A Taste of Temptation(43)
She dismissed the files. His youthful escapades were not news to her. Tim had told her about them. He and his brother had a terrible childhood, but he had come clean about that, so why was someone sending her crap she already knew? They were about to be married; she trusted everything he said and did.
Still, the file beckoned her, she began reading page after page, describing altercations Tim had been involved in since he was nine years old. She hadn’t know there were so many. He had mentioned several things, but nothing as extensive as what was in the files. Her first instinct was not to believe any of it, but the documents didn’t seem to be bogus. “What is going on here? What else is this nut trying to pin on Tim?”
Finally, the last file. Timothy Edward Polaris Jr. returned to Chandler for aggravated assault on his brother…killed another youth in an altercation. She threw the folder down. “Oh, my God; no way! No way did he do these things. He would have told me.” Then she thought about it; why would he tell her? If true, he would never admit it; it would have been too hard to admit to. She jammed everything back into the envelope. Tim was the only one who could make sense of this crap.
She was up to 85 mph before she realized she was speeding. Nothing in that envelope was worth getting a ticket, or worse, killing someone, so she slowed down. She was on the Long Island Expressway, wondering how Tim would react to this, if he would try to find out who had sent the files to her. She didn’t know anything, but she did know that Tim would get to the bottom of it. So these were the files that had caused him to flipped out after the break-in at Claire’s office. Still, nothing made sense; Tim was not a murderer.
Tim had back-to-back classes that day, but she had to show him what was going on.
His freshman comp class was just letting out, and she sat outside of his door impatiently waiting for his last student to leave.
Tim smiled at her as she rushed in. “I was just thinking about you. Come in and lock the door. I’ve got about twenty minutes before I have to be across campus.”
She closed the door but didn’t lock it. “I was thinking about you, too. I really do have to talk to you.”
“Let’s go in back, where it’s more private.”
“Maybe we had better.” She followed him and waited until the back door was closed. His lips met hers; he felt warm and exciting. She hated disturbing the moment, but she had no choice. She ended the kiss.
“Come on, you know I don’t have much time today.”
“You and I need to talk.”
“Sure, but later.” He tried moving back into her arms but she sidestepped him.
“Tim, stop. I’m serious. Something has come up, and you need to know what it is before everything gets blown out of proportion.”
“Is it something about the wedding?”
“I wish.”
His eyes searched hers. “What’s going on?”
She held up the folder. “This, this is what’s going on. Someone FedExed this thing to me this morning.” She placed it in his hands.
He could feel his body heat rising, feel the anxiety stirring in the pit of his stomach. “I knew it would show up soon.”
“What is that crap, Tim? Help me understand.”
“These are the files that were taken from Claire’s office. Did you read any of this?”
“Yes. That’s why I’m here. Tim, I know you and Greg had a terrible life as kids, but there are things in there that don’t make sense.”
He leaned against the wall. “Then you know about the number of foster homes I was in?”
“Yes, but that’s not the problem. You told me about those, although I had no idea there had been so many. Look, Tim, I know things were bad for you, and that there are things that you haven’t told me. I understand. Who would want to talk about such things? But you could have tried trusting me.”
“What do you know that I didn’t tell you, other than that petty robbery rap?”
“Maybe you should tell me.”
“I don’t know what to say, Brandi! Things happened! My life was not a smooth road. I was a kid when everything happened. I hope you realize that.”
“I know one thing that happened. I was hoping you’d admit it now that everything is in the open, but I suppose you won’t…can’t.”
“I know what you’re getting at. Paul died of a blow to the head. I did it. Is that what you’re searching for?”
“That’s the one!”
“I didn’t know how to tell you. I didn’t know if you…well, if you would walk away from me. Brandi, Paul used me as his whipping boy. He and Greg were best friends. He knew I was part of the reason Greg’s life was hell. I couldn’t get this boy off my back. Every chance he got, he was nailing me. I got tired of it one day and hit back! He died, and my brother has hated me ever since.”
“Why would your brother take his side against yours? You were his brother, not Paul.”
“He was reaching for straws as I was, Brandi. He was a kid, a hurting, mixed-up kid. What do you expect?”
“I expected you to tell me about this before I found out from anonymous troublemakers. You’ve known me long enough. You could have come to me about this. I understand how kids are, Tim. What I don’t understand is why you didn’t trust me enough to let me into your life; even the ugly stuff, Tim. Everyone has some.”
“Didn’t I just say I didn’t know how to tell you?”
“What else don’t you know to tell me? What else are you possibly hiding from me?”
“Nothing!”
“Tim, you and I are to be married soon! You can’t trust me, and you’re about to marry me? Haven’t I had enough of men holding back on me? Look at what Eric did to me.”
“I’m not Eric.”
“Then who are you, because I don’t think that I know anymore.”
“You can’t be serious, Brandi.”
“I am serious. You withheld information about your life the entire time we’ve been dating. I have told you everything about me: embarrassing stuff, all the things that hurt me. I even told you about a man sleeping around on me. If that’s not embarrassing or humiliating enough, then I don’t know what is.”
“Brandi, just listen to me.”
“Why couldn’t you have trusted me the way I trust you?”
He sat down on one of the chairs, looking up at her. “Because you never murdered anyone!”
Tears streaked her face. “That is not what I’m getting at. I know that couldn’t have been easy to tell me, but you and I are to have a life together, for better or for worse. Does that sound familiar? I don’t love you because you’re perfect. I love you for the man you are…at least for the man I thought you wanted to be to me.”
“I am the man you fell in love with; a man with a checkered past, that’s all.”
“You’re a man who can’t trust his fiancée, and that hurts me…that hurts me, Tim!”
He took her into his arms. “Brandi, I never meant to hurt you. You’re the only one I’ve ever loved other than my own child. Let me make things right for us again. I’m begging you.”
She wiped her tears. “I have a lot of thinking to do, so let me out of here.” She pulled the door open and ran out.
“Brandi, please.” He ran after her.
Students stopped to look, but she didn’t care, and continued running until she was leaning against her car. She wiped away tears, but felt the coolness of the ring against her cheek and looked at it. I finally get one of these and I don’t even want it—not from him. She knew her own thoughts were a lie.
She got into the car, starting it and not stopping until she was home. Her parents were still at work, and Brian was at school. That gave her plenty of time to cry her guts out in peace, without having to answer a ton of questions. She looked at the ring again, then took it off, wrapped it in tissue and put it in her purse to give it back later, when she could face him.
Tim sat in his empty classroom. Another failed relationship was weighing heavily on his chest. Passing students stared at him, but he didn’t care. What he cared about was that a beautiful young woman had just run out of his life, probably forever.
CHAPTER 21
Brandi didn’t know where the ring was. She had agonized for days before deciding she could face Tim again. She knew she had to face him and return the ring.
Mrs. Miles stood outside the door watching her daughter’s frantic search. She knew what Brandi was looking for. “I put it in your bottom drawer.”
Brandi pretended not to know what her mother was talking about. “What’s in the drawer?”
“Don’t be coy. I know what you’re looking for. Any woman would know that from the looks of the ring.”
Knowing now that it was safely inside the top drawer, she sat next to her mother on the bed. “Thanks for putting it away for me. I don’t know how I could have been so careless.”
“Indeed. It’s gorgeous. Why was it under your bed? I walked in and saw it lying on the floor. Brandi, what’s going on here?”
“Please, I can’t discuss this now, if it’s okay with you.”
“Well, it’s not okay with me. I find my daughter’s engagement ring on the floor; and you close yourself up in this room for three days, refusing to see your friends. I don’t understand you lately. Now what has happened?”