The Aftermath

Once Cassie confessed to feeding information to Savannah, I barely heard anything else she had to say.  I sat, shaking with silent fury, wondering if she laughed when she told Savannah about what Jordan did to me.  I couldn't believe that someone I had thought was a friend, someone I'd trusted, had been telling my secrets to and doing the bidding of someone that just wanted to hurt me and Brody.  On top of that, she'd been doing it for 10 months.  I thought back to all the things Savannah shouldn't have known.  Every single bit, she knew because of Cassie.

After Cassie left, I sat in my chair and picked at the edge of the table, even though there was nothing to pick at.  Granite doesn’t peel.  “Should we go home?” Brody asked gently.  I shrugged.  “Do you want me to drive?” he pressed.  “We can leave your car here and get it in the morning when we come back into town.”  He put a hand on the seat of my chair and swiveled it so I was facing him. 

“Sure,” I agreed. 

“Okay, let me go shut my computer down and get my stuff.”  I got up and followed him silently.  I felt a desperate need to put words to the horrible emotion I was feeling, but my head was still cloudy with anger and I couldn’t. 

Brody gathered his stuff and shut down his computer. As we walked out the door I looked up and said, “Wait, you still have work to do.  You can stay, I’ll be okay.”

He shook his head.  “I think it’s better if we both just go home,” he insisted.  “There are a few things I can finish up at home, but I probably won’t get much else done tonight even if I stay.”

I followed Brody silently down the 8 flights of stairs.  I thanked him automatically when he pulled open his car door for me.  He kissed me lightly on the cheek before he closed the car door.  My leg jiggled restlessly as I waited for him to get in.

When we were on the road, heading out of town, he spoke.  “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Yes, but not tonight.  I need to be less angry first.”

“Good plan,” he agreed.  His voice was calm but I could tell by the set of his jaw and the crease in his forehead that he was angry too.  I envied his ability to keep it so firmly together despite his anger.  In a weird way, I was also relieved that he was mad too.  To me, it meant my anger was reasonable.

We were mostly silent the entire drive home.  About halfway there, he reached over the center console and slid his fingers between mine.  The warmth from his skin and the pressure of his palm against mine was reassuring and calming.  I was suddenly exhausted.  Have you ever noticed how tiring anger is?  It saps the energy right from your body.

I leaned my head back and shut my eyes.  “Thank you for driving,” I said, without opening my eyes. 

“Of course,” he replied, squeezing my hand gently. 

When we got home, Brody asked, “Is it alright if I finish up a few work things?” 

I nodded.  “I’m going to take a quick shower and go to bed, I think.”

Brody caught my arm and pulled me to his as I turned to head up the stairs.  He hugged me tightly, then kissed me and said, “I love you, Liv.”

“I love you too,” I replied, smiling weakly.

As I walked upstairs to shower and get ready for bed, I was finally able to pinpoint my feeling: I felt completely and utterly betrayed.   Cassie had manipulated me into thinking that we were friends, all while she was feeding information back to Savannah, so Savannah could attack my relationship with Brody.  And then she used what I thought was our friendship further to try to ruin Brody’s livelihood.  As I started the water in the shower, I let my thoughts drift to Savannah’s part.  If what Cassie did was shitty, Savannah was seriously wretched.  Now I regretted even more that I hadn’t gotten my hands on her this weekend.  I hoped for her sake that she stayed in California.

Now that I had figured out what emotion was weighing so heavily on me, the anger from earlier melted out of me.  I let my tense muscles relax under the hot water of the shower and by the time I got out I felt much better and ready for bed.  I was still upset about everything, but I was no longer shaking, raging mad. 

I grabbed my Kindle and got in bed.  I read for about 15 minutes before I turned the lights off.  About 5 minutes later, Brody slipped quietly into the room.  I heard him swear quietly as he bumped into something.  “You can turn the lights on,” I said softly.  “I’m still awake.”  A few seconds later, the lamp on the dresser was on.  Once he got his bearings, he turned the light back off and I heard the bathroom door open and shut. 

I was almost asleep when he got into bed next to me.  I snuggled into him, pressing my back into his chest as he wrapped his arm around me.  “I thought of something positive about this whole mess,” I said. 

“Oh really?” he asked skeptically.

“Yep.  When we leave for our trip in 5 days, we get to do it knowing what’s going on and not worrying about coming back to more ridiculousness from either of them.”

“I sure hope that's true,” he agreed, not quite as optimistic as I was. 

The next day was a struggle.  I avoided Josh like the plague, worried that my already short temper would get a serious workout if he set me off.  In my head I counted down the days until our trip.  I was looking forward to a chance to recharge and reset.

Brody made it home by 7, which was by far the earliest this week.  Then again, he’d left for the office around 5:30am, so he’d still been at work for nearly 13 hours.   We ate dinner fairly quickly and quietly, and then Brody asked if I wanted to go for a walk.  I loved this time of year because we still had close to an hour of daylight left.  

"Feeling better today?" he asked, once we were wandering the neighborhood.

"I am," I replied.  "Are you?"  

He shrugged.  "I guess so.  I feel a little less like I want to hit someone.  Things are blowing over at work, but she could have done some serious damage to my reputation and my company.  And I keep thinking that it's my fault, because I started it all with Savannah."

"But it's not your fault she's a total nutjob," I protested.  "Normal people don't do that shit.  You didn't know."  We talked for 20 minutes about the whole thing while we walked.  We agreed that we both felt really betrayed and hurt by everything.  Brody was still angry--and he should be, since his business could have been destroyed--but I was feeling far less angry now.  

"So do you think you and Cassie will ever be friends again?" Brody asked curiously as we headed back towards home.

I snorted.  "I don't think so," I replied.  "I feel like such an idiot for trusting her.  She betrayed us both so completely I don't know if I can ever forget that.  But part of me still feels for her.  It sucks that she got dragged into Savannah's bullshit."

"But she still had choices," Brody said, finishing the part of my thought I'd left unsaid.  I nodded in solemn agreement.

"I don't want to dwell on it though," I said.  "I want to move forward and be better off now."

"I like that idea," Brody said, smiling and reaching for my hand.  As we continued to walk, our conversation turned towards happier topics, and I teased Brody about his lack of knowledge about our upcoming trip.

"Do I need my passport?" he asked.

"Yes," I confirmed.

"Hmm, I guess I'd better find it then, huh?"

My eyes widened.  "You don't know where your passport is?  That seems like a bad life choice."

He laughed.  "I have a pretty good idea where it is.  I just haven't actually laid eyes on it in awhile."  That wasn't very reassuring to me.  But when we got home, he disappeared into his office and came out holding his blue passport book.  "See?  We're good.  I knew exactly where it was."

"Lucky for you," I replied, smirking, "or I would have been going on an awesome trip without you!"


Saturday morning I wanted to get to work early to finish up some paperwork so I had time to go to the gym after work, but still get home at a reasonable hour.  I stumbled sleepily into the bathroom when Brody was done showering and shaving.  I showered quickly, then went to the sink to brush my teeth.  I made a face at all the little dark facial hair trimmings all over the sink.  I rinsed them out, brushed my teeth, and walked out into the bedroom, where Brody was finishing up getting dressed.

"Can you please not leave face clippings all over the sink?" I asked, as nicely as possible.

"Face clippings?  That sounds gruesome," Brody joked.  "I thought they went well with the long blonde hairs that are all over everything in there."

"They are not!" I protested indignantly.

"No?" Brody asked.  He was smirking, and came to the door, then stepped into the bathroom.  "Hmmm, I see some in the tub, some on the counter, a few in the sink, and look!  There's even one on the top of the toilet tank."

I blushed as I realized he was right.  "Is this really what we argue about now?" I asked, deflecting the conversation.

"Who's arguing?" he asked.  "We're having a conversation about the charming colony of hair that's taking over the bathroom.  Both of our hair."

"Fine," I replied, admitting defeat.  "I will try to control my hair if you try to control yours.  Deal?"

"Deal."

I got dressed and ready for work then headed downstairs.  Something smelled delicious, and I hoped Brody never stopped making breakfast before work.  I would never get tired of it.  "Breakfast this morning is to go," he said as I appeared in the kitchen, handing me an English muffin with egg and cheese and spinach wrapped in a napkin.  Then he handed me a travel mug of coffee.

I juggled things in my hands so I could grab my gym bag too.  "Thank you," I said gratefully.

As we walked out the door he said, "I feel like I've hardly seen you at all since you moved in."

"I agree," I said.  The night before I'd gone to dinner (which ended up being almost 3 hours long) with Kinsley, Kendra, and Lauren to fill them on what had happened with Cassie.

"I know I get to spend an entire week with you with no work and no crazy ex-friends, but can we do something together tonight?"

"Yes," I agreed.  "Something 'out' or something 'in'?"

"Hmmm...we haven't gone on an actual date in awhile, but I'm exhausted after this week, can we do 'in' tonight?" he asked.

"'In' sounds perfect.  What do you want to do?"

"You planned our trip, I'll plan tonight.  What time do you think you'll be home?"

"I'm done with work at 2, I'll stay to finish up my paperwork, then the gym...maybe around 6."

He nodded and kissed me before pulling open my car door for me.  He took my gym bag off my arm and threw it in the back seat.  "Okay, I'll see you then.  I love you."

"I love you too."

It was nice to have a day at work where I didn't spend the entire day trying to avoid Josh.  I got everything done that I needed to before being gone for a week, then went to the gym.  After a good workout, I took a quick shower and threw my dress back on, then headed home.

I saw Brody's vehicle in the garage, but he was nowhere to be seen when I got in the house.  I started up the stairs to change, and heard the sliding door in the kitchen open.  "Hi," I greeted Brody, stopping halfway up the stairs. "I'm just going to change quick."

"But I like that dress," he protested.

"Alright, then I guess I'm not going to change quick," I said, laughing.  I turned and walked back down the stairs. He grinned and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me into him and kissing me.  

"Hungry?" he asked.

"I'm starving," I replied.  I had just come from the gym, after all.

"Do you mind eating outside? It's nice out and then we won't have any distractions."  With that, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and deposited it on the counter.  He led me out onto the deck and down the stairs.  He had a blanket on the lawn and we grabbed plates and food from the table on the patio.  We sat on the blanket with plates full of cheese, charcuterie, olives, and fruit, and glasses of wine.

"This is classiest I've ever felt hanging out in my backyard," I joked, tucking my legs carefully to the side.  "Thank you for dinner."  We talked as we ate, catching each other up on the little things that you overlook when you don't have much time to talk for a few days.  When we finished eating, Brody took our plates back over to the table and brought back the bottle of wine.  He topped off our glasses and we relaxed in the yard.  When my glass of wine was gone, I laid down on the blanket with my head on Brody's leg as we continued to catch up on life.

"Well, I know you haven't been here very long, but are you happy with your decision to move in so far?" he asked tentatively.

I rolled onto my back so I could look up at him.  He used his fingers to gently comb a few wayward pieces of hair out of my face.  "It's been a little crazy lately," I admitted.  "But if I was still at my old place, I may not have seen you at all this week.  So I'm definitely happy about that.  I like it here.  It's going to take a lot of getting used to not being right down the street from bars and restaurants and having a longer drive to work, but I'm glad I'm here.  I think you've done a really great job of making this just as much my place and our place as yours, and I appreciate that."

He grinned down at me.  "That's probably the most sentimental thing you've ever said," he teased.

"That's true," I agreed, laughing.

"Well as long as I have you in a sentimental mood, I don't think I've told you how great it was to have your support with everything that's happened lately.  It means a lot to me that I had your full trust and didn't have to deal with proving myself to you on top of proving myself to everyone at work."

"It's easy to trust you when I've already hacked into all your email addresses and read all your texts and emails every day," I joked.

"Annnd you ruined it, as usual," he said, shaking his head.  But he was smiling.

"Seriously, though," I continued, "I think I've already put you through the wringer of proving yourself."

"That's true," he agreed.  I made a face and we both laughed.  "My family loves you, too.  Or at least my mom and my sister do, so the family that matters the most."

"How sappy are we going to get here?" I asked.  "I'm about one declaration of love away from a dirty joke and some swear words."   Brody rolled his eyes.  "I'm sorry!  I can't help it.  It makes me uncomfortable because I don't know what to say back.  I love you.  I'm glad that your family loves me.  I'm happy to support you, and I know you'll support me.  I'm out of things to say and I feel like it all sounds really rehearsed and strange."

"How about you shut up and kiss me then?" Brody suggested.

"That I can do," I agreed, sitting up.  I scooted closer so I could easily press my lips to his, and he kissed me back hungrily.  One of his hands slid across my neck and tangled in the hair at the back of my head while the other slid just far enough up my thigh to tempt me, but not so far that the neighbors got a show.  He tightened his grip on my hair and tilted my head back, then moved his lips to my throat, which earned him a low sigh.  "Let's go inside," I requested.  He moved his mouth to my collarbone.  "Brody," I gasped.  "Inside."  Finally he stood and pulled me to my feet.  He grabbed the blankets and the empty wine glasses.  I grabbed the plates and empty wine bottle.  All of it got dumped rather unceremoniously on the kitchen table as we made our way rapidly towards the stairs.

Brody followed me into the bedroom and kicked the door shut behind him.  As I started to turn around, he slid arm around my waist and pulled me back against him, keeping me facing away from him.  He kissed the back of my neck as his other hand slipped under my dress and slid lightly across my panties.  I groaned and he released me.  By the time I made it to the bed, his pants were gone.  He didn't even bother with my dress, just pushed the skirt up and pulled my underwear to the side.  I pulled him hard against me as he thrust into me.

After, when we were a sweaty, breathless, dazed, and tangled heap I finally let myself hope that things might get back to "normal".