by Janae Keyes
I let out a breath and pulled out my cell phone. I shot a text to April about how angry I was and how I wanted this night to be over. Looking out the window I could see the lights of the city. I felt a single tear fall down my face and I quickly wiped it away before anyone noticed. Patrick was too busy feeling the baby to notice me crying.
When we arrived where Veronika was going, I was relieved to finally get rid of her. Patrick walked inside with her. I texted April who was already at the club, that we would be there in a few minutes. I was in a bad mood, but I was determined to make this night into something good. I’d spent too much money on this party for this night to not be amazing. Patrick came back to the car and slipped inside. He gave me a soft smile.
“I’m sorry, I know you were not planning on having her ride with us,” he said. I shrugged before moving to sit next to him. He put his arm around me and I pulled out a decent sized small black box.
“Happy Birthday,” I said. He gave me a grin and opened the box to find a brand new steel Rolex watch. He took the watch out and turned it over. I’d had the back inscripted with the words: Because Fate. Love, Brielle.
“Bri, you didn’t have to. Thank you Babe.” He was beaming as he spoke. I knew he liked his gift and he was going to love the party at the club. He pressed his mouth to mine, giving me a strong and passionate kiss.
It was only a few minutes before we arrived at the club. We stepped into the chilly San Francisco air and Patrick put his arms around me as we walked into the building. Taking the elevator we made it to the top floor of the building and exited into a nearly silent club.
“SURPRISE!” Shouted a couple hundred people who were all friends of myself and Patrick. The look on Patrick’s face was hard to describe as he looked around at all the people and then at me. He gave me the biggest grin.
“Babe, you didn’t?” He questioned loudly over the music that had been turned on.
“I did,” I said sweetly. I pulled him along into the crowd of people. Everyone was wishing Patrick a Happy Birthday and it was obvious he felt like a king, it was exactly what I wanted.
“A drink for the Birthday Boy and his lady,” April’s husband, Nate said as he came to us with drinks.
“Thanks man,” Patrick said before pulled me onto the dance floor with him.
We sipped our drinks and danced to a song together. I loved the feeling of the friction between us as we moved to the pounding music. The anger and annoyance I’d felt earlier seemed to melt away with the beat, the alcohol, and our body heat.
Exhausted, we stopped dancing. Patrick waved to a few of his friends and went to talk to them. I grabbed a drink from a passing waitress before finding a seat. I was happy with how the party had turned out. The music was great, the drinks, tasty and strong, and the atmosphere fun and full of life.
“Was it worth every penny?” Came April’s voice who’d sat down next to me, of course she had a drink in her hand and it was obvious she’d had a few already before we’d arrived.
“Worth all of it,” I cheered happily. This was exactly what I wanted for the night, a great party, filled with people who made Patrick happy.
“Where’s your birthday boy?” She questioned, looking around the room. I spotted the friends he had gone to talk to, but he wasn’t with them.
“I don’t know, maybe he went to the restroom,” I shrugged, but then realized he would have to pass me to get to the restrooms and I hadn’t seen him since we parted a few minutes ago.
I looked around the room until I spotted him by the door with his cell phone. His eyes landed right on mine and he jogged up to where I was. From the look on his face I just knew. I felt my heart being squeezed and my emotions already trying to well up inside of me.
“Ronnie called, she isn’t feeling well. I’m going to catch a cab to where she is and then take a cab home,” he explained.
“And then you are coming back?” I asked right away.
“No, she doesn’t sound good at all. I think I will stay in with her to make sure everything is alright,” he answered. I think he knew that I wasn’t going to be pleased with the way he delivered his message.
I stood up right away. I didn’t want to speak to him. I didn’t want to see him. I just wanted to be away from him. I made my way to the women’s restroom where I knew he couldn’t follow. I choked out a sob and leaned against the wall. The door to the restroom opened and a sad looking April walked in. Right away, she pulled me into a hug.
“I can’t do this anymore,” I cried at once to my best friend. As much as I knew I was acting like a spoiled child, I couldn’t help, but throw a tantrum. Veronika pulled this on us all the time. She knew I had something planned for Patrick tonight, and she used her powers of being pregnant with possibly his baby, to pull him away from my plans. With learning the sex of the baby and insisting on naming the baby Patrick Junior, she’d pulled him back into her web of deceit. “I’m done. As much as I would want him to choose, I know I can’t make him choose. Making him choose would be the worst thing I could do, because I would be that witch, that evil woman who kept him away from his child. I can’t keep this going with him because in the end Veronika will always win and I will always be the one getting hurt.”
“You need to tell him that,” insisted April. I nodded, knowing that she was right. I sniffed back my tears while April handed me some paper towels. I wiped my face and walked from the bathroom, hoping to find Patrick, but he’d already gone, without a word to me. I knew what I had to do and I knew it would really be over between us.
Chapter Seventeen
Brielle
LEAVING THE PARTY, I’d gone straight home. I packed myself a bag and left for a hotel. I wanted to be far away from everything. I let my mom know I wouldn’t be reachable by cell phone and that I was okay, before I turned my phone off. I spent the rest of the weekend in a hotel room held up with my feelings. I knew what I needed to do and I knew it was going to be difficult for myself and for Patrick.
Monday morning rolled around, I checked out of my hotel room before heading to work. I never thought that I’d dread seeing the Transamerica Pyramid. I knew once I got inside of that building I would be going to Patrick’s office and ending our relationship. I tried my hardest not to cry in the elevator up.
Layla was at her desk as usual and she gave me a huge smile. This morning I was not in the mood for her peppiness. I took a deep breath and gave the kind receptionist a weak smile. I wasn’t looking forward to this at all.
“Is Mr. Bailey in?” I asked plainly.
“Yes, he isn’t in the best mood, I will warn you of that,” she acknowledged. I could figure out why. She pressed the button on her intercom. “Um… Mr. Bailey, Ms. Elliot is here to see you.”
“Send her in!” I could hear the eagerness in his voice. I gave Layla a nod before going to his office. Walking inside I saw him right away. He rushed to me and pulled me into his arms. His cinnamon scent was strong and I was trying to not be weak to it.
“Babe, I’ve been worried about you. I tried calling and kept getting your voicemail. I called April and your mom, they insisted you were okay, but wouldn’t tell me where you were. I went to your house and you weren’t there.” He was frantic. I pulled my body from his arms. The moment I was out of them, I missed his embrace, but I knew that would be the last time.
“I hope you had a great time at your party, for the two minutes you were there,” I shot, my voice laced with disgust.
“I’m so sorry about that. Ronnie was sick and I didn’t want to take her home and leave her there. I know you put a lot of work into that party.” He was trying to sympathize with me in some strange way, but I wasn’t having it.
“Work, time, money. For you to be there for two minutes.” I looked away from him because I knew I needed to get this over with. I didn’t want to stand there with him anymore. The longer I stood here the weaker I would get. “Patrick, I can’t do this anymore. I can’t do you and I anymore. I’ve tried, but I can n
o longer try.” Patrick just stared at me. I could see his body experiencing many emotions at once. I wiped away the tears that were starting to fall from my eyes.
“Babe, you can’t… I can’t lose you,” he was begging, but I’d made my decision. Veronika was always going to have a leash on him for now and especially if the baby was in fact his. I needed to make a clean break now.
“I’m sorry, but I’ve made this decision and I think it is what is best for me right now.” I was now choking on tears and holding my heart. It hurt too bad to think about what I was doing, but I knew I needed to do it.
“Bri,” he breathed out. I shook my head. I wasn’t going to get dragged back into the madness.
“If you need me for work stuff. Shoot me an email… um… If I left anything at your house. You can bring it and have April come up to get it. I’ll check my house for any of your stuff… I’m going to go now.” I wiped my eyes and gave him one last look. I think he was in shock by the way he looked at me. I turned and left his office.
I RUSHED DOWN to my office as fast as I could. Many of the employees in my section were saying their good mornings, but I couldn’t respond. I went as fast as I could inside and closed the door behind me. I sat on the floor and cried, I cried hard. I’d just broken up with the man I knew was the love of my life. I’d ended my future with him, but at the moment that future didn’t look too appealing to me.
My door opened and closed, I knew it was April. I felt a hand on my shoulder, giving it a rub. My heart was broken into a million pieces as I wept. I hadn’t cried this hard in a very long time.
“I’m… taking the... week off,” I sobbed. I just knew I couldn’t be here this week. I didn’t want to risk running into Patrick, just the idea of being in the same building with him made my stomach churn. I needed time for my heart to heal just a bit.
“That’s a good idea,” responded April’s voice. I did my best to wipe my tears. My phone line started to ring. April walked to my desk and looked at the phone, “It’s Patrick.” I let out a sigh. Without any hesitation, April picked up my phone. “Are you calling for business matters, Mr. Bailey?” She questioned with clear attitude. For the first moment I wanted to laugh. My best friend had the most spunk of anyone I knew. “Patrick, she told you, it’s over. She is taking the week off. Just let her heart heal. No, she won’t talk to you right now. Bye.” April slammed the phone down.
“I’m going to get my things and go. I don’t want to be here right now,” I sniffed. I thought about Keaton and all the time I waited for him. “Maybe I’ll go down to the hospital and visit Keaton. I’m just going to focus on him and keep praying he wakes up.”
“No, you can’t go down that path again. You need a real and a happy relationship Bri. I don’t want to see you depressed again. One thing Patrick was good for was bringing you out of that place. I can’t see my best friend like that ever again,” she insisted. I shrugged. I was already slipping. “I have an idea. I’m taking the week off too. Give me your credit card. I’m booking us a cruise. Nate can be with the girls all week. You need a vacation and hell, so do it. We’re going to Mexico.”
“Mexico?” I questioned.
“Yes, credit card…” she held out her hand. I smiled at my best friend. I reached into my bag and produced my favorite Coach wallet. It was one of the first pricey things I’d bought for myself. I was at Stanford and though I had tuition that was through the roof, I ate noodles for weeks to save up for this wallet. I pulled out my American Express Platinum card and handed it to my best friend. “Mexico, here we come! Now you go home and pack.”
IT WAS AMAZING how fast April could pull a trip together. By that evening we were on a flight down to LA. We spent the night in an airport hotel before making our way down to Long Beach and to where we would be getting on the cruise ship that April had booked for us. In our room I sat on my bed. My mind was occupied with so many thoughts of Patrick. I missed him already and it hurt to know that we were really over.
“Snap out of your funk!” April insisted. “This is the Do You Cruise. You are going to get massages, chill by the pool, drink cocktails, dance with hot guys at the club, make out with hot guys from the club. You will do everything you can to get your mind off Patrick and that bitch Veronika.”
“I don’t think it’s that simple,” I said with a shrug. It had only been just over 24 hours since I’d broken up with Patrick and I was going to need a minute before my heart stopped aching. “What I do need right now is a good drink.”
“To the deck we go for drinks!” Cheered April. I couldn’t fault my best friend for trying her hardest to bring me from the place of a broken heart. She’d seen me through everything with Keaton and it was obvious she didn’t want me to be too broken up over Patrick, but it was hard. I loved Patrick so much that it was hard to imagine my life without him, but as long as Veronika was in the picture, I could never truly be with him.
April and I walked up the hall. We made it to the elevator and were waiting for the doors to open when a couple of guys joined us. Both of them were on board shorts, one with a dark gray tank, and the other in a tight white T-shirt.
“Hello ladies,” flirted the one in the dark gray tank. He lifted his sunglasses to reveal his ocean blue eyes that took me by surprise. His hair was short and black.
“She’s the single one,” April pointed out. I rolled my eyes at my best friend who gave me a wink. I slipped my sunglasses over my eyes.
The doors to the elevator opened and the guys allowed April and myself in before they walked in. The one in the white T-shirt pressed the button to take us to the deck where April and I were also headed for some drinks. The doors closed and the four of us were entombed in the elevator together.
“So does the single one have a name?” Questioned the guy in the tank top.
“Her name is Brielle, I’m April, but very married,” April announced.
“Hello Brielle and April. I’m Jake and this is my buddy Will. Will is also married. I’m the single one here.” Gray tank top, who I now knew as Jake, said. I was grateful for the sunglasses I had on. I was able to study him without drawing too much attention to myself. He had a strong jawline and with his large arms, it was obvious that he worked out. As much as I was enjoying checking this hunk out, I felt bad because I still felt so connected with Patrick.
“So, what brings you guys on a cruise in the middle of October?” April asked the guys. She was being talkative April for sure.
“Since my best friend here got married, we never get time away for guy trips We both had some time and decided a guy trip was in order. How about you ladies?” Jake seemed like a sweet guy.
“Girl’s trip! My bestie here has had a rough time over the last few years and I think it was needed for both of us,” explained April as the elevator opened and we were on the deck of the ship. The faster I could get my hands on a nice cold cocktail, the better.
April and I gave the guys a wave before finding the bar. I ordered myself a pina colada and we sat by the pool sipping our drinks. I noticed the guys on the opposite side of the bar having beers. Jake looked in our direction and he seemed to give me a smile when some big dude holding his camera came running up to him.
“J-Rud! WOAH IT’S J-Rud!” The guy was yelling out. Other guys in the area seemed to poke their heads up and started going in the direction of the bar. They were yelling out for photos and autographs. Jake was caught up in a swarm and was signing napkins left and right.
“Um… J-Rud?” I questioned, looking at April. She shrugged and pulled out her phone. Right away she was on Google.
“Found it! Jake J-Rud Rudderford, he is a baseball player. One of the best in a long time. He plays for the Yankees, but was offered a contract with the Giants that is pending,” explained April as she read from her phone. “I have no clue what any of this means.”
“Me either,” I piped in with a laugh before sipping my drink. Apparently, Jake was a famous baseball player, that meant nothing to me. I kne
w my dad was a die hard San Francisco Giants fan, but that was it. I was never the sports girl and neither was April.
While Jake was caught up in a swarm of fans, his friend Will made his way down the bar to April and myself. He would have completely been April’s type if they both weren’t married. He was tall with light brown hair and hazel eyes. His face was more of a baby face with a dash of maturity. He gave us a smile as he sat down with the two of us.
“It gets like that everywhere,” he commented before taking a sip of his beer.
“To tell the truth, we had to Google him, but were girls,” I laughed out.
“Girls come up too. It is either the girls who are actually sports fanatics and the Gold Diggers who seem to know who every player in every sport is, just to get with them and get all they can out of them,” he explained. I wondered if there were girls who tracked businessmen the same way because I was pretty sure that is how Veronika got her hands on Patrick in the first place.
“Gross,” commented April. “So, you are married too. Kids?”
“I’ve got 3 and number 4 is on her way,” he beamed as he pulled out his wallet. From his wallet he produced a photo of him with a very beautiful Asian woman wearing glasses and three children. There were two boys and a girl, all with dark hair and looked like the perfect mix of him and his wife.
“They are beautiful,” cooed both April and myself.
“They are my pride and joy. Being married and having kids makes it hard to hang out with Jake. This cruise is a way to finally get away because once baby number 4 comes, I’m going to be out for quite some time. Though I do hope he takes the contract with the Giants. He will be much closer than he is now and my kids love their Uncle Jake,” explained Will.
“You live in the Bay?” I piped up asking Will.
“Yep, I live in Burlingame,” he answered.
