Tricked

I'm posting Monday's post early, because I'm trying to line some things up in the posting schedule.  I've been sick all week and weekend, so I've had way too much time on my hands to write and tinker with the post line up!  I'll still have a post for you guys tomorrow, Wednesday and Friday, so enjoy the bonus!  Tomorrow's post will be one from Brody's perspective, and Wednesday and Friday will be the normal storyline.  Hope everyone is having an excellent and safe Labor Day weekend!
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Lauren held me as I cried, stroking my hair.  She sat there with me until I was mostly done crying, then she stood up and hauled me to my feet.  "Come on," she said, pulling me over to the couch.  "Sit."  She disappeared into the kitchen and came back with a bottle of water.  She handed it to me.  I unscrewed the top and drank gratefully.  She sat down next to me and regarded my tear and makeup-stained face.  She took my hand.  "Tell me what happened," she said gently.

So I did.  When I was finished, she hugged me.  "Asshole," she muttered into my hair.  I almost smiled.  I could count on Lauren to be 100% loyal to me, always.

"I don't even know why I'm so upset," I said.  "We weren't even officially a couple."

"You guys were totally a couple, don't be stupid.  It was obvious.  Just because you didn't sign a contract and slap a label on it doesn't change the fact that you are both completely crazy about each other and uninterested in dating other people."  I sniffled, and she handed me a tissue.  "Are you going to try to talk to him again before he leaves?" she asked, after I had blown my nose.  I shook my head.

"No, I don't think I can stand to see him.  Plus, I said some kind of awful things and he's probably pissed."

She rolled her eyes.  "I don't think he has the capacity to be pissed at you for any length of time, Liv," she said.

I flopped backwards against the back of her couch and curled my legs up against my chest.  "I don't care.  I don't want to see him.  I can't.  I feel so stupid."

Lauren let me stay for another hour.  We watched some TV, and then she gently informed me that it was after 11.  "You can spend the night or just stay longer if you want," she said, "but I need to get some sleep."  I thanked her for the offer and for letting me stay as long as I had and went home.

I had hoped I'd feel better in the morning but I didn't.  I struggled through the work day, avoiding my coworkers.  I was glad I only had one client scheduled.  I left at 4:30 and went home.  As soon as I got there, I wished I wasn't there.  I decided to go to the gym.

I stayed at the gym for almost 2 hours, trying to sweat out my feelings.  I felt a little better when I left.  I grabbed a salad from the cafe next door and walked home.  I ate and showered, and was in bed by 9.  I slept restlessly, but I slept.

At lunchtime on Thursday, I got a text from Lauren asking me if I was going to happy hour tonight.  "No way," I texted back.  "I don't want to see him, or hear him tell everyone that he's leaving."  Instead, I went back to the gym and then stared mindlessly at the TV until I was ready for bed.

Brody had called me twice--once on Wednesday and once on Thursday--but I didn't answer or call back.  Thursday night, Kinsley called me.  I knew she was calling because she had just left happy hour and found out what was going on, so I didn't answer her call either.

On Friday, Lauren texted me.  "I'm coming over tomorrow," she said.  I responded, asking if I had a choice.  "Nope! I'll bring lunch and wine."  Brody didn't call me Friday.

On Saturday at 12:30 on the dot, my doorbell rang.  It was Lauren, with lunch and wine as promised.  We ate and she kept up a steady stream of chatter, filling my wine glass when it would get close to empty.  A little later, she said, "You should put on those jeans that you bought last weekend."

"Why?" I asked irritably.

She sighed.  "Because I want to see them again, that's why.  Oooh!  They'll look really cute with that one pink top you have, let's go, I want to see them together."  Once I had the outfit on, she nodded approval.  "That is perfect.  I love it."  She paused, then said, "Hey!  Will you teach me some new eye makeup stuff?"

"I guess," I agreed.

"I'll show you how I did that French braid with the front of my hair too."  I was hopeless with accessories and hair, and less than proficient with putting together outfits, but makeup had always been my thing.  It's easier to learn, and I was always trying new products and looks.  Lauren was always trying to get me to teach her new tricks, but she could never quite replicate them. 

I got out my makeup and told her to close her eyes.  "No," she said, shaking her head.  "I want you to put it on yourself step by step, so I can copy it.  Maybe I'll learn better that way."  I rolled my eyes but did as she asked, showing her a new look I'd been playing with with copper, gold, and brown shadows.  When we were done, she taught me how to do a French braid along my hairline, then pulled the rest of my hair back into a bun.  She smiled.  "Your hair looks great like that," she said.  "It keeps your short, wispy pieces from escaping and standing straight up off your head."  Right.  Then her phone pinged, and she looked down at it.  "I have to go," she said, standing up.

We walked downstairs and at the door she hugged me.  She left, and I was going upstairs to change back into my sweats when the doorbell rang.  I turned around and went to answer it.

"What'd you forget?" I asked, pulling the door open.  I stopped short when I saw Brody standing there.  My heart jumped at the sight of his chiseled features.

"Liv," he said.  "Please don't shut the door.  Can I come in?"  Wordlessly, I stepped back so he could enter.

I sat on the couch and he sat next to me, leaning sideways against the arm to look at me.  "Lauren set me up, huh?" I asked.  When he nodded, I realized that she had also tricked me into getting dressed, doing my hair, and putting on makeup.  Sneaky bitch.  At least she didn't set me up and let me walk into it looking like a homeless person.

"Don't be mad at her, I asked her to help me," he said quietly.  We both looked at each for a minute.  I took a deep breath and started to talk.

"Look--" I said, at the same Brody said, "Liv--".  We both stopped, then he motioned for me to go first.  Still giving me what I want.

"Look," I started again.  "I owe you an apology.  I'm sorry for the way I acted on Tuesday.  I was way out of line.  I was completely blindsided, which wasn't your fault.  I mean, it was, sort of, but it's not like there was a better way for you to do it.  I'm glad you respected me enough to tell me in person, not over the phone, because that probably would have been easier for you."  I sucked in a shaky breath, and let a nervous giggle escape.  "So, I'm sorry.  I didn't mean what I said.  At least, I didn't mean that I'd be lying if I said 'congratulations.'  I really am happy for you to get this opportunity.  I know you've worked your ass off to get to where you are, and you totally deserve it.  So...congratulations."  At this point, tears were threatening, so I stopped.  I looked down at my hands in my lap.

"Thank you, Liv," Brody said.  "That means a lot to me, and I know that it wasn't easy for you to say."  I nodded in agreement, eyes still fixed on my lap.  The longer I looked at him, the more I ached for him, and the more it would hurt when he walked out my front door.  "I came here because I couldn't stomach leaving without seeing you one more time," he went on.  "It's completely selfish, but I couldn't leave things the way they ended on Tuesday."  He gently tilted my chin up, and my my eyes threatened to overflow when they locked on his pale green ones.  "I hate that I had to spring it on you.  I'm truly sorry that there wasn't a better way.  I need you to know that I care about you a lot, and I will miss you every second I'm in Miami."  He stopped then, and swallowed hard.

I couldn't stop the tears from running down my face then.   I cursed Lauren and her stupid eye makeup, because I was sure my tears were black.  Brody gathered me to his chest and stroked my hair, his cheek resting against the top of my head.  I breathed in his smell: cologne, soap, and mountains.  Would he still smell like mountains when he came back from Miami?  If he came back from Miami, I corrected myself.  That thought started a fresh round of tears, and Brody hugged me tighter.

Finally, the tears slowed.  I pulled away, and quickly swiped at my face to try to remove the worst of the blackness.  The alarm on Brody's phone beeped, and he looked at me sadly. 

"I have to go, Liv," he said, cupping my face in his hand.  I shut my eyes and nodded against his hand.  I got up and walked towards the door.  As he stepped out onto my front steps, he turned back and leaned against the railing.  "Is it okay if I call you?" he asked.

"I don't know," I answered honestly. 

"I understand," he replied.  "Well, then call me if you want to, okay?"  I nodded.  "Goodbye, Liv."  Without waiting for my reply, he walked down my steps and got into his big black SUV.  I wondered briefly what he was going to do with it.  Then I shut the door, curled up on the couch, and fell into an exhausted, restless nap.