Page 49 of Six Wishes

CHAPTER23

Not real

Van

Alison is watching me with disappointment on her face. I am disappointed, too, but only because nobody seems to trust me around here. Chloe bailed on me right away. I didn’t even try to change her mind. I mean, I know we haven’t been together that long, but fuck that.

“Van…” she starts. I am ready to walk off at this point, too.

“Those pictures are not real, Ali.” I know I shouldn’t call her Ali, but Wyatt is not here, and I don’t care anyway.

“What do you mean they’re not real, Van? They are all over the internet. And I really mean all over the internet, Van,” Alison puts her fisted hands on her hips and looks at me with a judgmental look on her face.

“I mean that it is me in those pictures, sure. But I have no idea who that woman is. I have been with Chloe for the last few weeks now. I have not slept around on her.” I watch her eyes getting wider the more I talk. “I don’t care if you believe me or not, Ali. Those pictures are either photoshopped or old. Also, how the fuck they got pictures of me having sex, is beyond me.”

I want to lay it into her some more, but I get distracted by my cell phone ringing. I let it go to voicemail, but it starts ringing again. With a heavy sigh and an eyeroll toward Alison, I pull the phone out of my pocket. It is Chuck calling. Perfect timing. Fucking figures.

“Chuck,” I growl into the phone so he knows I am not a happy camper at the moment. “What can I do for you?”

“What you can do for me?” he gives me sarcasm. “What you can do for me??” I have never heard Chuck yelling before, and I have to say that it gives me pause.

“That’s what I said,” I do not raise my voice, but I am getting there.

“Well, you know what you can do for me, Van?” Chuck laughs into the phone. He sounds hysteric right now. “You can stop fucking everything in sight.” I feel my teeth clenching to the point where I worry I am going to crack a molar. “Where you find all these whores to fall at your feet, I don’t get, especially given your location. But you couldn’t just stick with the one you started the summer with. You needed more. Do you know what this means for your Kalypsos contract?”

“You’re fired.” Those are the only words I am capable to form right now. Alison’s eyes become large balls of confusion as she picks up on what I am saying.

“I am what?” Chuck bursts into laughter like this is the funniest thing he’s heard in a while.

“You’re fired. I know I have to give you a six-month notice. Consider this your notice. My lawyer will be in touch.” With that, I hang up the phone and put it back in my pocket.

There’s a long pause where I am just looking at the trees lining up the property. It feels quiet and peaceful. Not as nice as it is at my house on the lake, but it’s nice as far as little communities like this one go.

“Are you okay?” Alison’s voice reaches me from a distance even though she is standing right next to me.

“Yeah,” I smile and give her a side hug. “Maybe not at one hundred percent right now, but I will get there.”

I put my elbow out, and she hooks her hand around it. Together we walk back inside where all the wedding guests are still having a blast, drinking and dancing away like they got no worries in the world. And I guess they don’t. Not like I do now.

“Where’s Wyatt?” I look around for him. I need to let him know what transpired during my phone call with Chuck just now. He is officially on as my lawyer, agent, whatever the fuck he needs to be.

“He’s right there,” Alison points toward a small group of people, so we head that way. Wyatt notices us and smiles really big at his wife.

“Ali,” a little boy comes running out of nowhere and wraps his small arms around her legs. “I missed you!”

“I missed you, too, Ethan,” Alison laughs and bends down to pick him up.

I look at Wyatt and motion for him to follow me to a more private area.

“I sent Chloe home with Damian and Maci,” he tells me before I even have a chance to say a word. “She wanted to leave, and I didn’t feel comfortable sending her off in an Uber.”

“Thanks, man,” I slap him on the back. “Sorry things went to shit right at your wedding.”

“Nah, fuck, I messed up enough with Ali. There’s never a good time for that shit.” We both chuckle at that. “But it’ll work out.”

“I sure hope so,” I nod, but I don’t have high hopes for any of it. “I need to tell you something real quick…”

“Damian called me a bit ago…” Wyatt says at the same time, then starts laughing. “Okay, you first,” he points at me.

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