Save Me From Myself (Nashville Nights)

by Stacey Mosteller

  Gripping her arms, I say vehemently, “You can’t go talk to her. She needs to be the one to tell David, not me. It’s not my place. This is between the three of them, it doesn’t even involve me.”

  “You’re an idiot Lyric if you think for even a second that this doesn’t involve you,” Anna scoffs. “You saw them. What do you think’s going to happen when David does find out, whether it’s because she tells them, or he walks in on something like you did? She’s going to throw you right under the bus and tell him you knew the whole time. Then, you’re going to be in the exact same situation. He’s told you before, the one thing he can’t deal with is lying.”

  “But, I’m not lying to him!” I cry.

  Anna pokes me in the chest, much like I did to Jeremy Saturday afternoon, “Omissions are still lies, L. You know that better than just about anyone. Think about it, what would you have done if after you caught Matt and Kimberly, you found out that Aria knew and never told you? How betrayed would you feel?”

  Somewhere in the back of my head I know she’s right, but I really don’t want to admit it. “That’s a completely different situation Anna. Aria is my sister, she’s supposed to have my back.”

  Anna takes a step back, raising a single perfectly sculpted eyebrow as she says, “The situation isn’t all that different. You’re his girlfriend and the girl he said I love you to just the other day. He said that after you saw what you did, and you didn’t tell him. That might be a worse betrayal than his best friend boinking his sister.”

  Walking over to the bed, I sit down heavily putting my head in my hands. She’s absolutely right. I’ve completely betrayed David. “How do I make it better though? I already told him I know nothing, if I say something now, I’m still admitting to lying to him. It will just be compounded by the fact that she’s going to tell him she hates me if I tell him now. What am I supposed to do?” My voice breaks, and I know the tears aren’t far behind.

  Sighing, Anna sits beside me, wrapping her arms around me. Her anger is gone now. “Oh sweetie, I don’t know what to tell you to do. This whole situation is a mess.”

  Leaning my head on her shoulder, I try to concentrate on not bawling. Anna hugs me tight for a few minutes before letting me go and jumping up off her bed. “Let’s go do something, get your mind off things.”

  I swear, the girl is the bipolar Energizer bunny. Her moods flip so quickly and her energy is never-ending.

  ***

  It’s the last Thursday in March now, and David invited me over to have dinner. When I walk into the room, SarahBeth and Jeremy are both sitting on the couch. I don’t know where David is, but he must not be close by because these two are having a whispered argument, oblivious to the fact that I’ve even entered the room.

  I clear my throat to bring the fact that they are no longer alone to their attention. What if it had been David who’d walked in instead of me? At the sound, they both look up guiltily but relax when they see it’s just me. SarahBeth narrows her eyes at me, but Jeremy nudges her before shaking his head. Huh. Well, that’s definitely something new. Jeremy is standing up for me now? Interesting.

  Before anything can actually be said, we hear David’s footsteps coming down the stairs, and then he’s standing on the other side of the room from me. Grinning, he walks over to me, placing a light kiss on my lips, “Evening darlin'.”

  “Hey,” I say softly as I melt into him. The word “darlin'” coming out of his mouth just does something to me. I haven’t heard him call anyone other than me by that name, and to me, it’s something special between us.

  Turning me so that I’m tucked under his arm, he tells SarahBeth and Jeremy, “Dinner’s almost done.” Then, he gives Jeremy a pointed look, “Try not to run Lyric off, alright?”

  Jeremy grimaces, but nods, “No running people off, I got it D.” I don’t really want to be left with these two, being in on the secret relationship they have going is making me crazy. I constantly feel like I’m two seconds away from David finding out what’s going on and being done with me. I can’t say any of that though, and since David seems to want to be alone, I don’t push the issue.

  After settling me on the couch, David heads back to the kitchen, and the three of us sit in an extremely uncomfortable and awkward silence. I don’t trust Jeremy or SarahBeth, and I’m betting they don’t trust me either. Finally, when the tension in the room is thick enough to cut with a knife, Jeremy asks me, “So, uh, Lyric, how are things with you?”

  Even though I’m tempted to ignore him, the fact that he’s even trying gives me hope that maybe we can get through this dinner without bloodshed. “Fine,” I say, trying to think of something to say back, but coming up empty. I’ve never been good at small talk. It’s even worse when it’s people I don’t know well or am uncomfortable with. Jeremy definitely fits into both categories. He nods, giving me a look that says he understands that I don’t really want to be here, and neither does he.

  Then, he turns to SarahBeth and asks, “How’re classes going?”

  “You already know how my classes are going Jer,” she responds cattily, never even glancing in my direction.

  Leaning closer to her, he speaks in a low voice, that still manages to carry through the room and I can hear everything he says. “Why are you making this so difficult? Lyric didn’t ask for any of this. We’re the ones who weren’t careful. Stop taking it out on her!” SarahBeth blushes as pink as the dyed sections of her hair, but doesn’t respond to him.

  I know my jaw drops open at his words. Maybe I’m remembering incorrectly, but I would swear it was less than a week ago that I was standing outside of David’s office at Drench listening to Jeremy tell David that he couldn’t trust me. Jeremy sees the look on my face, and gives me a small, apologetic smile. Going into tonight, I was set to completely ignore him and SB, but maybe I’ve judged him too quickly.

  ***

  When David hollers for us to come to the kitchen, Jeremy comes up beside me and leans down to murmur in my ear, “I know I’ve been making things difficult, and I’m sorry. If you were truly like his ex, you would have run to him and told him exactly what you saw with no regard for his or SarahBeth’s feelings. I just wanted you to know that I shouldn’t have said what I did to David last week.”

  I stop walking, but don’t say anything back. At this point, I’m not sure what to say. I never expected him to apologize to me, so I have no idea how to react. Giving a small nod, I make a move to walk into the kitchen, but Jeremy grabs my hand to keep me in place. Leaning over again, he asks, “Do you forgive me?” SarahBeth huffs before walking past us, and I hear Jeremy’s long-suffering sigh. I’m sure he and David have both been dealing with her dramatics for long enough that it doesn’t really bother them, but I’m still hurt by what she said the other day.

  “What’s going on?” Jeremy and I jump apart guiltily when we hear David’s gruff voice. Looking over at him, he looks confused, suspicious, and even a little angry.

  Jeremy immediately releases my hand, backing up with both hands in the air. “I was just apologizing to her for the shit that went down in your office last week. Calm down.”

  Relaxing slightly, David turns to me, “You don’t have to forgive him you know. In fact, I’m fine with you telling him to fuck off.” He says the last with a grin, and I automatically smile back.

  “No, it’s okay. I forgive him, I know he was just trying to be a good friend.” I’ll do pretty much anything to end this conversation, even forgive someone for something that should probably be unforgivable. But, he is putting forth the effort to make things better, so I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. Who knows, maybe it will even help things with SarahBeth. The fact that she’s practically ignoring me, at least when she’s not acting like a spoiled brat, is killing me and I just want things to go back to the way they were.

  Thankfully, David doesn’t look as suspicious as he did when he first saw Jeremy talking to me as the three of us head towards the kitchen and SarahBeth. Even th
ough Jeremy and I have “made up”, dinner is still a really tense affair. David spends most of the meal watching the interactions between the three of us, and the longer we sit at the table, the deeper his brow furrows.

  By the time dinner is over, and SarahBeth and Jeremy retreat to their rooms, I’m wondering if David knows exactly what is going on. There’s no way for me to ask him though, not without compromising my own position. I’m definitely not cut out for this kind of deception. We’re alone now, but David’s still not saying anything. I’m trying to think of something to say while he’s cleaning off the table, but then he says, “You know you can tell me anything, right darlin'?”

  Nodding quickly, I confirm his words, “Yes, I know.”

  “You seemed uncomfortable tonight. In fact, the three of you looked like you were all uncomfortable with each other. You and Jeremy I can understand, especially after last week. But, you and SB were getting along just fine.” He goes silent, studying me.

  It takes everything in me to meet his eyes without flinching, spilling my guts, or squirming in my seat. David is entirely too perceptive for my own good. I try to pull off a nonchalant shrug, but I don’t think I really manage it. “We’re fine, we just had a disagreement the other day.” I force a smile, but it slides quickly off my face.

  “Hmm,” is all David says in response and he takes the rest of the dishes to the kitchen. That “hmm” was full of suspicion, and part of me wants to warn SarahBeth and Jeremy. The rest of me says that they can fend for themselves. If David asks me outright, I’m going to tell him, SB’s threats be damned.

  Tonight, the first Saturday in April, is SarahBeth’s birthday, and David’s been busy planning it with Olivia, Jeremy, and a bunch of her other friends. Instead of doing things at Drench, we’re heading to a trendy dance club in Nashville owned by another friend of David’s. Both Anna and I have been invited and she’s been helping me get ready. According to her, if I’m afraid David’s figured out what’s going on, then there’s nothing I can do. But, at least if I look hot, there’s a chance he’ll be too distracted to notice. She’s so ridiculous.

  When we arrive at the club, it’s crazy loud, and very crowded. The club has two stories though, one for regular dancers, and then a special VIP section. David takes my hand and bypasses the crowd, leading our entire group up to the bouncer at the front of the line. The bouncer obviously knows him, and quickly lets us through. We make our way up to the VIP section upstairs, and SarahBeth is bouncing with joy. She’s so happy that the fact that I’m here isn’t even bothering her.

  It doesn’t take long for the alcohol to start flowing and the bodies to start moving. Anna’s out on the dance floor with SarahBeth and Olivia, while I’m sitting with David, Jeremy and a bunch of people I don’t know. I’m still trying to stay out of SarahBeth’s range, but it appears Jeremy is too. I don’t know why he’s bothering, he hasn’t taken his eyes off her since she started dancing.

  The music changes to something sexier than the previous few that have played, and SarahBeth comes back to the table with Olivia trailing her looking apprehensive. She grabs Jeremy’s hands and starts trying to pull him out of his seat. He shakes his head, but she won’t be deterred. Pouting, she leans forward so she can say something close to his ear. Whatever it is causes his entire body to stiffen, but he nods, getting up to follow her to the dance floor.

  She’s obviously been drinking, because that’s not the sort of move that’s going to go unnoticed by David, who’s barely touched a drop of alcohol since we arrived. He doesn’t comment on the interaction though, just shakes his head and points towards the dance floor before getting to his feet and offering me his hand. When we reach the dance floor, he turns me so that my back is pressed against his front and he puts his hands securely on my hips so that he can move me with his rhythm, and stretching my arms over his head, I clasp them behind his neck.

  We lose ourselves in the music, concentrating only on our movements, which are more like foreplay than dancing. We continue to dance through the song and then two more before breaking apart to cool off and cool down. David leaves the dance floor to get us both something to drink, and I look around for Anna. She’s dancing with a guy I’ve never seen before, so he isn’t one of the people who came with us earlier. I also see Olivia dancing with her current boyfriend. I haven’t spoken to him, but he seems nice. He’s an inch or so taller than she is, with short dark hair, gauges in his ears, and a nose ring.

  The only people I don’t see on the dance floor are Jeremy and SarahBeth. That worries me. Surely they wouldn’t be so stupid to sneak off here. Anna notices my distress and disentangles herself from her dance partner to come see what’s wrong.

  “Why do you look so worried,” she shouts in my ear.

  Sighing, I yell back, “Jeremy and SB are gone, and David went to get drinks. I just hope they aren’t doing anything stupid.”

  “Oh,” Anna says, biting her lip. I never knew one word could say so much. That “oh” is full of worry, and I know that there’s something she wants to tell me.

  “What is it?”

  Anna looks beyond nervous, “Well, they disappeared right after you and David started dancing. I haven’t seen them in a while.”

  Shit! “Anna, can you look around for them while I try to find David? The last thing we need is for him to walk in on them like I did.” I know I sound frantic, but I have a really bad feeling about all of this. I’ve had this feeling since dinner last week when I thought David knew more than he should.

  Anna nods, and moves off through the crowd. I head towards the closest bar, but there are so many people it’s hard to tell if David is here. It takes me a good 10 minutes to make my way through the throngs of people to determine that he’s not standing at the bar. Looking back towards the dance floor, I don’t see him there, and he’s not at our table either. There aren’t any drinks sitting on the table either which causes my stomach to drop almost painfully. He didn’t detour there then and go to the bathroom or something.

  As I’m looking across the dance floor, I see Anna waving frantically at me from across the room. When our eyes meet, I can tell even from across the room that hers are huge, and she’s waving at me to come meet her. It takes more than a couple of minutes to cut through the insane amount of people grinding on the dance floor, and I’ve been groped at least a dozen times by the time I reach her.

  The red, blue and purple flashing lights make her face look even more terrified than it already does, and I know before she even says the words, “David is out there with Jeremy and SarahBeth.” When I just continue to look at her, she nods, and I squeeze my eyes shut. Fuck. He knows what’s been going on. This night has just gone straight to hell.

  ***

  After leaving Lyric on the dance floor, I head to the bar for drinks. There are so many people around though, I decide to hit the bathroom first. There’s been a large amount of drinking tonight, and even though I’ve only been drinking water, I’ve drank a shitload of it. When I come out of the bathroom, I see SarahBeth’s easy to recognize pink streaked hair following someone who looks a hell of a lot like my best friend leaving the club through a side door. Thinking that it’s probably a smoking area, but wondering why they’d be going out there when neither of them smoke, I turn to follow.

  I’m not a fucking moron. I know there’s some weird shit going on between the two of them and Lyric, I’m just not completely sure what it is. At first, I thought there was something going on between Jeremy and SarahBeth, but when things between them and Lyric got hostile, I dismissed it. After all, why would my best friend and sister messing around cause trouble with my girl? Lyric would tell me if she’d seen something, I know she would. She knows how I feel about people keeping things from me, no matter what the reason.

  When I step outside, I don’t see them at first. Or, maybe it’s just that I didn’t want to see them. When I turn back from shutting the door, I see them down at the end of the wall, almost around the corner, and I
follow quietly. They’ve got a few minutes head start on me, and I’m going to take advantage of it. They move quickly, while I lag behind just a little. I reach the end of the building, and can hear them before I even turn the corner.

  Jeremy is sitting on the ground, back up against the wall with his knees bent. My fucking baby sister is straddling him. His hands are gripping her waist, and thank God they’re still clothed or I’d fucking kill the son of a bitch. Before I can get to them, Lyric shouts my name from somewhere behind me, and I turn to see her standing just outside the door we all came out of with a wild look in her eyes. Suddenly, everything becomes clear. Holy. Mother. Fucking. Shit. She knew. That’s why they’ve all been acting that way. She knew, and they didn’t trust her to keep the secret.

  Turning back to the fucking friend that stabbed me in the back and my lying little sister, they’ve disentangled themselves from each other, so at least I don’t have to see that image any longer. Jeremy moves SarahBeth so that she’s behind him, but she fights to stay in front of him. If I wasn’t so mother fucking pissed, the fact that they’re trying to protect each other would be amusing. As it is though, I don’t know whether to kick his ass or beat hers for being so stupid.

  As soon as Jeremy gets SarahBeth behind him, I lunge forward and punch the bastard right in his mouth. He stumbles back into SarahBeth and she starts to fall. Spinning around, he catches her before turning back to face me. “Okay, I probably deserved that one.”

  Probably? Probably? That makes me want to fucking deck him again. When I go to follow through on the feeling, someone grabs my arm, and turning I see Lyric with her hand on my arm. Narrowing my eyes at her, I growl, “Get the fuck off me.” The last thing I want right now is her trying to calm me down. She should have told me as soon as she knew what was going on. This ridiculous bullshit has been going on for the past two god damn weeks, and I’ve been kept in the dark. I watch her eyes widen with surprise and pain but ignore the twinge of remorse I feel. She doesn’t deserve to be upset, she’s not the one who’s been being played for a fool.