Finding Her Way in a Storm Ch. 03-04

Kaia had awoken to an empty house the next morning, and after bathing in the sink and making herself as presentable as possible, called an Uber. She'd already decided the night before that the conversation she wanted to have with Lisa couldn't take place over the telephone. She deserved answers, and Lisa owed it to her to give them to her face to face.

When her car had pulled up in front of the large condo building, Kaia had thanked the driver and then gone inside, finding herself facing a problem she hadn't anticipated. There was a security guard stationed just to the right and before the bank of elevators. She had hesitated only briefly as she watched how the man carried himself before deciding that he was former military. And Kaia saw that as her chance to bluff her way upstairs.

She'd gone straight to his desk and presented him with her military ID before signing in and announcing that she was here to see her best friend Lisa Fiorentino, who was living with Mr. Harrington. The security guard had stepped around the desk and looked her over, noting her injured leg. Seeing the questioning look in his eyes, and wanting to garner his favor, Kaia had told him the harrowing tale of how she'd injured it and just gotten back stateside after an extended six-week stay at a hospital inside Germany.

The guard, who's name was Andrew, had saluted her and thanked Kaia for her service before announcing that he was retired from the navy. Their bond sealed, he'd allowed Kaia to go on up without even bothering to call ahead. A fact Kaia hoped the old-timer wouldn't get in trouble for if things didn't go well once she reached the seventh floor.

And they hadn't.

Kaia had chosen that time of day because she'd believed that Lisa's new love interest would be at the office, but Harrington had been expecting her as it turned out.

Kaia had hardly knocked before the door slung open and she came face to face with the man who'd stolen away from her the woman she loved. He was handsome enough as far as men go, and tall at maybe a couple of inches over six feet, with a head full of dark hair. The smarmy smile resting just above his square chin was as phony as a three-dollar bill, and the greeting he gave Kaia anything but welcoming.

"I guess you would be Ms. Kaia Mason," the douchebag had said, holding a hand towards Kaia. "I'm Steven Harrington, Lisa's new fiance."

The smile on Harrington's face had deepened upon saying those words, and it was everything that Kaia could do not to allow the shock she felt at hearing them register on her face.

Ignoring the hand proffered her way and trying to keep the contempt she felt for the man in front of her out of her voice, Kaia said, "I'd like to speak to Lisa, please."

Harrington had withdrawn his hand, his face going slightly red at being rebuffed. He was evidently one of those men who struggled with the concept of having his charms rejected by a woman even if she was gay.

"I'm afraid that isn't quite possible. Lisa is on bed rest for the remainder of her pregnancy to protect our child," Harrington replied, emphasizing the word ours.

But Kaia had no intention of being dismissed quickly, not without making every effort she could within reason to talk to Lisa.

"She doesn't have to get up. I'll be more than glad to speak to her while she stays in bed."

Kaia's proposal brought another phony smile to Harrington's face. One that told her there wasn't any real chance of him allowing her inside to see the woman she still loved. It was all that she could do not to throttle Harrington where he stood. He was bigger than her, but Kaia was reasonably sure that she was every bit as strong, and with the hand-to-hand combat training she'd received in the Corp, she was sure she could take him.

If she'd had two strong legs, that is.

"Yeah, that isn't going to happen either. You see, it's crucial right now that Lisa exist in a stress-free environment, and having a bitter former girlfriend to appear on her doorstep is anything but that."

Kaia had felt her temper elevate exponentially at his last remark. Looking back, later on, she'd realized that the lawyer had been baiting her and had been hoping to get Kaia to lose her temper.

"Well, you see, that's just it. I'm not Lisa's former girlfriend, but her fiance, and unlike you, that didn't happen because I got her drunk one night and impregnated her." Kaia said, her voice steadily rising the entire time she was talking.

Seeing Harrington stiffen at her scathing retort and realizing she would soon be out of Lisa's life for good, Kaia made a last chance effort.

"LISA!" she yelled out into the apartment, immediately seeing the lawyer's eyes go wide in surprise. He hadn't expected Kaia to do anything so brazen and was momentarily caught off guard before stepping forward and attempting to close the door.

But Kaia was ready, shoving the rubber stopper at the end of her crutch into the door's path and then sliding her body into the opening.

"Kaia?" came a feminine voice that she recognized right away, but she couldn't see its owner from her position wedged between the door and doorframe and with Harrington's body between them.

"It's me, Lisa! Please come talk to me, baby." Kaia pleaded as the larger man began to use his more significant bulk to force her back through the opening.

"GET BACK IN THE BED, LISA. NOW!" Harrington had yelled over his shoulder as he reached out, kicking the crutch Kaia used to hold the door open. It sprung free of where it was lodged, and since Kaia had most of her weight behind it to hold it in place, she crashed against the door, sending it flying open before she fell to the floor at Harrington's feet.

"Oh, God, Kaia!" the sexy black Marine heard Lisa's voice say. She wanted to respond, but the sudden blinding pain in her leg had made it nearly impossible for her to speak.

"What's going on here? Are you Mr. Harrington?" came a voice from behind Kaia.

"I am, and thank you for responding so quickly. This woman has been trying to force her way into my home to see my fiance despite me repeatedly telling her that she wasn't well enough for visitors," Kaia heard Harrington say. Wanting to see what was going on, she rolled over, grasping her knee in pain to see two police officers staring down at her.

She'd known then that it had all been a setup, Harrington had known that she would come, and had probably told the guard downstairs to allow her to pass. The guard had probably alerted him she was on her way up in the elevator. After that, all he had to do was contact the police about a former lover of his pregnant fiance outside his front door and then goad her into a negative response.

And Kaia had played right into his hands.

The police had handcuffed Kaia, leaving her lying on the floor while waiting for paramedics to look at her leg. She'd called out to Lisa several more times, but she finally gave up when there was no answer. She'd done everything that she could to reach the woman she loved, probably getting herself arrested in the process, and it hadn't been enough. Lisa still wouldn't talk to her.

The paramedics took one look at her leg and received a brief verbal history from Kaia regarding her injury before deciding that they would need to transport her to the hospital. They said that doctors there would likely want to do x-rays at the very least.

A paramedic brought a gurney in, and Kaia was placed on it before the first officer appeared from the back hall, where Kaia assumed he'd been meeting with Lisa and Harrington. He waited until they'd raised the gurney and strapped Kaia in before leaning over and looking down at her.

"You're a lucky woman, Ms. Mason. Ms. Firorentino has talked her fiance out of having you locked up today, provided you agree not to attempt to make contact with her again in any way, shape, form, or fashion. She also asked that I give you this." the policeman said, holding out his hand and dropping something into Kaia's palm.

Kaia didn't even have to look at it to know what it was.

Nearly fourteen months later, Kaia looked down at the ring box, opening it to stare at the diamond engagement band it held within. Despite the opulent cut of the stone and the paperwork she had verifying its high quality, it no longer held the shine that it had the day she'd bought it for Lisa. She realized that part of it was likely due to the fact it had been packed away for nearly a year, but also suspected it would always look tarnished to her after the way she'd gotten it back.

Sighing, Kaia shoved the box to the back of the topmost drawer of her dresser. Closing it in a bid to let go of all those bad memories while telling herself never to forget why she no longer messed with curious straight girls.

Kaia had never spoken to Lisa after that morning. She'd been served with a restraining order a day later and called on the carpet by her commanding officer. After hearing her story, he'd told her that as heartbreaking as it was for him to see a soldier treated that way, that Lisa had made her choice, and Kaia had to honor it. He'd then ordered her to stay away from both Lisa and Harrington or face the prospect of charges and a dishonorable discharge.

Kaia had buried herself in her rehab and friends after that, doing her best not to dwell on Lisa. She'd struggled with doing so, drinking too much, not sleeping very well, and generally doing a piss poor job of taking care of herself. It was nearly two months after she'd arrived back home in the States that Kaia received her medical discharge from the Marine Corp without knowing what she intended to do next in life.

Terri and Calista took her in while she struggled to find her bearings, with Calista mothering her for the next month while Kaia struggled to develop a plan.

Fate had stepped in though in the form of a family death. Kaia's aunt on her mother's side had passed, and without children of her own had left her house in rural Georgia to Kaia. With her friends' encouragement, Kaia flew back to the state where her parents had raised her to sign papers with her aunt's lawyer and check on the property herself.

According to her lawyer, Kaia's Aunt had lived her entire life alone, never marrying, and hadn't been in good health for some time. That was evident when Kaia saw the house. The clapboard siding on the outside badly needed to be scraped and painted. There were boards along the eaves that showed rot and needed replacing. The old-style tin room had seen better days and likely would have to be replaced as well, and the landscaping was atrocious.

The inside might have been worse once she had a look. The wood floors were slanted and badly in need of being sanded and refinished. Numerous electrical issues would have to be taken care of as well, leaving Kaia wondering whether the cost of rehab would be worth the return.

But the plumbing seemed in good working order, and the bones of the structure seemed solid.

Kaia spent a week in town pricing materials and looking at real estate values. After she did the numbers, the sexy former Marine saw that she stood to make a hefty profit on the property if refurbished just right. Even more so, if Kaia did the work herself, she had the home to use as collateral for a loan and nothing but time on her hands.

So why not?

It would get her away from San Diego for a good stretch, and give her heart time to heal. Oh, Kaia wholly intended to go back eventually once she'd completed the work and sold the home, but until then, it would be nice to have a few thousand miles between her and the bad memories she'd left on the west coast.

Maybe the distance was all she needed to heal her broken heart.

*

Author's Note:

The next two chapters will feature Skyler having more difficulties with her boyfriend, and a brief encounter between Skyler and Kaia that leads to something more.