Cole
Erin’s car is in the driveway when I pull up at Mum and Dad’s. I need a change of environment, but seeing Erin will be better. Finally, I’ll have a chance to speak to her. I climb out of the car and run into the house. The kitchen and dining areas are clear. I can hear laughter, so I follow the sound outside. Once I step outside, all I see is red. Jake is in my parent’s home, laughing, and has hands on Erin. Once I take the step outside, all heads turn in my direction, smiles disappear, and my eyes are on Erin only. I hear a chair scrape across the cement, and then Dad is in front of me.
“Inside,” he directs, shoving my shoulder slightly.
I turn and follow him into the house. “What is he doing here?” I grate out, so angry at the situation.
“Jake is here with Erin.”
“Why. Is. He. In. My. Home?”
“Because Erin is our daughter, and we want to meet the men in her life, and today that man is Jake. Can you handle that, Cole, because if you can’t, you need to leave.”
I’m breathing so deeply, I have to start moving to try to alleviate some of the anger. I’m pacing around the room, hands on my hips. This sucks and it pisses me off. “Cole?” Dad’s questioning voice makes me stop and stare.
“Yeah. I can handle this.”
“Good,” and he leaves the room.
A moment later, I step back outside carrying beers, and sit down. “Hi. We haven’t officially met. I’m Cole,” I offer my hand to Jake, my eyes on Erin. She is looking at me like I’ve gone mad.
“Jake.” He shakes my hand. It takes everything in me to not pull him across the table and beat him to a pulp. I let go of his hand, and he rests his arm across Erin’s shoulders. My body tenses at his movements. His eyes are on me, and he sees the reaction. I can tell it got him.
“I didn’t know that you would be joining us tonight,” Erin states.
“That’s right, dear. You usually call first,” Mum adds.
“I thought that I would surprise you. Isn’t a son allowed to do that these days?”
“Of course, Cole,” Mum finishes. The conversation is light and easy. I can’t take my eyes off of Erin. Every now and then, they briefly go to Jake who seems to be watching me. He tightens his grip on Erin. So he wants to play it that way.
Mum and Dad are talking about a holiday they’re planning on going. “We haven’t had a holiday in years,” Mum is saying.
“It’s been a while,” Dad says, ‘not since that cruise.”
“Oh God, no.” Erin shoots in. I laugh and Erin smiles. “It wasn’t funny, Colby cheese. I haven’t been able to look at the ocean the same after that.”
She just called me Colby cheese. God, I love her.
“What happened?” Jake asks.
Erin looks up at him and then back to me. “We went on a cruise a few years back, just a few days on the water, no destination, out to sea and back,” Erin begins. “We were...what do you think, Dad? Half an hour after leaving the port?”
“I don’t even think it was that long,” Dad chuckles.
“Oh god.” Erin sinks deep into her chair.
“Poor Erin got so sick,” Mum says, a smile on her face.
“It was horrible,” Erin explains, sitting up straighter.
“Sea sickness. Instead of enjoying the cruise, you were in bed, willing the ship to sink.” I laugh, fond of that memory. I got to spend a lot of time with Erin, just us in a room. She was so cute all sick. Erin bites her lip. I love it when she does that. She is looking at me, too. That holiday meant something to her as well.
“I stayed with you and kept you company. It wasn’t fair that you had to miss out,” I say quietly.
“You didn’t have too,” Erin whispers.
“I wanted to.”
“Of course, Brandon wanted to turn the ship around and take you home,” Dad says.
Mum laughs, “He was unbearable to be around. Well, this time, we won’t have you kids with us, so we’ll be able to enjoy it.”
“What? We’re not invited?” Erin jumps out of her seat. I crack up laughing. “Shhh, Colby cheese. Mum and Dad are having a holiday, and us kids aren’t invited. Where’s the fairness, the love?”
“True,” I stand up too. “Where’s the love?”
“Kid free holiday. We’ll love you when we get back,” Dad responds. Erin sits back down, pretending to sulk.
“Not cool,” I state, sitting back down.
“It’s a good thing we’re flying to New York, then,” Jake whispers into Erin’s ear. Her face pales, her eyes on mine.
“What?” I ask.
Erin
“You’re leaving?” Cole asks me. The look in his eyes is painful. I had to look away.
“I have family there. We’re going to visit them,” Jake speaks.
“That’ll be nice, Erin. You always said that you’d like to see New York,” Mum says, getting up from the table. I can’t take my eyes away from Cole.
“It’s getting late. We better be getting off to bed.” Dad says, standing. I draw my attention away from Cole to Mum and Dad. I get up, walk around the table, and hug them both goodnight. Cole does the same.
“It is getting late,” I say, needing to go. The pain in Cole’s eyes is too much to bear, and I don’t want Jake to spill that I won’t be coming back from New York.
“When do you leave?” he asks.
Jake answers for me, “Not next week, but the following.”
“Night, Cole.”
Jake stands up and comes around, and Cole engulfs me in a hug that I didn’t see coming. “Turn your phone on. I need to talk to you,” he whispers into my ear.
“We better be going,” Jake says.
Cole releases me, but not before kissing my forehead, “See you later, honey.”
“Bye,” I say weakly. Jake grabs my hand, and we walk to the car. Jake puts me in the passenger side, and then he jumps into the driver seat. Pulling away from the house, I can see Cole standing in the driveway, watching.
***
“What do you think about this one?” Jake slides the laptop across so it’s sitting on my lap. Handing over the ice cream, I take the laptop and read about the apartment displayed on the screen.
“I like it.” I read on about the space and the view. It’s close to everything.
“So, I’ll tell Scott to check this one out?” Jake asks, his question full of hope.
I’ve already turned down a few before this one. “Yes,” I say.
Jake kisses my cheek, picks up his phone, and dials Scott. “Hey. I got one for you to check out. Yeah, she does. This is the one. I’ve got a good feeling. Cool. Get back to me.” It isn’t a long conversation, but enough is said. I look around Jake’s lounge room.
“I have no furniture, or anything else to really contribute to the apartment when we move,” I admit. Jake has a full set up. I have me and a few boxes of personal belongings.
“You’ll contribute you. That’s all you need to bring with us. All I need.”
“It doesn’t seem fair.”
Jake removes the laptop from my lap and pulls me into his lap. “If you want, when we move we can get new stuff; things we both picked out and paid for.”
He says it so gently, in a way that makes me feel important to him; loved. “No. We don’t have to do that. You have...”
“We have,” Jake whispers.
I smile at him, “Everything. I’m just being silly.”
“Nothing you say is silly. If that’s what you want, that’s what we’ll do.”
I wrap my arms around him and hold him to me. “I love you, Jake.”
“I love you, Erin.”
***
We get the apartment in New York, and the packing stage of the move begins. I hadn’t brought a lot from Brandon’s, but what little was mine. I repack it all from Jules’ and take everything over to Jake’s. If everything is there, the movers will only have to stop at one place, and since Jake has the majority of stuff, it makes sense f
or it to be his place. We also discuss and decide that I will be staying with Jake at his place for this final week until we move.
“What about the cars? We really don’t need them, but if you want to keep yours, we’ll have to organise a way to get it to New York,” Jake says while we’re packing up some of his kitchen.
“What are you doing with yours?” I ask him. My car was a gift from Mum and Dad. They insisted that I needed one since public transport isn’t that safe. I’ve already decided to give it back to them. It’s not mine to sell, and I don’t think that I’ll need it in a city as big as New York. “I’m selling it. I’ll use it until we leave, and then leave it with a friend to sell for me.”
“Mum and Dad gave me that car, so I’ll return it to them this weekend.” Jake and I have been driving together to work since I’ve temporarily moved in with him. We figure that we’re leaving in a few days, so what’s the worst they can do to us if the school discovers that we’re dating.
We haven’t told anyone that we’re going, so we haven’t received any shit from Beth or Anita over it; just sly comments about riding to work and going home together.
I haven’t heard from, about, or seen either Cole or Brandon, but I do run into Ryan at the shopping centre one night while Jake is with me. They do seem to hit it off, but I know Ryan pretty well, and something is off with him.
“Hey, Jake? I couldn’t find that sauce you were talking about. I looked, but,” I shake my head, indicating that I didn’t see it.
“I swear, sometimes you’re as blind as a bat.”
“Me, too.’ Jake kisses me, very much to make a scene, and leaves.
Ryan whistles, “That was some kiss.” I know what Jake was doing, kissing me like that. I can’t speak. I’m embarrassed. “Well, if he can kiss like that, no wonder you’re with him.”
“What is that suppose to mean?”
“He’s not good for you, Erin.”
“Ry, I get that shit from Cole and Brandon, so please don’t start with me over this. I’ve made up my mind.”
“Because Cole told you that he loves you, and Brandon went anal. They pushed you away.”
“That has nothing to do with this.”
“It has everything to do with this.”
“You told me that you loved me, and I didn’t get scared and run.”
“I didn’t do it the way Cole did, and Brandon never found out. Cole wants the world to know that he loves you.”
“Yeah, well, he stopped talking to me.”
“Because you told him to.”
“I didn’t mean it. Plus, when does Cole ever do anything that I tell him to?”
“If you’re saying this stuff, Erin, you should be with Cole. He doesn’t have to show people that you’re his, because he knows. He only stopped because he doesn’t want to push you away and lose you forever. He’s been waiting a very long time to be with you. He’s changed since he told you how he feels. He hasn’t... doesn’t... go out, doesn’t answer his phone unless it’s family, doesn’t have people over, and he’s at my place a lot. God, I don’t even think that he’s been with anyone since he told you. He still calls you. He knows you won’t turn your phone back on, but he still calls. He still hopes that it will ring. Erin, you belong with Cole. We’re not the same without you, and screw what Brandon has done. He broke a promise. That was his decision. He knew that you wouldn’t like it, and he did it anyway. He broke up with the bitch once he discovered that you left, and he and Cole are talking again. They only talk about you, but it’s talking none the less.”
“Cole only wants me because he can’t have me,” I defend. I’m getting angry and pissed at Ryan’s speech.
“What!?” He has the nerve to sound shocked over this.
“Don’t act so surprised, Ryan. You’ve known Cole longer than me, and you know what he’s like. I’m the one he can’t have, so I’m the one he wants, and if I give in to him, he’ll throw me away and have nothing to do with me. If any of that happens, everything will be awkward for everyone, and I won’t be that girl.”
Ryan is silent, stunned, “Where the fuck did you get that? What makes you think that Cole is so shallow that he would do that to you?”
“Oh come on, Ryan. Wake up. You know who Cole is. He always has to have a girl in his bed, and it’s hardly ever the same girl twice. He doesn’t do relationships, and I do.”
“Has Cole ever given you any reason to think that when he tells you that he loves you that he is playing some type of game with you? Have you ever heard him tell anyone else that he loves them?”
I divert my eyes away from Ryan. I don’t like his tone or the way he is looking at me. I can’t help the tears that fall. I want to believe him and Cole, but I have to look out for me. “Erin?” Ryan questions.
“Brandon says...’
“Honey, Brandon has an agenda behind this. I know that he’s your rock, but you’ve got to open your eyes, Erin. Brandon doesn’t want you with anyone, not just Cole. He wants you to himself, but he won’t be with you either. No one is good enough, but you’ve got to give Cole a chance. He would do anything for you.”
“We would never be the same, again, if, you know. It just wouldn’t be the same.”
“It’ll be better than before.”
***
To hear that Brandon broke off their relationship, or whatever it was that they were having, is interesting. All week, Beth has been recanting her nights with Brandon to Anita. Anita never does say anything else about her going out with Cole, but hearing that Cole is still calling my mobile, makes something in me shift. I feel guilty. I climb out of bed quietly, so not to wake Jake, grab my hand bag, and find my phone. I sit on the couch, facing the hallway so I can see if Jake comes looking for me. Turning my phone on, I wait for the notifications of missed calls, voicemails and text messages to pass before I search for the number I’m after. Pressing call, I hold the phone up to my ear and wait for the ringing to stop.
“Erin,” his sleepy voice comes over the phone.
“Hey, I know it’s late,” I start.
“No. It’s fine. You can call anytime.”
My eyes start to get watery, and my throat tightens. I have missed him so much. “I need to see you,” I quietly say.
“Now? I can come and get you. Where are you, honey?”
“Not now. Tomorrow, after work.”
“Ok, come around and let yourself in. Do you still have the key?”
“Yes. I have it.”
“Good. Is everything ok?”
“I don’t know,” I whisper, wiping a tear away.
“I’m here for you, honey. Whenever you’re ready, Sweetheart, I’m right here.”
“I don’t know what to do,” I admit. “So much has happened, and so much has been done and said. Can we? Is it even possible to...”
“Sweetheart, you listen to me very closely. We can. We will. It is possible. Just say the word, and I’ll come and get you.”
“I was so mean to you. I don’t know who to believe. Why are you being so nice to me?”
“I love you,” is all he says.
“It’s that simple... you love me.”
“It’s that simple.”
“I love you, too.”
“Honey,” his voice cracks, “tomorrow... We’ll talk tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow.” We end the call and I creep back into the bed, next to Jake. He must feel the bed dip, because he winds an arm around me and holds me to him.
“You alright, baby?”
“Everything’s fine,” I lie. Jake’s breath evens out, and he’s sleeping again. I can’t go back to sleep.
Cole
I have been a ball of nerves all day. Erin is coming around tonight, and we are going to talk. I feel good about it. I’m going to cook dinner, spaghetti, one of her favourite meals. We’ll have wine and we’ll talk. This is good.
I have the table set up, the wine is chilling in the fridge, and dinner is simmering. It’s all ready for when E
rin arrives. I just showered and changed, and now all that’s missing is Erin.
I hear the metal click of the door lock. I drop the wooden spoon I’m stirring the sauce with and walkout of the kitchen toward the front door. I see Erin walking in, the door closing behind her. She stops when she sees me, smiles, and then her face crumbles. I rush over to her and hold her in my arms. She wraps her arms around me and cries into my shoulder.
I can’t help the tears that run down my cheek. I whisper words to her, telling her that everything is going to be fine, that it’ll all work out, and that I love her. After her crying stops, she pulls back, wiping the remaining tears from her eyes.
“Sorry,” she says.
“It’s ok,” I assure her. Erin shakes her head. “Come on. Dinner’s ready.” I take her hand and walk her into the kitchen.
“Smells delicious.” She goes over to the stove top and stirs the sauce. I come up behind her, putting one hand on her hip and the other hand over hers, holding the wooden spoon.
“Do you want a drink?” I whisper, my lips touching her ear.
“Please,” she responds, turning her head slightly. I reluctantly let her go and walk to the fridge to get the wine out. I pour two glasses and hand one over to Erin, who walks over to the table and sits down. I serve up dinner and go sit across from her at the table so I can look at her.
“How have you been?” Her voice is quiet as she eats her meal.
“Good. I mean, I’ve been better, but good. How about you?”
She only nods, then puts her fork down on the side of the plate, and starts to fiddle with her fingers.
I put my fork down, also, and move to sit next to her, getting a hold of her fingers in my hands. “What is it?” I ask, recognising Erin’s nervous trait.
Erin looked up at me, sadness in her eyes, “Jake wants us to move to New York.”
My entire body freezes, “No. You can’t go to New York. You have work and us and me. No, honey.”
Her tears start up again, “It’s already done.”
“What’s that suppose to mean? Erin, you’re not going to New York to live. No way.”
Love Obsessed Page 8
