Degradation(55)

     



 

Tate wasn't ready to call Ang yet, though. She was still so mad at him.  The things he had said to her, the way he had spoken to her. She would  wait till after Jameson got home, and then she would talk to Ang. She  counted down the days.

One really shocking day was when Nick Castille called her; the baseball  player she had screwed in her bar. He had gotten her number from her  manager. Totally inappropriate and against the rules, but she was  flattered.

Tate was lonely and bored, so she agreed to dinner. They had a good  time, but she stared at him when he asked if they could go on a "real"  date sometime. Nick was extremely good looking, and several times while  they ate, people asked him for his autograph. He was also really nice to  her, very respectful. It was a novel experience, and she knew he was a  catch. But she politely declined his offer  –  she was holding out for her  lord and savior, Satan. Nick seemed a little sad, but he smiled at her,  and said he could settle for being her friend.

And he meant it. He got her box seats to one of his games. They went out  to eat often, and even took in a couple shows. They got along  surprisingly well, despite being from completely different backgrounds  and living completely opposite lives. Tate enjoyed his friendship. But  she didn't push it  –  she never went back to his place, and never brought  him back to hers. Jameson had never once slept with the same girl twice  during their relationship. It wasn't a rule, really, but Tate didn't  want to be the one to test whether or not it should be. She would  respect Jameson's wishes and actions. She would wait for him.

She didn't speak with him at all, though. Not once. Early on, he texted  her a couple times. Mostly filthy things, to remind her who was boss. A  couple to ask after Sanders. A couple to remind her of her promises. One  to say he missed her. Tate stared at that one for days on end. But then  the texts stopped all together, and she found herself hovering near her  phone, constantly checking to see if he had sent anything.

When did I become this girl? I surrendered to him without even realizing it.

But nothing, however, was as shocking as what happened during her third week of waiting.

Tate was puttering around her apartment. Rus was at one of her vet tech  classes. Sanders was holed up in his penthouse hotel room, doing some  translating work for Jameson. Nick was at an away game. Tate was bored.  At first she had been afraid that without Jameson paying for everything,  she would starve to death, or worse  –  have to go back to temping. But  of course, he thought of everything, and Sanders had supplied her with a  steady flow of money. She felt like she was whoring for both of them,  but she didn't mind too much. They were both very important to her, so  it was worth it.

She was on her phone, getting ready to dial out for Chinese food, when someone knocked on her door.

"Just a second!" she hollered, sliding in to the living room. She peeked  through the peep hole, but couldn't tell who it was; it was someone  wearing a big, floppy sun hat. A woman, she assumed. Tate yanked open  the door. "I have religion, so I don't -,"

Her sister turned around to face her. Ellie was wearing huge sunglasses  that weren't doing a very good job of hiding a black eye. Her arm was in  a cast. And even though it hadn't been that long, her stomach looked  noticeably bigger. They stared at each other for a while, till Ellie  started to tremble.

"I didn't know where else to go," she whispered.

"Come in, come in," Tate urged, guiding her sister in to her tiny apartment. Ellie looked around, and then burst out crying.

After Jameson's little O'Shea family reunion     , things had apparently  gone downhill for Ellie. A broken jaw didn't slow Robert down at all.  There had been more fights. More smacks. She thought she could handle  it, but then he had pushed Ellie down a flight of stairs. That was where  she drew the line. He could do what he wanted to her, but he couldn't  hurt the baby. If he could treat an unborn child like that, how would he  treat the child when it was standing right in front of him? She didn't  want to find out.

"I'm sorry, I know you hate me. I know I ruined your life, but I just  didn't know what else to do," Ellie sobbed. Tate grabbed her hand and  dragged her to her bedroom.

"I don't hate you, Ellie. I don't even know you. And you didn't ruin my  life. My life is pretty awesome. You saved me," Tate told her as she  laid her sister down.

"I wish someone could have saved me," Ellie cried. Tate frowned and laid  on the bed next to her, got right up behind her and spooned her.

"I wasn't there. I could've called, I could've checked on you guys. I could've saved you," she whispered.

It took Ellie a while to calm down, but finally her breathing evened  out. She fell asleep. Tate crawled out of the bed and called Sanders.  Appraised him of the situation. He told her that he was "on it", though  she wasn't sure what that meant. She really wanted to call Ang, but they  hadn't made up yet. She hadn't spoken to him at all, so it would be  awkward, and worse, she worried it would come off as her using him. She  decided to make some tea instead, and carried it in to her room.         

     



 

"I'm awake now," her sister mumbled. Tate smiled and knelt next to the  bed. Her sister sat up to take the coffee mug and Tate's eyes wandered  down to her belly.

"Have you picked out any names yet?" she asked. Ellie sighed.

"Mathias if it's a boy," she said. Tate had to laugh.

"Good old Daddy probably loves that. What if it's a girl?" she asked. Ellie chewed on her bottom lip.

"I was thinking maybe Tatum," she whispered. Tate's eyebrows shot up.

"You're fucking with me," she spat out. Ellie shook her head.

"I want her to be strong. Stronger than her mother. More like you. I  always wished I could be more like you," Ellie explained. Tate felt her  eyes fill with tears and she forced out a laugh.

"If this gets any sweeter, I'm going to have morning sickness, all over you," she joked, and Ellie laughed as well.

Sanders showed up later in the night. He didn't say anything to anyone,  just breezed through the living room, giving his tight lipped smile to  Ellie. Even though he'd never been there, he lead the way straight in to  Tatum's room. Tate followed after him and closed the door behind them.

"What's up?" Tate asked, kind of surprised to see him.

"Mr. Kane sent me. He wanted to know how you were," Sanders answered. She laughed.

"Mr. Kane could just call me, himself. Tell him I'm fine," she replied.  Sanders didn't laugh, though. If anything, his mouth got tighter.

"We were worried that her husband might come here and try to seek  revenge. We both feel it would be best if you went to stay in a hotel,"  Sanders told her. She laughed even louder.

"How would Robert even know where I lived? He thinks Ellie and I hate  each other; she had to steal my address from my mom's contact book. I'm  not leaving my home," Tate informed him.

"We would feel much more comfortable if -," he started, but she held up a hand.

"We? Let's tell the truth, Sandy. It's you, isn't it. Just you. Did you even talk to him?" she demanded. He nodded.

"Yes, I did. He was very upset," Sanders assured her.

"But did he really say that? That he wanted me to go to a hotel?" she pressed. Sanders was silent for a while.

"If he'd had a chance, I know he would have. I know him very well, I  know what he would say in these situations. He was very busy when I  called," he explained. Tate started to get a little ticked off.

"Busy, huh. Too busy to talk to you about my 'situation'. Too busy to  talk to me. Has he said when he's coming home?" she asked, folding her  arms over her chest.

"Yes. The end of this week."

Tate was shocked.

"Wow. Were you planning on telling me?" she asked. Sanders looked away from her.

Uh oh.

"Yes. He wanted me to let you know, there is going to be a party at the  house. Sunday. All the partners will be there, people from his offices  in New York and Los Angeles and Berlin; everywhere. Black tie. He gets  in to town that same day," Sanders said quickly.

"Shit, that's cutting it a little close, isn't it?" she asked. He shrugged.

"He has me taking care of everything. If his flight can't make it, the  party will just go on without him. He told me to ask you to buy a  dress," Sanders told her. She laughed.

"Of course he did. A fancy dress, for a fancy party. Is there something  you're not telling me?" Tate demanded. Sanders usually had the best  poker face of anyone she knew. But now, there was something off. He was  back to not quite meeting her eyes.

"Ms. O'Shea, I ..., I've enjoyed our time together here in Boston. You  are a good friend to me. I am going back to the house tomorrow and will  be staying there. Would you like to join me?" he said quickly, his voice  almost shy sounding. She was touched.