Ripple Effect (Effect 1)

She shook her head. “No. I want to get this over with.”

Jason adjusted the zipper on his polo shirt. “Okay, let’s head on up and do this. You’re going to be great, Ainsley. Just stay focused like we talked about.”

“I will. My mom is what matters.” Her voice sounded confident.

I knew my girl though, and she was scared as she twirled her ring. She gave me one last look with a half-smile prior to following Jason up to the house. I got in my car before they rang the doorbell. Within a minute, Christine answered the door and welcomed them in the house, almost in the same manner she had with us last night. I hoped she cooperated. For Ainsley’s sake, part of me was tempted to drag Christine’s ass to the clinic if she didn’t agree to go.

I settled into my seat, preparing for a long wait.

Over an hour had passed. I guessed it was a good sign that they hadn’t been kicked out when Christine was confronted with the truth. I stretched my limbs that were getting restless, and my phone vibrated. It was my sister, Jessica.

Jessica: Have you decided if you’re coming to the anniversary party?

Me: I haven’t. The party isn’t for another five weeks, Jess.

Jessica: Okay. I just want you to be a part of it.

Me: I know, Jess, but you need to stop pushing.

Jessica: I love both my brothers, and it’s hard for the family to be divided.

Me: I love you, too, sis. I’ll let you know. As far as I’m concerned though, Jake and I aren’t family.

Jessica: I know, and I understand. But I still feel like I need to try to fix us.

Me: I’ll be in touch.

Jessica: Okay.

For the first time in a long time, I didn’t feel complete and utter anger for what my brother and Selena had done.

I have Ainsley. She is mine.

Selena paled in comparison to what Ainsley and I shared. I still wasn’t sure if I wanted to go to the party. My brother was still an asshole for what he had done. He had committed one of the ultimate betrayals in my book, and I’d never trust him again.

I touched the steering wheel and changed the XM station to get the sports highlights. My phone vibrated again. It was Brandt.

Brandt: Gerald called and asked to speak with you. He won’t say about what, but I’m sure it’s because we fired his law firm. He might be calling your cell. I told him you were out for the day.

Me: He’s an asshole. I’ll deal with him later. Thanks for the heads-up. I’m not going to take his call today. It’s the last thing Ainsley needs, and I won’t hide it from her.

Brandt: Understood. Any word on her mom?

Me: Not yet. They’ve been in there for over an hour.

Brandt: Remember how long we had to talk before I agreed to go?

Me: Yes. Hopefully, she makes the right choice and decides to get help.

Brandt: If she’s ready, she will. Keep me posted. I’ve got everything under control here.

Me: Thanks. Ainsley has class after this, and then I’m going to take her somewhere for her to relax.

Brandt: I’m glad you got your head out of your ass, and you didn’t fuck up this good thing you’ve got going with her.

Me: Me, too. Let me know if anything happens at the club.

Brandt: Take care of your girl. I’ve got it.

Me: Roger that.

I took a deep breath as my mind thought of something special I could do for Ainsley. If Christine agreed to go, Ainsley could not have contact with her mother for thirty days. I scooted my seat back to try to stretch my legs as I had a thought of what to do for Ainsley. I opened the yellow pages app on my phone and began searching for what I hoped would help my girl take her mind off all the shit happening with her mom even if it was only temporary.

After two more hours, the front door finally opened. Jason came out first, followed by Christine, and then Ainsley. Ainsley stood tall, but her eyes were red from what looked like excessive crying. With her slumped shoulders and downward-cast eyes, Christine looked like her world had been taken from her. Jason was holding some luggage.

I released my pent-up energy through a long breath that I didn’t realize I had been carrying all this time. On instinct, I went for the door handle to comfort Ainsley, but I pulled back when I remembered that it could negatively impact the situation if Christine were to feel like everyone was watching.

Pride was a terrible and powerful thing at times. I remembered how hostile Brandt had been the day of his intervention.

Ainsley put her arm around her mom’s waist. The wind blew Ainsley’s hair as she looked to be saying soothing words to her mom. With shaky hands and a nod, Christine grabbed Ainsley’s free hand.

Jason was patient and unhurried as they walked toward his car. He was good, much better than the asshole who had done Brandt’s intervention. We’d almost lost Brandt that day until I had taken that asshole of an interventionist out in the hall and set him straight.

My eyes stayed trained on Ainsley as she walked past me. She glanced my way and gave me a sad but relieved smile. Hopefully, after class today, Ainsley would be able to relax with what I had planned.

I looked in the rearview mirror as Ainsley hugged her mom. Then, Christine got in the backseat of Jason’s car. She looked forlorn as the door encapsulated Christine to what would hopefully be the journey to her mental freedom. She was going to have a tough road ahead of her. Ainsley was nodding and responding as Jason said something. After a few minutes, Jason got in his car and took off. The moment Jason’s car was out of sight, I got out and walked up to Ainsley. She was staring off into the distance in the direction of where her mom had gone.

“Hey, baby.”

I wrapped my hands around Ainsley’s waist, and she turned to me and grasped me tightly. I rubbed her back as she took deeper than normal breaths. A strong gust of wind blew, and she shivered.

“Do you want to get in the car?”

“Just hold me for a sec. It was tough in there. I watched my mom break down when she realized what she was doing and that I had known what happened to her. When she agreed to go, we had to get the house in order first. She wouldn’t go otherwise. We had to empty the fridge, get all the laundry done, and put up the dishes before we got her packed. I’m sorry it took so long, but she seemed afraid that my dad would find the house in what she considered a mess. I’d left my phone in the car, or I would have told you what was going on.”

I kissed the top of her head and held her tightly. “Don’t apologize. Your mom is going to get help, and that’s what matters.”

She nodded her head. “Yes, it’s hard, seeing her broken like that. I don’t know what caused her to break. She wouldn’t talk about it. Hopefully, she’ll tell me eventually.”

Ainsley pulled back, and the redness from her eyes was still present, but it was beginning to fade. “Thank you for being here for me.”

My thumbs went up to her cheeks where a couple of tears had escaped. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be. Do you still want to go to class? Or do you want to go somewhere else for a bit?”

She looked down at her watch. “I need to go to my first class. It’s the last day of new material. My other two classes required us to email our assignments instead of attending, and I did that this morning.”

I turned us to the car and began walking to the passenger side of the vehicle. A bird was singing a melodic melody. As I put Ainsley into the car, I thought about how my whole life was right here in front of me and not in the past.

She was my light that brightened any dark night.

As class came to an end, I handed in my paper. I was ready to go curl up somewhere and go to sleep. The day had been emotionally draining, and I was thankful for the three-day weekend I had coming. My professors had given us Friday off to study. I had three finals next week, but right now, all I cared about was shutting my mind off. Adam had insisted on waiting for me on campus versus dropping me off at his house to get my car.

The campus was

nearly vacated as I sluggishly made my way out to the parking lot. I smiled to myself as I saw Adam sitting on a bench, engrossed in his phone. He was probably working on getting caught up on emails from the club.

I was falling for him more and more every day. We still hadn’t said that we loved each other, but it felt as if it had been trying to leave my tongue lately. We weren’t ready, and I’d told him I would never pressure him for more than he was willing to give, but the feeling was starting to make itself known.

He looked up as if he could sense me near him. He smiled under his mirrored aviator glasses. I could get lost while looking at him.

“Hey, baby. How was class?”

I adjusted my backpack. “Good. There wasn’t much new material, but I’m glad I came. The professor gave us a few clues as to what would be on the test.”

Adam grabbed my backpack from me, and we started walking to the car. It was sweltering, and I picked my ponytail up off my neck.

“I want to take you somewhere. Are you up for it?” he asked warmly.

He was watching my response closely. Adam had been attentive, which helped. I never had anyone to lean on before as I had always depended on myself. The vulnerability aspect of trusting someone enough to be there for me was terrifying, but it made me feel cared for at the same time.

He opened the car door, and I sat down in the passenger seat. I enjoyed the smell of hot leather.

“I’m exhausted. Can I take a rain check?”

“It’ll be relaxing, I promise.”

The hope in his voice caused me to capitulate to his request. “Okay, sounds good.”

He grinned at me as I got into the car and then strolled over to his side. The car roared to life, and we were on our way. My mind kept going back to the moment reality had taken effect in my mom’s mind.

Jason sat in the blue wingback chair that was next to the cream couch. My mom was in black pants and a dark purple long-sleeved shirt. The smell of pine was pungent in the house. My dad had insisted on having that smell throughout our home.