Ivy's Twisted Vine Redux Read online

  Awakened by the turn of the doorknob, Trina sat up in her bed. “Ivy, is that you?” she said turning on her lamp.

  “Yeah, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you,” Ivy said taking her pajamas out of her drawer.

  “It’s cool. Grey called you. He said call him back as soon as you get in. It sounded urgent.” Trina sniffed slightly.

  “Yeah, I forgot my cell phone earlier. I figured he had called by now.” Silence. “Why are you in the bed so early?” Ivy asked noticing Trina’s red eyes.

  “Kylan and I got into a fight, and I guess I just cried myself to sleep.”

  “What are y’all into it over now?” They had only been dating one month and this had been their fourth argument at least.

  “He was at the Mu mixer all over some other girl tonight. I thought that he and I were starting to get serious, especially after the other day at his place. You should have heard him going on about how fine I was then. But all he was trying to do was get in my pants, and I was too blind to see it.” Tears start to form in the sides of Trina’s eyes again.

  “Oh, T. Don’t cry over him. He isn’t worth it, and you know it.” Ivy grabbed a napkin from her dresser and passed it to Trina.

  “Easy for you to say…I slept with him that night at his house,” Trina said interrupting. She was sure that the news would stun Ivy since she had lied earlier in the week and said that she had turned him down cold.

  Ivy paused. “Well, I see what all the tears are for.” She sat down on the side of Trina’ bed to try to comfort her. “It’ll be okay though. You just have to learn from this and move on.” In actuality she wanted to scold her friend for being so careless with her body, but she knew that this wasn’t the time. Besides, who was she to judge?

  “I feel so stupid,” Trina said crying. “Truthfully, I wanted…no, I needed to hear the things he was saying the other night. Looking in his eyes, you would have sworn that he was sincere, but tonight, he was all over that freshman. I was so pissed off, girl. I just went over and threw punch all over him.”

  Ivy laughed. “He deserved it, and you deserve better. But I don’t have to tell you that, do I?” There was a brief awkward silence.

  “No, you don’t have to tell me.” Trina tried to smile for her friend. “Go and call Grey. I’ll be fine. I just realized that I really want to be back with Brooks. When we were together things were different.” Trina wiped her eyes.

  “Brooks? You hated him. If you two weren’t fighting, you were about to.” Ivy liked Brooks as a person, but as a couple the two hadn’t made a good match.

  “Say what you will, but I was happy,” Trina was content with her decision and had already made plans to reunite with her old flame.

  “Alright. If you like, then I love it.” Ivy picked up her phone. “I’m going to go and call Grey.” She wondered if her advice had only made things worse.

  The phone rang several times before Grey finally answered in a deep somber voice, “Hello,” he said looking down at his caller I.D. to see Ivy’s number.

  “Hey, Trina said that you called earlier. I didn’t have my phone with me. What’s up?” Ivy said sitting back down on the couch in the common area.

  “A lot.” He sighed heavily into the phone. “I really need to talk to you.” Grey tried to choose his words carefully. “I was hoping maybe that you could come over tonight. I know that it’s late, so if you don’t feel up to it, I’ll come to you.”

  “What’s wrong?” Ivy sat up.

  “What I need to say doesn’t need to be said over the phone.”

  Ivy could sense the stress in his voice and stopped her questions. “Okay, I’ll be right over,” she said hanging up the phone.

  *

  Half an hour later, Ivy pulled up to River Estates Luxury Condo Community and buzzed Grey. Hundreds of thoughts flooded her mind as she drove to his place. Now she was about to get closure. The gates opened, and she drove silently through the streets until she arrived at his driveway. Hesitantly parking her car, she tried to fight the fatigue that overwhelmed her. Grey came to the front door and turned on his porch light signaling for her to come inside.

  “God, what’s going on?” she said aloud softly.

  Ivy crossed the threshold of Grey’s home. Without thought, she allowed him to take her coat as she walked into the foyer. She looked around in awe as always. Grey’s home had been decorated by a friend, who as a professional interior decorator out of Houston, Texas. The entire home had been lavishly decorated in black Armani Casa designs. It was modern and masculine. Every piece of furniture was an architectural art piece reminiscent of the Art Deco era of the 1930s. Even his foyer screamed aesthetic harmony with its clean lines, ultra elegant designs and attention to detail.

  As Grey put her coat away, Ivy made her way to the living room where she noticed a single shot glass of tequila and a nearly empty bottle of Gran Centenario on the table. This was extremely alarming to Ivy because Grey was a light, social drinker.

  Ivy sat down on the couch and took a deep breath. Normally, she was ever the optimist, but her gut feeling told her to prepare for the worse. So, what ever he was about to tell her, she wouldn’t cry. She wouldn’t curse or hit him. She wouldn’t scream. She wouldn’t… Grey sat beside her on the couch and interrupted her in deep thought. His smile had gone and worry laced his face.

  Ivy starred at Grey for a moment in his black cashmere turtleneck and lightly starched chinos. She loved his smooth brown chocolate skin clear of any blemish, his strong sculpted jaw line, his adorable dimple that seem to be planted like a star in his left cheek, his smooth black eyebrows, deep dark eyes and his broad shoulders that sprouted out like wings.

  “You want to tell me what this is about?” Ivy said looking at the glass on the table.

  “How rude of me. Would you like something to drink?” Grey offered politely

  “I think that I would prefer to stay sober.”

  Grey sighed. There was no need to prolong this moment any longer. “Look, I know it’s late, and you’re tired. But, I wouldn’t have called you over here if it could have waited until tomorrow.”

  “It,” Ivy said quietly. Grey’s words frightened Ivy, but she sat patiently, attentively listening.

  Grey continued. “It’s just that you know we’ve been going in circles for a couple of weeks now, and when you come over, it seems like I have an attitude with you.” Silence. “It’s seems like I don’t want you here or that I’m being shady. I mean, just the other day, you told me that it seemed like I was acting funny with you.” He touched her leg as he tried to explain. She looked down and back up at him in total confusion.

  “Go on,” Ivy said trying to get to the point.

  Grey continued, “Damn, I guess what I’m trying to say is that I do acknowledge the fact that something hasn’t been right around here. And I acknowledge the fact that the problem has been me.” He thought taking the blame would lighten the tension, but he was sorely mistaken. Ivy still had a blank look on her face. “It’ just that I am going through something right now. I know you don’t understand, but it’s like this wedding is taking me on a roller coaster ride.” He took a long deep breath. “When we’re together all we ever do is talk about the wedding. What colors we might use? How many brides’ maids should we use? Where is the reception going to be? It makes me wonder am I truly ready for this?” His voice trembled. “Then, I feel trapped after you’re gone. I feel depressed you know…like you’re taking over my life.”

  There was a long quiet scream in the room that was accompanied by an occasional crackle of the fireplace. Inside, Grey was too confused to say what he really felt. Afterall, his friend had only hours earlier revealed to him that he was marrying this wonderful creature for all the wrong reasons. Breaking up with her was definitely the right…no the moral thing to do.

  “So you said all that to say what, Grey?” Ivy asked interrupting with her voice trembling. She had heard enough of his babbling. What did he want to do…elope?
>
  “I said all that to say that I’m sorry, but we can’t go on. It’s best that we just call it quits now.” Grey tried to avoid making eye contact.

  “Because I wouldn’t have unprotected sex with you today?” Ivy’s eyes bucked.

  “What?” Grey said appalled. “No.”

  “Then what brought all of this on? Why now?” Was she hyperventilating? Oh, God! I can’t breathe, Ivy thought to herself as the room began to swim around her. She stood up and walked over to the fireplace. She needed some room.

  “Why not now? Would you prefer that I tell you the day of the wedding? Or better yet marry you, and serve you with divorce papers before our first anniversary?” Grey could also feel the conversation escalading. Calm down, he said to himself. Just calm down and breathe. You can get through this. He coached himself in his mind as he took another shot of the tequila.

  “No, I’d prefer you be a damned man about the situation and tell me what’s really going on here, because I don’t believe that its all about the wedding planning or taking over your life. What about counseling? We haven’t even begun to try to hold this relationship together.” Ivy wiped the tears away as quickly as they fell.

  “Ivy,” Grey said trying to plead with her seeing that she was loosing her composure.

  “You know, I’m just not ready for this conversation,” she said trembling. “I’m not ready to hear that you just wasted five years of my life!” She screamed.

  “I never said that I didn’t love you. I’m just confused right now.” Grey tried to reason with her. Standing up, he debated whether to go to her or not.

  “Then get unconfused!” Ivy snapped as she turned back toward the fireplace.

  “I wish that you would see that there is a bigger picture here?” Grey walked over to her. It was killing him to end what they had so abruptly, but what else could he do? He had messed up enough.

  “Oh, I see the bigger picture, Grey!” Her voice rose again, and she realized that she had broken yet another promise to herself. “You don’t love me.” She looked into his eyes as she watched his temper overcome him.

  “I do love you. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t take the time. Don’t you see that? Just try to hear what I’m saying to you. Try to see what I’m trying to do.” His voice strained.

  “I see that you’ve broken my heart all because you’re scared that you’ll never get laid by another woman again. I see that you went to my father and asked for my hand in marriage without making sure that you actually wanted it.” Ivy raised her hand dramatically. “I see that I have spent time and money on a wedding that will never take place. And most of all, I see that you are not the man that I thought you were. That is what I can see, Grey.” Her voice cracked and mellowed to a broken whisper.

  “Ivy, I have realized that I was moving too fast with this. Before it’s too late, I have to stop this wedding…this relationship.” Grey looked at her for a moment and realized that she was just too emotional to follow him. As horrible as the entire situation was, he had to be direct with her in order for her to understand what he was truly trying to say. “No matter how I try to explain it, when it comes down to it, I don’t want to be with you anymore. I’m sorry, but I just want my life back.”

  “I didn’t ask you for your life in the first place.” Ivy’s heart was broken. She could barely make eye contact with him. Who was this person? Where was Grey?

  Now that the hard part had been said, Grey felt it easier to play offense. He pushed his point home. “At least you’ll have more time to focus on you.”

  “I can’t believe that you are doing this to me,” Ivy said with her eyes close to push back the tears.

  “Don’t play the victim here, Ivy. You’ve been plotting to get me to yourself for years. Now, you want to act like I chased you when you know that it was the other way around.” Grey let the words slip from his tongue before he had time to think about what he was saying. Woops… They both stood stunned for a moment unable to speak or barely breath.

  Why was he doing this to her? She didn’t deserve this. Not this! Ivy simply could not understand and in his drunken haze neither could Grey for a minute.

  “It’s not enough for you break off our engagement, is it? No, you have to go and break off our friendship too,” Ivy said realizing that she had nothing else to say to him. She straightened up her face and regained her composure.

  Why can’t she see that I’m doing her a favor, Grey reasoned with his conscious quietly? Just let go. Just let go!

  Outraged, Ivy turned on her heals and headed for the door trembling in disbelief. “Alright, Grey. I’ll give you what you want. Goodbye,” she said trying to hold back the storm of tears she felt welling up in her eyes.

  “Wait, Ivy,” Grey said trying to stop her! He didn’t mean to say it like that! He didn’t want to hurt her anymore than he had to. He felt all of it, but he didn’t want to hurt her like this. God! What was he thinking? He was so damned perplexed by his own feelings, he could barely think of hers.

  As Grey grabbed her arm, he felt Ivy swing around and with her open sweaty palm and slap him across his left eye. Stunned, he stopped. That had never happened before. But who was he kidding? She had every reason in the world to be angry.

  Ivy had broken her only remaining promise and now found herself weak with disappointment. Besides the tears that she could no longer control, she also felt incredibly betrayed. Forgetting her coat, she barged out of his house into the cold night air and got into her car. Before Grey could make it to her, she pulled off into the streets at top speed.

  “I’m so sorry, Ivy,” Grey whispered exhausted by their argument as he leaned against his doorway. He only hoped that he had done the right thing by her, finally.

  Chapter Two: Someone New

  Chapter 2

  SOMEONE NEW

  “For the last time, I am not engaged anymore,” Ivy screamed to Trina as she stepped out of the shower. “So, I wish that you would stop telling everyone that I’m getting married. The wedding is off.” She heard herself say the words, but she could hardly believed them.

  “Girl, y’all are going to get back together. It’s just a lover’s quarrel. Everyone has them.” Trina said self-assured.

  It had been three weeks since Ivy and Grey had spoken. Ivy had marked each day on her calendar like she was counting down some dreadful sentencing. She had received no phone calls, emails or letters. And she had not tried to contact him in any way either. It was now painfully obvious that Grey’s outcry to be free had been genuine and that their engagement had been broken, but there was something she was holding on to that just couldn’t be let go so easily. Hope!

  However, Ivy dare not be too devastated around Trina, because it wouldn’t help things if Grey did come crawling back. No doubt she would take him back. Besides, she hadn’t told her family it was off, and she hadn’t told the bridesmaids they had wasted their deposits on dresses they would never wear. So as far as she was concerned she and Grey had just run into a few minor problems.

  For mental reassurance, Ivy had retired her ring to its original box in the back of her underwear drawer to guarantee that if Grey didn’t come return to her, she wouldn’t be forced to take it off in a fit of rage and launch it down the street. It seemed to be a recurring thought lately when she was in rare form, but when she returned to her sanity she would always remember that it was a perfect diamond worth over twenty thousand dollars. Obviously it was not the type of thing to just throw away. When she was alone, she would pull out the ring and slip it on her finger. Still in awe of its brilliance and more important its meaning, she still couldn’t believe that everything had ended so abruptly. It was all so terribly confusing, but she was hopelessly determined to believe that it wasn’t her fault.

  Opening the door to the bathroom, Ivy stepped out wrapped in her towel drenched in water. “What are you doing tonight? Oh, let me guess. You’re going to Brooks’ place,” she said condescendingly.

  “Yes, I am. He is ha
ving some friends over tonight for drinks and a card game to end their seven-day stretch. He goes to Sunday and Monday off days after this.” She paused to catch a breath. “You know, you should come too. You don’t have any thing else to do.” Trina wanted Ivy to get out and stop sulking over Grey. She knew that time would bring them back together. They just needed a breather.

  “No thank you. You two argue too much for me. One minute you are all over each other, and the next thing you know, you two are back together.” Ivy laughed. “I think I’ll stay here.”

  “And do what… mope? Whatever. You are coming with me tonight. There will be some cute guys there tonight from other specialized units. Just remember that all the guys wearing the EMT style cargo pants are with specialized units. They make more money.” Trina winked.

  “Okay, I’m not a police bunny. I’m not looking to hook up with anyone.”

  “I know. But this will be a good time for you to get your mind off of your fiancé.”

  “He is not my…” Ivy hated hearing her say that, although she wished that it were still true.

  “He is your fiancé. Both of you just need time to yourself to accept who you are to each other. Better for it to happen now than after you two are married.” Trina pushed Ivy into the bedroom. “Now Brooks got off duty at ten, so get dressed.”

  *

  Trucks, drop tops, squad cars and even a few Hummers lined the quiet subdivision cove and a line of off duty officers stood outside the two-story bricked home that had to belong to the one and only heart throb… K.C. Brooks.

  For music blasting in the middle of the night and loud, half-naked women parading up and down the streets to their cars, other neighbors would have quickly been reprimanded, but Brooks seemed to not adhere to such community rules. It was normal for there to be large crowds of people hanging out at his home on any given day. And Brooks’ charm kept the neighbors patient and understanding of his hectic lifestyle.