

           
“How
about Saturday afternoon?” he asked.

           
“Ok,”
I answered.

           
“You
can swing by my moms and pick them up around two but I don’t want them home any
later than five,” he said sternly as the coolness returned to his voice. I knew
his moment of kindness was over, I was back to being trashy Lizzie in his head
but that was alright I didn’t give a damn what he thought about me. I just
wanted to see my kids.

           
“Alright,”
I said quietly. “Thank you Richard.”

           
“Yeah,
sure,” he said and with that the call was ended.

           
“Yes!”
I exclaimed loudly which caused Archer to run into the room to check on me.

           
“What
happened? Is everything ok?”

           
“I get
to see my kids Saturday!” I beamed.