An Illicit Gentleman II

                                         Chapter-Forty Five

            AJ unlocked his front door and walked into his house; he unzipped his hooded sweater and tossed it into the closet.  He walked down the hall and poked his head into the living room.  His lips frowned as he saw her lying on the couch staring at the wall on the other side of the room.  Slowly he walked between the couch and the coffee table; she sat up when she saw the movement.  Sitting down beside her he took her hand and kissed her on the temple.  It was kind of his new way of saying hello to her.

“I talked to the guys.” He signed.  “We came up with a plan so I can stay with you.” She shook her head no and started to sign something but he took her hands and stopped her.  “Yes, you need me here with you, you’re my wife Evie my first priority is you.”

“How?” She asked.

“I brought it up to the guys at the meeting and Nick came up with the idea we ask Kevin.” AJ told her.  “Nick, Howie, and I went there and talked to both him and Kris and they both agreed to do this for us.”

“What about Brian?” She asked.

“Don’t worry about Brian ok?” He signed back, she frowned a little.  “Are you hungry? Want to get something to eat before therapy?” He asked and she shook her head. 

“Have you eaten at all today?” He asked her.

“Toast” She replied as her first two fingers touched her palm and then the back of her hand.

AJ frowned. “You have to have more than just toast.”

“Not hungry.” She signed back.  AJ was about to sign something when the door bell rang.  “Door” He signed to her and then stood up.

He walked out of the living room and heard Eve following behind him.  AJ walked up to the door and unlocked it as he looked out the peep hole but stopped when he saw Brian standing on the other side.  He looked back and saw Eve behind him.

“Who is it?” She signed.

“Brian.” He replied back.  Eve sighed and headed back into the living room.  Opening the door a crack AJ poked his head out.

“What the hell do you want?”

“Can I come in?” Brian asked as he nodded.

“No” AJ replied.

“I want to talk.” Brian said.

“Well I don’t have time, Eve has a therapy session.” AJ snapped back.  “Plus she’s very temperamental right now; she doesn’t need you upsetting her.”

“You can’t be seriously thinking about not touring.” Brian said.

“It’s already done.” AJ told him.  “I already talked to Kevin and Kristin and they both agreed to it, so Kevin will be touring and I’ll be staying here with my wife.”

“So she’s now more important than the group?” Brian scoffed.

AJ lost it; he bolted from behind the door, grabbed Brian by the front of the shirt and pushed him up against the wall of his house.  “Is Leigh more important, is Baylee more important!” He shouted.  “What the fuck is wrong with you?!” He yelled at his band mate.

“Get the hell off me!” Brian shouted back as he shoved AJ away.  AJ came back swinging and nailed Brian in the face with a right hook.  Brian grabbed his face and shouted in pain as AJ stared at him with intense anger.  Then Brian charged at AJ and speared him and both men went crashing to the ground.  The two men wrestled on the ground trying to get a shot in when they were on top.  They rolled back and forth on the ground, AJ took a couple of jabs at Brian’s side as Brian cursed and shouted at him.  AJ was holding Brian down by the shoulders when someone grabbed him by the arm and pulled him off.  He stumbled back and fell to the ground and when he looked up he saw Eve standing there staring at the two of them.

“Stop!” She signed.  “Just stop!”

“What did she say?” Brian asked as he puffed sitting on the ground.

“She wants us to stop.” AJ replied as he touched his check to see why it was burning.  He looked up at Eve and she was signing again.

“What?” Brian asked when Eve’s hands stopped moving.  AJ looked at him annoyed, he grunted and mumbled under his breath as he stood up and looked at Brian.

“She wants to know what she did that was so bad.” AJ told him. “And it’s something I want to know too.”

“You know why” Brain replied.

“What because she was a stripper? Because I had an affair with her and it was barely an affair with the state mine and Sarah’s relationship was in at the time.” AJ said.  “You promised time and time again you’d let it go, you’re going to move past it but as soon as something happens that you don’t agree with, you’re bashing her and putting her down, that’s my wife you’re talking about, would you let me say that shit about Leigh? Because if I was that low of a person I could bring up some of her previous boyfriends.”

“Fuck you.” Brian snapped.

“See” AJ replied.  “Hurts doesn’t it.”

“At least Leigh-Anne never led anyone on, at least Leigh-Anne never cheated on me” Brian said as he looked at Eve.

“What the hell are you talking about?” AJ asked.

“Ask Eve, ask your precious wife.” Brian said to him.  AJ looked at Eve who was looking at him confused waiting to know what Brian said.  He signed to Eve what Brian had said.  “What is he talking about?” Eve shook her head and shrugged.

“Mats” Brian said.  “Maybe Mats was obsessed with her but only because she led him on, she would see him when you were on tour and then when she tried to end it that’s when Mats went nuts.” Brian explained.

AJ looked at Eve and signed what Brian had told him, he was having trouble signing because he was having trouble processing what Brian had just said.  She quickly shook her head and signed ‘No’.

“She says you’re lying.” AJ told him after Eve had signed it.

“I’ve had people tell both Leigh and I about it, they said Mats told them that it was about keeping the customer happy.  You were that customer Alex.” Brian told him as AJ signed to Eve while trying to figure it out in his head as well.

“Shut up!” Eve shouted at Brian and it shocked both him and AJ.  “You’re lying! I never did anything with Mats, never!” She screamed at him.  “Why are you doing this? Why?” Eve started to break down and AJ walked over to her.

“I think you should go Brian.” AJ told him.

“I know what I heard.” Brian said as AJ wrapped Eve in his arms.

“Yeah heard.” AJ snapped.  “You have no proof except what people told you.  Now get the fuck out of here and don’t ever talk to me outside of the group, ever!” AJ yelled as he walked Eve inside the house.

When they got inside and AJ shut the door he was immediately hounded by Eve.  “I swear Alex I swear he’s lying, nothing happened, nothing I swear.” She said as she started crying harder.  He knew she was upset because she was actually talking to him instead of signing.  Putting his first two fingers on her lips he silenced her and then signed.

“I know, I believe you, his source I bet you a hundred dollars was Sarah.” AJ said.  “He thinks you were, are a whore but I know different and I know you would never do that.”

She wrapped her arms around him and he returned the hug.  He pulled away and wiped her tears away with his thumb.  “I guess there is no chance on getting you to eat now?” AJ signed and she shook her head.  “Ok but after?”

“Ok” She replied with a light nod.  “Your face.” She signed with a frown.

AJ walked over to the mirror in the hallway and looked at the cut on his cheek and his fat lip.  “I’m ok.” He signed.  She motioned for him to follow her and they walked into the kitchen.  He sat down at the table as she walked over and grabbed the first aid kit.

“Think I need stitches?” He signed jokingly and she shook her head with a light smile.  Eve cleaned up his cuts and then put away the kit.  “I’m going to go shower before we leave.” He told her as he stood up from the chair.

Eve sat on a stool in a small beige booth her audio therapist sat behind a glass window on the other side of her.  She would play sounds and noises and she was supposed to listen for them.  They would play the beeps and other weird noises with her hearing aid on and off but of course she heard nothing.  Her therapist gave a thumbs up telling her that they were done and she took the big headphones off her ears and walked out of the booth.

“We will do that again tomorrow but we will use a special head piece, it will monitor brain wave activity.” She told Eve as they walked down the hall.  “Go have a seat in my room, we will spend a few minutes on some ASL and I will be right back.” The woman told her and Eve nodded.

She walked across the large physical therapy room towards the hall where most of the offices were.  Eve quickly looked to see if Alex was sitting on the other side of the glass wall; he wasn’t so she figured he went for a coffee and a smoke. As she opened the door to her therapist office something caught her eye and she looked down the hallway.  What she saw took her breath away and froze her in one spot.  There right in front of her was a little girl with black hair and blue eyes running down the hall towards her.  Eve started to shake a little as the little girl got closer but then a woman came up behind the girl and scooped her up.  The girl smiled and Eve could tell she was laughing as the lady carried her back down the hall but then something made the woman turn around.  Eve looked behind her and saw her therapist walking down the hall and talking.  She walked right up to the woman and little girl.  Eve watched as the two talked for a minute and then went their separate ways.

“Cute isn’t she?” The woman signed to Eve as they walked into the small office.

“Yes” Eve nodded but she was still a little spooked as she looked quickly back down the hallway as the little girl disappeared around the corner.

“She’s been through so much for a three year old.” The woman signed.

“What happened?” Eve asked.

“She was traveling with her parents and they were in a car accident, poor thing lost her hearing no chance on getting it back.” Her therapist told her.  “Her Father died in the accident and her Mother died a couple of weeks after due to her injuries.  Her Foster family brings her in for her sessions.”

Eve’s heart started to flutter and her hands began to sweat.  “She is in Foster Care?” Eve asked.

“Yeah she will be there a while I am sure, most couples do not want the expense of adopting a deaf child or a child with any disability.” The therapist signed and then looked right at Eve.  “Do you think you and your husband would be interested?”

“Yes” Eve signed “Yes we would.”