Ruby Red 3 - A Romance for All Time (Complete)

Chapter 17

Sam winced.

Ali was pacing the floor in front of him, arms flailing around, a torrent of words bursting from her. He expected the news about Vicky to be upsetting but was surprised by her outburst.

"This is it Sam. I've been patient. Tried to do what you asked.

But you have to see it now. Right? You have to go to the police. Press charges. That...," Ali spat out the word, "woman does not get the right to interrupt your life when she feels like it. You are not her puppet."

"My love." Sam stood up and moved towards his fiancée. He tried to catch her arm but Ali was on the move. Agitated and angry. Clasping her hair in her hands, she was twisting it into a tight knot at the base of her neck. Ali was going into full-on 'I mean business' mode.

He had only begun the story. Breaking the news to Ali about the first phone call from Vicky. This reaction was enough. He was almost afraid to continue.

"Please come sit down." Sam made the first move, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. "There's more."

Ali's head shot up and she almost glared at him. Sam had rarely been on the receiving end of one of these dagger looks from Ali. It reminded him of the day she barged into the club last summer accusing him of stealing her car. He had cringed then and he did again now.

"More?" She put her hands on her hips, her fingers digging into the soft material of the bathrobe she was wearing. "How much more?"

"Sit. Please," He patted the empty space on the bed beside him. "I'll tell you everything."

After shaking her head at the ceiling, Ali stomped over to the bed and plopped down as far from him as possible without falling off. Crossing her arms in front of her, she glowered at him expectantly.

Swallowing to make his throat work, Sam started. "The other day, when I was out with Charlie. Well... we had our phones off. When we got back to the car there was a voicemail from ...her."

Sam gave Ali an account of the message, the suicide threat and how he wanted to ignore it but Charlie insisted they take it seriously.

Ali dropped her arms to her side when Sam mentioned Charlie, aware of his past. Taking the small gesture, Sam continued with his tale, relaying the details of his cousin finding Vicky and the rush to the hospital.

Sam looked down at his own hands. "We were waiting for the doctors to talk to us. Charlie was grilling me about Vicky. And... and I don't know, I just told him everything."

"Everything?" whispered Ali.

Nodding, Sam blew out a gust of air.

"What... How did he..."

"He was great. Didn't blame me at all." Sam raised his eyes to look at Al, her face, soft and understanding.

"Of course, not Sam. There's nothing to blame you for. None of it was your fault." Ali had said this phrase to him many times before.

"That's what Charlie said." Now for the hard part. Sam focused on the pattern of the bedsheets between them. Wrapped and twisted from two days of their bodies crashing together over and over. He wished they were tangled in them again instead of talking about this. About her.

Hoping Ali would understand once she heard it all, he rushed to get it out. "Charlie insisted we had to do something about it."

"Halleluiah. I knew I liked Charlie for a reason."

"We decided to talk to Vicky."

"That Charlie – he's so stupid when it comes to women. I knew I couldn't trust him."

Sam met her gaze. "Ali, please. Listen. I'm trying to tell you."

This time it was Ali who nodded. A silent agreement not to say anything else until he was finished.

He explained to Ali how Vicky let it slip that she knew from Charlie's social media they were at the baseball game together. They drew out of her how she had decided to fake the suicide attempt, watching the game until it looked like it was over. Then making the call and taking the pills. She hadn't known the game went into overtime. Fully expecting Sam to be there in time to make her throw them up. It was her plan to guilt him into staying with her on her version of a suicide watch.

"Charlie was livid. I've never seen him so mad before. I thought he was going to break something. Or someone. It scared Vicky."

Ali huffed but didn't say anything.

"Anyhow. I told her she had two choices. The carrot or the stick."

That got Ali's attention. This was the tactic Ali herself had used on Jack to neutralize his blackmail threats when they first met.

"She could either get help or get arrested. Typical Vicky, she didn't think I was serious at first. Then I played my ace."

A confused expression filtered across Ali's face.

"Remember the vial you took from her the night... you found me at her place?"

Sapphire eyes widened. The corner of Ali's lip curled in a half-smile. It seemed she did remember. Ali had been the one to suspect Vicky was drugging him. Rifling through the other woman's stuff, she found a small container of what remained of the liquid knocking him out that evening. Smart, smart Ali had kept the evidence.

"I told her we had it independently tested, along with my blood from that evening. It was a match. Then I added that her fingerprints were all over it."

Ali was practically beaming. "You lied."

"I did. For a good cause." He had hated to do it. But Charlie had insisted she needed a convincing reason to do the right thing. Vicky was addicted to him and if they didn't do something, she was going to get herself or someone else hurt. She had already cost Sam one brother. Could he live with himself if it was Ali next time? Sam was convinced.

"And...," Ali prompted.

"She took the deal. Voluntarily committed herself into a three-month program Charlie found for her. The suicide attempt helped rush the admission." Sam studied his hands again, not knowing how Ali would take the last fact. "I'm paying for her rehabilitation."

There was silence beside him. 

Now it was all out Sam felt better. The weight of wanting to tell Ali had been dragging on him all weekend. It lifted and he seemed lighter. It helped to know Vicky was locked away. Ali wasn't yelling any more. Risking a sideways glance at Ali, he wanted to gauge just how mad she was or if she understood. He saw nothing but love. 

"Are you ok?" She reached out across the bed and touched the tips of his fingers with hers.

"I think so." He moved his hand closer, entwining her delicate digits with his. "I was always waiting for her to blow up my life again. Now... she can't."

"Hopefully she's getting the help she ... needs."

Sam nodded. This was Vicky's chance.

Ali shifted closer to him, tugging their clasped hands into her lap. "Sam. Why didn't you tell me about the first phone call?"

"Ali." He tried to hold back the exasperated sigh but failed. "What would you have done if I had?"

"I would have hopped on the first flight to New York and gouged her eyes out."

Sam shook his head. A tiny part of him liked the idea of Ali being protective. It felt good. "Exactly. You needed to be here. With your father. And Jack apparently."

Ali was picking at a loose thread on her bathrobe. Sam instantly regretted his words. They had both made mistakes. The point was they were talking about them. He said as much to her.

"Agreed."

"So..." Sam dipped down and kissed Ali's shoulder. "Now that everything's out in the open... what are we going to do about Jack?"