Secrets & Lies

And Then It Rained| 23

It rained the next day.

It rained hard too.

Thankfully I was granted a leave from the workspace for the rest of week because I was not up for being there at all. I spent the day in bed with Kayla and Jace. It was nice having them around while I tried to sort out what I was going to do about Javier. However, it kinda sucked that I couldn't tell them the whole story. For their own safety I had to leave out some stuff.

As far they knew he'd been lying to me and he used my computer to get information on Sebastian's company. It was all they needed to know. All that they ever would know if I could help it.

After telling them what happened, they comforted me. They didn't force me to think of what I'd do next and how I'd handle this right then. But surely they would be hounding me later. Kayla was pretty straight forward but never when the wound was so...fresh.

I had my phones, tablet, and computer turned off for the whole day and I only watched Netflix. I was purposely ignoring all media outlets knowing that Javier's little stunt would be front page. "Do you want me to check?" Kayla asked referring to the status of the event from yesterday.

"Nah. I don't need to see what they're saying right now. It can't be good."

"Okay...your mom texted me though. She said she saw what's in the tabloids. She wants you to call her and let her know you're okay." She said. "Can I call her from your phone?" I asked.

She nodded and passed her phone over. I stood from the couch and went to take the call in the kitchen. Sighing heavily, I pressed call on my mothers contact. She answered right away sounding worried. "Kayla? Is everything okay?"

"Mom It's me." I spoke. "Oh my god, Nyla! Are you okay?" She asked frantically. "Yeah mom I'm fine. Exhausted, but I'll live."

"Why didn't you tell us what was going on? We could've helped you? How long was it going on?" She asked sadly. "How long was what going on?" I asked cautiously.

"The...the abuse." She all but whispered.

I blinked and then blinked again as I tried to process her words. "Abuse? Mom, Javier never hit me."

"These articles are saying that he was really rough with you and you ready looked like you'd been through a lot."

"But I'm telling you, he never put his hands on me. He was always respectful of me, well in that regard at least, but we're going through a rocky time. We were arguing then and he didn't want to continue the conversation there. At the cost of causing a scene he threw me over his shoulder and put me in the car." I explained.

"Are you okay?"

"...yeah."

My relationship was imploding and I was...okay. I hadn't cried once. I wasn't on edge and I wasn't that upset. Not as upset as to be expected. "Are you sure."

"Yeah mom. You can call off the Calvary. I promise I'm okay. He and I are going to sort things out and I'll let you know what happens." I replied knowing my dad probably booked a flight already.

"Alright, love. Be careful."

After hanging up I returned to the living room and handed Kayla her phone. "You alright?" Jace asked.

"Yeah."

The three of us sat in silence and watched movies for a little longer before both of their phones started blowing up. "What's that?" I asked.

They both shrugged and proceeded to check while I waited on a response. It seemed like it took forever as I watched shock wash over their faces. "Oh. My. God." Kayla gasped.

"What? What's wrong?"

"Your boss got arrested." She said. "What? Why?" I asked as I snatched the phone. There was an article from E news on her screen and I zoomed in a little to read it.

"It seems as if Javier Velucci cannot stay out of trouble these days. Sources say a fight broke out tonight in front of his restaurant resulting in him and playboy, CEO Sebastian Romano's arrest. Could it have been over yesterday's events with the mystery woman? Updates on the way as more information is being verified."

"Holy shit. Oh god. I gotta go, I gotta bail them out, I have to do-"

Jace stopped my erratic movements and frowned. "You don't need to get involved. This will only make it worse for you. Give people all kinds of ideas. Just leave it be." He advised.

"I-I.."

"Leave it. You need a detox from their toxicity." Kayla chimed in.

*

Later that night when both Kayla and Jace fell asleep I crept off of the couch careful not to wake them and went to sit on the balcony with a blunt in hand.

I sat on the swing I had out there and just swayed as I lit the blunt. If you would've told that this is where I'd been in life about a year ago, I would've laughed in your face. Here I am again having boy drama. I think I just need to go on a hiatus from men all together at this point.

As I took a drag, I was reminded of the times Javier and I would sit in the bath together smoking while he told me about his childhood. The thought of him possibly lying about them made the memories distorted. Everything he'd said had become distorted.

Even when he told me he loved me. I hoped at least that wasn't a lie. I love Javier, I do. When I say I love him, I don't mean in love though. I love him the way you do a person who you've grown close to and cared for. The way you love someone who listens to you and accepts the stupid things you do and say. But how could I even be sure of those things right now.

Even though I told him I needed to think, deep down, my mind was already made up. I can't stay in the relationship. It's too much going on. Maybe I'm another life we'll be right for each other again and we'll fall in love. But right now, I needed to get out of this.

I needed to get away from all of this even if I couldn't physically exit.