Wild Chase

by L. A. Bressett

  Unfortunately, that’s not what fate has in store for me.

  “Something is very wrong, Jesse. Wouldn’t you agree, Melanie?”

  The sour voice resonates through my home, as the door I’m still holding, swings open.

  Olivia stands there, disheveled and beyond livid. It’s instantly clear to me that Avery has handled the first part of our messy issue, and she’s about to handle the next part.

  My stomach nearly implodes as I clench the fabric of my shirt lying against it. Jesse lifts an eyebrow at Olivia and then looks back at me, even more perplexed than he was before.

  “Olivia? What are you doing here?” he asks, looking back down at his phone and then back up at the two of us. I’m still frozen in place by the door, worried that Olivia brought along the heavy artillery and she’s ready to put me in front of the firing squad. Oh god, this is not how I want this to happen. Jesse deserves to hear it from me, not some psychotic ex-girlfriend.

  “Y—You need to leave. Olivia, you need to leave now,” I stutter out to her under my breath. A few feet from me, she turns and cuts her eyes as a malicious smirk crosses her face.

  “Why is that, hmm? Haven’t had a chance to break his little heart like I just had mine broken?” she scoffs.

  I gulp and finally let the door go, stepping a few steps into the room. My heart and brain start to scream as I try to figure something out. Olivia isn’t about to let that happen. Taking a few hasty steps into the room herself, she zeroes in on the confused man standing before us and cocks her head to the side.

  “I’m just going to be blunt about things, Jesse. It’ll save us all time in the end. Your little ‘Melanie’ here has been lying to you. Oh, make that two, because so has Avery. Does the name Chase mean anything to you?” she asks directly.

  My heart stops as his face shifts from confused to stunned, and then it falls as it snaps to me.

  “Jesse,” I start, my voice breaking, but Olivia cuts me off.

  “Don’t you think you’ve had enough time to say something, Chase?”

  I snap my mouth shut; for the first time, the bitch is right about something.

  “Wait, did you just call her Chase? Did she just call you Chase?” Jesse says, almost looking as sick as I feel. What have I done?

  I nod, knowing that the damage is about to set in.

  Sure enough, he looks to the floor and swallows roughly, his fists clenching at his side.

  I step forward but stop myself when Olivia starts to laugh.

  “I see you know that name all too well, too, Jess. And before you even have to ask, yeah, she’s the one and only. As soon as Avery told me, I knew I had to come straight over and tell you. These two have been lying to us from the start. Who knows what they have been doing behind our backs. And what’s worse is that now you guys have put your careers on the line for this piece of trash!”

  I start to say something, but words fail me again.

  “Olivia,” Jesse says, finally looking back up, his eyes piercing right through her, “why did you feel the need to tell me all of this?” His voice is oddly calm, but the look on his face is clearly that of irritation.

  She lets out a breathy laugh, “Avery just admitted everything to me. I knew that you were involved with the other liar; I wanted to make sure you knew the truth about her. I couldn’t stand the thought of you being strung along, too.”

  She smiles a little too much while she says this to him, and he startles both of us when he stands toe to toe with her, looking down into her shocked, brown eyes.

  “You are quite the liar yourself, you know that?” he sneers, biting the inside of his cheek.

  She steps back, caught off guard by his words. “Excuse me? I’m doing you a favor!”

  He shakes his head and steps forward again, “No, you’re not. You must think that I am the dumbest guy alive if I buy that load of bullshit. You hate me, and I can’t stand you either. That’s never changed, not since the moment I met you—and I remember you from that night, Olivia—at the party. You wouldn’t stop hanging all over me and the other guys, throwing yourself at us for over an hour. It was embarrassing. I finally put an end to it when I turned you down flat and wounded that ego of yours. The only reason you ended up with Avery was because he was too drunk to smell the desperation pouring off you.”

  My jaw hits the carpet as I watch their exchange. Her cheeks start to turn bright red as her breathing becomes short and rapid. Oh, she’s pissed! I take a step back just as she explodes.

  “You’re damn right! But what still eludes me, is that you and your thick skull STILL don’t remember the first time we actually met!”

  Jesse’s eyebrows bunch up in a look of confusion, “I just said I did!”

  Olivia rolls her eyes, “No, I’m not just talking about that party, asshole! I’d met you several times before that. I’m talking about the huge summer bash that Blurr threw that summer you guys were picked up- the one everyone from the label attended. You and I flirted all night long, until you suggested we get comfortable elsewhere. Against my better judgment, you and I snuck out to the pool house and half way into fooling around you stopped to answer your cell phone. Then you put your clothes back on, telling me never mind. Then you left me there, naked and alone. I MEAN, NEVER MIND?”

  OUCH.

  Jesse’s widened eyes soften as he wipes his brow, “Saved by the bell!” he mutters sarcastically.

  Olivia lunges for him, but I step in a shove her back. Jesse just laughs.

  “Then to top it off, every time we saw each other after that, it was painfully obvious that you didn’t even remember who I was. I mean, who does that? Pricks that don’t think about anyone but themselves, that’s who! And then you had the gall to humiliate me at that party when I’d obviously had too much to drink!” she shouts, her bruised feelings written all over her face.

  Jesse shrugs, “Seriously, Olivia, you aren’t the first girl to get their feelings hurt and you won’t be the last. The reason I can’t stand you is simple. You remind me of everything I hate about women. You act as though you deserve the world, stepping on anyone and anything to get what you want—only its guys like me that you humiliate and laugh at behind their backs. I stopped giving a shit about girls like you a long time ago. It doesn’t feel so good when it gets dished back to you, does it? I don’t have time for immature, selfish, vindictive little girls, and that’s probably why I don’t remember anything about the night that’s got your panties in a bunch. It’s probably safe to say that it wasn’t much worth remembering.”

  Her face turns bright red, but that awful, evil smirk returns.

  “Trust me, I’ll be forever grateful for that phone call. But—turnabout is fair play, and I wanted to see you realize that the girl you’re falling for will never be yours. The look on your face was worth all the time I’ve wasted with that asshole friend of yours. You made the biggest mistake of your life. You know that? No one humiliates Olivia Birsch and gets away with it. In fact, you should be careful what you say and do, Mr. Morgan. I don’t think you realize just how far my reach extends.”

  “Jesus, Liv, enough with the villainess act! What the hell are you talking about now?”

  She clucks her tongue and looks down at her nails, “It means that I’m still your label exec’s daughter. I’ve played a much larger role in your careers lately than you know.”

  Jesse’s face searches hers for a moment before a switch goes off. This time his face blazes red with rage.

  “It’s your fault our record was rejected! Un—fucking—believable! You’ve been playing us all along, haven’t you?”

  Olivia licks her lips and smiles vindictively.

  “You bet your too-good-for-me-ass, I have.”

  As soon as the words start to click and I realize that she’s been screwing with their careers, my own anger lights up.

  “Who do you think you are? How could you be such a heartless bitch? All because he didn’t sleep with you?” I yell, feeling as though I’m
just scratching the surface of my rage.

  Olivia turns and looks me over with disgust, “Actually, I couldn’t be more thankful now. Looks to me like his type is strictly trashy whores.”

  Until this moment, I have never had the urge to fight someone. I attack, aiming for that bitch’s ratty blonde hair, but Jesse grabs a hold of me before I can get my hands on her.

  “Well, good morning, douche bitch!” says a familiar voice from the hallway connected to our bedrooms. We all turn to see Vic and Kennedy standing there watching us.

  Olivia purses her lips at Vic’s comment, but my roomie doesn’t stop there.

  “I knew I smelled that familiar scent of crotch rot. How the hell are ya?” Vic asks with a megawatt smile.

  Jesse chokes back a laugh behind me, his hands still holding firmly around my waist.

  Olivia puffs out her chest as she opens her mouth to let Victoria have a piece of her mind, but my beautiful friend beats her to it.

  “Yeah, on second thought, I don’t care. Just get the fuck out. As in now, not later. Don’t pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars, just get your shit, and get out.”

  It takes a moment for Olivia to pull herself together. Her anger fades and that same malicious smile finds its way to her face. She turns to Jesse and me, “If you think that I was the problem, you are all insane. Enjoy your new band. Can’t wait to see how that works out.” She turns and goes to walk out, but I can’t just let her walk away like that. I don’t care what I’ve done wrong; she’s the crazy one.

  “Just so you know, Olivia, it wasn’t Jesse or Avery that made the mistake. You just made the biggest one of your life. Now you’ll never know. Trust me when I say that either one of them would have been worth the wait.”

  She purses her lips and cuts her eyes to Jesse before smiling like a Cheshire cat back at me.

  “You would know, wouldn’t you? Whore.”

  I always thought that my body chose to betray me at every turn in the road, but today, my body did not disappoint. My hand connects with her bony cheek, leaving a bright pink welt in its wake.

  Grabbing her cheek, she glares at me before turning and slamming the door behind her. I turn around and the anger in my system dissipates instantly, as Jesse’s blue eyes look right into mine. My stomach drops and I suddenly don’t have the courage to tell him just how sorry I am.

  I step forward to him, “Jesse, I—”

  He raises a hand to stop me, “Don’t. Honestly, you don’t have to say anything. I know exactly who you are.”

  My throat starts to constrict as the tears start to break through. The look on his face says it all.

  Hurt. He’s hurt and I am the cause it.

  “But Jesse, I’m so so—” I choke out, but he cuts me off again, starting toward the door.

  “Mel—,” he begins and then stops, closing his eyes and taking a breath before turning back to look at me.

  “I already know what this means, Chase. There’s no need to drag this out. Besides, we were just friends having a good time, remember?” he strains, the sad smile dimming the usual light in his eyes. The way he says my name, my real name, sounds so illicit. It breaks my heart, but all I can do is stand there, and watch as he swings the door open and walks out.

  I bury my face in my hands as I let the flood gates open. I have more feelings for Jesse than I want to admit, and although they are different from what I feel for Avery, it doesn’t stop the way it kills me to watch him be torn to shreds. I reach for the doorknob but a pair of strong arms slips around me. I let out a loud sob as Kennedy pulls me back gently.

  “Shhhhh. Just give him some time. He’ll be ok,” he sooths, resting his head on top of mine. Vic steps up in front of me and presses her forehead to mine, taking my hands in hers.

  That just makes my ugly cry even worse.

  Jesse flings the door to the hotel room open and barges in like a freight train. His wild gaze finds Avery coming out of his bedroom and walking across the living room. As soon as their eyes meet, the blonde stops. Jesse barrels across the suite, stopping only to throw a punch into the side of his best friend’s face.

  “HOW COULD YOU?” He shouts, grabbing his fist and rubbing it as he watches Avery spit blood onto the floor, looking up at the bassist with his eyes full of guilt and regret.

  Jesse steps closer, his finger pointing dead at his band mate’s face, “You’re a fucking idiot, you know that? How could you do that to me? How could you do that to her? I told you four years ago to go after her!”

  “Jesse, it wasn’t that easy! You know—” he sputters, wincing as he starts to talk, spitting out a little blood, and cradling his jaw in his hand.

  “BULLSHIT!” Jesse yells, the veins in his neck starting to throb.

  “I had no idea that the two of you would get, would get so close,” Avery yells back, unable to make eye contact over the images flooding his mind.

  Jesse’s nostrils flare as he points a finger at his friend, “You knew exactly what I thought of her! I never hid that! I even fucking told you that I could see myself settling down,” his voice trailing off.

  “I thought you were going to take it slow, Jess. I thought that I was doing the right thing. I thought if I saw her move on, that I’d be able to let go, too. I just couldn’t. You know what she means to me, I wouldn’t do this for just any girl,” Avery breathes out, wiping his lip with the back of his knuckle.

  Biting at his bottom lip and shaking his head, Jesse barks, “YOU SHOULD HAVE TOLD ME WHO SHE WAS! I never would have touched her if I had known she was Chase— your Chase. You are such an idiot for not going back to her, for even leaving her in the first place.”

  “You know I stayed because I owed it to you guys to get us somewhere better than my damn garage and countless bars! Kennedy deserved more. Adam deserved more. You and your mother deserved more than that shit, and you know it, Jesse! We were all struggling and I couldn’t sit back and just watch. I made a choice. I gave up a cushy office job… and the girl of my dreams, but I did it for reasons that I thought were right at the time. I busted my ass to get us here… and to do it, I gave up…” he says, almost breathless by the end of it.

  “You didn’t have to do it all, Avery! We were all perfectly happy just drinking beer and playing together on the weekends. No one asked you to play superman and turn us into rock stars, all right, so don’t go trying to play Daddy to us all now,” Jesse scoffs.

  Gaping at his band mate, Avery throws his hands up.

  “Are you fucking kidding me, Jess? Your mom couldn’t afford the rent and car payments anymore and you both were struggling between four different jobs just to survive. You were about to pawn off your fucking bass just to make rent! I couldn’t stand by and watch you and her struggle anymore. I watched it my whole life, Jesse. I might have been a kid but I wasn’t blind. I had to do right by all of you; besides, I had nothing to offer her! She was eighteen years old with her whole life ahead of her. I couldn’t offer her a what-if. It wasn’t good enough! We were all at the bottom of a pit with nowhere to go. I did what I thought was right, then and now,” he states, his voice straining and cracking under the weight of the truth.

  “And was it right to lead on Olivia the way you did?” Jesse says bitingly.

  Avery closes his eyes and lets out a long breath.

  “Was. The way I was leading her on. I ended it today. But no, what I did to Olivia was wrong and that’s another mistake I’ll have to live with for the rest of my life. I never loved her the way I love Chase, and believe me, I tried. Her father threatened to drop us if he thought I was just using his daughter. I thought maybe I could learn to love her. I’m sorry; I just couldn’t fake it anymore. Especially after seeing Chase again.”

  The dark haired bassist stands still, breathing raggedly as he stares at his best friend for a few silent moments. Running a hand down his face, he closes his eyes and shakes his head.

  “We all knew you weren’t in love with Olivia. I should have known it w
as something else keeping you with her. Dammit, Avery, why do always have to do that? Huh? Play the superhero card? Not a single one of us expects you to carry us through life you know. All you had to do was fucking say something. I’m your best friend, for god’s sake! And Olivia was a raging bitch. She’s the reason behind our record being tossed out twice. Did you know that? Your psycho ex-girlfriend just confessed to fucking with our careers. Granted, she says it was to get back at me for some ridiculous bullshit, but she was using you all along, too. You went through all of that for nothing, Ave. You could have saved yourself a ton of self-loathing if you’d just opened your damn mouth sooner.”

  Reaching an arm out, Jesse lets it fall when no more words come out.

  Trying to process the fact that he actually stayed with that insane girl for two years. Avery lets out another sigh through his nose. He cradles his jaw as he gazes back at his childhood friend.

  “I’m sorry, Jess. About everything. I never meant to hurt you. You’re my brother, and I should have been honest about everything. I just didn’t think… I didn’t mean to lie to you guys. When she unloaded four years’ worth of could-have-been’s and told me that she loved me, it just clicked that she was worth the risk all along. You guys are my family, but Chase is my reason for breathing; you don’t walk away from that twice.”

  Jesse shakes his head and sits down on the nearest couch, burying his face in his hands.

  “Dammit, Avery. I was falling for her,” he confesses, barely above a whisper.

  I let go of the pillow I’ve been clutching when I hear a light rapping at my bedroom door. I sit up and wipe my face, making sure that there are no more tears as I turn the knob. Avery stands there, tilting his head sideways at me with a very small smile.

  “Hey,” he says softly.

  I step aside, “Hey,” I say gently. He steps into my room and I shut the door behind him.

  He stops a few paces in and looks around. Suddenly, his smile is slightly bigger as he turns to me.

  “Now this is definitely more like you,” he states, motioning at the bedroom. I can’t help but smile back at him and nod. Yeah, this is definitely more me, I think to myself, remembering the white walls that used to surround me.