Escaping Heartbreak

by Regina Bartley

  “Hey Pickle, how is the new home.”

  Hearing Uncle Jake’s voice was a blessing. I instantly felt my whole body relax as the familiarity of his voice washed over me. If I closed my eyes, I could pretend I was back home with him. Unfortunately, closing my eyes would be a bad idea. You know, driving hazard. “It’s okay.”

  “That doesn’t sound promising. What’s wrong?” There was concern in his tone.

  “Nothing, I’m fine.” I mumbled, fighting tears as homesickness threatened to choke me.

  “You don’t sound fine.” Uncle Jake could always see right through my bullshit.

  “It’s all so new, and I am just trying to adjust. I promise I’m okay.” My hands tightened around the steering wheel with tension.

  “Okay then. I just wanted to check on you and make sure everything was good.”

  “I should be asking you the same thing. Have you been eating?”

  “No, I haven’t had food in twenty four hours. It’s madness. I may starve soon.” Always the joker.

  “Un huh, you’ve probably been loading up on the cookies.”

  “I’m not at liberty to discuss the Oreo situation.”

  I seriously wanted to cry. I’d been gone twenty-four hours and I already missed him something awful. “Fine cookie monster… Will you call me again tonight?” My voice sounded a bit strained and I was trying hard not to show any emotion.

  “If you want me too, are you sure everything is fine.”

  “Yep, I’m glad you called Uncle Jake.”

  “Oh, there was another reason that I was calling. I know that you were looking for something to do while you were there. There was this ad in the paper looking for tutors. It doesn’t require you to have a degree and it’s only part time. Merrimack County has schools listed. One of them was London Middle. I was thinking that it was close by there.”

  “It is actually. It’s right downtown. That would be perfect for me. I think I’ll go by there first thing Monday morning. Thank you.” His idea was brilliant and couldn’t come at a better time. I needed a distraction and this would be perfect, well maybe. I wasn’t the brightest crayon, but I thought I could handle middle school math.

  “I’ve gotta go Pickle. The toilet is calling my name.”

  “Really,” I snickered. “TMI. I don’t want to hear what’s about to happen. Love you, bye.”

  “Love you Pickle. I’ll call you later. Bye,” he hung up the phone. He was talking so fast. I pictured him running through the house in his shorts and tall socks that were probably dirty and didn’t match. Dirty or not, I wouldn’t care. I still missed him, and right now he was my saving grace.

  I pulled into the gas station, in need of a caffeine fix. The lack of sleep due to last night’s party was bogging me down. When Travis started talking in his sleep, I should have just shut the bathroom door and gone back to sleep. But no, that would have been too easy. Instead, I had to get all up close and personal with his bare freaking chest. I couldn’t resist.

  “Fancy seeing you again.” A voice said from the behind me, startling me back to reality. I tried to see the reflection in the glass in front of me, but nothing but rows and rows of Mt. Dews stared back.

  He stepped up on my right side and I turned to find Vince standing next to me. He pulled the door open for me and I caught a glimpse of the tattoos that covered his entire sleeve. Reaching inside, I grabbed the soda closest to me. “Thank you,” I said and he nodded. He was such a good looking guy, or maybe it was the tattoos that obscured my vision. I turned around to leave, trying to avoid conversation since it had clearly gone so well the night before.

  “Hey Sawyer wait,” he called after me. “Listen about last night. Look, I’m sorry if I acted like an asshole. I just had a lot to drink.”

  “I understand. It’s not a big deal.”

  “Yes it is. I really am sorry. It’s not like me to be so rude. I remember what I said last night, and you probably think that I am just a big jerk. I want to show you that I’m not. I know I asked you out last night, and I still want to take you if you want to go?”

  “Why?” I asked. The word just slipped out, and I wasn’t even sure why I said it. He didn’t owe me any kind of explanation, and then I was the one being an asshole. Judging by the grin on his face I’d say he didn’t mind. It probably had something to do with the way his eyes raked over my body.

  “It’s been a real long time since we’ve seen each other. I just thought maybe we could catch up. We could have dinner, maybe even see a movie if you want.” He brushed the dark hair from his eyes. “It’s my treat for being so obnoxious.” How could I resist those piercing eyes?

  We were never really close so I wasn’t sure what kind of catching up he wanted to do. Staring him in the eyes was making the decision even harder. God I should say no, I really should. But he was so freaking hot. I think I could give him another chance to redeem himself. He leaned in close. “Come on, don’t make me beg,” he whispered. I shivered when his warm breath blew into my ear.

  “Okay,” the words escaped before I had a chance to decipher my thoughts.

  “I’ll pick you up at six for dinner.” He said in a cocky voice I was growing accustomed to.

  “Sure, I’ll be ready.” I turned around to leave not sure what I just agreed to. At least he’ll be nice to look at, if nothing else.

  EIGHT

  Travis

  My phone would not shut up, the ringing was constant. If I had the money for a new one, I would have pitched it straight through my living room window. All I wanted to do was catch a little nap on the couch. After the night I had last night, I could use one.

  I gave up and finally answered the damn thing. “WHAT!” I yelled.

  “Damn you’re grouchy.” I recognized Dane’s voice in the receiver.

  “What do you want Evans?” I rested my forearm over my eyes. The sun shining through the living room window was way too bright.

  “I need a favor.”

  “I’m not coming to any more of your wild ass parties. I still can’t function, and I’ve been on this couch for three hours.” I groaned the sound of his voice irritating my already pounding headache.

  “That’s because you’re a light weight.” He countered.

  “What do you need Dane? If you’re calling just to talk then call back later.” I started to hang up on him.

  “It’s Sawyer.”

  “What about her? What’s wrong?” I sat up quickly. I didn’t understand my panicked response, and frankly I didn’t want to analyze it. I didn’t have feelings for her. I didn’t know her. Not anymore at least.

  “No, nothing’s wrong. Well, not really.”

  “Speak English Evan’s. What is going on?”

  “I’m just worried about her. This is her first time staying alone like this.” The breath I was holding released heavily.

  “That’s the problem? Man she’s a big girl; she can take care of herself. She was always a loner. She doesn't mind being alone.”

  “She used to be that way. She’s not anymore. Since mom and dad died she’s changed. She had a bit of a breakdown yesterday, and I was worried about her. She says that she’s not sure if she can stay there by herself.”

  “Why can’t she be by herself? What does it have to do with your parents?” I asked, running my hands through my already ruffled hair.

  “I don’t really know exactly. All I know is that she’s having a hard time dealing with all of the memories that are coming up while being in that house. I just want to make sure that someone is there to look after her while I am away. Can you help?”

  “You know she can’t stand me right now. She’s won’t want me hanging around or asking any questions.” I rubbed a hand over my face as I bit out the excuse –a weak ploy to stay away from her.

  “She’ll get over it. Go apologize.” I groaned into the phone. I knew I owed her an apology, but it wouldn’t be that easy. “Please man,” he pleaded.

  “You know I will. Give m
e her cell number in case I need it for anything.” I took the pen off the coffee table and wrote down the number that he gave me.

  “Thanks, I owe you one.”

  “You know I won’t forget.” I replied.

  “I know.” I heard him laugh on the other end just as he hung up the phone. There was no way I would be going back to sleep now as thoughts of Sawyer invaded me.

  ###

  After I had fixed Waylon’s supper, I told him that I had to run out. It was close to six and I figured I would just drive over to Sawyer’s to check on her. I decided not to text her because I figured she would tell me to stay the hell away, and I promised Dane that I’d make sure she was okay. Not to mention the fact that I really wanted to see her. I couldn’t stop thinking about those big brown eyes. She was so beautiful. Like, take your breath away beautiful.

  I pulled up in her driveway. I parked next to her yellow truck and walked nervously up to the door. I figured that it was possible she might yell at me before she slammed the door in my face. My hand knocked with force on the wooden door.

  “You’re early,” she said as she opened the door. She was obviously expecting someone else.

  “I take it I’m not the person you were expecting?” I raised a brow in question. She was wearing a dress; a freaking dress that showed her legs, and her shoulders, and the swell of her breasts. I wanted to slam her back against the wall and have my damn way with her.

  “Actually no, what are you doing here?” She cocked her head to the side, crossing her arms over her chest in a challenging gesture.

  “I just wanted to stop by and make sure that everything was okay. Settling in can be a lot of work. I wanted to make sure that you didn’t need anything.” I braced my hand against the side of the house, leaning in closer to her. I noticed her take a small shaky step back and I smiled slightly, pleased that she was still affected by me even after all these years.

  “Everything’s good. Thanks for checking. I’ll see you around.” She started to close the door. Oh, hell no. She wasn’t getting rid of me that easy. I stuck my foot out and walked right past her, into the house.

  “So tell me why,” I asked, “this morning you were pissed off at me and now you’re acting all weird and shit. Undoubtedly you have a date, I am aware of that. But, you don’t just flip your little switch and decide that you’re not mad at me anymore. It doesn’t work that way.” I faced her, forcing my eyes to stay on her face and not venture lower.

  “I am aware of how it works genius. I was trying nicely to get you to leave, but that didn’t work. So now I am telling you to leave; not so nicely, if you catch my drift.” She put her hand on her hip.

  “So you’re still mad at me?” My shoulders sagged a tiny bit. This might be harder than I thought.

  “Clearly, but I don’t have time to talk about that right now. He’ll be here any minute.” There was an anxious tone to her voice, like she wanted me to be gone before this guy showed up.

  “Who will? You’ve been back in town like ten minutes, and you already have a date?” I scoffed. If she thought I’d leave so easily, she was mistaken.

  “It’s none of your business. Why are you acting like such an ass?” She did a cute little stomp with her foot, portraying just how irritated she was with me.

  Good question. Was it bad that I didn’t want her to go on a date with anyone else? I was going to wait right here until he showed up, and then I might punch him in the face. “Because I can. Do you even know this guy?”

  “Why are we still talking about this? Get out Travis.” She narrowed her eyes at me.

  I stood there staring back at her. I wasn’t moving. A knock on the door sounded just in time. I couldn’t wait to see this loser. She rolled her eyes and straightened her dress. She walked over to the door and opened it up. “Son of a bitch,” I mumbled under my breath. Fucking Vince Cormack walked through the door. He was just as shocked to see me as I was to see him. I could see it all over his face. Someone needed to punch him in his face, just for being the punk ass that he was. He gave me a head nod just before he leaned in and kissed Sawyer’s cheek. Hmm. You are such an asshole. I looked away because it was hard to watch.

  “You ready to go?” He asked her.

  “Yes,” she smiled. She looked over at me, and I winked at her. I couldn’t help myself. She looked back at Vince almost as if she was hoping that he didn’t see, but he did. I made damn sure of it.

  “Our conversation isn’t over.” I said. I walked past her and then to the door, making sure that I nudged Vince hard in the shoulder on my way out. Fucking punk couldn’t stand her when she was younger. It was always me that liked her not him. I didn’t wait for her to say anything else. I went straight to my truck and got the hell out of there. Once again, I decided that I was probably going to kill Dane for putting me up to this crap.

  I did seventy all the way home to blow off my steam, but it didn’t help. Seeing her in Vince’s arms made me furious, because I knew that he didn’t deserve her. She was much better than him. His reputation was bad, and he’s known all over town as the one hit wonder. Once he gets a piece of them, he leaves. He’s fucking heartless.

  Pacing the living room floor wasn’t making it any better. I even sent her several text messages, but she never replied. The more I thought about it, the madder I felt.

  I peeked in Waylon’s room to make sure that he was asleep. It was after eleven and I had to go back over there. I didn’t know why or what I expected to find, but I had to see for myself. I hoped that he wouldn’t be there. The thought of her sleeping with him was more than I could handle. It just couldn’t happen, and I had to make sure of it.

  The closer I got to her house, the more worried I became. There was no way I could barge into her house if he were there. She would never forgive me. I pulled into the driveway, and saw that her truck was there, but Vince’s car wasn’t. Either he wasn’t here or they’re not home yet. I turned off my car and killed the lights. I was second guessing myself. I shouldn’t have come. It was just me being jealous, and I didn’t know why. I didn’t act like that. She had a way of pulling me in. It freaking bites ass. No girl has ever had this much control over me, and it was not about to start. I reached for the keys that were dangling in the ignition. Just as I was about to start my car up, I noticed a light flick on towards the back of the house. She was home.

  NINE

  Sawyer

  This date didn’t go quite like I expected. Actually I didn’t know what I was expecting. He’d been super nice. He even held the door open for me at the restaurant. I guess I was expecting him to act like a dick, especially after last night. He brought me to this little Italian place towards the edge of town. I’d never been there before and I don’t remember it being here years ago. The building looked small and dingy from the outside, but its looks were deceiving. Inside was quite different. It was dimly lit throughout and so much nicer than I expected. The tables had dark green tablecloths and globe style candles lit up on each one. It was very low key, but romantic. Judging by looks alone, I was already in love with the place.

  This cute little blonde waitress seated us at a small round table. She made no attempt at hiding that she knew who Vince was. They talked to each other like they’d been friends for years, but, something about the way she looked at him gave me the impression that they were more than just friends. I just shook my head at the thought.

  “Did I already tell you how beautiful you look?”

  “Like three times,” I said with a bit of frustration in my voice. I didn’t mean to, but enough is enough already. He had already said it several times on the way over. News flash… If you want in my pants, shut up!

  “I was just making sure you know,” he smiled at me from across the table. Oh, he was good. Those long lashes and perfect teeth were a sure fire way to a woman’s heart. Well, maybe not her heart, but definitely in her pants. “The two of us never hung out much back when your family spent summers here. I always wanted to thou
gh.”

  “Really?” I asked, doubtfully. Vince and the other kids that grew up here had never been fond of me. My passion for swimming had me labeled as an outsider.

  “Don’t sound so shocked.” He tilted his head back, a cocky smirk painted on his lips.

  “I never realized.” I wanted to say that maybe I was too busy avoiding everyone like the plague, but I refrained. No need to dredge up the painful memories. “All of you guys sort ran in packs, and no offense but I never really fit in. We weren’t even friends, so maybe that’s what surprises me the most.” My words ended in a whisper, I tried so hard to pretend that the way they’d all treated me didn’t hurt. But if did. I’d been just a kid, desperate for friends, and all I’d had was Dane… And sometimes Travis. He hadn’t been half bad when it was just the three of us. Don’t get me wrong, he’d still pull my hair and mess with me, but not like he would when he was around the others.

  “Just because we weren’t friends then, doesn’t mean that we can’t be friends now. What do you say?” He reached his hand across the table. I resisted the urge to snort. Friends? It was pretty obvious he didn’t want to be friends. All he wanted was a ticket into my panties.

  “Truce,” I placed my hand in his expecting only a handshake. Instead, he touched his warm lips to the top of my hand. I wouldn’t lie, it made my stomach flip-flop. His charm was clearly going to be hard to resist.

  The waitress interrupted our encounter with our meals. That was twice now that she’d walked up to our table at the perfect time. Did I mention that he also flirted with her profusely? Not that I cared. I knew he was a flirt before I accepted the date. That’s how he lured me in. Watching him flirt openly with her right in front of me was rude, but I didn’t let it get to me. It’s not like I wanted anything more from him then one night of fun. If the poor boy wanted to nurse his ego, than he could go right ahead. I had no intention of seeing him after tonight anyway, but now that I knew how much it bothered Travis; I may have to agree to one more date just so I could piss him off. That was evil I knew, but what could I say.