Page 22 of Monk
His breath is cut off with a loud “oomph” as I drive my fist into his stomach. Derrick doubles over, clutching his stomach with both hands, making a loud, wheezing noise. The blond starts to move but freezes in his tracks when I turn and glare at him. He swallows hard, his eyes darting between me and his friend, and back again.
“Don’t you fuckin’ move or I will break your goddamn neck,” I say.
The guy obviously believes me as he scoots back to where he’s been sitting before, staring at me with wide eyes and his mouth hanging open in a perfect “O”. Turning back to Derrick, I reach down and grab a fistful of his hair and pull his head up, forcing him to look me in the eye.
“You had enough?” I ask.
His face twists into a snarl and he launches himself at me. It’s the swing of somebody who doesn’t know how to fight. It’s clumsy, throws him off balance, and easy to avoid. The combat training that I received in the military kicks in instinctively and I turn Derrick’s punch aside, using his momentum against him and sending him sprawling face first to the pavement.
He hits the ground with a thud but quickly gets back on, his feet, his face a mask of rage. Derrick lunges at me, throwing a wild haymaker that I sidestep easily. I drive a hard punch into his kidney, and he staggers, dropping to a knee with a groan. I step up behind him and deliver a kick to the ass, launching him onto his face again.
“Stay down,” I hiss.
The people at the pumps and just outside the doors of the convenience store are standing there, looking at us. I know I’ve crossed the line—yet again—and if it gets back to Prophet and the club, I’ll be in deep shit. But at the moment, I can’t bring myself to care. I’m not going to let myself be disrespected by little assholes like these. Turning away from them, I turn my back to the two punks.
Derrick has managed to turn himself over and is kneeling, his hand pressed to his kidney, his face a rictus of pain.
“Do I have your attention?” I ask.
They both nod at me reluctantly, the blond looking beyond terrified. Derrick, on the other hand, is glaring at me. When I focus in on him, I narrow my eyes and give him the hardest look. Defiance fades from Derrick’s eyes and he lowers his gaze to the ground.
“You fucking clowns need to watch your mouth. You’re not half as bad as you think you are. Shit, you’re not even a fraction as bad as you think you are. Next time you think of talking shit, you had best think twice. Do you understand me?”
They both continue looking away, looking at anything but me. Neither of them speaks. They both sit where they are in heavy silence.
“I can’t hear you?” I hiss. “I said, do you understand me?”
They both nod but can’t seem to bring themselves to actually answer me. It’s the best I’m going to get out of them, so I give them one last look.
“And stop being such little bitches,” I snap.
Walking back to my bike, I can feel all eyes on me and sense the weight of their disapproval. I shrug it all off as I saddle up and start my bike, then roar out of the gas station, willing myself to calm down before I get to the church.
Chapter Nine
Kasey
The rainbow-colored unicorn stares back at me from the pink t-shirt in my hands, its wide, goofy smile glittering in the sunlight that seeps through the window. Shaking my head, I stuff it into the large trash bag sitting on the floor, wondering why in the hell I have ever worn something so gaudy and gauche.
“What in the hell was I thinking?” I mutter to myself.
I look at the bag stuffed full of clothes on the floor and find myself smiling, a flood of memories washing over me. Those clothes represent a far simpler time in my life. Most of them are from high school, a time when I didn’t have the constant stress and worry that I seem to have these days. A time when I felt free, with my whole future and endless opportunities laid out before me.
Fresh off my morning sensual endorphin rush, I get to work cleaning and reorganizing my room. If I’m going to be here for a while—and I’m pretty sure I will be—I want to make things comfortable. I take down the old pictures and posters, scrubbing away every trace of the teenage girl who once inhabited this room. As I work, I let my mind drift back through time, thinking back to those halcyon days of high school and realize it’s probably the last time I felt genuinely happy.
Although, I can see now just how fragile that happiness was. It was shattered just after my sophomore year, and I don’t know if I’ve ever truly put it all back together. Not really. Oh, I was happy for a time in college, and even early on in my marriage to Spencer. But there was always something missing. Some small piece of the puzzle that has never been put back into place.
For a long while, I was able to ignore it and pretend it didn’t exist. But it was always a constant irritant in the back of my mind. Like a splinter that’s stuck just underneath the skin that you can’t dig out. It seems more accurate to say that after my heart was shattered, I was only happy to a point.
I can feel the darkness and melancholia creeping in at the edges of my heart, so I quickly push it away. Over the years, I’ve learned to stuff it all down and lock it away so I can carry on with my day. It’s the only way I’ve been able to get through some rough days over the past few years. I’ve gotten very good at compartmentalizing.
The muffled ringing of my phone draws my attention—thankfully pulling me out of my head and my increasingly morose thoughts. I’ve been expecting a call from David, who promised to keep me updated about having Spencer served with the divorce papers. After rummaging around in my bag for a moment, I find my phone, connect the call, and press it to my ear.
“Hey,” I say.
“I wanted to give you a day to clear your head and come to your senses. But given the fact that I’m holding divorce papers in my hand, it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen, does it, Kasey? I can’t believe you had me served at my office. Are you trying to humiliate me?”
The sound of Spencer’s voice sends a rush of pure ice flowing through my veins. I’ve been expecting him to call. Frankly, I’m surprised he hasn’t tried to reach me since last night. But even still, just the sound of his voice is enough to send a strong flutter through my heart.
