The Women of Custer City Ch. 11-13

Chapter 11

It didn't matter how much time or effort went into planning a pickup, when I saw Sadie I dropped everything. She was the only other way out and seeing her was like seeing a unicorn.

I'd been going after a married woman, and our little group had come up with a way to frame her husband. My hair had been styled to her preferences, and I wore a tailored suit, while I drove a car I'd bought just that morning. Then I saw Sadie.

She was walking, slowly, and she glanced at me as I passed. She gave a devilish smile, and I wrenched the wheel to pull over. If she hadn't been staring at me, I wouldn't have noticed, I barely would have recognized her. Her hair had been dyed blonde, and a surgeon had pulled her face back a decade, while another had shaped her body. Her stomach had been pulled flat, and her breasts were twice the size they were when I saw her last. All traces of her sickness had vanished.

"Sadie!" I yelled. I stumbled from the car, and stormed after her. All she gave me was a slight grin, before beckoning me into a small café.

I joined her at a small table, and saw the evil twinkle in her eye as she spoke, "It's good to see you Charlie," she said, "You look good for your age. You know, you haven't aged a day."

I glanced up and down her body. "I can't say the same about you," I said, "I barely recognize you. I didn't think that was possible."

Sadie's nose scrunched and she gave the smallest little chuckle. "I'm smart enough to do all this," she laughed, "And yet you think I'm stupid enough to trap myself here with you?"

I pulled in my chair and waited for her fake laughter to die down.

"Besides," she muttered, "I couldn't stand the idea of a pig like you knowing what I look like naked."

She brushed back her dyed curls, and gave another half grin. I let my voice fall deadly serious, and I locked eyes with her, "Sadie," I said, "I never cheated on you."

This time her laugh was genuine, "Isn't that what you told Amanda?"

I turned in a quick grimace, but strengthened my resolve. "You never even had proof," I said, "Because there isn't any. All you had was your friend's word."

"And that's enough for me."

"But is it enough to trap not just me, but dozens of other women in here? To torment them for eternity?"

"You know, I should thank you Charlie. In a way, you set me free."

"Don't change the subject," I snapped, "There are hundreds of women stuck here. Trapped just like me. And it's all punishment for something I didn't do. Surely, with all your control, all your manipulation, you could go back and check for yourself."

The waiter placed a cup of coffee on Sadie's placemat. She took a gentle sip, but her eyes never left me. She wanted me to talk, she wanted to catch me in a mistruth, or find something she could throw back in my face.

"You're tormenting people. If you want to punish me, fine, punish me, but not everyone else. I know you have a good heart, I know-"

It was Sadie's turn to flash venom, "You ripped out my good heart."

She leaned forward, her finger gently stirring her drink. "Besides," she shrugged, "I can make them all forget, make their days go back to normal once you finish. No harm no foul."

"But they're stuck now-"

"I'm enjoying the show too much," Sadie laughed, "The way you constantly fuck up, the way I've seen you get beaten for bringing people into this. It's just fun."

I tried to speak, but Sadie cut me off.

"You haven't even checked back in with Hannah yet, have you?"

She offered more genuine laughter, "Did you know she's still going to the mansion every single day trying to find you? Oh she's pissed, it's gonna be too fun."

I sat back in my chair. I tried to think of anything else I could appeal to now that humanity seemed out of the question, but her mind was made up.

Sadie leaned forward in her chair, and as much as she tried to keep her eyes steely and vindictive, I saw the sadness in them. "I was dying Charlie, and you were the love of my life. I thought we were soul mates, together until the end."

She sniffled, and tried to wipe the welling snot from her touched-up nose. "But when I lay dying, you weren't there for me. Even if everything you said is true, you were looking for the exit door, you were just waiting for me to die. And for that, this will never be enough."

She sat back in her chair and tried to turn her lips smug. It might have worked, if the corners weren't quivering, shaking with nervousness and sadness.

"Sadie," I said, "I really did love you. I know my words won't matter, I know I can't convince you, but I tried to be there for you."

Any façade she tried to put on had left her face. Her mouth had drooped and her eyes wore nothing but sadness.

"I saw you get sicker every day. Your eyes dropped, you turned anorexic, but you wouldn't even acknowledge it. You denied everything. So fed up with your little project, we stopped talking. When I tried to be there, when I tried to comfort you, you pushed me away. All it did was remind you of reality. I know mortality's hard to face, but you wouldn't let me help. You made me feel just as alone as you did."

All Sadie did was shake her head, "And you know what I'm hearing now? That you didn't believe in me. You think I should have just bent over and accepted death, accepted the cruel strings of fate."

"I took you to chemo, I wanted you to get treat-"

"But you didn't believe in me."

"You were scaring me Sadie. I didn't want your last days to be so desperate and frantic, full of false hope. All I ever wanted was to be there for you."

She sniffled again. I saw the way her fake nails, brushed against her real emotions, and all I felt was sadness. I couldn't recognize the girl I'd fell in love with, and when I found her eyes, all I saw was someone filled with vindication.

"Why'd you come back today?" I asked. She was too focused on keeping the tears from welling, she never would have answered, "Was it just to gloat?"

"Because you hurt me," Sadie finally said, "So much more than I ever thought was possible. I had to know you're in pain, and I had to see for myself if you've learned a goddamn thing."

Sadie drank the last of her coffee, and stood to leave. I reached out and gently grabbed her wrist to stop her. "What do you want from me?" I asked.

When she turned, her eyes were red and her cheeks were puffy. She'd lost the battle with her tears, and when she spoke her voice was thick with phlegm, "Just keep fucking everything that moves," she said, "I'm sure that'll fix everything."

Sadie didn't give me a chance to respond. Reality warped around her, and I watched as her form stretched and shrunk as she disappeared into time.

Chapter 12

I waited until everyone was gathered together. The morning started out, just like any other, Alley came first, then Chrissy, and finally Ginger. They all thought they were convening to plan out our next target. None of them knew they were just there so I could reveal my decision.

"I'm not doing this anymore."

I waited for the murmuring and protests to stop. I listened as Alley started talking about all she gave up, while Chrissy talked about how far she drove. All I did was hold up my hand.

"I spoke with Sadie yesterday," I said. The name was enough to let silence wash over the kitchen table, "I don't know what she wants from me, but I know it isn't this. She doesn't want me to fuck everything that moves. Her words."

Chrissy leaned forward, "So what do we do?"

"I think she wants me to prove I can love, really love someone." I turned to look at Amanda, "I'm going all in, we have to try."

"Now hold on," Alley said, "You don't think there's some wishful thinking there?"

"Yeah at least we were making progress," Chrissy snapped, "At least we were working towards something-"

"Well what do you think I should do?"

Ginger was always quiet, but she took her chance to speak, "What did Sadie say, exactly?"

I told the group the story as best as I could remember.

Amber was twisting a ring on her finger when she finally spoke, "So she just wants to punish you?"

"Yeah," I muttered, "For something I didn't even do."

"Well what if we talk to her-"

"She's not in today," I said, "She could be anywhere."

I turned to Alley and addressed her specifically, "I know it sounds optimistic, but look at the facts. She was pissed off at me because she thinks I cheated. She thinks I didn't value love. I know she doesn't want me to just keep fucking like she originally said. I could hear it in her voice. Me being with Amanda, it makes as much sense as anything, doesn't it?"

Chrissy answered instead, "Charlie, we could tolerate all this because we thought we were making progress. We thought we were working towards a way out. What if you're wrong? What if she just wants to keep punishing you?"

I let myself answer honestly, "Then there's nothing we can do."

I saw the group of women give each other nervous glances. I stood, and they all turned to look at me. "I'm open to suggestions, I really am, but Sadie's not someone we can track down, and she hasn't made it clear what she wants."

Amber was still focused on her ring, "What about celibacy?" she asked, "Maybe she wants the opposite, maybe she wants to punish you by trapping you in a world full of women, and you can't fuck them at all."

Alley nodded along, "It's as good a guess as yours."

Amanda took a step forward, and stood at my side. It was a small gesture, but it made the group look at us, together as a couple.

"Fine," Amber said, "I'll give you thirty days. Try it your way, see if we hear from Sadie again, see if it does something."

It was Ginger's turn to speak up, "So what about us? Do we just do nothing?"

"Do whatever you want," Amber said, "I've been trying it. It's fun."

Ginger flashed an angry glance, but returned to her seat.

"Thirty days," I repeated. Even if I was right, I knew that wouldn't be enough time.

"Sadie and I were together for three years," I said, "Maybe she wants that, or a lifetime, just to prove I can actually love someone, be there for the long haul."

Amber spoke again, "We don't know she wants it at all. Look. Thirty days is us being generous. We had a way out. You told all of us if you fucked everyone, the timeloop would end. Now you're saying you're clueless and we're still offering to push our life back thirty days."

"I didn't make the rules," I said, defeated, "Sadie did. We're just playing her game, and right now that's where we're at. I know it sucks, I know what it sounds like, but I'm trying as hard as I can to end this."

Alley opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted. A pounding knock came at the door. I took a few curious steps towards the porch, and saw the last face I wanted to see: Hannah.

"What the fuck did you do to me?" She screamed.

"Oh God," I muttered, "Not now."

The second she saw me, her hand was on the doorknob. She flew past me and stormed into the small house. She spun like the Tasmanian devil, throwing everything off the banister, kicking my furniture, and once she couldn't find anything more to smash, she ran to me and started beating her fists against my torso.

"What did you do?" she screamed again. The others started running from the kitchen table, and helped pull the girl off me.

Alley and Ginger held the girl by the underarms, but her fiery eyes pierced into my soul. She spat, and snarled at me, "You ruined my fucking life."

I gave Hannah the quick version. I told her all about the timeloop, how I'd been fucking everyone to try to get it to end. By the time I'd finished, she stopped struggling, and the two let her arms go.

"So," Hannah murmured, "You have sex with everyone, and then things go back to normal?"

Chrissy failed to read the room. She scoffed, "Well, that was the plan."

"What do you mean?" Hannah snapped, "What did she mean?"

I shot Chrissy a look of annoyance, but took a cautious step towards the high schooler. "We don't know what Sadie wants anymore. So for now, I'm not bringing anyone else in."

The fire came back to Hannah's eyes as quickly as it left, "You did this to me for nothing? For fucking nothing!"

She shot at me like a bolt of lightning, and her fists started flying at me again. I didn't even try to block her. I just rolled my eyes and let it happen.

"Sadie told me you were an asshole," Hannah wheezed. Her voice was shot from exhaustion, as she shouted between strikes.

I finished for her, "And Sadie told you how to find me right?"

The question stopped Hannah's strikes, but just for a moment.

"This is all a game to her," I continued, "She wants to create chaos, she wants to see this- you hitting me, people beating me. She's the one who sent you here. It's all just manipulation for her amusement."

"Manipulation?" Hannah scoffed, "Manipulation? You're the one who did this to me. You lied about everything." Another volley of fists, "You're the one who ruined my FUCKING LIFE."

"Hannah," I said, "Please leave my house. I'm trying as hard as I can to fix this."

Hannah took that to mean she had one last chance to hit me. She put everything she could into a punch and found my jaw. It would have hurt in the morning if the days didn't reset. I helped Ginger grab her and brought her towards the door, deadbolting it behind her.

I finally turned back to the group and took in the destruction. She'd only spun around the small house a few minutes, but she'd turned it into a tornado zone.

"This is what I mean," I said. I flexed my jaw and worked away some of the pain, "I can't do this anymore, and I know it's not what Sadie wants."

For a moment the group was silent, but Chrissy nodded along. "Thirty days," she repeated, "At the very least, I think we all need a break."

I watched as the small group packed their things and started filtering from my house. Then, it was just Amanda and I. "Hey," I said, with a soft, bloody smile, "I'm ready to go all in."

She didn't care about my bloody jaw. She wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me.

Chapter 13

When Amanda looked into my eyes I saw judgement. Her brows were raised in a cross, and her lips were pursed. You're for real? She seemed to ask, Prove it. Show me you're all in. Show me it's really you and I now.

I probably overthought the date. I wanted to look my best, but I also wanted to be myself. I didn't want her to see me and think I was trying to put a play on her, the same way I did on countless others. No, the voice in the back of my head said, It's not possible to overthink this. Don't you get it? Don't you get how important it is not to fuck this up? She's actually giving you a chance to prove you care.

She came in slowly. Her arms were crossed, holding a light jacket in one hand, folded over her purse. She wore jeans and a baggy shirt, making it clear she weren't the one being judged.

"Hey," I said. Even as I spoke I felt the lump of nervousness in my throat. I looked away, just enough to force myself to smile, and when I looked back I gave a smile she didn't return.

"You were right," I continued, if only just to fill the silence, "We were best friends first. And I don't want to lose that. We should have dinner together, be adults and date and all that stuff, but we can't lose what we had. So I got this."

It was my turn to hold up the dvd.

That was the first time that night she gave a hint of a smile.

"I thought," I said slowly, "We could have a nice dinner, a nice dessert, some wine, and we can watch this, just like old times."

She stepped forward, plucking the case as she passed. It wasn't the exact same we'd grown up with, but I wouldn't have known how to find it, even if I could talk her parents into letting me look. When she looked back, her eyebrows had grown from judgement to curiosity, "Dinner?"

"Yeah," I said, "I felt bad. You made those nice dinners, and I know it was a lot of work. I wanted to pay you back."

She brushed past me towards the kitchen, and I tried to levy her expectations, "It's not a fancy Bechdel sauce or anything."

She gave me a grinning glare, but her eyes were scanning the kitchen. She saw the chicken alfredo I'd used about three hundred pans to throw together, and tucked in the back corner of the counter she saw the chocolate mousse pie.

She stepped forward, and her eyes started to relax, "You mentioned wine?"

"Of course," I darted past her, my hands brushing across the counter like a sommelier, "What are you in the mood for?"

Her hands rested against the counter top, and I held up the first bottle. "Remember," I said, "Money's no object. You want a 65 year old LaBreau?"

Her smile had started to grow and her eyes had started to turn friendly again. I went on, "Or if I may suggest, with chicken, Zifandel pairs wonderfully, the acidic character brings out the-"

"Oh shut up," Amanda said with a friendly shove. She was laughing now, and I couldn't help but smile.

She reached past me and pulled a pair of glasses that hung from the counter. I grabbed the corker and held it out. She poured slowly, swirling the cup while it filled, and I turned back to the alfredo.

"I certainly hope you're hungry," I said. I gave the pasta a hearty swirl, then held dolloped it on the plates.

I joined her at the table, and she sat directly at my side. She gave her neck a quick crack, then gave me a nod. "It smells good."

"Thanks," I said, but couldn't stop myself from continuing, "I just want things to be perfect."

Amanda thought for a moment. Her eyes shot from the plate to the wine, anywhere but me. "Yeah," she finally said, "Me too."

I spun my fork in the pasta, "I just wish we had a better start."

I saw Amanda's eyes dart at me, the glare and judgement back for just a moment.

"Hannah, I mean, I just wish we didn't into this with someone trying to pummel me into the ground."

Her eyes went back to her plate, and her voice dropped to a mumble, "I mean," she started, "I get it."

She took a bite, chewing while she thought her words over, "She may be eighteen, but she's still a high schooler. She's confused. Her parents aren't even here. Everything that was important to her was put off indefinitely."

We each took another bite, and let the silence linger in the air.

"I'm a doctor," she finally said, "And you saw how crazy this made me. All I'm saying is it's a lot. It's difficult."

We ate in silence. I could feel the tension growing. My eyes shot around like a dragonfly, desperately searching for something to say. I took a sip of wine, then I saw her half-drunk glass.

"Let me grab some more wine," I said. I stood suddenly, my leg catching on the chair. I reached for the wine, and dribbled as I poured.

"Thanks," she said, her voice soft.

I sat and the silence returned.

"You know," I started, "It's been forever since I've seen that movie. It's been on tv a couple times but I just skipped past it. It wouldn't be the same by myself."

"Yeah," she said, chewing while she spoke, "Same for me."

"We should get the lights down low, get a nice blanket," I said, "Watch it the same way we always used to, it'll be just like old times."

Amanda forced herself to swallow her bite, "Works for me."

For a moment I just sat there. I stared at her as she took another bite, but her eyes seemed glazed over. "Amanda," I finally said, "We're all in right?"

She nodded.

"You are too?"

Her eyes shot out at me. She studied me for a moment, then returned to her plate.

"Didn't I prove that already? Didn't I already do everything you're doing tonight?"

"Look," I said, more nervous to speak than I'd been all night, "I just don't know how to break the tension. I mean, I know communication is important, so I just want to say-"