Don't Wanna Try
Chapter 31
“Baby, there’s someone I want you to meet.”
“Who?” Hailie asked with wide, bright eyes.
“She’s Daddy’s girlfriend…”
“You gots a girlfriend? What about Mommy?” she asked biting her lip with a little worry.
“Now, baby, you know that Mommy and Daddy don’t get along…that we’re not married anymore.”
“I know,” she hiccupped, “But I just wanna be a family again…”
“We’re a family,” he assured her. “Be nice to her, okay?”
“I’ll try,” she grinned. “Just for you!” she replied and stuck her tongue out at him.
Vanessa saw them walking towards her, and she felt her heartbeat accelerate, thundering inside her chest. With a sigh, and a small smile, she steeled herself.
“Hey,” Marshall greeted.
“Hello,” she replied.
“Hailie, I want you to meet—”
“Your father’s secretary. It’s good to meet you,” she smiled at the adorable little girl. “Marshall, I’m afraid your girlfriend couldn’t make it. She said something came up…”
Marshall looked at her strangely, about to jump in and correct her, but she effectively silenced him.
“The plane’s ready to go, and the weather’s starting to get bad, so you two better get on the plane before it leaves without you!” she turned to leave.
“Aren’t you—” he started, still in a state of confusion.
“I will see you on Tuesday, Mr. Mathers. I took the liberty of clearing your schedule until that afternoon. Have a good flight,” she replied and quickly walked away from two blondes.
A few, lone tears cascaded down her cheeks as she stepped out of the airport.
Marshall stood frozen until he lost sight of her. He nearly ran after her, but he couldn’t leave Hailie by herself. With a frown, he took his daughter’s hand and boarded his private jet to go back to California.
A few hours later, Vanessa dragged herself back to the airport, tugging her suitcase behind her. She managed to purchase a ticket as a stand-by passenger for a later, commercial flight. With a sigh, she looked forlornly out the large windows in the waiting area by the gate. It wasn’t a smart thing to blow three thousand dollars on a single plane ticket, but she’d made her decision—one she’d stick to.
She would not interfere in Marshall’s life; seeing his daughter had clarified her mind—he needed to be there for Hailie, with Hailie, and maybe even with his ex-wife. She had no place in his life, and he had no real need for her. Not for a woman who started wanting more than he was capable or willing to give her.
“Your secretary’s pretty,” Hailie commented as she sat on her father’s lap.
“Yeah, she is—” he sighed.
“What’s wrong, Daddy? Are you mad your girlfriend couldn’t come?”
“Nothing’s wrong, pumpkin. Where’s that chocolate bar?” he asked with a forced smile.
Just what was Vanessa doing, he wondered.
He found out when he hadn’t heard anything from her in days. When he called her number numerously with no answer. He’d left messages—several a day—and nothing.
She was avoiding him, and he didn’t understand why. What had he done?
For the past few nights, Vanessa had forced herself to accept her own decision to break things off with Marshall. She didn’t have the courage to just call him up and tell him, at the very least. She was afraid he’d try and talk her out of it—and if he did, she was sure to cave.
On Monday, in the late afternoon, Marshall arrived at work, determined to find out what his secretary-turned-girlfriend was trying to pull.
“Who the fuck are you?” he screamed at the unknown woman behind Vanessa’s desk.
“I’m sorry, sir,” she stammered. “I’m just a temp…”
“Where is Vanessa?” he asked, a little more calmly.
“I don’t know, sir!”
Grunting, he went into his own office and sat at his desk.
When he glanced down, he found his answer.
Her resignation.
She had quit.
“Damn it!” he yelled. “Why the hell is she doing this?” he grumbled.
He missed her. He was going crazy not being able to reach her, find out what was wrong…
Seconds later, he smiled. He had her address; he would simply pay a friendly visit.
She knew it was him when she heard him pounding on her door. Tip-toeing to the door, she peered through the eyehole, and her eyes confirmed what she’d known anyway.
Quietly, she backed away from the door only to stumble on a shoe and take a spill on the floor.
Marshall heard the sound and knew she was home.
“Open the fucking door, god damn it!” he screamed.
“Go away,” she yelled.
“Please, open the door,” he asked.
Sighing, Vanessa realized that if she didn’t, he was likely to break the door down. She opened the door to find an outraged Marshall on other side.
He pushed past her with a snarl. She tried to prepare herself, hardening her heart from anything he might have to say.
“Where the hell have you been?” he growled.
“Home.”
“Why—tell me why. I deserve to know!”
“We just can’t…be together,” she replied quietly.
“Why?” he repeated. “Everything was fine! Good even… What did I do?”
“It’s not you!” she assured him. “Please, Marshall…”
“How can you do this to us?” he accused.
Dimly, she found herself backed against the kitchen counter. “Because we can’t be together!”
He attacked her—smashed his lips against hers, brought her body flush against his despite her desperate attempts to push him away.
“Why are you denying us?” he asked.
She looked away.
“Why, damn it!” he shouted angrily.
“Because there’s no room in your life for me! We’re going nowhere, Marshall!”
“What the—” he started.
“Please, Marshall… Please leave.”
The pain etched in her voice caused him to step away from her and walk out of her apartment—and life.
Chapter 32Author: zines@aol.com
These stories are for entertainment purposes only. They are completely fictitious, and the authors mean no harm to EMINEM, his family, friends, or anyone else that may have been depicted as a 'real life' character. No money was made on the fiction here, either directly or indirectly, i.e. paid advertising. In other words - it's just a bunch of shit we wrote for fun. Please don't take it seriously.