Free The Brass Ring by Mavis Applewater

Jamie's assault.
    "The truth?" Jamie spat back. "You wouldn't know the truth if it bit you in the ass." She poked CC once again, even harder than her first two attacks. CC could feel the anger welling up inside her.
    "Fine. Don't believe me," CC shouted bitterly. "I know what happened. I wasn't the one who ran off and bedded someone else."
    "Where do you get off?" Jamie yelled in return.
    "You were my first," CC said as she gritted her teeth. "I loved you."
    "What?" Jamie uttered in disbelief as her eyes narrowed.
    "You weren't the only virgin that night," CC answered in a flat even tone of voice.
    Jamie's eyes widened. "That's it," Jamie said in a low harsh tone. "Get out." She pointed to the doorway.
    "Jamie." CC drew a breath to steady herself. "I'm not lying."
    "Out!" Jamie commanded her firmly as she nudged the taller woman towards the door.
    As she continued to guide CC back downstairs and out the doorway, Jamie released a string of obscenities that embarrassed the policewoman. The front door slammed behind her. Once again CC found herself standing outside in the cold morning air. "That went well." She sighed as she approached her doorway. She knocked on her own front door. "Stevie, can I come home now?" she pleaded desperately.

   

    CHAPTER TWELVE
      
    J AMIE COLLAPSED AGAINST the door and began to sob hysterically. "Why would she say those things?" she cried out to no one. "What if it’s true?" The tears fell harder; nothing made sense. She couldn’t think. She was tired from lack of sleep over the past week. Her body ached from her hangover and she couldn’t recall the last time she had anything to eat. All she knew for certain was that last night, for a few short hours, she’d found herself in CC’s arms.
    Her mind argued that it was the last place she should find herself, but her heart disagreed. It felt right. It felt more than right. It felt like it had twelve years ago. It seemed like a lifetime ago, but the pain was still as fresh as the first night she sat up waiting for the phone call that never came. "Could what CC told me be the truth?" she cried out in the emptiness.
    The angry pounding on the door rattled through her tired body. "It’s her," she said quickly as she pulled herself to her feet. She wiped her nose on her shirt before opening the door. CC wasn’t standing on the other side. Instead she found a very angry Stevie holding a crying infant.
    "Crying?" Stevie asked bitterly. "Good, because so is my sister."
    Jamie backed away fearfully from the doorway. The baby cried harder. "You have no idea how hard it was for her to come over here and face you," Stevie continued as she kicked the door close. For the first time in years, Jamie suddenly feared for her life. The infant continued to cry. Jamie looked at the baby. At first she had assumed that it was her mother’s yelling that caused her discomfort. Now her trained eye led her to believe that there was something wrong.
    "My sister worshiped the ground that you walked on," Stevie continued. "You broke her heart."
    "What’s wrong with the baby?" Jamie asked her quickly.
    Stevie just shook her head and stared at her blankly. "What’s wrong with the baby?" Jamie repeated, her professionalism kicking in. Stevie seemed uncertain what to do. "Look," Jamie offered in a calm tone, "you can keep telling me off. I’m a bitch, okay? Now we all agree. What’s wrong with the baby?"
    "I don’t know," Stevie choked out. "I’m waiting for her pediatrician to call, but he hasn’t yet."
    "Can I take a look at her?" Jamie held out her arms. Seeing the indecision on Stevie’s face, she said, "You can still tell me what a complete jackass I am."
    "Deal," Stevie agreed as she handed her daughter over to Jamie.
    Jamie pulled a comforter down off the back of the sofa before laying the crying child down. "Hey there, peanut," Jamie cooed to the child. "Not feeling good?"
    "CC calls her that," Stevie commented absently.
    "My bag is in the kitchen. Would