Love Obsessed

by Veronica Short

  “You fucking moron!” Brandon bellows.

  “Brandon!” Erin yells.

  I stand up. “Erin, honey, go back outside, ok,” I suggest, not wanting her to see this.

  “No, not unless you come with me. I’m sick of you two always fighting.

  I’m eyeing Brandon, who is eyeing me with one arm out stretched in front of Erin, stopping her from coming into the room anymore then she already is. “Baby, go outside and enjoy the party. We won’t be long here.” Brandon says over his shoulder at her.

  “No.”

  “What’s going on up here?” Mum enters the room.

  “They’re going to fight again,” Erin fills her in.

  “Erin, honey.” Mum puts a hand on her shoulder, saying something to her that is lost when Brandon punches me. I hear a scream and someone yelling stop as I get up and return the favour.

  Erin

  “Erin?” I hear my name being called as I run out of the house, get into my car, and leave the house as fast as possible. Cole wanted to talk to me about something. It sounded like he was telling me about a girl he met, one that got his heart, and then he tried to kiss me. Brandon barged through the door and yanked me off the bed and away from him. He was furious. Everyone is going to be mad that I left. Whoever called after me will tell them, and tomorrow I will deal with the consequences of my actions.

  I go to a hotel, get a room, go straight to the bed, crawl under the blankets, and cry. There is no running from this, no avoiding what clearly could have happened, and no denying that I wouldn’t have stopped Cole.

  I’m so tired of those boys fighting over me. I don’t think they know that I know, but I do. I have for years. They both love me; they both tell me regularly. And I love them. The only problem is that if I choose one, I lose the other, and I can’t lose one. I need them both.

  I cry myself to sleep, and when I wake, the sun has risen. I crawl out of bed and decide to head home. When I get home, the apartment is quiet. I stand still, straining to hear something, any sign of movement, any sound, but get nothing. I jump into the shower, trying to wash away the past forty-eight hours. After having a shower, I head into the kitchen, looking in the pantry to find something to eat. Failing at that, I venture to the freezer, finding ice-cream. I pull it out, and when I close the door, turning to get a spoon, a very angry and worried Brandon is standing in the lounge room, breathing deeply and staring at me. I freeze, hand to the drawer. I didn’t hear him come in.

  “Where the hell have you been?” he asks, deceptively quiet. He’s trying very hard to stay calm. Brandon would never hurt me, but he would go out looking for a fight.

  Placing the ice-cream tub down on the bench, I say, “I thought that we all could use some space, so I stayed at a hotel for the night.”

  He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath before coming over and engulfing me in a hug, holding me tight and long. “I didn’t know where you were. Clair said that she saw you leave. I couldn’t find you anywhere. I was so worried, Erin. You can’t do that to me. You can’t leave me, ever.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you.” He kisses my head, continuing to hold me to him. I don’t know how long we stay like this, but eventually a phone starts to ring. Hesitantly, Brandon lets me go and answers it.

  “She’s back home. She needed some space. She’s fine, safe. Tell everyone, will you? No, I think that Erin needs some time. It’s been a big couple of days for her. Alright, Mum. We love you, too.” He hangs up. Guilt. That’s what I feel. I know that my actions last night were selfish, and my consequence for that is guilt.

  “You worried a lot of people,” I was informed.

  A tear runs down my cheek. I quickly wipe it away. “I didn’t mean too. I didn’t know what to do. You two are always fighting. I don’t like it when you fight.”

  “I was protecting you.”

  “I know.” More tears run free. He does mean well.

  “Don’t cry, baby.” Brandon hugs me again. “Don’t cry.”

  ***

  I text everyone, apologising for my behaviour, and let them know that I am back home. They all respond, saying they understand and not to do it again. Dad grounded me. Cole calls me, though, and for the first time ever, I debate whether to let it go to voice mail. I don’t. “Hey,” I whisper into the phone.

  He takes a shattered deep breath before he speaks, “Hey, honey, how are you?”

  “I’m good. You?” Our conversation is spoken in whispers only.

  “I’m scared, to tell you the truth. When we were told that you left, and then we couldn’t find you... God, Erin. Was it because of me? Because of what I said, what I almost did, wanted to do?”

  “No.”

  “Then why did you run?”

  “I got scared.”

  “Of,” he prompts.

  I guess it’s time to face this, “Of me and you. Of...” Breathe, Erin. He’s not here to see the tears and the fear, “Because I wouldn’t have stopped you.”

  Cole takes a sharp intake of air. “Erin.” His voice sounds chopped up.

  “We can’t Cole,” my tears are running freely again. “I love you, but Brandon is your brother, and I don’t want to be the cause of any problems within the family. Can we just go back to how things were a few days ago?” I plead.

  “Before I told you that you’re my girl? No, Erin. I’m staking my claim. You’re my girl. You always...”

  The phone is ripped out of my hand. “Erin’s my girl!” Brandon yells into the phone before hanging up and throwing it on the bed behind me. “I don’t want you talking to Cole anymore. No more, Erin. Do you understand me?” I don’t know what to say. He’s asking me to choose; him or Cole. Cole would cherish me, but Brandon looks out for me. Without him, I wouldn’t have a family. “He treats girls like garbage, and you’re better than that. You need to be treated better than that.”

  “Brandon you can’t tell me to stop talking to someone, especially Cole. We see him regularly” I defend, walking over to where my phone was tossed and picking it up.

  “No, Erin, I can. He only wants you because he can’t have you. If you give in and let him treat you like that, he’ll toss you aside like he does every other girl he’s with.” Brandon approaches me and takes the phone out of my hand before pocketing it in his jeans.

  “It’s not like that Brandon! We’re not like that! How many times do I have to tell you that Cole and I are not dating! We’re friends and that’s it!” I try to take my phone out of his pocket, but he catches my hand before I make it.

  “Erin, Cole has been after you since the day I brought you home. He has had his eyes on you since that first weekend. At first, he asked if we were friends, like he wanted my permission to sleep with you. Then, he stopped, and now you two meet for lunch and have secret phone calls. He only knows how to treat girls one way, and that’s to fuck them then leave them. He doesn’t date longer then it takes to get a girl naked and dressed after he’s finished getting what he wants from them. You are worth more than that, and I won’t let anyone, especially Cole, treat you with less respect then you deserve.”

  “Cole would never treat me like that, Brandon. You’re wrong.” I try to hold the tears back. My heart is being crushed right in front of me. “We’ve spoken, he would never...”

  “He’s telling you what you want to hear.” Brandon grabs my hand and we walk over to the bed, sitting down. Brandon wraps his arms around me, “You’ve seen Cole pick up chicks before, Erin. He does anything and everything. He demeans them, and they’re stupid and or drunk enough to believe whatever spill he tells them. Really think about it.”

  I sit here, thinking back to when we go out. He never leaves alone, and I rarely see him with the same girl twice. “Cole wouldn’t treat me like that,” I tell myself quietly, not really meaning it to reach Brandon’s ears.

  “Think about it, baby.” He whispers to me. My phone starts to ring in Brandon’s pocket. We know who it is before Brandon picks it up an
d hands it over. My hand is shaking, but Brandon has never lied to me or let me down. He is the one person in my life who I can depend on no matter what life throws my way. I press the ignore button, ending the ringing.

  Brandon kneels in front of me; my eyes are directly in line with his, “Promise me, Erin. Promise me that you will not have anything to do with Cole, that you won’t let him treat you less then you deserve.”

  I’ve never seen him more serious. “I promise,” I whisper. Brandon kisses my forehead, his lips lingering, and then he kisses the tip of my nose.

  Cole

  As soon as I hear Brandon’s voice come over Erin’s phone, I’m out of my apartment and on my way to theirs. I continued to ring, to try and get through to Erin, but after it rings out and then I’m hung up on, I throw the phone in the backseat out of aggravation and speed to their apartment. “Where’s Erin?” I ask Brandon when he answers the door.

  “You’re not talking to her, Cole. Leave.” He tries to close the door on me, but I wedge my foot between the door frame, and push my way inside. There she is, on the couch, her beautiful brown eyes looking up at me. She looks sad; she’s been crying. I go to move toward her when Brandon steps in front of me, stopping me.

  “Move, Brandon,” I grate out.

  “Leave, Cole,” He responds.

  We stare each other down, bodies tense and ready to fight, both of us waiting for the other to make the first move. “Erin,” I start, and Brandon tenses his jaw, “come here, honey.”

  “Erin,” he counters, “go to your room and get ready for lunch.” I hear movement and Erin comes into my view. I don’t like what I see in her eyes, like she’s been crushed, torn apart. Without any form of acknowledgment, she turns and walks down the hallway, away from me.

  When we hear the door shut, Brandon speaks again. “Erin’s made her choice Cole; me. Now leave. Stop all contact with her, and when you do see her at Mum and Dad’s, that will be the only time that you do. You’re not to go near her or talk to her.”

  “She didn’t make her choice. You made it for her. What did you say to her?” I grate out through clenched teeth, beyond pissed that he thinks he has that say.

  “I told her the truth.”

  “And what was that?”

  “That you treat women like garbage. That you’ll treat Erin the same way, and that you only want her, because she’s the one you can’t have. She understands that.”

  “You’re a bastard! You know that?” He smiles. He thinks he’s won. I know Erin. We’ve spoken about this. I’ve told her that I would treat her right, the good way. She understands that. Erin loves me, and I love Erin. “This isn’t over,” I promise.

  ***

  “They’re not coming?” I ask, astonished that Bandon would keep Erin from Mum and Dad.

  “Erin’s sick. We’ll see her next week.” Mum sits a cup of coffee down in front of me.

  Sick my butt. I know exactly what’s going on. I’ve tried to call her, but her phone rings out. I see Mum’s phone sitting on the kitchen bench, so I pick it up and head upstairs. “Hey, Mum,” her sweet voice fills my ears and reaches my heart.

  “Who is it?” Brandon’s voice says from somewhere in the distance.

  “It’s Mum. I’ll be back,” she says away from the phone.

  “Alright,” Brandon’s voice responds.

  “Mum?” she asks again. I hear movement in the background.

  “Don’t hang up,” I say. She stops moving, and then I hear a door quietly close. She’s quiet, “You there, honey?”

  “I’m here,” she whispers.

  “What’s going on, Sweetheart? You know I wouldn’t treat you wrong, Erin. I love you. You know that. What’s going on?”

  “He made me promise. I’m sorry. I don’t know what to do.” her voice tells me that she’s telling the truth and is truly confused as to what is going on, maybe as much as I am.

  “It’s not your fault, honey. What has he said?”

  “That you’re not good enough for me, to stop talking to you. He told me that you’ve wanted me since we met, and that you want me because you can’t have me, and that once you’re done with me, that’ll be it and you won’t want anything to do with me.”

  “You know I would cherish you.”

  Her tears are sounding stronger now. She’s crying. “Leave him and come to me. He’s the one who’s not good enough for you. We’ll figure it out. We’ll run away together, just you and me, honey. That’s all we need, just us. Anywhere you want to go, we’ll go. We’ll start fresh. Just us.” She is crying hard. I can hear it over the phone.

  “You need to stop calling me,” she says, her voice sounding more chopped up.

  “What?” I ask, confused at the total turn around this conversation has taken.

  “You need to stop everything. I deserve better.” she continues.

  “Erin, is he there?” I sit up straighter on the bed, listening to hear if I can hear Brandon with her.

  “I’ve made my choice,” her voice totally cracks.

  “Tell me if he’s there, and that you don’t mean those things. Tell me, Erin! Erin, tell me he’s there listening to us!” The phone disconnects and so does my heart.

  Erin

  “He used Mum’s phone,” Brandon states, already knowing the answer to the question. He’s obviously pissed. He entered my room during the conversation and could tell who I was talking to.

  I nod. I can never lie to Brandon. He can always tell when I try. “I told him to stop.”

  “I heard.” He comes to sit beside me and wraps his arms around me. “You know that I’m just looking out for you, right?”

  “I know.”

  ***

  “I’m pleased to inform you that we have accepted you for the teaching position here at Saint John’s,” the voice says over the phone. I can’t believe it. Saint John’s is a good school. To be a first time teacher, and to get a job there, is something to be proud of.

  “Thank you, Alicia. Wow.” I’m speechless, astounded, really.

  “I’m glad to hear that you’re still interested in becoming a member of our teaching team.”

  “I am, very much.”

  “You start Monday. Is that acceptable with you?”

  “Monday is perfect.”

  “Great! I’ll email you a list of things you’ll need to bring along with you. Just come up to the administrative building and tell the receptionist. Jane her name is. Tell her who you are, and she’ll phone me. Say, eight o’clock? That will give us time for a small tour and an introduction to the staff that are there.”

  “Eight o’clock. I’ll be there, and thank you again.”

  “We look forward to working with you, Erin. See you Monday.” I slowly lower the phone and place it on the bench top. I got the job. I. Got. The. Job. Holy cow! I pick my phone back up and look up Cole’s number, my finger freezing before I press the call button. It’s been two weeks since I told Cole to stop. It broke my heart to say those words, but Brandon was watching me. I had to. I haven’t heard from or saw him since. I lower my phone back down. The one person I wanted to tell, I can’t. I call Brandon instead.

  “Hey, baby.” He picks up the phone almost instantly.

  “Guess what?” I taunt.

  “What?” He’s happy to play along.

  “I got the job,” I sing.

  “Yay! That’s my girl!” he yells. I have to hold my phone away from my ear, because he’s that loud. It makes me laugh. “I’m so proud of you, baby, so proud.”

  “Thanks! I can’t believe it.”

  “You deserve it. Hold on. I’m going to go tell Dad.” I listen to Brandon walk through the office, muffled voices, a knock, and then, “Erin got the job.”

  Dad’s voice comes over the phone next, “Congratulations!”

  “Thank you.”

  “You’ll have to come over and celebrate.”

  “Definitely.”

  “I’ll tell Mum, and you two can organise somethi
ng.”

  “Sounds good.”

  “Ok, honey. I have a meeting to get to. I love you. See you soon.”

  “Love you too.”

  He hands the phone back to Brandon, “I have to go too, baby. We’ll celebrate tonight.”

  “Awesome! Eating in or out?”

  “Out, I think.” I hear muffled noises in the background.

  “I’ll let you go. Love you.”

  “Love you too, Erin. See you later.”

  ***

  The Sunday before I started my new job, we had dinner at Mum and Dad’s. I was hoping that Cole would show up, but Mum said that he wasn’t feeling too well. I knew better. He was avoiding us. I hated not having him around; not having everyone together.

  Monday comes and I am a nervous wreck. “And this is where you will be educating our young minds.” I look around the empty classroom. Desks line up in rows, posters are on the wall, a large board takes up a substantial amount of a wall.

  “This is your office. You share it with the other three teachers. They use the other rooms. If you ever need one, just pull the dividers open.” Taking everything in is a big job. There’s just so much; a whole new environment.

  “Your desk,” Alicia says, standing against an empty desk.

  “Thanks, Alicia.” I put my bag on top of it.

  “Do you have any questions?” Another person walks into the room. He’s handsome. Alicia waves at him, and he nods his acknowledgment, placing his belongings on a desk and sitting down in a chair.

  “No. I think that I’m all good.”

  She smiles, “Great.” She turns back around. “If you have any questions, you know where to find me. I’ll let you get to it. Your kids will be arriving soon. Parents will want to meet you, and they may have some questions for you.”

  “Ok.” I say, and she leaves. I turn to my desk, sit down in the chair, and start to empty my bag into the desk.

  “You must be the new teacher,” a male voice speaks.

  I jump, not expecting to hear it. Turning, I face the man who owns it. “Yes. I’m Erin.”