Suddenly, she pulled back. “Oh God, I’m so sorry.”
“Please don’t worry about it.”
Crystal put her head down. “I can’t believe I just did that.”
Seth and Crystal composed themselves.
“The scary thing is, Seth, I think I actually enjoyed that.”
“I think I did too.”
Crystal gently pushed him onto his back. “What are you doing?”
She swiftly climbed on top of him and passionately kissed him.
Keri began to stir. Crystal looked down at Seth and smiled. “Do you want to have some fun?”
“That all depends on what you have in mind.”
She repositioned herself on top of Seth and reached down and back. In a few tries and some mega strength later, she yanked down his pants.
“Whoa, Crystal, are you serious?”
“Oh God, you bet I am.” Using her fingernail, Crystal made a long slit in the crotch of her pyjama pants and repositioned herself over Seth.
He couldn’t believe this was happening. He wanted Crystal just as badly as she wanted him, but he wasn’t that kind of guy. Even though at the moment his relationship was in the dumps, he didn’t want to use that as an excuse. He was still dedicated to Keri. “I’m not sure about this.”
“I know you want it as much as I do.”
“As true as that is, you would actually do that in front of your best friend?”
“I’m not doing it in front of her,” Crystal quickly glanced over at Keri and back at Seth. “I’d be doing it behind her back, literally.”
Seth went quiet. He was at a loss for words.
Crystal reached forward and pinned his hands down above his head and slowly started moving her pelvis back and forth until both sets of genitals were in proper alignment. Crystal slowly lowered herself on Seth.
“I really hope you’re not a screamer.”
Seth was still at a loss for words. He really wanted to say something, but it was as though his voice had vanished. As soon as he penetrated Crystal, he sighed with immense pleasure.
He willingly surrendered, though he knew it was wrong on so many levels. After a moment, a worrisome thought struck him. “What about protection?”
Though he was heard, she continued to thrust her pelvis and whip her head back and forth.
“Crystal!”
“Stop worrying. We don’t need any. I’m on the pill.”
Seth’s mind went to ease for another moment, and he grabbed Crystal’s hips, turning her onto her side and slowly pulling out. “I like you, in fact, I think I’m falling for you. But I don’t think this is the right time or place. Believe me, if things were different, I’d be all over you.”
Crystal sighed. Her face flushed with embarrassment. “You’re just saying that.”
“No, I’m being honest.”
“God, I’m so embarrassed.”
“Don’t be, I’m really flattered you thought of me like that.”
Just then Keri stirred. She woke up and realized Seth and Crystal were awake.
Keri sat up. “Hey, what’s going on?” Keri placed her hand on Crystal’s back. “Are you okay?”
Crystal said, “Everything’s fine. I just had a terrible dream, that’s all.”
CHAPTER 10
The weekend ended and Seth went home. He called Vance to tell him about the interesting weekend. “It was so weird. I got the feeling she was hinting at something. It was her body language and emotions. Nobody gets that worked up by getting an opinion on a fictitious scenario.”
“She’s a woman, man. Women are like dynamite.”
Seth thought for a moment. “Dynamite?”
“Yes, they can go off at anytime and without warning.”
There was a moment of silence.
“Vance, can you keep a secret?”
“Does a bear shit in the woods?”
Seth inhaled deeply. “Crystal and I—”
Vance didn’t know what Seth was about to tell him, but he knew it was going to be juicy, because not once in their relationship had Seth asked him to keep a secret.
“Crystal and I kind of had sex.” Seth heard a loud crash from the other end of the line, Vance dropped the phone from surprise.
After a couple of moments Vance continued. “Whoa, dude, that’s pretty heavy.”
“Well, we didn’t have ‘proper’ sex.”
Vance laughed. “What the hell does that mean?”
“She got on top of me, but after a couple of moments, I took her off.”
Vance got quiet for a moment. “I see. Well, did you penetrate her?”
“Yes, but—”
“Well then, my friend, you had sex with Crystal. It doesn’t matter for how long. Once you enter the holy land, there’s no going back! and where was Keri while you were busy scratching Crystal’s itch?”
“Keri was beside us.”
Vance dropped the phone again. “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Let me get this straight. You were having sex with Crystal while Keri, your girlfriend, was sleeping beside you?”
“Yes. Believe me, I’m not proud of myself.”
Vance wanted to get off the phone quickly. “Look at that time, my God, I’m going to be late! Listen, I’ve got to go. I’ll talk to you soon.”
Vance quickly scrolled through his phonebook and dialled. “Hello, Keri?”
*
By the following Wednesday Seth hadn’t heard anything from Keri. And again, every time he’d call no one answered, and when he’d leave Keri a Facebook message, he wouldn’t get a response.
At this point, Seth was really starting to worry. But by Friday, 13 days after last seeing Keri, he finally received a phone call.
“You’ve been trying to get a hold of me a lot lately. What do you want?”
Seth could tell Keri was in a foul mood. He decided the only way to proceed was with calmness and to not rock the boat.
“What do you mean what do I want? It’s been 13 days since I’ve seen you or heard from you.”
“Look, is there something important you need to tell me?”
Seth felt uneasy, and he really hated Keri’s attitude and hostility. “Is there a problem?”
“Yeah, there’s a problem, all right!”
“Maybe I can help?”
“No! I don’t want your goddamn help!”
“What’s the problem?”
“If you don’t know, I’m not telling you!”
Seth tried desperately to keep cool, calm and collected. But the harder he tried, the less it helped.
“Oh, oh I see. I’m supposed to automatically know what the problem is?” By this time he was angry. “I’m not a goddamned mind reader!” Keri ended the call.
Now he was furious. He tried calling back, but she hung up again. After smashing the phone into the pillow several times, Seth tried calling again, and again.
He tried one more time.
“Stop calling!”
“No! No, I won’t stop calling! Not until you start giving me some straight answers!”
“I don’t have to tell you shit, Zimmer!”
Seth took a deep breath. “Listen, I don’t know what the hell’s been going on with you lately, but talking over the phone isn’t ideal.” Seth quieted down. “Would it be possible to meet up?”
“I don’t know, Seth.”
Seth snapped, “What do you mean you don’t know?”
“Fine! Fine! I have my college orientation on September 9. After that I’ll take the bus to your house, okay?”
“Okay.” He could wait a week.
“I’ll see you then around three-thirty.”
Seth sat at the edge of his bed. For once in his relationship, he felt doubtful and uncertain about its future. He felt very alone, and s
omething deep inside told him he was never going to see her again.
As the days went by, Seth felt nervous and on edge. He couldn’t explain it, and he really hated this feeling. Soon after, he started experiencing stomach aches so severe that walking was troublesome.
On the morning of September 9, Seth woke to severe, crippling pain. He didn’t know what was wrong. He thought he might have to go to the hospital.
*
While Seth lay in bed crippled in pain, Keri was at home packing her bag in preparation for her college orientation.
Carol entered Keri’s room. She stared at her daughter, her arms crossed, her eyes angry slits.
Keri zipped up her bag and was startled at the sight of her mother. “You scared me, Mom.” Keri quickly scanned the surface of the dresser. “Have you seen my bus pass?”
Carol handed Keri her the pass. Keri took it and tried to move forward but Carol didn’t budge.
“Uh, I’m ready to go now, Mom.”
Carol stared at her daughter with such a burning fire in her eyes, Keri became uneasy.
Suddenly Carol raised her hand and slapped Keri hard across the face. Keri hit the floor like a stone.
“What the hell’s the matter with you?” Carol screamed.
Keri lay motionless for a moment and wiped the blood from her split lip. She began to cry.
Carol was unmoved and emotionless by the sight of her daughter’s tears. “As the Johnny Cash song goes, Cry, cry, cry, you had this coming, don’t say I didn’t try warning you.”
The only thing Keri could do was cry.
Carol became enraged and violently kicked her daughter. “You still haven’t broke up with Seth! What about our goddamned plan?”
Keri tried gasping for air, Carol became impatient and kicked Keri again. “You were also going to see him behind my back tonight, weren’t you? You lying bitch! Seth was supposed to be out of our lives by now!”
Keri lay on the floor bloody and extremely weakened. The only thing she could think was how much pain she was in.
Carol shook her head in disappointment. “Just remember this, Keri. If I find out you saw Seth today, your shit will be packed and on the porch when you get home!”
*
Finally, around two o’clock, Seth felt somewhat better. The pain went away just as mysterious as it had come. He was hungry, so he made his way downstairs. As he passed his computer, he stopped dead in his tracks. A little voice told him to turn his computer on. He sat staring deeply at the blackness of the screen. After a moment he got the feeling that something wasn’t right. Hesitantly, he reached over and turned the computer on.
Once he was at the home screen, something was drawing him to MSN. Seth suddenly became nervous; his breathing picked up and a sharp, shooting pain hit his stomach again. He moved the cursor over to the MSN icon and clicked on it. When it loaded, Seth quickly scanned to see who was on, and his eyes immediately stopped at Keri. Something told Seth if he started a conversation with her, he’d regret it—he decided to go for it anyway.
Seth (2:04 p.m.) Hi, what are you doing home? I thought you had orientation?
Keri (2:05 p.m.) It’s just not going to work out.
The longer Seth stared at Keri’s message, the more confused and nervous he became.
Seth (2:05 p.m.) What do you mean “It’s just not going to work out?”
Keri (2:07 p.m.) I knew from the very beginning it wasn’t going to work out between us.
Seth’s heart sank, and his eyes filled with tears.
Seth (2:08 p.m.) WHAT! Where the hell is this coming from?
Keri (2:09 p.m.) Seth, please. Don’t make this harder than it already is. I told you it wasn’t going to work out, now. Leave me the hell alone!
Seth started to hyperventilate. He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. Finally, after a moment, he opened his eyes again and shut his computer down. This had to be a bad dream.
This couldn’t be real, could it? Seth leaped to his feet. He had his mom drive him over to Keri’s house. The whole way there, Seth kept telling himself, “It’s going to work out.” But in his heart of hearts, he knew it was over. Seth knew it had been over for quite some time, but he just didn’t want to believe it.
When Seth arrived at Keri’s house, he slowly approached the front door. He nervously paced the porch, working up the courage to knock. He took several deep breaths and finally knocked.
After a few moments, Keri slowly opened the door. It was strange. Keri, the woman Seth had loved for four years, was standing before him, yet she seemed to be a total stranger. The way she looked, the way she carried herself, everything about her was different. This wasn’t the woman Seth fell in love with.
“What the hell do you want, Seth?”
“I want to know what’s happening?”
Keri rolled her eyes. “If you don’t already know, you’re stupider than I initially thought.”
Anger fell over Seth, and he stormed inside the house.
“Will you please leave, Seth?”
“No, I’m not leaving until you give me a reasonable explanation for bringing our relationship of four years to an end!”
“I don’t have to tell you shit, and I don’t believe I will, either! Now get the hell out before I call the goddamn police!”
“Good—good, call the police! Go on. I double dog dare you!” Seth crossed his arms and stared at Keri.
After a few moments Keri stared at the cordless phone. Seth glanced over at it as well.
“Oh, I’m sorry, how stupid of me.” Seth walked to the phone.
“What are you doing?”
Seth picked up the phone and turned it on. “I’m calling the police for you, because you’re obviously incapable.”
“No! Don’t you dare! Put down that phone, moron!”
“All right, Keri, fine.” Seth slowly lowered the phone and placed it back on the charger.
“I’m going to ask you a couple of questions, and all you have to do is answer yes or no.”
Keri sighed and nodded. “Fine!”
Seth took a couple of deep breaths. At this point he was trying not to vomit. “Number one: Are you breaking up with me because I’m fat?”
Keri slowly shook her head no. “That doesn’t even enter the equation.”
“Is it because I want a profession in the film industry?”
“No, it isn’t any of those things.”
“Well, I give up, just like you. What’s the answer?”
Keri folded her arms. “What does it matter? Why is it so important to find out?”
“Because! After four years of being together, four years of friendship, passion and unbridled love, to just suddenly call it quits? I at least deserve an explanation!”
She knew he was right, but she did want to tell him the truth. She was going to, until she realized her conniving mother had the upper hand.
She thought long and hard for a moment. “I just, I don’t want to be tied down right now. I’m starting college, and that’s going to take up the majority of my time. I want to get good grades. Plus, the doctor said we should separate. Remember? So don’t act like you didn’t know this was coming!”
Seth shook his head in disappointment. “I could live with that.”
“So what the hell’s the problem then?”
“You’re ending it permanently!”
Keri realized Seth was catching on, but she didn’t know what else to say. So she did the first thing that came into her head—she slapped Seth hard across the face.
There was a pause as Seth placed his hand to his burning cheek and held it there for a moment.
Panic and fear whisked across Keri’s face. Suddenly, all of Seth’s hurt and sadness turned into hatred and anger—Seth was now a balloon ready to burst. balled his hand into a rock-hard fis
t and lunged at Keri.
Keri lets out an earth-shattering scream, and he stopped dead in his tracks.
“Fine! Fine!” Keri was now afraid of Seth, and she quivered in fear. In the four years she and Seth were together, she had never seen this side of him.
Keri’s ears started ringing he was yelling so loud.
“But I’m not leaving here until you give me back everything—everything I have given to you over the past four years!”
Keri stood frozen in fear, but then she suddenly became overpowered by anger. She curled her hands into fists and narrowed her eyes. She turned and stomped up the stairs.
After a moment, Seth heard loud crashing, things being thrown, and then silence again. After another moment, Keri stomped halfway down the steps with an armful of assorted items.
Seth turned to face her. Keri grabbed an item from her arms, coiled it back behind her head and lunged it hard at Seth.
“What the hell are you doing?”
Keri continued to throw things at him.
“Throw all you want; this situation could’ve been avoided!”
When Keri finally emptied her arms, she turned and stomped back up the steps again.
She made more noise, and after about two minutes, she returned to the steps with another armful of things.
Seth looked up at Keri, unimpressed. “Back for round two, I see.”
Keri threw more stuff at Seth.
“Do you see yourself right now? Do you know how pathetic you look?”
Keri stopped and thought for a second. “What the hell does that mean?”
“You’re playing psycho-bitch right now! You’re acting stupid, crazy and hysterical. You’re the one who’s breaking up with me!”
Keri’s face suddenly became red, a fire glistening brightly in her eyes. She took another item from her arms, reached back as far as she could behind her head, and with all her might, launched the object forward.
But in her moment of rage, she forgot about the low-hanging ceiling beam in front of her. She bashed her hand hard into it. She paused momentarily and dropped the remaining items from her arms. Her eyes fill with tears, and her bottom lip quivered, which was followed quickly by a loud yelp of pain.
Seth laughed.
“It’s not funny, you asshole! My hand’s numb. I think it’s broken!”
Growing Pains Page 9
