Caged

by Shanna Ehrlich

  Trevor held hands with Annie while he scouted for the others on the dance floor, hoping they were where he left them because they needed to get out of there. Annie was about to have a breakdown. When Brax walked away she slumped to the ground and let the water works loose. He really hated seeing her cry. He bent down to ask what happened, but she wouldn’t open up. Just sat there crying until he pulled her up and dragged her to find the rest of the group. She had composed herself along the way, but he knew it wouldn’t last.

  Mandy, Sara and John were still shaking it on the dance floor when they walked up. “Hey bitches. We need to peace out. Annie’s not feeling well.” That was the truth after all.

  “What? Fuck that!” Sara yelled just as the song ended, causing the people nearby to glance their way. “Girl just get some water. It’s barely midnight. We’re not leaving.”

  Annie didn’t speak, just looked toward Trevor to help explain.

  “She and Brax had a fight. I don’t think water’s going to help.”

  This time it was Mandy who complained. “That’s bullshit. Of course you did. The one night we do something I want to do. If you want to go, then leave, but I’m not going to be your babysitter. You can go back by yourself.”

  Trevor pulled Mandy to the side and tried to reason with her.

  “No Trevor. I’m not going. If you want to leave with her that’s your choice, but I think it’s fucking stupid. It’s our last night.”

  He partly agreed with her, but it’s not like he was going to let Annie go back to the hotel alone, and he knew there was nothing he could do to talk her into staying. She had just been crying on the floor. Her night was done. If he chose not to leave with her, she would go back alone. She always did whatever she wanted, especially when she was drunk. There was no stopping her.

  Trevor looked up at the ceiling, running a hand through his hair. After letting out a deep breath he turned to John. “Hey man, I’m sorry for making you come all the way out here, but I have to go. You’re welcome to come if you want. Or stay. The girls will show you a good time,” he winked and flashed a smile.

  “And if I go with you? Are you going to show me a good time too?”

  Trevor leaned in and whispered exactly what he would show him and just like that all three of them were ready to leave.

  Trevor and John walked down the steps and along the bricked pathway with Annie following behind. Brax was still in the house, she could feel his presence, and wondered if he was watching through a window. Turning back, she was met only with the sight of closed curtains and bodies moving about in the open entryway. He was done. Just like he told her, and at the time, that’s what she wanted. She didn’t know why a part of her now hoped to see him watching. She knew ending it was the right thing, but maybe she still just wanted him to care. Yeah right. He thought she tried to kill him. He didn’t give a fuck about her anymore.

  Taking a few more steps backward, checking over the house once more for any signs of him, she caught sight of Mike and his three friends walking out. She turned back and scurried forward, hoping like hell he didn’t see her.

  He was loud behind her, telling his friends the story of how he “fingered the bitch while everyone watched.”

  “Fuck yeah,” his friend said to him as they high fived, or what she assumed to be high fives from the sounds of skin smacking skin. Though if he was just getting smacked that would be pretty fantastic. “Why didn’t you take her upstairs man? That chick was fine. She had lips that looked like a hoover.”

  “God, I know it. I would have if her boyfriend didn’t show back up.”

  “Aw shit!” both his friends said at the same time.

  “Fucking tell me about it. He tried to deck me too, but backed off as soon as he recognized me. Good thing. If he fucking touched me I would have had him rotting in a jail cell.”

  Jesus Christ. This guy was a bigger liar than she was. Except maybe not about the jail thing. He did say his father was the District Attorney. Annie wondered if Brax knew all along. Maybe that’s why he let him go. She knew as well as anyone, you don’t mess with the DA.

  Annie risked a glance over her shoulder to see the three guys getting into a black town car, except when the door closed, Mike was still standing there. He caught her gaze and she knew it was too late to walk away without him noticing. Shit.

  “Hey Annie, wait up.”

  She kept walking forward, but at hearing her name Trevor stopped, pulling John back as well. Looked like she was going to have to stop and talk. “What do you want Mike?” she said on a groan while turning to face him.

  “Look. I want to apologize. I know I was an asshole back there for not helping, I just, I didn’t know what to do. I was going to leave and bring back my friends. I didn’t realize he was going to make me watch that shit. Are you okay?”

  “Watch what shit?” Trevor asked as Mike reached out to touch her; what was meant to be a soothing gesture.

  “Nothing Trevor,” she jerked back her arm. “Don’t fucking touch me. I just want to be left alone. Brax told you never to talk to me again. I’d listen if I were you. Let’s go guys.”

  She walked on, leaving all three of them behind until Mike ran forward to try and stop her again. Great, now he decided to grow a pair of balls.

  “Look, can I give you a ride? As a peace offering. After everything that happened, it’s the least I can do.”

  She stopped once again and saw Trevor’s ears perk up at the mention of a free ride. Fuck. He was nice enough to be leaving with her. He didn’t need to pay for their ride home and she didn’t want to pay for an entire cab ride herself. “Sure,” she said on a sigh. “Fine. Lead the way.”

  They followed Mike around the corner to a flashy, black BMW parked curbside. Trevor and John opened the back door first leaving Annie no choice but the passenger seat.

  The drive back to the hotel was filled with awkward silence until Mike began randomly asking questions about Brax: how she really knew him, if his death threat was actually something he should be worried about, what it felt like to shoot him.

  “Excuse me what?” Trevor asked from the backseat.

  “Dude it was one of the most fucked up things I’ve ever seen. I left to get friends and when I came back she had a gun pointed at the asshole’s chest and pulled the trigger. Shit, I almost freaked out and thought we were going to have to get rid of a dead body or something.”

  “I am so fucking confused. Annie, what is he talking about?”

  Mike really needed to just shut the fuck up. He was going to get her into trouble.

  “You shot him?”

  “No. I didn’t shoot him. Obviously.”

  “But you tried?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “You can’t just drop a bomb like that and then say you don’t want to talk about it. Too damn bad.”

  “I didn’t drop a bomb, this dumb ass did,” she looked over toward Mike. “He pissed me off. That’s all.”

  “He did a lot more than piss you off,” Mike added.

  “Shut the fuck up or I’m going to shoot you next.”

  Trevor couldn’t believe what he was hearing. It’s as if he were in the car with a complete stranger instead of a girl he grew up with. “Annabel Nichols, what the hell is wrong with you? I guess that explains why Brax was so upset. You know I’m always there for you, but I might be on his side for this one.”

  “Don’t full name me Trevor, you don’t even know. You weren’t there.”

  “Then tell me!”

  Annie crossed her arms and continued to face forward.

  “Fine. Whatever.”

  No one spoke the rest of the ride. When Mike pulled up out front of The Carlyle, Annie jumped out and ran inside without as much as a thank you.

  In the elevator, Trevor tried again to find out what was going on. “What was that in the car? Since when do you not tell me things?”

  “I d
on’t not tell you things. I’m just, I don’t know, embarrassed, I was drunk and did something stupid, that’s all. Can we just drop it?”

  Trevor didn’t want to drop it, but he knew Annie wasn’t going to open up, at least not in the elevator with John listening in.

  When the doors dinged open, Annie rushed forward, eager to get to the room while Trevor and John walked casually behind. John reached out and took his hand, squeezing it once while Trevor looked over to see him smiling. He smiled back, forgetting all about Annie’s issues, and anticipation bubbled for their night in bed. If it were anything like the other night, it would beat out his desire to be at any party.

  Annie unlocked the door and huffed when they both followed her in. Where did she think they were going to go? “You know what, you guys probably want to be alone,” she turned back toward the door and opened it again. “I’m gonna go down stairs and get a key for Mandy and Sara’s room.”

  Trevor wanted to protest, but stopped himself. He felt like a bad friend, but it was probably for the best. He didn’t want to fool around with John in front of her again, especially not after what happened between her and Brax, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to resist himself once they got into bed. He spent most the drive home thinking about it while John felt him up over his jeans. His boner only deflating when Annie started talking about shooting people, but he was still horny as fuck.

  “Well that was awkward,” John stated after Annie left. “You sure you’re okay with me staying. I can leave if you want. No hard feelings.”

  “No. Fuck that! Annie’s a big girl. She can sleep in the other room. It’s no big deal.”

  “About that, I thought her name was Bethany?”

  “What? Did I tell you that? No. That’s just a name she gives to assholes in a bar who hit on her. I don’t even know why she does the whole fake name thing. If you don’t want to talk to someone just tell them to fuck off, you know?”

  John agreed.

  “She’s been doing it for years though. Ever since she got married. It’s almost like she thinks if she’s someone else, that makes it okay. Who knows. I stopped trying to figure her out a long time ago. You know what I do want to figure out though?” he paused and raised an eyebrow.

  “What’s that?”

  “Why are we talking about my friend when we should be fucking instead?”

  And just like that it was game on. Clothes thrown on the floor, bodies clashing together and the headboard rattling the walls hard enough for Annie to hear from the other room.

  The party raged on and Brax stewed on the couch, watching the crowded dance floor. He was thoroughly tanked after taking five more shots and chugging a beer. In his line of work, drunk in public was a stupid choice, but at that moment he just didn’t give a fuck. The ladies didn’t seem to mind either. One after another they approached even though he pushed the previous ones before them away, quite literally. He was sick of women. Fuck them. Fuck her. He wanted her to hurt. Was she hurting like he was? Doubtful.

  Another fucking lady sat down on the couch beside him. Stupid, skinny, platinum blonde chick.

  “Hey.”

  Are you fucking kidding me? He turned to tell her to fuck off, but recognized her blurry features and it hit him, a way to make her hurt. “Sara right?” He hoped his words didn’t sound as slurred out loud as they did in his head.

  “Yep. What were you and Annie fighting about?”

  The fuck? Who’s Annie.

  “Trevor said you two got in a little tiff.”

  Oh, she was talking about the bitch, as he now referred to her. Stupid alcohol was fucking with his hearing. She must have said Bethany. “You could say that. I told her we were over.”

  “Well that explains why she was so upset, but honestly it’s probably for the best. There’s a lot of other girls out there, better girls,” she told him, tossing her hair to the side.

  Did she just insinuate what he thought she did? He may have been drunk, but could still spot a pickup from a mile away. This was going to be easier than he thought.

  “So what’s your deal Brax? What do you do to be able to afford to wine and dine girls with four thousand dollar bottles of wine?”

  “Don’t call me that,” he ignored her question. Hearing his shortened name come from anyone else besides B made him flinch.

  “Call you what? Brax? That’s what Annie calls you. I just assumed…” She trailed off with an open-ended sentence and the girl was slurring worse than he was. It sounded like she said Annie again.

  “Bethany does what she wants whether I like it or not. I’d prefer it if you call me Braxton though.” He was being nice to her. It took a lot of effort, but it’s hard to get people into bed if you start out being a dick.

  “Oh, right. Bethany. Yeah, she definitely does what she wants. Always has, always will.”

  “How long have you known each other?”

  “Since I was ten and she was eight. We’ve all known each other since elementary school. Grew up on the same block.”

  Interesting. If she was flirting with him or not, she might need another drink to commit the type of betrayal he was going to use her for. Leaving to get her one he returned with two shots, one for each of them, and an additional margarita for her, but she wasn’t where he left her. What the fuck? He relaxed back on the couch, too intoxicated to consider looking, and instead went back to staring out at the dance floor, wallowing in his misery.

  Sara returned minutes later apologizing for leaving to put Mandy to bed in one of the upstairs rooms. The girl was getting easier and easier. All alone now, it was in the bag. She sat on the couch next to him, crossing one leg over the other, and happily accepted the shot and margarita he offered.

  “Your friend’s a fucked up bitch by the way.”

  “My friend? Mandy?”

  “No.” Why the fuck would she think he was talking about Mandy? “Not Mandy, Bethany. She’s fucking crazy. I’m done with her.”

  “Yes you told me, and I should hope so since you’re talking to me now.”

  “I am. Trust me.” He ran a hand up her thigh, pushing her skirt higher in the process. “Just promise me you’re not a crazy bitch too.”

  Pushing his hand off her, she turned more to face him. Annoyed with his come on. “Stop talking about her! You don’t even know her. Why do you care so much? What’s it been, four days, five? I’m sorry if she hurt your pretty boy feelings, but it was just a joke. She wasn’t interested in those guys, and even if she were, she deserves a little fun after everything that happened with the baby.” Sara immediately covered her mouth. That was obviously something she wasn’t supposed to let slip.

  “Baby? She has a fucking baby? I guess that’s just another thing she lied about.” Although, it made a hell of lot more sense why she wouldn’t stay with him.

  “Fuck you! You don’t even know what you’re talking about!” Her sudden outburst took him aback. “She wasn’t lying about anything. She just didn’t tell you. It’s not something you go around telling people. That you got pregnant with a baby you weren’t even sure you wanted, fell absolutely in love with it, with her, and then three months later she died and completely fucked you up. When would have been a good time to bring that up?”

  Stunned in silence he sat back and took another sip of his beer. Sara continued going off, ranting surly about what an asshole he was, but nothing else registered. Apparently he didn’t know Bethany as well as he thought. Obviously not since she tried to shoot him, but it was an interesting insight, something he wished she would have told him herself. It seemed to be a theme in their relationship. He told her everything and she told him nothing. Even what she did tell him he had to twist out of her. Well not anymore. He was done with trusting people. Cole was right, fuck’em and dump’em. It’s just easier that way.

  “Are you going to talk about her all night?” Braxton interrupted, “Because if you are, I’ll go find someone else.”

  Sara stopped talking midsentence and leane
d back against the couch while he watched her come to terms with what was happening between them. What he wanted from her. He thought she might get up and walk away, but he could see in her eyes the moment she decided to stay. “Hey. You started it. I’m done talking about her if you are.”

  Taking a sip from the margarita glass, she licked the salt off her lips, missing a few granules in the corners and Braxton took the moment to lean forward and help her out with the rest. He licked the sour crystals first before moving his tongue in her mouth. Surprisingly she tasted good, a mix of mint and lime, and she was a good kisser too, claiming his tongue and taking all he offered. “I knew the moment I saw you I chose the wrong friend,” he said mid-kiss. “Wish it would have been you who bought me that shot.” Not entirely untrue. If Sara bought him the shot he would have just fucked her and been done. He wouldn’t have had to deal with all this extra bullshit.

  Instead of responding, she took him in her mouth again, straddled his lap and deepened the kiss. Standing up with her legs still wrapped around, he deposited her on the ground and walked toward the stairs. When he got to the railing he turned back, gave her an encouraging look, and knew she would follow.

  The next morning, Annie woke with a headache the size of Mount Everest. Drinking too much and crying all night will do that to you. After sneaking back to her room and downing three pain killers she relaxed in the shower, letting the water run down her back without having the energy to actually wash.

  After dressing on autopilot she began packing, throwing her clothes and toiletries in the suitcase, not bothering to fold or organize a thing. She still couldn’t believe what happened. Maybe she should have explained, defended her actions more, but it was better this way, he was going to let her go now. It’s what she needed, but the irony of it all was she needed him too. Wanted to run to him and tell him all about her horrible night. If the situation were different, he would be there to let her know it would be okay. She needed that now. Wanted more than anything to have him hold her, forgive her, but that would never happen. It couldn’t happen. She had to leave him.