Chapter 29

Later that Christmas day we went over to Tessa’s parents’ home for dinner. Not a word was spoken about what happened although it was the saddest holiday ever for me. Tessa stayed in the house for the time being and I moved back to my first house. Tai went back and forth between us for a while, but I could sense that Tessa was trying to wean her off me. I was angry and hurt that Tessa would do this. I wanted to hurt someone and make them feel the pain that I was feeling.

I went back on the juice and hit the weights with a drive and anger that I had not felt in a long while. I was pounding two a days on weights and working with the arts every day. I quickly put on twenty-five pounds getting back to my heaviest weight ever. One evening, I picked up Tai from Beth’s house and took her to the hospital for Tessa. Tai was confused and could not understand why I had moved out. She told me Tessa had told me that I didn’t love her anymore. I explained to Tai that was not true. That I still loved Tessa and that I loved her as well. But I explained Tessa liked the other doctor and I could not be around and see that.

As we got off the elevator and made our way to the nurse’s station, I felt the eyes on me. I asked for Tessa and one of the nurses told me she would get her. Tai and I waited by the nurse’s station and by the looks I was getting it felt like a pity parade. Finally, Tessa arrived, and Tai ran up to her. I was trying to walk out when the fabulous Doctor Jason Patrick came walking down the floor. He was too close to me before he looked up and had no way of avoiding contact. You could feel the oxygen being sucked out of the hallway.

“Oh uh ... Chris is it, nice to meet you.” he said extending his hand.

I left him there standing awkwardly with his hand out until the dumbass realized I was not going to shake his hand. I could see that Tessa was extremely nervous about how I was going to react. It seemed that time had frozen for a minute or so.

“Tessa, I’m going to go. Call me if you need anything.” I stated turning to walk away.

“She doesn’t need anything from you.” Jason exclaimed.

I turned around quickly and walked right up to him invading his personal space as the term was used in today’s world.

“Let me make you understand something, and I want to be clear as can be. Don’t you ever address me again in your worthless life. Because I can and will end you for good. Obviously, you won with Tessa, but you will never, ever win with me. So, my suggestion is that if you see me try turning and walking the other way. That’s good advice right there.” I stated, smiling at him.

“And that’s the reason right there that she chose me. When it all comes down to it, you’re a muscle-bound fighter who only knows two things ... Weights and fighting. Tessa is too much of an intellectual to waste her life on someone like you.” he laughed.

“I’ll agree with you there. I do know only weights and fighting. And I’ll agree Tessa is so much smarter than I am, not even close. But I promise that a guy like you will never ever be faithful to her ... that I’m positive of and she deserves a lot better than you.” I replied, turning and walking away.

On the drive home I couldn’t help thinking about how Tessa never even tried to salvage our relationship. I would have probably forgiven her if she had promised to be faithful to me. Even Lexie had tried every time to patch things up. That night as I laid in bed, I completely mapped out how my life was going to change.

First and foremost, I was not going to get into a full-time relationship for quite a while. Secondly, I owed Amber from the gym a huge debt of gratitude for stepping up and basically running the gym for me. I was going back to what I knew best, lifting and fighting. I was in the gym early the next morning and surprised Amber when she came in.

“Amber, I need to talk to you in my office.” I asked.

She followed me inside and sat down in the chair across from my desk. She had a nervous look on her face which I guess might be normal after confronting her like I did.

“Amber, I can’t begin to thank you for everything you do around here. But with that said, I’m going to try. I am going to draw up paperwork transferring twenty percent of the gym into your name. I’m also giving you an eight thousand dollar a year raise. Since you’re basically running the place, you should own part of it.” I stated.

“Oh my god. Are you kidding me?” she squealed.

“Nope, I’m not kidding you. However, you cannot sell twenty percent to anyone else without offering it to me first. That will be stated in writing. At that point if you want to leave, I will offer you fair market value. If you get married in the future you must list the gym in a prenup agreement where your partner cannot touch it.” I stated.

“I understand and thank you so much Chris, you’re the best.” Amber replied.

“If only that were true, Amber.” I laughed.

“Why, is everything ok?” she asked.

“Nope, I got dumped again, this time by Tessa.” I answered.

“What the fuck ... Is she crazy. You just bought a huge house and what about Tai?” she asked.

“Right now, I have no clue. But I caught her with another doctor from the hospital and apparently she wants to be with him. All I know at this point.” I responded.

“Chris, I’m so sorry. But let me give you some free advice from a woman’s standpoint. You seemed to gravitate towards beautiful women and there is nothing wrong with that. You are a gorgeous guy and every woman in here wants to fuck you. Do yourself a favor. Fuck them till you get tired and move on ... enjoy yourself and quit giving so hard in a relationship.” Amber laughed.

“I’m not sure I could do that Amber but thanks for the advice.” I answered.

“Oh, by the way, your ex is upstairs and wants to talk to you.” Amber advised.

“Be more specific, I have a ton of ex’s.” I asked.

“The cop...” Amber said, walking out of the door.

I finished what I was doing and then walked up the stairs to the second floor. Lexie Thomas was about to attack the squat rack. I walked over to her before she got under the bar.

“Lexie, what’s up. Amber said you wanted to see me.” I asked.

“Hey Chris, I wanted to ask you a favor if possible. I understand if you say no.” she stated.

“Sure, ask away.” I responded.

“I’m on administrative leave right now and I must get back in shape. Would you mind working with me to help me get started. I need to max out right away. Of course, if you think it would be a problem for you at home, I will understand.” she asked.

“No, it won’t be a problem for me. You want to start now?” I asked.

“Please, if you don’t mind.” she responded.

For the next ninety minutes Lexie pushed herself as hard as she physically could. She went downstairs and took a shower then came into my office on the way out.

“Hey about we say eight o’clock every morning.” she asked.

“Can you do seven and I will work out with you?” I offered.

“Sure, that would be fine. Thanks again Chris.” Lexie said, waving bye.

For the next week, Lexie and I busted ass on the weights. The one good thing about Lexie was she knew how I liked to train. Very little was spoken, it was all business. By that Friday morning, she had made decent progress and was eating right again. She did say her day-to-day schedule made it hard to train and eat well on a regular basis.

“So how are things going with the little one?” Lexie asked.

“I don’t see her as much as I would like to. Things have become very complicated.” I replied, avoiding eye contact.

“Complicated ... What happened?” Lexie inquired.

“A second doctor I knew nothing about.” I answered.

“Wait ... She was seeing someone else at the same time?” Lexie asked, surprised.

“Seems like it. Tai and I caught her in her office at the hospital making out with him.” I offered.

“Oh my god ... What did the baby say.” Lexie asked.

“I don’t think she is old enough to understand it. But she knows something is wrong.” I stated.

“Chris, I’m so sorry. You don’t deserve this.” Lexie replied.

“It has nothing to do with deserve, Lex.” I said, ending the conversation.

Lexie went down to the locker room, took a shower and dressed. On the way out of the door she popped into my office. I was headed for the showers myself.

“Hey, look ... Um, how about I buy you dinner tonight? I need to talk to someone and my parents are no help.” she said, quite apprehensive.

“Lexie, I am not sure I would be the best company right now.” I answered.

“I know but I would really like to talk to you. It has nothing to do with us.” she promised.

“Okay, I guess. What time...” I asked.

“Pick me up at seven?” she asked.

“See you then...” I promised.

Right after lunch, I received a call from Tessa on my cell phone. She relayed the fact that she felt awkward living in the house that I had just paid for. She could not allow Jason to be there out of respect for me, but her condo was too small for her and Tai. After a bit more conversation, I offered to switch houses with her telling her she could stay in my original home for nothing. I also told her that if she wanted to let Jason come there, I had no problem with it. She started crying, telling me how gracious I was and finally accepted the offer. She told me she could move tomorrow if that would be okay with me. I agreed telling her I would take the few things I had there to the gym with me and leave the key under the mat. I would be at the gym until late and then go to the new house. Again, we had an extended conversation and not one mention about possibly she may be doing the wrong thing. I just did not understand it.

I arrived at Lexie’s house a few minutes before seven and parked in front. I walked up the sidewalk and rang the doorbell. Jennifer Thomas opened it quickly.

“Hey Chris, Lexie mentioned that the two of you were going out to dinner. Please come in.” she offered.

I went inside and followed her to the den with Lexie’s dad Jim was in his chair watching a football game. He greeted me as well then Jennifer motioned me to the kitchen. I followed her in and she turned around and faced me.

“Did Lexie tell you what is going on?” Jennifer whispered.

“No, just that she wanted to talk.” I answered.

“Ok, well I’m going to let her tell you then.” Jennifer responded walking back to the living area.

Seconds later, Lexie walked in dressed in black jeans and a sheer white blouse with black heeled boots on. It had been a long time since I had seen Lexie ready to go out somewhere. It brought back a lot of memories. We left minutes later and drove to a small Italian restaurant across town. Lexie had made reservations and we were seated in a private booth. We ordered drinks and then Lexie leaned across the table slightly and began to talk in a very low tone.

“Chris, I don’t know if you have heard what happened to me yet. So, if you know, please tell me what you heard.” Lexie asked, appearing very vulnerable.

“No Lexie, I have not heard a thing.” I answered, honestly.

“Ok then, let me start from the beginning. A few months ago, Cody began acting a little strange. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but his personality was just different. He was more open and always looking to do something. That was not the Cody that I knew. Anyway, about a month ago he got fired from his job because he claimed that a co-worker had set him up for theft. The company did not press charges but just fired him.” she began.

“Then on Christmas Eve we were going over to his parent’s home, and we ran into one of my own checkpoints. They were checking insurance, brake tags and looking for DUI suspects. When he got to the front of the line, he began to act weird. Since he was driving the officer began interrogating him. When I showed them my badge, they were about to wave us through when the K9 alerted something with Cody’s vehicle.” she continued.

“The troopers made us get out of the vehicle even though I protested. Well, the dog got in the car and quickly found two bags of what turned out to be cocaine. One was in the center console and the other was under the passenger seat where I was sitting. They quickly pulled the car to the side and handcuffed the both of us. Here I was a Dallas detective sitting on the curb handcuffed. Since Cody owned the car, they questioned him first and he denied that the drugs were his. He claimed that they had to be mine because he knew nothing about them.” she stated.

“I simply was stunned that Cody would do that to me especially since I was a police officer. When they pulled me on the side and questioned me, I told the truth and denied any knowledge of the drugs. They called Dallas PD to come pick us up and impounded the car. When we got to the station, I agreed to be drug tested but Cody refused. My captain came down and got me released on my own recognizance, but Cody had to make bail. I refused to bail him out since he had tried to pin the drugs on me.” she admitted.

“Jesus Christ, Lexie. What a shit show.” I replied.

“Tell me about it. So, the next day internal affairs got involved and put me on leave until they can figure out exactly what is going on. In my defense, I did have a clean drug screen and I also agreed to take a polygraph which they will probably do next week. So here I am with a no-good lousy drug addict for a fiancé.” she sighed.

“Has he taken a drug test yet?” I asked.

“No, he wouldn’t take one. His dad bailed him out, but he has not called me since and I refused to call him. So that’s where we stand as of now. Now I do believe he was fired for theft and that is how he was helping pay for the coke. Narcotics detectives are investigating now but either way this is not going to look good on my record.” she admitted.

“Why Lexie, I have known you for a long time. We have not always agreed on everything, but I have never seen you under the influence or use any type of drug other than Tylenol. I will testify to that in court for you.” I promised.

“I know you would Chris and I appreciate it. God, forbid I wish I could back up a few years and do this all over again.” she admitted.

By that time, the food came and for now Lexie dropped the subject and asked me about Tessa. There was not much I could say because I had no clue what might be going on. The conversation then turned to Tai and how much I missed her. On the way home I mentioned how Tessa would be staying at my house with Tai and I would be at the other home. Then I remembered there was no way Lexie could have known about the new house, so I explained it to her. I dropped her off about thirty minutes later and I promised to call her to keep updated on her situation.

I drove over to the new house and went in to find that Tessa and Tai had completely moved out. The house seemed huge and lonely with no one there but me. I was just about asleep in bed that night when my phone rang. I looked over to see it was Tessa, I picked it up right away.

Tessa seemed upset from what I could gather on the phone and she began to explain that a woman had come forward and wanted to take custody of Tai. She was Tai’s father’s biological sister who was still in Vietnam. She was flying to the United States to attempt to take Tai back to her country. Since she was her aunt, I couldn’t see how it could be stopped although since Tai was born here she was an American citizen. I asked Tessa to keep me informed and if she needed anything from me just asked. The next month or so passed but I did not hear anything from Tessa, so I decided to call her.

She informed me that the aunt was still trying to gain custody of Tai and had returned to Vietnam. She would work with the Embassy there to finalize all the paperwork. I was very upset that Tessa was not going to fight to keep Tai and let Tessa know that. It was almost as if Tessa was now a person, I barely knew at all. She then informed me that she would be moving out of my house and into Jason Patrick’s home. She told me she would return the key to the house when she had completely moved out.

I would still see Tessa sometimes early in the morning working out but saying hello to each other was about the extent of our conversation. Lexie would show up about seven and would work out with me and leave and go back home. Lexie did say that she thought they were going to rescind her leave, but she would get a desk job until this whole mess was over.

Cody was apparently sticking to the story that the drugs found were Lexie’s. There was no clear definitive information of exactly what he had told his attorney at this point. The only thing Lexie had in her favor was that she did submit to a drug test which Cody would not. She had also taken a polygraph at the precinct which she passed but was inadmissible in court. She had no prior criminal record or even a traffic ticket as she stated. So, the only thing she had to stand on was that she passed a drug test that night at the precinct. Since cocaine can be detected in your blood for several days and your urine for a week or so, all the test proved that she had not used in a week or so. She voluntarily let them take a hair sample as well which she passed as well. Cocaine can be detected in a hair sample for three to four months after the last use.

That Friday morning during our workout Lexie informed me that Cody’s attorney was going to subpoena both of us during the trial. I thought that Lexie testimony would be obvious but why the hell subpoena me? What could I possibly have to do with Cody using cocaine.

“I’m guessing he is going to question you about the use of anabolic steroids and what you have taken in your life. Then maybe try to suggest that somehow you and I began the cocaine habit together. I really have no idea, Chris”, Lexie stated.

“Lexie, I was drug tested at least a dozen times while I was fighting. Nothing ever came up with a single test. No one walking on this earth saw me take steroids even once. It just won’t hold it.” I laughed.

“Chris, I know a bit about the law. All he has to do is suggest that the drugs were mine and I might have gotten from you while we were seeing each other. It doesn’t have to be true. All he needs to do is plant the seed and get the jurors to believe it.” she sighed.

“So, let’s say they let him off? That still doesn’t shift the blame to you.” I reminded her.

“No, but it would stall my career. Future promotions would probably not happen. I would not have much of a chance at attaining a higher rank.” she replied.

“After everything you have been through with him and he does this to you. How the fuck did you ever think he was your best option?” I asked.

“I was so wrong Chris, fucking dead wrong. But I’m to blame for it all. You offered me a way out and I blew it several times. My only defense is that I had been with Cody for so long I guess it just felt familiar. Kind of like an old pair of jeans you should just throw out, but you wear them every week.” she sighed.

“I must be a very old pair of jeans as many times as I have been thrown out.” I replied.

That night as I was in bed watching television my phone rang and I noticed it was Tessa. I picked it up eagerly hoping for some good news.

“Hey Chris, how are you?” Tessa asked.

“I’m okay, thanks.” I replied.

“Chris, the State wants to talk to us about Tai before they make a decision. I explained that we are not together anymore, but they still want to meet with us.” she explained.