New Job: New Beginning Ch. 04

I went to bed early but never slept at all. All I could think about was Derek and mad he’d gotten. Thoughts of leaving the area, maybe moving to another state and finding a job crossed my mind. I just wanted to get away from here, away from everything. I got up about 5:00am, showered and dressed. I wasn’t sure what to do next. I sat at the kitchen table trying to decide.

I thought I’d better see if I could find another job for now. I grabbed my purse and headed out on the highway. I was cruising right along when my car started slowing down suddenly. I pushed down on the accelerator, the engine sped up but the car just kept slowing down. It started coasting. I took my foot off the accelerator and pulled over to the side of the road. I got out of the car and looked around it. I didn’t know what was wrong with the damn car. I noticed red fluid of some kind trailing from behind the car out onto the highway. Something had broken and I’d lost oil I guessed. It seemed like I was having one disaster after another. I just broke down and cried.

I still had Derek’s cell phone. I was in a pinch so I used it to call Mom at work. I told her what had happened. I asked her if she could get away from work long enough to come and get me. She agreed saying she’d call a tow truck before she left. I didn’t have the money to pay a tow bill so I told her I’d leave the car sit for now. I waited in the car for Mom to come by. A sheriff’s patrol car pulled up behind me. The female deputy got out of the car, put on her hat and slowly approached the car. She asked me if I needed help. I explained to her about the car and I had somebody coming to pick me up.

“What about the car? You’ll need to call a tow truck to get it off the highway.” The deputy informed me. “You can’t leave it here. It’s a safety hazard to other motorists.”

I nodded my head and told her I’d make arrangements to have the car towed. I didn’t know how I’d pay for it but a tow bill had to be cheaper than a traffic citation. She got back in her patrol car and pulled out heading on down the road. I saw a tow truck approaching ahead in the distance. I watched him getting closer and closer. The lights on the truck began flashing. He pulled over on the other side of the highway and walked over towards me. I got out of the car, grabbing my purse.

“You must be Sheila. Right?” The driver asked.

“Yes, I’m Sheila.” I answered.

“Kenny sent me out to get you. Your mother called him and told him you were stranded.” He informed me.

He pulled the tow truck over in front of my car and tilted the long bed back. He winched the car onto the bed of the truck and returned it to a level position. Reddish oil was running out from under the car. The driver noticed it too. He motioned me to get in the cab of the truck with him. We headed into Pueblo. The driver told me it looked like transmission fluid leaking from the car. I just rolled my eyes thinking of how I was ever going to pay for the repairs. There’s no way I could come up with the money right now.

We got to the dealership and pulled the tow truck around behind the service department. The driver tilted the bed of the truck and let the car roll off into a parking space.

“You need to go in and find Kenny.” The driver said.

I walked into the dealership showroom and looked around for him. He was in a meeting down a hallway with some of the salesmen. He saw me standing near the door and motioned me to wait on him. I walked back out into the main showroom and strolled around looking at the new cars. They were expensive, very expensive. Kenny and his salespeople came down the hallway.

“Let me get my keys and I’ll drive you work.” He stated.

“No, I…………………I just need a ride home.” I stuttered my reply. “I’m not going to work today.”

I almost broke down right there in the showroom. The salespeople were watching me. It was embarrassing. Kenny led me back to his office.

“How come you’re not going to work?” He asked waiting patiently for an answer.

I couldn’t tell him what had happened, that I’d had sex with Bryan. I didn’t want anybody to know that. I just sat in his office and stared out the window. Kenny got up and closed the door to his office.

“I’m still waiting for an answer, Hon.,” He said impatiently.

“I got fired. I lost my job.” I could barely speak the words.

“Boy, you must have really screwed up if Derek fired you!” Kenny exclaimed.

“I did.” That’s all I could say.

The phone rang and Kenny answered it. It was a short conversation. Kenny excused himself and left the office leaving me alone. I heard him conversing with someone down the hallway. I didn’t pay any attention to what they were saying.

“Derek’s out in the showroom. You should go out there and see what he wants.” He informed me.

Surprised at his statement, I got up from the chair and walked down the hallway. Derek was standing over by the main doors. I walked over towards him. As I approached him, he walked out the door holding it open for me. I followed him out and across the lot to his pickup. He got in behind the wheel; I opened the passenger side door and stepped up into the cab. We drove off the lot towards the city’s historic district. I looked over at Derek; he just kept looking straight ahead. We never said a word the whole time. We pulled into the garage and exited the cab of the pickup. Derek walked over to the elevator; I followed a few footsteps behind him. I wasn’t sure if he wanted me to or not, I just followed.

We rode the elevator up to the third floor apartment in silence. I looked over at Derek. He was gritting his teeth, his jaws rigid and flexing. When the elevator stopped, Derek opened the door. He grabbed my arm, pulling me roughly out of the elevator. I almost tripped in my high heels. Derek practically dragged me into the living room. I sat down on the couch. I just looked him in the face, waiting for him to speak.

“Your mother called me. She said you’d be late for work, something about car trouble. I didn’t tell her about what went on yesterday.” He calmly. “I figured you should tell her, not me.

“I just want you to remember one thing…………I’ll never forgive you for what you did.” He shouted in a rage. “Never…………I’ll never forgive you.

He didn’t say anything else. He just looked at me like he was waiting for me to say something.

I’m sorry. I mean it. I’m really sorry I did what I did.” I was barely able to speak.

Derek sat down across from me. He just stared at me. It was hard for me to look him in the face. He was so upset his hands were shaking. He got up and left the room. I heard the elevator lowering to the studio level. I sat there waiting for him to return. I sat back on the couch, drifting off to sleep.

It was past dusk when I woke up. I looked around the apartment to see where Derek was. I heard someone in the kitchen. I walked towards the noise figuring that’s where he was. Derek turned from the microwave when he saw me.

“Finally wake up?” He inquired.

I just nodded my head. “I need to use your phone to call Mom. I need to get home.”

“Your mother’s not home, she’s over at Ken’s.” He informed me. “Ken called while you were sleeping. He mentioned you mother was there with him.”

“I guess I’ll ride back with her then.” I surmised.

Derek looked at me. “That’s up to you. She might not be going back till morning.” He added.

I didn’t know what to say, what to do. I felt like hell. I was getting a headache.

“You alright? You look a little sick.” He asked.

“Just a headache, I’m alright.” I replied.

Derek reached up to an overhead cabinet. He pulled down a medicine bottle and opened it. He gave me a couple of pain tablets for headaches. I got myself a glass of water and washed the tablets down.

“I’ve got some lasagna in the microwave. It’ll be ready in a few more minutes. You need to eat something.”

I got some plates and silverware out, placing them on the dining room table just off the kitchen area. Derek brought two glasses of ice tea. We ate the lasagna, neither one of us said anything. I kept thinking about all the things I had to take care of. The car, a job, getting home, Dan. I felt terrible.

After dinner, Derek and I cleared the table. We left the dishes on the counter. Derek said he’d take care of them in the morning. I didn’t know what Derek was going to do next. I just followed him to the living room and sat down.

“Is it alright if I call Mom at Ken’s.” I asked. “I need to see if she’s going home tonight.”

“No.” Derek quickly answered.

That’s all he said. He turned on the television set and scrolled through the channels.

“You’re not going anywhere tonight.” He eventually said, not even looking at me.

I didn’t say anything, just sat back on the couch. I guess I was staying put. We watched television till 11:00pm. I wondered if Mom had left Ken’s yet or was she staying overnight with him. I’m sure the atmosphere at Ken’s was better than here.

“I’m going to take a shower.” Ken said. “You can sleep in the guest bedroom if you want.”

I nodded my head. I heard the shower running. I went down the hallway to the guest bedroom and got undressed for bed. I pulled the covers back and slipped into the big, comfortable bed. I heard the shower stop just before I dozed off. I never woke during the night, guess my body was trying to catch up on the sleep I missed the night before.

I woke up and went into the bathroom to shower. The warm water washing across my skin felt good. I put a towel around me and went back into the guest room. Derek came in carrying two cups of coffee. He handed me one.

“It’s almost 10:00am.” He informed me. “Thought I’d let you sleep. Guess I just didn’t want to wake you.”

I sat on the bed, pulling the towel tightly around me. I sipped the coffee. It tasted great.

“I don’t want you fucking anyone but me.” He boldly stated. “And I mean anyone. OK?”

“OK.” It was all I could say. I knew he’d never forgive me for having oral sex with Bryan. I wanted to make it up to him somehow. I just didn’t know how.

“There’s gobs of clothes downstairs. You go get dressed when you‘re ready.”

I finished the hot coffee and took the elevator down to the studio. I got dressed and fixed my hair. I heard Derek in the next room, the computer lab. I walked in. He was printing out Bryan’s pictures. He looked at me and motioned me out of the room. I went to the receptionist’s area and started working on the file cabinets. I hadn’t gotten them done. Derek passed me going down the stairway to the front door. He had a large manilla envelope in his hands.

“I’ll be back in a little while.” He stated. “We’ll go to your apartment when I get back.”

I nodded my head, not knowing exactly what he meant by “going to my apartment.” Derek returned almost an hour later. He looked upset but he was calm. I didn’t say anything, waiting on his direction.

“You ready to go?” He asked.

“Yes.” I replied.

We drove to my apartment in Derek‘s pickup. I noticed Dan’s truck still sitting with the for sale sign in the window at his dad’s garage. I had to give Derek directions when we got to town. Derek followed me up the steps to the apartment. We stood in the kitchen. It was tiny and cramped compared to Derek’s.

“Get you clothes gathered up, all of them.” He commanded.

I didn’t know exactly what he was getting at.

“All of them?”

“Yes, all of them. Don’t leave anything you want to keep.”

I gathered up my clothes stacking them on the bed. I had a small suitcase in the closet. I packed my underwear and small items in it. Derek started carrying my clothes down to his pickup. I got my make-up and items out of the bathroom medicine cabinet, putting them in a plastic bag along side my clothes. I wasn’t sure whether he was moving me to my mom’s or in with him. At least I’d be out of this apartment. I didn’t have a lot of clothes so it only took us a couple of trips to get everyting loaded into Derek’s pickup. I locked the door to the apartment and followed Derek down the stairs. Derek drove out of town, heading back towards Pueblo.

I put my clothes in the guest room closet and the chest of drawers. I was very glad Derek had moved me in with him. He’d made me very happy, even after I’d betrayed him. I would never forget how bad I’d hurt him.

“Do you want to go back to the studio and get some work done?” I asked Derek.

“Nah, let’s go get something to eat.” He replied.

We went down to the corner café and got ourselves something to eat. After eating we left the café and walked through the historic district. Derek took my hand in his, giving it a squeeze. I squeezed his hand back. I smiled for the first time in quite awhile. We stopped by the little pet store, tapping on the display window at the puppies. We strolled back to the studio. Derek locked the door behind us when we entered. We went back up to his apartment.

I went to the kitchen to get us some ice tea. Derek came up behind me. He put his hands on my waist turning me around. He kissed me softly, pulling me in close to him. I put my arms around him, not wanting to let go. We drifted back to the bed on the elevated platform. We took off most of our clothes. We didn’t say a word. We stretched out on the bed and Derek started kissing me passionately, not so much in a sexual way. We made love. It wasn’t just having sex together, it was making love together. Our bodies entwined, our passions rose. We made each other cum numerous times. Derek held me in his arms afterwards, both of us drifting off for a short nap. I cried, Derek noticing it, didn’t say anything. He just held me till I got it all out of my system.