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Chapter 9 – Defending the Nest

Darcy stalked through the living room as Pollyanna helped Howie change for his therapy session. She was pacing with nervous energy and annoyance. Darcy had been gone for over one week and came rushing back to Howie’s side when she heard Nicola was a permanent arrangement for Howie. Darcy wouldn’t have cared if Howie’s physical therapist had been an ugly woman or a man, but Nicola was different. Darcy knew that Nicola would be detrimental to her position in the Dorough household if given the chance. Darcy wanted to defend her territory. She refused to have another woman destroy what she had worked so hard to create and maintain.

“Darcy? What are you doing here?” Howie blurted with surprise when Pollyanna wheeled him into the living room. He didn’t expect to see her back so soon. Howie understood that she had several fashion shoots lined up. He knew her career was very important to her and he didn’t want to ruin her chances at scoring into the big time fashion projects. His family might have scorned her putting her career before his needs, but Howie recognized the need completely. Although, Howie had feared that he had lost his lover along with his friends to the crippling accident.

“Honey! Don’t be silly! I’m here because I love you and missed you terribly! I needed a break, too. Do you know how rough work is? All these girls hustled around me complaining about their thighs! Then another approached me to do a photo shoot by myself. They said that I’m too pretty to have other girls shadowing me. I just can’t be a fashion designer and model, but I love them both! But, I do need your kisses to make me feel better!” Darcy giggled, finishing her complaints. Without another word, Darcy attacked Howie with several heated kisses. Howie accepted each kiss with a blushing smile. Darcy gloated, knowing that Howie was thrilled to see her again.

“Darcy, you can have all the kisses you need!” Howie enthused, bringing Darcy’s lips quickly back to his own. He yearned for the touch of his lover. He needed to feel whole again. He needed something stable in his crumbling life. His friends had fled in terror, but he hoped that Darcy would remain true to him. He wanted everything to be normal again, but knew that would never occur. He could still obtain some kind of normalcy, but he needed Darcy’s love to be normal.

“You’re so sweet! I’ve missed you so much!” Darcy cooed, kissing him another time before falling onto the plush couch. Darcy said nothing to recognize Pollyanna, because she was too concerned in her own needs. Darcy, instead of offering a proper hello, snatched her never-ending purse to pull a small mirror from it. She flipped it open with one quick snap to check that Howie hadn’t smeared her perfect lipstick. When she was sure that her lipstick hadn’t been marred, she applied a fresh coat of gloss, and then slipped the mirror back into the purse.

“I’ve missed you, too,” Howie relished.

“Do you know what I was thinking?” Darcy bubbled, snapping her lip-gloss closed. Her dark eyes lit with delight at her sudden moment of reflection. She pursed her lips into an alluring smile, causing Howie to shiver with delight. He could never resist Darcy’s charms. “You could take me out to the new Italian restaurant that opened up near here. If you called now, I’m sure that they’d push us to a beautiful table! They absolutely love you, Honey! Could you do that for me?”

“Darcy–”

“No,” Pollyanna blurted, stepping into the conversation before Howie could agree. Darcy ignored her outburst however, because she had pulled her cell phone hastily from the bag to order reservations. Pollyanna seethed with annoyance, knowing that Howie couldn’t resist the nasty temptress. She knew Darcy could only hurt her brother and she wanted to protect him, even if it meant for him to become livid at her. Pollyanna leaned forward to snap the cell phone closed and spoke quickly before Darcy’s shrill cry emerged. “Howie can’t go out today.”

“Excuse me?” Darcy huffed with a sour glare toward Pollyanna.

“Nicola, Howie’s therapist, is due here at any moment. So, he’s going to be busy. He can’t take you out for Italian and he couldn’t very well drive you there himself, either. I’m sorry, Darcy,” Pollyanna cooed with a nasty smile, shielding her face from Howie’s view.

“Howie! You told me you quit therapy!” Darcy whined.

“He realized it was a mistake,” Pollyanna answered with a stern glare. She watched Darcy shift uncomfortably in her seat. Pollyanna couldn’t deny that she loved making Darcy squirm. There was a devilish streak that crossed Pollyanna’s usually cheery attitude when Darcy entered the picture.

“Howie!” Darcy snapped with annoyance, startling him.

“Darcy, I’m still really sore! Nicola says I need therapy to feel better. I want to feel better so I can dedicate more time to you, Baby. So, after therapy, we can order in from the new restaurant and have a special night together. I’ve missed having those special nights with you. Okay, Baby?” Howie compromised carefully.

Darcy immediately hesitated, frowning with obvious disappointment. Her plans were failing miserably because of Nicola. She wanted to hurt Pollyanna for interfering with her plans, but instead forced a sickly sweet smile. Darcy was about to speak another protest, but the doorbell chimed. Darcy growled when she watched Howie’s eyes light up. Darcy immediately knew that it was the snake that had come to poison her plans.

“Nicola’s here!” Pollyanna announced with delight. It was blatantly obvious that Pollyanna absolutely adored Nicola, which drove Darcy insane. Pollyanna smiled warmly at Howie and kissed his cheek, concealing her squeal of delight. “Why don’t you have Darcy wheel you to the exercise room and I’ll get Nicola?”

“NO!” Darcy interrupted loudly. Pollyanna and Howie glanced at her with bewilderment, not understand the wild outburst. Darcy quickly offered a coy smile to conceal her nasty plans. “Why don’t you let me answer the door? I haven’t even got to properly introduce myself to Nicola. I would like to do that since she’s definitely going to be an important key to getting my Baby better. So, Polly, I’ll answer the door and you can take my Baby back to the room.”

“Are you sure?” Howie hesitated as Pollyanna fell silent.

“Yes, I’m sure! Get! Go!” Darcy shooed, pushing Pollyanna and Howie out of the room. She sighed with relief when they disappeared down the hallway. Darcy quickly hurried toward the mirror beside the door when the doorbell chimed. She quickly fluffed her silky brown curls and adjusted her shirt. She pursed her lips with a smack to spread the lip-gloss about. She smiled, impressed with the image. She then swung the door open with a grand flourish, leaning on the opening of the doorway.

“I’m afraid we’re not looking to buy anything today,” Darcy answered crisply when Nicola came into view.

“I’m afraid you’re mistaken. I’m Howie’s physical therapist,” Nicola replied softly, swallowing her bitter words. Nicola knew that Darcy was completely aware of who she was. “Is Howie ready for therapy? He sounded pretty eager on the phone today, so I’m anxious to get started.”

“It’s Mr. Dorough,” Darcy snapped, “And he’s waiting for you in the exercise room.”

Nicola couldn’t respond as Darcy grabbed her and pushed her quickly into the house. Nicola stumbled a few steps, trying to regain her composure. She watched Darcy scrutinize her from head to toe, making Nicola shift uncomfortably. Darcy was disgusted and jealous of the beautiful woman. She mentally noted every characteristic on Nicola that she wished to destroy. Nicola was a natural beauty with strawberry-blonde curls that bounced playfully down Nicola’s back from the ponytail. Nicola’s sleek and gorgeous figure shined gloriously in the tight white tank top and baggy, black ADIDAS shorts. Her emerald eyes shone with a hidden desire as the sun reflected the golden sparks dancing about her irises. Darcy felt sick as she watched Nicola’s smile glow as if it were a gift from Heaven.

“Darcy Dominic, correct?” Nicola asked, trying to be as civil as possible with this hateful woman. She could already see through Darcy’s façade. Nicola had always been a good judge of character, but no matter what type of vibe Nicola received, she her best to be pleasant to all.

“Yes, I’m Darcy,” the woman replied nastily, crossing her arms across her chest with an aggressive nature.

“Howie has told me a few things about you,” Nicola announced, picking her large bag of equipment up from the floor.

“Did he tell you that I’m the love of his life?” Darcy snorted.

“He told me that he was very fond of you,” Nicola lied, pushing the strap of her bag onto her shoulder. Howie had actually said nothing of Darcy to Nicola. Instead, Darcy had introduced herself to Nicola as Howie’s significant other. The woman was pushy and overbearing, just like Pollyanna had warned Nicola over the phone. Nicola quickly decided from that day that she would do her best to be pleasant with Darcy, no matter how much Darcy detested her. Nicola was there to help Howie recover, not to make close friends.

“Just be warned that we are very much in love,” Darcy hissed.

“Excuse me?” Nicola hesitated, immediately haunted by Darcy’s threatening manner.

“Don’t play dumb with me, Blondie. I know your type and the angle you’re going to use. I’ve seen Blonde Bimbo Barbies do this before. Howie is my man. He loves me and can never get enough of me, no matter how many trashy women enter his life. Just let it be known that he is mine. He shouldn’t even have to put up with this stupid therapy. He’s only going through the therapy to satisfy his mother’s nagging–”

“Darcy,” Nicola interrupted tiredly.

“What?” the older woman snapped.

“I’ve got to see my patient. They charge me by the hour and it’s not cheap,” Nicola explained, immediately pushing her way past Darcy. She didn’t need Darcy to guide her through the house. Nicola already knew the way to the familiar exercise room. When she entered the hallway, Nicola heard Darcy snort with annoyance.

“You’ve been warned!” Darcy screeched.

“Yes ma’am,” Nicola replied with a smirk. She continued down the hallway as if nothing had happened between her and Darcy. Nicola knew the truth as she let Darcy’s offensive words pass with the circulating air. Darcy was not a threat and Nicola understood that she shouldn’t waste her time with Darcy’s odious words, because it wouldn’t be long until Darcy faced a bitter reality.