The Halo Series Boxed Set Read online

  “Tonight?” I asked, looking at the clock next to my king-size bed. “Let me go talk with Courtney’s parents and get all the details first, okay?”

  I walked across the street and spoke with Courtney’s parents. Registration was the next day, and after everyone registered, they would place each girl on a team. Courtney’s dad was the coach for Team Lightning, so he assured me that he would make sure they were on the same team. I thanked him and told him to let me know if he needed an assistant coach. The first practice would be on the Monday after we returned from California, so that gave me plenty of time to get a glove broken in for her.

  Everything was going to work out perfectly.

  Spring break was finally happening.

  Nicole and I each packed two suitcases plus a carry-on bag for our cruise. In the morning, Jared was driving us to the airport, and then we were off to California to board the ship for eight days. On day four, we would be at our first port. I couldn’t wait to get a tan and Nicole couldn’t wait to meet men.

  “Jared,” I called from the bedroom after zipping up my final suitcase. “Jared,” I called again, but there was still no answer. I walked into the living room to see him sitting in his usual spot on the couch, his headphones on, an Xbox controller in his hands and Call of Duty on the TV screen. “Hey!” I said, standing next to him, my hands on my hips.

  He looked at me, lifting the left side of his headphones. “Yeah?”

  “Can you move the suitcases off the bed? I’m done packing and my shoulder is really bothering me.”

  “Yeah, after this,” he mumbled as he righted his headphones and returned his eyes back to the TV screen.

  It had been almost two months since I hurt my shoulder. I was taking it easy and avoided doing any exercises at the gym that involved my upper body, but it wasn’t getting any better. In fact, I thought it was getting worse. My doctor had prescribed medication to take during the day since the muscle relaxers knocked me out, but it wasn’t really working either.

  Not only was I looking forward to the sun and a tan, but I planned to get a massage, too. I was hoping that it would help my shoulder somehow as I was desperate for any relief. I tried to talk Jared into massaging my shoulder a few times, but he was too busy playing COD, and I would fall asleep before he was done for the night.

  I moved the suitcases myself, popped half of a muscle relaxer and climbed into bed, reading a romance novel that Nicole had recommended. Before long, I was falling asleep, not caring about my shoulder or Jared being a selfish ass.

  “Brooke, wake up,” Jared said, shaking me a little. I could feel him kissing my neck as I tried to wake.

  I moaned a response, not able to do more because of the muscle relaxer.

  “Wake up. We need to have sex before you leave for a whole week.”

  I moaned again, trying to wake up, but the muscle relaxer was fighting against me. “I took a muscle …” He shook me again. “I took a muscle relaxer, Jared,” I mumbled.

  “That’s okay, I’ll do all the work,” he said, sliding down my front, dragging my pajama bottoms with him.

  I was trying to wake up—to enjoy sex with my boyfriend, but the pill was keeping me from waking fully. I tried to touch him, to pull his short blond hair, only to find that I didn’t have the strength to do so. I felt Jared enter me, his cock thrusting into my center again and again until I heard him grunt and fall on top of me.

  At least one of us was satisfied with how it turned out.

  “Morning, sunshine,” I said, handing Nicole a cup of her favorite latte as she opened her front door. “Ready to go soak in some sun?”

  “Hell yeah. Where’s Jared?” she asked, looking around me.

  “In the car.” I pointed with my thumb over my shoulder.

  “He couldn’t come up and help with my bags?”

  “Oh … we can get them. We have to lug them from the baggage claim to the bus when we get to L.A. anyway.” I pointed out.

  “Still, he’s a man … no, never mind. He’s a boy.”

  “I think you need to start drinking your coffee, grouch.” I laughed.

  “Remember you need to pay the rent tomorrow when the office is open,” I said to Jared as he drove. “I went grocery shopping yesterday, so you should have enough food to get through the week.”

  “I remember. And if I run out of food, I’ll order a pizza.”

  Jared was no stranger to pizza. Every Friday and Saturday night, he’d order a pizza and eat the whole large pie while playing COD. He never gained a pound, and it pissed me off because while he sat on his lazy ass playing video games, I went to the gym and busted my ass. Jerk.

  “Okay, I won’t have my phone turned on since we’ll be in Mexico. Call your parents if there’s an emergency.”

  “Got it.”

  I heard Nicole huff in the backseat. I knew what she was thinking; I shouldn’t have to remind Jared about any of this, he was thirty-four after-all.

  We pulled up to the departures at the airport, and Jared came around to help us with our bags. I stole a quick glance at Nicole as she rolled her eyes. Jared was helpful at times. I kissed him good-bye before Nicole and I struggled to carry our luggage to the check-in counter for our flight. We checked in our bags, minus our carry-ons, and made our way to security.

  “Jesus, those heavy bags hurt my shoulder,” I said, rubbing it as we waited in security. My suitcases had wheels, but just pulling them made my right shoulder flare up.

  “I can’t believe your shoulder is still hurting you. You need to go back to the doctor when we get back. Maybe you should see Dr. Sam.”

  Nicole worked for a private doctor’s office that specialized in family medicine. The office consisted of five doctors and staff. Her building was like a mini hospital, but they didn’t work weekends. Everything was under the same roof; all the doctors you needed to see for whatever procedure you needed, your pharmacy, X-rays—whatever. Nicole had been begging me for years to switch to Dr. Sam because according to her, she was the best.

  When I hurt my shoulder, I didn’t want to go through the hassle of finding a new doctor. Now I was regretting that decision, considering my doctor never even touched my shoulder to see what was going on and just prescribed me pills. Maybe I should have listened to my best friend who was also a registered nurse.

  “I’ve been emailing with my doctor, and she just keeps telling me that muscle strains take a long time to heal. She prescribed me new meds, but I think they take some time to get into my system,” I said, stepping forward in line.

  “I still find it weird that she wouldn’t run any tests and just prescribed you medication. Yes, muscle strains do take time to heal, but not this long—especially since you aren’t doing anything to further strain it.”

  “Me too, but she’s the doctor.”

  “And I’m a nurse and your best friend. If your shoulder is still hurting after the cruise, promise me you’ll schedule an appointment with Dr. Sam?” she pleaded, taking off her shoes before placing them in the plastic bin by the metal detector.

  “Fine.” I sighed. She was probably right.

  We made it through security without any problems. After finding our gate, we sat down, waiting for our flight that we would be boarding in just a few minutes.

  “You’re never going to guess what Jared did last night,” I whispered so the crowd of people waiting for the plane wouldn’t hear.

  “Anything besides playing Call of Duty will surprise me,” she said, rolling her eyes.

  “You know how I’ve been taking muscle relaxers at bedtime?”

  She nodded.

  “Well, I only took half of one because a full one makes me groggy if I don’t get like ten hours of sleep. Anyway, I’m sleeping and Jared tries to wake me up to have sex.”

  “Eww, what did you do? Pretend you were asleep?” she asked with a disgusted look on her face.

  “I remember telling him that I took a muscle relaxer and him telling me that he would do all the work.
”

  “What a pig.”

  “I know, and I really was asleep—mostly. I barely remember anything.”

  “That’s like rape,” she whispered.

  “No, it’s not.” I laughed. “I would have wanted to do it if I could. Those pills knock me the fuck out.”

  “Whatever, I still think he took advantage of you.”

  Nicole hated Jared and part of me didn’t blame her. I’d hated most of her old boyfriends.

  We made it to Los Angeles and boarded the last bus to the docks.

  “Are you going to tell people you have a boyfriend?” Nicole asked me.

  “Of course. You know I’m not interested in meeting anyone.”

  “But we are going on a singles cruise.”

  “Yeah, a cruise you tricked me into going on.” I laughed.

  “Just have fun. I don’t want you moping around,” Nicole said, crossing her arms over her chest. “In fact, if you do meet someone and hook up with them, I won’t tell Jared.”

  “I won’t be moping around. Don’t be ridiculous. And I’m not going to cheat on Jared.”

  “I’m serious. If you do meet a hot guy, I won’t tell. You know I hate that loser.”

  “I know, but I won’t be cheating on him. I’m here for you and to get a tan—oh, and a massage.”

  Nicole gave me a stern look then looked out the window at the Southern California scenery—or lack thereof. There was nothing but buildings everywhere. Once we got down to the docks, we took pictures of the Queen Mary that was docked nearby and hurried to board our ship.

  We checked in after going through security, then posed for a picture on our way to the ship like they do at Disneyland. A fake tropical background was created by using miniature palm trees, a beach ball, beach chair, and even a fake sandcastle. We giggled as we walked up the long ramp towards the ship, not believing that Spring Break was already here.

  Growing up, I never imaged I would be traveling let alone going out of the country, and I never imagined that I would be able to go on a vacation.

  My mother left us minimal funds when she would go out of town, so at fifteen, I got a job. I stayed behind and made money to support my family because I felt like a mother to Bailey.

  Now that she was off to college, I felt like I had to be a mother to Jared instead. Our rent wasn’t cheap, and Jared was always buying expensive gaming equipment or something for his car. My money was spent on groceries and anything extra was sent to Bailee while she was at college.

  I realized as the wind blew through my hair that I needed to get out more. I needed to stop my normal, boring routine, and start living my life for me. I needed to travel, see the world and let my hair down. Jared was thirty-four; he could learn to cook and help clean around the apartment. Shit, he needed to get out of the house, too!

  “I just want to say thank you for giving me this gift. If it weren’t for you, I would be at home, doing laundry and getting ready for the work week. No matter what happens, let’s just have fun. I’ll be your wing-woman and get you a shitload of phone numbers,” I said, linking my arm through Nicole’s.

  “I knew I would have to force you to come. That’s why I paid for it before I gave it to you. And I hope to get more than phone numbers.” Nicole winked at me.

  We laughed as we stood in the long line of people waiting to board the ship. Everything was about standing in lines. Lines to board the bus, lines to go through security, lines to check-in, lines to take our picture with the fake tropical background, and now lines to board the ship.

  Once we made it to the front, a man with a Hispanic accent greeted us. “My name is Waldo and I will be your Steward. I’ll show you to your cabin. Your bags will be delivered there shortly,” he said as he gestured for us to follow him.

  Nicole and I turned towards each other, wide-eyed.

  “Did he just say ‘Waldo’?” she asked without words, raising her eyebrows.

  I nodded and spoke without words back. “Yes. Yes, he said his name is Waldo.”

  “That’s an uncommon name you have, Waldo,” I said, trying not to laugh.

  “Yes, I get that a lot. It’s not because of your American books, Where’s Waldo, even though I hear that a lot, too.”

  “It’s not?” Nicole asked.

  Waldo led us down a grand staircase, showing us a bar, the desk where we could book excursions and a duty free shop. The Grand Foyer was beautiful. The floor appeared to be made out of white marble, and it sparkled against the overhead lights and chandeliers. People relaxed near a white grand piano, sipping cocktails and already enjoying their vacation. The lights reflected off the marble, and it reminded me of being at a ball.

  We waited for an elevator as he explained his name—probably for the ten-millionth time. “My brother and I are twins, and my mother loves the poetry by Ralph Waldo Emerson. My brother was born first—by twenty-three minutes.” He frowned. “His name is Ralph and I’m Waldo.”

  “Did you know the book was originally called Where’s Wally? when it was published first in the UK? It was changed to Where’s Waldo? for the US and Canada,” I said, getting into the elevator.

  “How do you know that?” Nicole asked.

  “Bailee loved looking for that man for hours in his red-and-white-striped shirt, bobble hat, and big, round, black glasses. I don’t remember where I first learned about that particular fact, though.” I smiled.

  “I did not know that,” Waldo said, ushering us out of the elevator.

  We followed Waldo down a narrow, dimly lit hallway with no windows. The carpets were a dark blue with different color stars randomly scattered throughout, making the hallway appear darker. Porters were hustling and delivering bags to rooms, and we followed Waldo to our room.

  He ushered us into a small, cramped room with two twin beds that lined the walls with tiny bedside tables beside each, and an ocean-view window centered in the middle above the tables. The blue carpet with stars mimicked the carpet from the halls.

  “You couldn’t splurge and get me a suite for my birthday?”

  The closer our plane got to California, the more I felt like a bad father. I was going on an eight day vacation without my daughter. Avery told me to relax, but he didn’t understand; he wasn’t a father—not to mention a single father—so he had no clue. What if something were to happen to me? What if the ship were to break down in the middle of the ocean and we died? Cheyenne would be left without any living parents.

  “You need to calm the fuck down before they think we have a you know what in your backpack, man,” Avery said, leaning over and whispering in my ear.

  “Yeah, Daddy, I’m gonna be fine. Grandma and Grandpa P said they would take me to Disneyland and California Adventure this week.”

  “Tell him, C.C. Tell your dad that he’s being a little B.”

  Cheyenne laughed at him. I kept my mouth shut as my head went left and right, looking at them talk over me as I sat in the middle seat on the plane. Cheyenne had insisted she get the window seat so she could see everything as we flew over.

  “Daddy, I’m ten going on eleven. I think I can survive without you for a week.” She rolled her eyes.

  “Since when did you become such a big girl?” I asked, rubbing the top of her head.

  “Oh my God, don’t mess up my hair!”

  My little peanut was growing up. My mother told me that she was going to be a handful, especially when she reached her teens. I wasn’t looking forward to raising a teenage daughter. I was, however, looking forward to chasing off punk ass boys who thought they could win me over with “yes, sir” and “no, sir”. I was a master at that shit when I was a hormonal, teenage boy trying to get into all the hot girls’ pants at school.

  “I know you will be fine without me for a week, Peanut. I just wish you were coming with us.”

  “Uncle A told me that there won’t be any kids on the boat. I don’t want to go with a bunch of old people.”

  I laughed. “Thirty-one is not old.”
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  “Yeah, huh!”

  “Keep it up and I’ll be too old to play catch and teach you how to hit a softball.”

  Every day after school, Cheyenne and I would go to the park and play catch. I had four weeks to teach her how to catch and throw a ball properly, and she had done really well. She was a natural. But hitting a softball? That was another story. I think she was scared, but when I asked, she would tell me she wasn’t and storm off.

  “I love you, Daddy,” she said, leaning her head on my shoulder.

  Every time she told me she loved me, it melted my heart, and I was putty in her hands.

  Bill and Trish were waiting at the baggage claim when we touched down. Avery and I were taking a bus to the docks, and Bill and Trish lived about forty minutes from the airport, so it made sense for them to pick her up.

  “You be a good girl for your grandparents,” I said to Cheyenne, hugging her just outside the doors of the airport. “And say hi to your mom for me, okay?”

  Bill and Trish always took Cheyenne to Dana’s grave to see her. Cheyenne would talk to Dana like she was really there, and at first it choked me up, but now it just made me happy.

  Cheyenne nodded. “I will. I can’t wait to tell her that I’m going to play softball just like she did. I’m going to tell her that I want to play third base like she did, too.”

  “She’s going to be so proud of you, Peanut.”

  Cheyenne said goodbye to Avery. I kissed the top of her head and watched her walk away with Bill and Trish, waving until she got to the crosswalk. Avery nudged me, telling me it was time to go before we missed our bus. My heart ached as I watched my peanut walk away.

  “I need a drink,” I said, willing my eyes to dry so no one would see me cry.

  “Let’s do this shit!” Avery turned and walked toward the bus.

  “How the fuck are we supposed to get laid in a twin?” I asked Avery as we walked into the ten by thirteen closet of a room. I heard Alex, our steward, trying to stifle a laugh.