THE SPACE BETWEEN

Chapter 50

Trigger Warning(s):  Explicit Language

(Jared's POV)

It was quiet outside when we pulled through the gate to Shannon's house. Having Brittany in tow made me nervous about what might be waiting on the inside after the last time I arrived unannounced.

'Brit, I don't know. Maybe it's too early.' I hesitated getting out of the car.

'If it is, then it sucks to be them.' She replied curtly and slammed the car door when she got out. 

She was more than ready for this encounter, but I had to gather my resolve. Humor seemed like the best approach--if such a thing was even possible at this point. 

There was no response when we knocked several times. I tried talking Brittany into going somewhere for lunch and coming back later, but eventually the door opened and revealed a haggard version of Shannon. A look of shock spread across his face as he stood holding a carafe of water.

'Hey, sperm king!' I greeted him jovially despite his apparent duress.

Shannon held his finger to his lips and lurched. That combined with his grayish complexion led me to believe his stomach had reversed gears. In his hastened dash toward the kitchen he ended up splashing water on the floor and losing traction. His grand slide to the sink was comparable to Hank Aaron heading for home plate. He almost missed it,  but thankfully he dropped the carafe and grabbed onto the counter, retching into the sink before coming to a full stop. I didn't have much pity for him given that he'd broken his sobriety.  

'I'll give that maneuver an 8.5. Although your approach was a little sloppy, splash down was well executed.'

He activated the garbage disposal to drown me out.

A weary-looking Missi comes stumbling down the steps. She's wearing one slipper and one sandal which leaves no question as to her condition. She has a pair of random sunglasses on that indicate that bright light is not a friend of hers this morning and her hairdo is much like Shannon's excessive case of bedhead.

'Are you two seeing the same stylist?' I jest, but Brittany gives me a sharp nudge indicating her disapproval.

Missi is moving in slow gear and dons one of Shannon's ball caps in an attempt to hide her bad hair day. Her hushed good morning reeks of alcohol. Shannon's comes around the corner and when their eyes meet the room fills with tension. The sound of the gate buzzer was untimely at best, and looking outside we see that a limo and a maid service van have pulled up. The hateful staring contest Missi and Shannon are waging ends when Missi tends to the buzzer. The delivery is from Nieman-Marcus and Missi tells them to leave it at the door. 

'Why is there a cleaning service here?' Missi asks Shannon.

At that point I take leave, opening the back door and stepping outside. I need fresh air and I really don't want to be associated with the fucktastrophy inside. Brittany joins me and we exchange looks when Shannon starts yelling.

'Our bedroom and bathroom need done because I was really sick last night.'

Missi's reply was too low to hear and then Shannon goes off again.

'Where the fuck did all this shit come from?'

Again, Missi's voice was inaudible.

'Jesus Christ! Did you buy the whole store?'

Everything settles as the maid service enters the house. I can hear Shannon giving them instructions as well as a claim that he contracted food poisoning. I watch him retreat to the  kitchen and the sound of the garbage disposal rings out again. I chuckle slightly, which upsets Brittany.

'Jesus, Jared. How can you laugh? This is pathetic.'

'Let's get out of here. We can come back after lunch or dinner or maybe even next week.' I grab Brittany's hand on my way back inside hoping to escape without anyone noticing except Shannon or Missi. 

'Call me when you're up to talking about the Echelon surrogate.' I say to Shannon's back as he stands lost in a fog.

Shannon looks genuinely surprised as he turns to me.

'What the hell are you talking about?' He asks.

'You don't remember last night, do you?'

'I remember leaving in a huff because Missi was going on about surrogacy. I ended up at a bar--my bad--but the rest is a loss.'

'Brit, can you please wait in the car? As much as you'd like to talk to Shannon, this really isn't a good time with other people in the house.

She quietly surrenders and leaves. Missi's appearance is now nonexistent. I pull Shannon off to the side to fill him in on what he supposedly can't recall. 

'Let me tell you Missi's side of what happened and see if that jogs your memory. You brought a female Echelon member named 'Cheryl' home last night and told your wife that you planned to impregnate this girl without the use of any common surrogacy practices. You also told her that she could join in when you fucked Cheryl directly. It sounds like Missi had to threaten Cheryl with a knife to get her to leave.' I said quietly but firmly.

The shocked look on Shannon's face surpassed the one he'd worn at the front door when we arrived. He'd either blacked out last night or he didn't want to admit what he'd done. His reaction did seem sincere though. I let that sink in for a few moments before asking him the most important question.

'What was Cheryl's last name?'

'I...I...don't have a clue.' He looked at me with fear in his eyes.

'If something comes to mind later, let me know. Until then we'll just have to wait and see if anything blows up. Good luck with your damage control here.' I turned and walked away.

All of this affirmed that I was right about Missi choosing to come home too soon. Surely she knew that too. The only one who hadn't understood was the one I'd just left standing not only with egg on his face, but an entire omelet. I really did wish him luck. He'd definitely need it if this got out and I was faced with cleaning up the mess. The press would be devastating for the band and everyone involved. I'd get over my anger eventually, but as far as Missi was concerned he'd likely need a miracle to mend their relationship now.

(Missi's POV)

I hid in the downstairs bathroom crying until everyone left. My greatest hope was that Shannon left as well, but I didn't hear anything that led me to believe he had. Last night I'd hoped that this was all a bad dream, but it was now a nightmare I was living in the light of day. I started to wonder if Shannon already had sex with that girl before he brought her home. Maybe he had and he was just using the surrogate thing to cover his tracks in case she would end up pregnant. I was exhausted and my body ached not only from the stress of what happened, but whatever the continuation would be. I didn't even want to look at Shannon and I planned to spend the day locked in the spare bedroom.

(Shannon's POV)

I had trouble wrapping my head around what Jared told me. I didn't want to believe him, but why would he joke about something so insane. I wanted someone to jump out and tell me it wasn't true or that I'd been punked instead. Reminiscent of many other times before, I was slow to process the harsh reality that I'd done this to myself. I didn't see any way of turning this around or putting the blame on someone else. I considered claiming that someone had slipped something into my drink—which could be possible—but something about that excuse didn't seem right. I thought of blaming Missi for pushing me to the breaking point, but if I wanted her forgiveness then that was definitely the wrong card to play. I couldn't think anymore. My body was drained, and my head hurt too much.

I was grabbing clean towels out of the linen closet when Missi came out into the hallway. She immediately looked away and was about to go back inside the spare bedroom when I found my voice.

'I guess I blacked out. I know you must hate me right now. I can't blame you, I hate myself too.'

She stepped inside the spare room and closed the door without a word.