Switching Lanes
Page 10
Chapter Fifteen
LAYNE
I can’t believe I screwed up so bad with Renee. She is my world and I just fucked everything up. I try to rack my brain, trying to remember if I ever saw Dylan screwing around on her and I can’t recall. I can only remember being in a daze, since I was grieving. I should have tried to stop her before she left; I don’t know why I let her go. She won’t answer my calls and won’t talk to me at all. I fucked up big time, and I’m not even sure we’ll ever come back from this.
Everyone always lets her down, and I was the one to do it this time. Maybe I even deserved the slap she gave me. The hurt I saw in her eyes just about killed me. I have nothing left, except the race car. I should have killed Dylan right there on the spot; he is dead to me now.
I don’t deserve Renee; I don’t deserve someone as special as she is. I sit on the edge of my bed and I put my head in my hands. I’m supposed to be getting ready for my yearly party, but I don’t even feel like it. Walking to the kitchen, I grab a six pack of beer and carry it back to my room but Cole stops me before I go in.
“Dude, give yourself some slack. Just try to explain it to her,” Cole tells me.
I lean against the wall by my door. “You don’t know Renee like I do. Once you piss her off and hurt her, she’s done. I fucked up.”
“So you’re just going to give up? That doesn’t sound like the Layne I’ve come to know and from my point of view, I’d even say you’re in love with her and too stubborn to even tell her. I don’t know what you are afraid of. You need to go get your girl,” he tells me.
I crack open one of the beers and take a swig of it. “Come on, Man. You can’t miss your own party,” Cole says just as I shut the door.
I just want to drink myself into oblivion. I send one last plea to Renee, practically begging her to reply.
Please! Come over here so we can sort this out. I need you here, I plead to her.
Layne, please leave me be. I think we could use some time apart. Go get laid or something. I don’t give a fuck; just leave me alone, she texts me back.
Her comment shot a dagger through my heart. She’ll never get over this. Opening my second beer, I down it and then Cole busts in my room.
“Get the fuck dressed; you aren’t missing your own party. I have a plan. But I’m not telling you unless you get your sorry ass dressed and make your presence known.”
“Geez, you’re a real asshole,” I say as I grab my tux and head to the bathroom to change. I can’t believe I’m in this fucking monkey suit. I skip the tie and leave the top buttons opened of my dress shirt. “There; are you happy now?” I ask Cole as he still stands in my room.
“Yes, much better. After you,” he tells me as we exit my room.
I grab a stool along the kitchen island. I have a drink in my hand, and this is about as much action as Cole is going to get from me tonight. He just shakes his head at me and goes over to mingle with some friends. The music is loud but not loud enough to drown out my own thoughts. I’ve done a lot of bad things in my life, but nothing has ever separated Renee and I like this.
The night continues with me drinking my sorrows away and Lucy is about the third girl to approach me to try and cheer me up.
“Layne, whatever has you in this funk, I’m sure I can make it go away for a while,” she says seductively.
“Sorry Lucy, that won’t be happening anytime soon,” I tell her, and she shows off her pouty lips.
“If you change your mind…” she says.
“I won’t,” I say, interrupting her and taking another beer from the fridge. I throw it back and let the liquid flow down my throat. I lean against the counter, crossing one foot over the other, and watch as the couples dance and make out and the New Year gets ready to begin.
RENEE
Alexis and I show our I.Ds to the bouncer and he lets us in without a second glance. The glowing bar is off to the left while the dance floor is the main attraction on the right. We make our way over to the bar so I can drown myself in liquor. I throw my clutch on the counter and order a double. My phone buzzes against the counter.
I already know who it is. I scroll my phone screen up and see a text from Layne.
Please! Come over here so we can sort this out. I need you here.
I text him back. Layne, please leave me be. I think we could use some time apart. Go get laid or something. I don’t give a fuck; just leave me alone.
“Who was that?” Alexis asks as she orders a soda from the bartender.
“Layne, begging for mercy. I just can’t deal with him right now. I just can’t,” I tell her as I bring my drink up to my lips. My heart just split in two and somehow I’m left with half a heart.
“I’m sure there is some sort of an explanation behind this. You can’t just throw all those years of friendship away. Especially when I know you have feelings for him.”
“Look; you got me out of the house, but I don’t want to talk about it. Let’s talk about Cole and how I roped him into helping us move,” I tell her with a giggle.
“You bitch! I can’t believe you really asked him. I thought you were joking,” she says, giving me a light shove.
“He gave me his number and said to text him whenever we need him and he was more than happy to oblige,” I say, tormenting her.
“You are evil.”
“It’s not the first time someone has said that,” I say, bringing the glass back up to my lips.
“Well, I’m here so I might as well dance, and you need to come with me.” She tugs on my arm, pulling me with her. My head is buzzing from the drinks and I need to lose myself in the music, and I need to forget about Layne and his caramel colored eyes and his to die for dimples.
God, I miss him already, I can’t help it. He has been a part of life ever since we were kids and this is the only argument we’ve had. I hope we can get past this and I hope it is somehow a misunderstanding. Sadly, I don’t think that is case. Dylan probably did cheat on me those six weeks I wasn’t here; I wouldn’t put it past him. And Layne sat by and watched and never said anything, not one word. Just the thought disgusts me. I try to lose myself in the music as the DJ spins the jams. I dance with Alexis and wonder if she will freak out because we are surrounded by people.
I watch as someone bumps into her and she flinches. “I need another drink,” I yell into her ear over the music. She nods and follows me to the bar. I order another double and she orders a club soda.
“It’s almost midnight and it’s not too late to turn around and make your way to Layne’s,” Alexis tells me as we get our drinks.
“Are you on my side or Layne’s? Don’t you think if I could be there with him I would be, in a heartbeat? But I just can’t. Not yet, anyway,” I tell her as I down my drink.
“I was just saying, it isn’t too late,” she says.
“I appreciate it, I really do. But can we not talk about Layne, please? How we put our focus on Cole? It’s much more fun to talk about him instead.” I giggle.
“You are so bad,” she says.
I listen as the countdown begins and everyone joins in, counting down the seconds until January first. I watch as couples kiss and hug. I envy them. I should be with Layne. We should be starting the year together.
“Happy New Year,” Alexis says, holding out her glass to clink with mine. I clink with her glass and throw back the last drops of the shot.
“Happy New Year. I know this is probably uncomfortable for you being here, but I appreciate you dragging me out of the house,” I tell her.
“Are you ready to go, Cinderella? I think you drank enough for the both of us. And your ass better be ready tomorrow to go looking at apartments,” she tells me, pointing a finger at me.
“Bring me coffee and I’ll be ready,” I tell her as my words slur. I stumble to the car and lazily fall into the passenger seat, laughing for no particular reason. I lay my head back against the head rest and close my eyes since the moving road is making my eyes hurt. When we arriv
e at my dorm, I somehow manage to stumble inside while Alexis makes sure I get in the room okay.
I close the door, promising I’ll be ready when she comes by in the morning. I grab my night clothes and stumble as I change. Then I manage to fall onto the bed and pass out.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Beep Beep Beep! The sound of my phone alarm goes off, and I hit a random button to shut it off. Pushing the hair away from my eyes, I look at the time. Alexis should be here in about an hour. I loudly sigh as my head throbs when I try to lift it. I slowly manage to get up, holding my head. I dig in my purse for some headache pills and grab a bottle of water.
I take shower and do my usual morning routine. I take out a cowl neck sweater and pair it with a pair of black leggings and pull on my black boots. I pull my hair back and show off my neck tattoo. I love it so much. I thicken my lashes with mascara and put on some nude color lip gloss.
I sit on my bed, going through my phone and the pain in my heart throbs because I remember slapping Layne across the face. By the look on his face, he was just as shocked as I was. My hand stung from it and I can only imagine I may have left a mark. I swallow a hard lump in my throat. A knock on the door interrupts my thoughts.
“You’re alive!” Alexis squeals and it causes me to grab my head as it continues to throb.
“Shhh,” I press a finger to my lips and grab the coffee in her hand.
“Are you ready to go? We can stop and get some breakfast; we have time,” Alexis whispers.
I shake my head yes as I take slow sips of the coffee. We walk to her car in silence. She drives to a local breakfast mom and pop place and we walk inside and the smell of bacon infiltrates through my nostrils. I literally inhale the smell heaven. We grab the only available booth in the whole place.
The waitress approaches us and takes our order. I order a short stack of pancakes and a side of bacon. Alexis orders an omelet, home fries, and a side of bacon. “I hope this food cures my hangover,” I tell her while taking a drink of the coffee the waitress brought over.
“I hope so, too. Guess it must be pretty bad. You drank a lot last night.” She smirks.
“It’s not funny.”
“It’s kind of funny,” she says with a giggle.
Chapter Sixteen
After breakfast we get back into the car and go to the first apartment on our list. It’s not far from campus. Alexis pulls up along the curb, and we get out and walk inside the empty apartment. It’s small, but it has two bedrooms, a living room, an eat-in kitchen, and a den off to the side. The bathroom is small and would be a really tight fit to get ready in. We walk into each of the bedrooms; they are the same size small, though.
“I’m not a fan of this one. I think we will be on top of each other in this place,” I tell Alexis as we descend the stairs back to the car.
“I wasn’t a fan of it either. On to the next one.”
We get to the next one, which isn’t very far from the first one we were just at. We walk up one flight of stairs and immediately I like what I see. The front door leads you right into the living room and the kitchen faces the living room, splitting the two rooms with a long island with stool. The kitchen is small but could work, since the living space is large. We walk down the hall from the living room and it leads to a bigger bathroom with two sinks and a vanity mirror, a tub, and walk-in shower.
“I haven’t even seen the bedrooms yet and I’m already in love with the place,” I tell Alexis as she trails along with me.
We dodge into each bedroom; equal in size, not too big and not too small. One bedroom is across the hall from the other. I can totally picture us living here.
“This is the one,” Alexis says.
“I agree. We need to call the realtor and let her know,” I say with excitement.
Alexis pulls out her phone and calls Bethany, to let her know we want this apartment. I’m glad we didn’t have to go looking around all day. I need to sleep this hangover off. I pull out my own phone and check for any messages. I don’t know why I was even expecting to see anything, but I see one from Layne, from really late last night. I must have gotten it after I passed out.
This will be my last text to you. I really hope you can at least hear me out, then decide if you want to throw our friendship away or try to salvage what we have going. Call me or text me back.
His text makes me want to cry. Is our friendship worth giving up over this? Is what we had salvageable? I don’t know. I don’t text him back right away. I need time to think.
“Bethany said we can drop off first month’s rent and we can start moving in as soon as we want,” Alexis says happily.
“Oh my gosh, I’m so excited. We should drop off the money now and then we can just worry about moving in,” I tell her.
“Sounds good. I need to go to the machine to get money out.”
“Me too, since we are splitting the bills,” I tell her.
Luckily, I have enough money saved up and the help from my parents makes up the rest of my share. They insisted on helping me out. I think deep down they feel guilty by what happened with my step dad when I was younger. Even though they are divorced and have been since I was born, they provide me with what I need. I don’t go home often, but when I did after Amber’s death, there was still tension among my mother and me. I don’t know if she feels guilty or what, but I don’t like the looks I would catch her giving me, like she was disgusted with me. I don’t know why I even thought going home would give me peace to grieve over my best friend. I think, given the circumstances, my mom tried the best she could while I grieved.
“What’s wrong? You looked like someone just kicked you,” Alexis says as we head to the bank machine.
“I heard from Layne again. He wants us to talk about what happened. But I don’t know if I’m even ready to see him yet,” I tell her.
“Whatever you decide, I support you. But you have to remember you two have been friends for years. Is what happened worth throwing it all away?”
“Honestly, I don’t know.” I rub my head, wishing the headache would ease up.
We drop off the first month’s rent to the realtor and she hands us the keys to the place. I’m so excited to be roommates with Alexis. And we can keep each other accountable. Since school is still out for the holiday, I’ll take a nap and ask Alexis is she wants to start the move later that day.
Alexis drops me off and I slip into bed, hoping to get rid of the sick feeling, from the hangover and the fight with Layne. I cry myself to sleep.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I wake up four hours later, feeling slightly better than before. I call Alexis. “Hey chick, do you want to get started on moving things in before school starts?”
“Sounds good to me. And I have furniture in storage, since I didn’t use it at the other apartment. We should be good for a few things. We can even go to that Home Goods store, they usually have cheap stuff.”
I hate the thought of school being back in session. The campus has been like a ghost town with the students being away, visiting their families. Only us twisted fucks stayed behind. It’s true. With school back in session in a few short days, I may run into Layne and I don’t want to see him. But he knows where most of my classes are, so the odds are against me. My phone buzzes, bringing my thoughts back to the present.
I’m in the parking lot. Are you ready to go? Alexis asks.
Be right out.
I get up off my bed and grab my purse and throw my phone inside.
“Hey. I got you another coffee. I thought you might need it.” Alexis hands me a mug and I immediately taste it.
“You are a lifesaver. I can’t wait to get to that store. But I need some food stat,” I tell her as my stomach rumbles.
“Then how about the local pizza shop, where I work? They have good pizza,” she entices.
“Are you sure you want to go there, on your day off?” I ask.
“Oh yeah, it’s fine. I can check my schedule for next week while we’re there.”
We pull up to the pizzeria and go inside. I can smell the melted cheeses and the sauce smells amazing. We approach the counter and I order a slice of pepperoni pizza and a coke and find a seat while Alexis checks her schedule. I see a figure approaching me out of the corner of my eye. Looking over, I see Layne and our eyes lock before he speaks.
He sits in the seat across from me. “I’ll only be a moment and you don’t have to say anything. But I’d really like a chance to explain what happened. If you can find it in your heart to at least hear me out, you know where to find me. I’ll wait for as long as it takes for you to see I’m not the bad guy, Renee. And I miss you.” He stands and walks back over to where he was sitting. I’m frozen in my seat and my emotions are all over the place. I want to hug him and forget about anything that was said, but life doesn’t work like that.
Alexis slides into the seat across from me with a slice of cheese pizza and a soda. “Renee, what’s wrong?”
My eyes just stare into nothing out the window. “Layne is here. I should have noticed his car out there, but I wasn’t paying attention. He came over here and asked me to hear him out, and I did.”
“What did you say?”
“Nothing; I didn’t say anything. I wanted to reach over the table and hug him and never let go. But I couldn’t move; it was like I was paralyzed,” I tell her.
“If I had a “Layne,” I would hug him and resolve this thing you two have going,” Alexis says.
“You don’t even like to be touched,” I tell her.
“I was just sayin’,” she says, smiling. “I’m trying her; give a girl a break. Stop busting my balls.”
“Okay, I’m not liking where this conversation is headed.” I laugh.
We eat our slices and just as I’m about to exit the shop I look over to Layne and he winks at me followed by a weak smile. I look away and walk to the car, knowing his eyes have followed me out the window.