Thank you to everyone that responded to my little impromptu poll Friday. I loved seeing where everyone is from and it was fun to chat with you guys. You all also were so sweet, so thank you guys! I'm trying to get three posts up this week since I have the long weekend on my side, so I'm posting this one a little early. I'll probably post again late tomorrow or on Monday, then later in the week.
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On Tuesday I tried to catch Josh again to clarify what he told me about my new client, but he was still out. It happened to be the day of my monthly one-on-one meeting with Kelly, and when she asked how my week was going so far, I told her about the incident. "I feel like it didn't get us off to the best start," I admitted. "I guess I need to take better notes." Kelly was supportive and offered some feedback, and we moved on fairly quickly to talking about other things. I really liked working for Kelly. I always got great feedback and consultation from her, but she never hovered or micromanaged. It was definitely my ideal supervision set up.
On Wednesday I got a group text from Kinsley, asking Lauren, Kendra, and I to have dinner with her that evening. Lauren and I agreed but Kendra said she already had plans. I was so excited to be able to sit down and have dinner with my two best friends here again. Brody was still in Chicago, planning to be back sometime on Thursday, so I was happy to have something to do for the evening too.
My work day seemed to go slowly, but I finally made it to the restaurant Kinsley had picked. We had a really great dinner and it felt great to be spending time with both Lauren and Kinsley again. While we were lingering, finishing our last drinks, my phone rang. I was surprised to see that it was Ken calling. "I'd better take this," I said, apologizing to Lauren and Kinsley. "Hello?"
"Olivia? Hi, it's Ken. What are the chances you're still in town?"
"I am, actually. I'm just finishing up dinner with some friends. What's up?"
"Oh good," he said, sounding relieved. "The starter is out in my car. I'm stuck at a friend's house. Would you be able to pick me up on your way home?"
"That sucks," I replied sympathetically. "Yeah, I can definitely pick you up. Is it okay if I come when we're done? It will probably be about a half hour."
"That's fine, thank you!" He sounded relieved. "I'll text you the address." We hung up and a minute later I got a text of an address on the other side of town. I groaned when I realized how far away it was, but it's not like Ken had many options. It still made way more sense for me to pick him up than for one of his friends to bring him all the way out to our house.
When we headed out of the restaurant, we discovered the storm clouds that had been threatening all evening had finally opened up. It was pouring, with occasional thunder and lightning. We separated quickly, and I jogged to my car, glad I was wearing flats and not heels today. When I got there, I put the address Ken had sent me into my phone's GPS and headed over in that direction.
It took me almost 45 minutes to get there. I pulled up in front of the house and got out. The front door opened and Ken ushered me inside. "Dave is out in the garage, and he just texted that the tow truck is here, so I'm going to head back there. It should only take a couple minutes, you can stay in here if you want."
"Sure," I agreed. I was a little frustrated because I just wanted to get home, but I sat down on the couch and began scrolling through my Facebook feed on my phone. Through the sheer curtains of Dave's front windows I saw a car pull up in front of the house. I couldn't see much but the headlights in the driving rain, but I didn't think much of it until the front door opened.
Jordan looked just as surprised as I felt. "You're not Dave," he said. Fighting the panic that came immediately, I said nothing. "What are you doing here?"
"Taking Ken home," I replied, trying my best for a calm, normal tone.
"Well," he said, his familiar creepy, leering smile spreading over his face, "It's good to see you again. We didn't get much time to catch up last week, because that irritating boyfriend of yours was too busy trying to fight me." I stared back at him, forcing my face to keep a bored, flat expression, and said nothing. I assessed my options, but there really weren't any. Jordan was still standing just inside the front door. Ken had gone out through whatever room was directly behind the living room--probably the kitchen. But I had no idea, because I'd never been here before.
When he got no reaction, he let me see his eyes rake over my body before lazily returning to make eye contact with me again. "Where's your boyfriend today? Or are you too busy with his brother to care?" Again, I said nothing. He took a few steps closer to me, leaning against the back of a chair near the door. He watched me, gauging my reaction it seemed. He was messing with my head, trying to get me to freak out.
"If you don't mind," I said cooly, standing, "I'm going to go see if Ken's ready to go." Jordan's hungry stare swept my body again, lingering on my bare legs now that I was standing.
"And if I do mind?" he asked, stepping into the path I'd need to take to go towards whatever door Ken had disappeared through. He continued towards me, and I stood perfectly still, fighting the urge to back up as he got closer. He reached out and touched the short sleeve of my dress, and I yanked my shoulder out his reach.
"Don't touch me," I hissed, glaring at him. I started to step around him, heading towards the front door and the relatively safety of my car, but he blocked my path with one step. It was so similar to the night of my first encounter with him that my stomach churned. He then took another step towards me and I kicked him in the knee as hard as I could, not willing to throw myself off balance enough to kick any higher. My heel connected solidly with his kneecap, and he took a quick step back.
"What the fuck?" he yelped, bending down to grab his knee just as I heard an unseen door open and close.
"Olivia? ...Jordan? What the hell are you doing here?" Ken asked, looking back and forth between the two of us.
"Well, I'm here to see Dave, but this bitch is apparently here to kick me in the fucking kneecap," Jordan growled.
"I'm sure you deserved that and worse," Ken said, hurrying over to me. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," I spat, not taking my eyes off Jordan. "Are you ready?" He nodded and gestured towards the door. I walked quickly out of the house and straight towards my car. I fumbled with my keys on the way but had them out by the time I got there. Ken was hot on my heels, sliding into the passenger seat.
"Olivia--" he started.
"I'm fine," I repeated. I tried to put the keys in the ignition but my hands were shaking so badly I missed. I tried again and dropped them. "Shit," I muttered, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath. I found them after fumbling around on the floor for several seconds, then brought them back up the ignition.
"Do you want me to drive?" Ken asked gently. When I still couldn't get the keys in the ignition, I sighed in resignation and dropped the keys in his hand. We switched places, and I leaned my face against the cool glass of the window and took steady, deep breaths, trying to calm my racing pulse. Luckily, Ken didn't try to talk to me, he just drove.
When we got home, he parked in the garage and unlocked the door, then handed my keys back to me. I dropped them in my purse and thanked him quietly. Then I went upstairs. I dropped my purse and my shoes and my clothes in a heap on the bedroom floor, then stepped into the shower. As usual, I turned the water as hot as I could stand it and stood under the punishing spray, inhaling the steam.
I stayed in the shower for nearly 45 minutes, trying desperately to relax. I was jittery, anxious, and jumpy. When I realized my attempt to soothe myself was futile, I turned off the shower and reached for my towel. Once I was dried off and dressed, I grabbed my Kindle and got into bed. I was there for a couple minutes before I heard footsteps on the stairs. Then there was a soft knock on the bedroom door.
"Come in," I called, not wanting to get up to actually open the door. The door opened and Ken stepped into the doorway.
"Hey," he said quietly. I managed a weak smile. "I just wanted to say thanks for coming to get me. And...I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault," I replied, shrugging. "You're welcome."
"I feel shitty about it, though. Dave didn't know he was planning to stop by. I wouldn't have made you wait if I would have known."
"Seriously, don't worry about it," I insisted.
He nodded. "Do you need anything?" I shook my head and thanked him, and he said goodnight and left, pulling the door closed gently behind him.
I read for nearly 3 hours before the edgy, jittery anxiety wore off enough for me to attempt sleep. I put my Kindle aside and turned off the light, then proceeded to toss and turn for another two hours. When I finally drifted off to sleep around 3am, it didn't last long. I woke from a nightmare around 4am gasping, drenched in sweat, and tangled in the sheets. Being tangled in the sheets freaked me out more and I ended up on the floor after a brief battle to free myself. I sucked in a deep, shuddering breath and wiped at the tears on my cheeks. "Get a hold of yourself," I muttered to myself in the dark. "Jesus, Olivia."
I stumbled into the bathroom and rinsed the sweat and tears off my face with cool water, then pulled my sweaty hair back into a ponytail. I got a drink of water and then walked back into the bedroom, before sitting heavily down onto the bed. At this point, it seemed to make very little sense to try to sleep, but I laid back down anyway. All I did was toss and turn until my alarm went off at 6:30.
I dragged myself out of bed and into the bathroom in a feeble attempt to get ready for the day. After staring mindlessly at my comb in my hand for several seconds, I realized that I was too tired to be of any use to my clients today. I couldn't, in good conscience, expect anyone to pay for a session with me today. My head was swimming and I was shaky from not sleeping at all. I had plenty of sick time, so even though I hated doing it, I called in for the day.
I got back in bed and read until I couldn't possibly keep my eyes open any longer. With daylight peeking around the edges of the curtains, I finally fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
That sleep ended abruptly when someone touched my back. I jerked awake and sat up, scrambling to the other side of the bed. "It's just me," Brody said. "Jesus, Liv. I'm sorry. It's me." I closed my eyes and sucked in a deep breath. "I'm sorry," he said again. "I shouldn't have touched you."
"I don't know that you could have possibly woken me up without scaring me," I admitted. "I'm a fucking mess." I moved back over to my side of the bed and Brody climbed in bed next to me. He settled himself next to me, stroking my arm tentatively. I turned and buried my face in his shirt as he wrapped his arms around me.
"Ken told me what happened," he said.
"Is he here?" I asked, confused.
"Yeah, he doesn't have a car."
"Oh, yeah." The whole reason I had run into Jordan in the first place.
"He feels awful," Brody continued.
I shook my head. "He shouldn't."
"But he does." Brody was quiet for several seconds then said, "If that piece of shit so much as touched you, I will kill him."
"He didn't," I replied. "I don't think he had any intention of doing anything but freaking me out. He was just watching me, waiting for me to react. When I didn't, he'd up the ante. He just wanted to push my buttons."
"I might kill him anyway," Brody said, barely disguising the anger in his voice.
"If you do that, we won't be able to get married because you'll be in jail," I pointed out. "I don't want to talk about it anymore. What time is it, anyway?"
One of Brody's arms left me and he peered at his watch in the semi-dark room. "Almost 2."
"In the afternoon?" I asked, surprised.
"In the afternoon," he confirmed. I was glad that I got some sleep at least.
"Are you going in to work at all today?"
I felt him shrug. "Nah, I don't think so."
"You don't have to not go in because of me," I said.
"I haven't seen you in three days, and you're home. I want to be home with you," he replied. "I missed you."
"I missed you too," I replied, snuggling closer to him. We laid there for a few more minutes before Brody told me he was going to bring Ken into town to get his car, which was now fixed. He asked if I wanted to come and I considered it. "Can we stop and get lunch? I'm hungry."
"We can stop wherever you want after we drop him off," Brody promised. That was enough to get me up and dressed. I felt refreshed after sleeping through the morning, and I felt a stab of guilt at calling in to work. But logically I knew I would have done terrible work today and it was better for everyone that I stayed home.
The few hours of sleep I had gotten also gave me some distance from the events of the night before. I was no longer shaky or jittery, but still felt a little jumpy. I'd stopped seeing my own therapist when the nightmares of Jordan became almost non-existent, but I decided that after last night a couple sessions might be in order. I called and left a message asking to schedule something while I waited for Brody to shower and get ready to take Ken into town.
Showing posts with label Jordan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jordan. Show all posts
Saturday, September 5, 2015
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
A Sidewalk Confrontation
You guys know I couldn't leave you hanging for too long!
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We wove through tables towards the back of the restaurant, looking for Ken and his friends. I caught Ken's eye and he waved, and we headed in that direction. Then I saw who else was sitting at the table and stopped dead.
Brody ran right into me. "Liv?" he questioned, catching himself and stepping back. When Jordan looked up and our eyes met, I took two quick steps back, treading on Brody's feet. "Liv," he said again, sounding irritated this time.
Then he followed my gaze and saw Jordan. "Let's go," he said quietly. I was frozen, watching Jordan's face first register surprise, then melt into an evil smirk. Ken looked up again, confused as to why we were just standing in the middle of the restaurant. "Liv," Brody said, firmly but gently. "Come on." I was finally able to will my feet to move and I spun and pushed past Brody, walking to the exit as fast as I could.
The hostess looked confused when we hurried past her outside. We walked down the sidewalk a bit and I was grateful that Brody didn't try to touch me. I managed to at least keep all my wits about me this time. Once we were stopped on the sidewalk, Brody pulled out his phone. "I'm just going to let Ken know we're going home," he said. I shifted from foot to foot, full of nervous energy. He was in the middle of composing a text when Ken walked out of the restaurant. He spotted us and started walking towards us, and then Jordan came out.
My stomach flipped and I nudged Brody. He looked up and his gaze hardened immediately. "What's going on?" Ken asked, stopping in front of us. Brody kept his eyes on Jordan and stepped forward so he was between Jordan and I.
"Brody," I said quietly. "We should just go."
"Long time, no see!" Jordan said cheerfully, walking up. "Hi, Olivia." He gave Brody a withering look.
"You guys know each other?" Ken asked, looking back and forth in confusion.
"Unfortunately we do," Brody growled. "Because that motherfucker assaulted my fiancée."
"What?" Ken asked, looking even more confused.
Jordan laughed, and Brody took a step closer to him. "Brody," I hissed. Brody was not a small man by any means, but Jordan still had a few inches and probably 35 pounds on him. Brody ignored me.
Without taking his eyes off Jordan, Brody said to Ken, "Can you get her out of here? This asshole and I have a couple of things to talk about."
Ken looked at me questioningly, and I glared at the back of Brody's head. "No," I said, loudly enough that Jordan looked at me.
Someone that had been sitting at the table with Jordan and Ken walked up to us. "What's going on here?" he asked, looking from Ken to Brody to Jordan and back to Ken.
"We're apparently just having a conversation," Jordan replied smoothly.
"I want to go," I said. The new arrival looked at me curiously.
Ken, taking advantage of the distraction, said, "Dave, you remember my brother Brody? This is his fiancée, Olivia." Dave said nothing, still looking between everyone in confusion.
"Jordan, do you know them?"
"Not intimately, unfortunately," Jordan replied, smiling lecherously at me. That pushed Brody past his breaking point and he lunged and swung at Jordan. Jordan managed to jump backwards just enough that Brody's fist barely grazed his face, and Dave and Ken were on Brody within a second, shoving him away from Jordan.
"What the fuck, man?" Dave asked, glaring at Brody. "Throwing punches on the street? Not cool."
"Yeah, well neither is what he did to her," Brody snarled. "He fucking deserves it."
"Would you get the hell out of here?" Ken snapped at Jordan.
Jordan had the gall to look affronted. "He hits me, and I get scolded and sent away?"
"Can you all knock it off?!" I exclaimed.
A random guy and his girlfriend walking past looked at me. "Are you okay?" he asked me.
"Yes, I'm fine, thank you. Sorry." He looked skeptical and I smiled to reassure him. Once he left, I said, as calmly as I could, "I'm going home. Someone call me if I need to bail someone out of jail or visit anyone in the hospital." Then I turned on my heel and walked towards my car.
I hadn't made a full block before I heard footsteps jogging behind me. "Liv," Brody called. I stopped, but didn't turn. "Look," he said when he caught up. "I know you're pissed at me, but--"
"I'm not pissed at you," I interrupted. "But I really want to go home. Can we talk when we get there?"
"Okay," he agreed. Then gently, he asked, "Are you okay to drive?"
I sighed. "I don't know," I answered honestly. Now that everything was diffused and he and I were both away from the situation, I was shaking as the adrenaline wore off. I looked at him. "Are you?"
"I will be in a couple minutes," he replied. "If you want to drive yourself home I won't try to stop you, but if you want to ride with me, we can park your car at my office and I'll drive us both."
I agreed to ride with him, and he drove my car to his building's garage, then we moved to his SUV. I was grateful we were close to his office. We were quiet the whole way back except for my request to pick up food on the way.
The first thing I did when we got home was eat, and then I went and got in the shower. I was almost done getting dressed when Brody came into the bedroom. "I know you said you're not pissed at me, but I wish you'd talk to me," he said.
I hung my towel up and sat on the bed. Brody sat next to me. "I'm not pissed at you," I replied. "This whole night was...stupid." I couldn't come up with a better word. "While I do wish you wouldn't have tried to punch him on the sidewalk in the middle of downtown, I understand why you did it. I just hate that he keeps popping up. And I wish you didn't have so much testosterone and were capable of just walking away."
"I'm not proud of the way I acted tonight," he admitted. "But honestly, I don't know if I'll ever be capable of walking away where he's concerned. I'd like to beat him to a bloody pulp."
"I'd hate to see what you'd do to him if he had actually hurt me," I said.
He shook his head vigorously. "I can't even think about that," he replied fiercely.
"Thank you for your dedication to keeping me safe," I said, trying not to laugh. This was not an appropriate time to laugh, and I wasn't sure what was funny, but I felt a strong urge to giggle. Brody gave me a weird look, and I closed my eyes for a second and got it together. "I'm going to go downstairs and read for a little while," I said. He looked confused. "I'm all wound up, I just need a little time by myself to calm down a little."
"Okay," he said. He looked like he wanted to argue, but he didn't. I walked down the two flights of stairs to the lower level and down the hall to my little library. I curled up on the chaise with a blanket and worked on getting lost in my book.
I had probably been down there for about 45 minutes when there was a knock at the door. "Come in," I called, expecting Brody. Instead, when the door opened, Ken stuck his head in.
"Hey, I'm really sorry to barge in," he said. "Can I talk to you for a minute? Or could you come get me when you have a minute?"
I was curious enough that I set my book aside and sat up a little. "Come on in, you can have more than a minute if you want." I smiled, and he returned the smile as he came in and pushed the door mostly shut behind him.
He perched awkwardly on the edge of the papasan chair in the corner and then said, "I am really sorry about Jordan. Brody just explained everything--well, not everything, I mean he didn't tell me any details because it's none of my business. But I want you to know that he is not someone I'm friends with. My friend Dave? It's his friend's friend. I've only met him once before tonight, and that was back when we still lived here when we were kids. So I'm really sorry, because I didn't know--"
"Ken," I cut him off gently. "It's okay, it's not your fault. But thank you. I appreciate you coming down to talk to me."
He smiled uncomfortably. "I haven't seen Brody that mad since...well, since Heather died, I guess."
"You should have seen him the night he actually punched Jordan in the face and broke his nose," I said, smirking.
Ken laughed. "Did he really?"
"He did," I replied, nodding.
"I'm glad to see all the practice he got on his punching bag growing up did some good." He stood up. "Well, I'll leave you alone now, thanks for hearing me out."
"Anytime," I said, smiling. Ken smiled back, said goodnight, and left, pulling the door closed firmly behind him.
I read for about 15 more minutes before I put the book aside and stood, stretching. I saw light coming out from under Ken's closed bedroom door down at the other end of the hallway as I headed upstairs. I found Brody sitting on the couch in the mostly dark living room, laptop open in front of him. He set it aside as I came into the room, and I sat down on the couch next to him. He put his arm around me as I settled against his chest. "Did Ken come talk to you?" he asked. I nodded. "He feels bad."
"I know, but he shouldn't," I replied. "He didn't know."
"I told him that too." We were quiet for a few minutes, then he asked, "Are you going to be able to sleep tonight?"
I snorted. "I doubt it."
"Should we put on a movie or something?"
"Sure," I agreed. "Something funny."
After a quick scan of his shelves full of movies, Brody put in Napoleon Dynamite, which made me roll my eyes, but it at least fit the funny bill. We laid on the couch together watching movies until nearly 2am, when I finally fell asleep.
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We wove through tables towards the back of the restaurant, looking for Ken and his friends. I caught Ken's eye and he waved, and we headed in that direction. Then I saw who else was sitting at the table and stopped dead.
Brody ran right into me. "Liv?" he questioned, catching himself and stepping back. When Jordan looked up and our eyes met, I took two quick steps back, treading on Brody's feet. "Liv," he said again, sounding irritated this time.
Then he followed my gaze and saw Jordan. "Let's go," he said quietly. I was frozen, watching Jordan's face first register surprise, then melt into an evil smirk. Ken looked up again, confused as to why we were just standing in the middle of the restaurant. "Liv," Brody said, firmly but gently. "Come on." I was finally able to will my feet to move and I spun and pushed past Brody, walking to the exit as fast as I could.
The hostess looked confused when we hurried past her outside. We walked down the sidewalk a bit and I was grateful that Brody didn't try to touch me. I managed to at least keep all my wits about me this time. Once we were stopped on the sidewalk, Brody pulled out his phone. "I'm just going to let Ken know we're going home," he said. I shifted from foot to foot, full of nervous energy. He was in the middle of composing a text when Ken walked out of the restaurant. He spotted us and started walking towards us, and then Jordan came out.
My stomach flipped and I nudged Brody. He looked up and his gaze hardened immediately. "What's going on?" Ken asked, stopping in front of us. Brody kept his eyes on Jordan and stepped forward so he was between Jordan and I.
"Brody," I said quietly. "We should just go."
"Long time, no see!" Jordan said cheerfully, walking up. "Hi, Olivia." He gave Brody a withering look.
"You guys know each other?" Ken asked, looking back and forth in confusion.
"Unfortunately we do," Brody growled. "Because that motherfucker assaulted my fiancée."
"What?" Ken asked, looking even more confused.
Jordan laughed, and Brody took a step closer to him. "Brody," I hissed. Brody was not a small man by any means, but Jordan still had a few inches and probably 35 pounds on him. Brody ignored me.
Without taking his eyes off Jordan, Brody said to Ken, "Can you get her out of here? This asshole and I have a couple of things to talk about."
Ken looked at me questioningly, and I glared at the back of Brody's head. "No," I said, loudly enough that Jordan looked at me.
Someone that had been sitting at the table with Jordan and Ken walked up to us. "What's going on here?" he asked, looking from Ken to Brody to Jordan and back to Ken.
"We're apparently just having a conversation," Jordan replied smoothly.
"I want to go," I said. The new arrival looked at me curiously.
Ken, taking advantage of the distraction, said, "Dave, you remember my brother Brody? This is his fiancée, Olivia." Dave said nothing, still looking between everyone in confusion.
"Jordan, do you know them?"
"Not intimately, unfortunately," Jordan replied, smiling lecherously at me. That pushed Brody past his breaking point and he lunged and swung at Jordan. Jordan managed to jump backwards just enough that Brody's fist barely grazed his face, and Dave and Ken were on Brody within a second, shoving him away from Jordan.
"What the fuck, man?" Dave asked, glaring at Brody. "Throwing punches on the street? Not cool."
"Yeah, well neither is what he did to her," Brody snarled. "He fucking deserves it."
"Would you get the hell out of here?" Ken snapped at Jordan.
Jordan had the gall to look affronted. "He hits me, and I get scolded and sent away?"
"Can you all knock it off?!" I exclaimed.
A random guy and his girlfriend walking past looked at me. "Are you okay?" he asked me.
"Yes, I'm fine, thank you. Sorry." He looked skeptical and I smiled to reassure him. Once he left, I said, as calmly as I could, "I'm going home. Someone call me if I need to bail someone out of jail or visit anyone in the hospital." Then I turned on my heel and walked towards my car.
I hadn't made a full block before I heard footsteps jogging behind me. "Liv," Brody called. I stopped, but didn't turn. "Look," he said when he caught up. "I know you're pissed at me, but--"
"I'm not pissed at you," I interrupted. "But I really want to go home. Can we talk when we get there?"
"Okay," he agreed. Then gently, he asked, "Are you okay to drive?"
I sighed. "I don't know," I answered honestly. Now that everything was diffused and he and I were both away from the situation, I was shaking as the adrenaline wore off. I looked at him. "Are you?"
"I will be in a couple minutes," he replied. "If you want to drive yourself home I won't try to stop you, but if you want to ride with me, we can park your car at my office and I'll drive us both."
I agreed to ride with him, and he drove my car to his building's garage, then we moved to his SUV. I was grateful we were close to his office. We were quiet the whole way back except for my request to pick up food on the way.
The first thing I did when we got home was eat, and then I went and got in the shower. I was almost done getting dressed when Brody came into the bedroom. "I know you said you're not pissed at me, but I wish you'd talk to me," he said.
I hung my towel up and sat on the bed. Brody sat next to me. "I'm not pissed at you," I replied. "This whole night was...stupid." I couldn't come up with a better word. "While I do wish you wouldn't have tried to punch him on the sidewalk in the middle of downtown, I understand why you did it. I just hate that he keeps popping up. And I wish you didn't have so much testosterone and were capable of just walking away."
"I'm not proud of the way I acted tonight," he admitted. "But honestly, I don't know if I'll ever be capable of walking away where he's concerned. I'd like to beat him to a bloody pulp."
"I'd hate to see what you'd do to him if he had actually hurt me," I said.
He shook his head vigorously. "I can't even think about that," he replied fiercely.
"Thank you for your dedication to keeping me safe," I said, trying not to laugh. This was not an appropriate time to laugh, and I wasn't sure what was funny, but I felt a strong urge to giggle. Brody gave me a weird look, and I closed my eyes for a second and got it together. "I'm going to go downstairs and read for a little while," I said. He looked confused. "I'm all wound up, I just need a little time by myself to calm down a little."
"Okay," he said. He looked like he wanted to argue, but he didn't. I walked down the two flights of stairs to the lower level and down the hall to my little library. I curled up on the chaise with a blanket and worked on getting lost in my book.
I had probably been down there for about 45 minutes when there was a knock at the door. "Come in," I called, expecting Brody. Instead, when the door opened, Ken stuck his head in.
"Hey, I'm really sorry to barge in," he said. "Can I talk to you for a minute? Or could you come get me when you have a minute?"
I was curious enough that I set my book aside and sat up a little. "Come on in, you can have more than a minute if you want." I smiled, and he returned the smile as he came in and pushed the door mostly shut behind him.
He perched awkwardly on the edge of the papasan chair in the corner and then said, "I am really sorry about Jordan. Brody just explained everything--well, not everything, I mean he didn't tell me any details because it's none of my business. But I want you to know that he is not someone I'm friends with. My friend Dave? It's his friend's friend. I've only met him once before tonight, and that was back when we still lived here when we were kids. So I'm really sorry, because I didn't know--"
"Ken," I cut him off gently. "It's okay, it's not your fault. But thank you. I appreciate you coming down to talk to me."
He smiled uncomfortably. "I haven't seen Brody that mad since...well, since Heather died, I guess."
"You should have seen him the night he actually punched Jordan in the face and broke his nose," I said, smirking.
Ken laughed. "Did he really?"
"He did," I replied, nodding.
"I'm glad to see all the practice he got on his punching bag growing up did some good." He stood up. "Well, I'll leave you alone now, thanks for hearing me out."
"Anytime," I said, smiling. Ken smiled back, said goodnight, and left, pulling the door closed firmly behind him.
I read for about 15 more minutes before I put the book aside and stood, stretching. I saw light coming out from under Ken's closed bedroom door down at the other end of the hallway as I headed upstairs. I found Brody sitting on the couch in the mostly dark living room, laptop open in front of him. He set it aside as I came into the room, and I sat down on the couch next to him. He put his arm around me as I settled against his chest. "Did Ken come talk to you?" he asked. I nodded. "He feels bad."
"I know, but he shouldn't," I replied. "He didn't know."
"I told him that too." We were quiet for a few minutes, then he asked, "Are you going to be able to sleep tonight?"
I snorted. "I doubt it."
"Should we put on a movie or something?"
"Sure," I agreed. "Something funny."
After a quick scan of his shelves full of movies, Brody put in Napoleon Dynamite, which made me roll my eyes, but it at least fit the funny bill. We laid on the couch together watching movies until nearly 2am, when I finally fell asleep.
Thursday, January 1, 2015
Too Much Testosterone
I claimed I didn't have a Friday post ready, but I just finished it up. So instead of waiting until next Friday, I'll post this post, the main storyline post I was going to post tomorrow, as a bonus today! Tomorrow I have part 1 of the story of Lauren and Alex, which you have all been waiting so patiently for for a very long time. I hope everyone had a safe and fun New Year's celebration!
____________________________________
On Saturday, Brody, Kinsley, Lauren, and I went to James's housewarming party. I was still a little weirded out by James and Brody's budding friendship, but it was certainly better than the alternative.
"A plant? I don't exactly have a green thumb..." James said, looking skeptically at the pot I offered him.
I grinned. "Every house needs at least one plant. And anyway, some people call this one a 'Mother-in-Law's Tongue.' It's damn near impossible to kill." He laughed and took the plant, thanking me.
Brody handed him the rest of our gift, a bottle of vodka. "I bet this will kill it," he said, smirking at me.
"Sorry Liv, but this one is definitely a little more my style," James teased. "Thank you guys. Lauren and Kinsley are in the kitchen with Damien, but do you guys want the tour?" James took us on a quick tour of the house, which was much larger and newer than his old place. We ended in the kitchen, where Kinsley and Lauren were talking to Damien and another of James's friends.
We mingled, meeting some of James's other friends, and enjoyed the casual get together for awhile. We ended up being some of the last people there, and Kinsley, Lauren, Damien, Brody, James, and I were standing in the kitchen again when the door opened and a loud voice called out, "Having a party without me?" I froze, my head craned in the direction of the door that I couldn't see.
James jumped up from where he was leaning against the counter and hurried towards the door, throwing a quick, worried glance towards me and Brody on the way. Brody looked at me, confused for a second, but then recognition dawned on him.
"Jordan, what are you doing here?" we heard James say. My legs felt untrustworthy and I leaned back against the counter to steady myself. The other sounds in the room faded away and all I could hear was Jordan's voice. I squeezed my eyes shut and sucked in a deep breath, trying to fight the panicky feeling that was rising.
Brody took a step towards the door, but Damien casually moved into the doorway. "Come on, man, you don't want to go out there," he said, calmly.
Brody regarded him, fingers curling into fists, as we heard James and Jordan's raised voices from the entry. "I do, though," he replied, his voice deadly calm. "Get out of my way."
"Why?" Damien asked. "So you can go break his nose again?" He leaned against the doorframe and easily met Brody's gaze. He didn't seem at all intimidated by the couple of inches Brody had on him.
Brody stepped forward again and growled, "I only did what James should have done the first time that piece of shit put his hands on Liv." The sound of my name snapped out of my anxious daze and I walked over to Brody.
"Brody," I said quietly, putting my hand on his arm. "Don't bother, it's not worth it." He didn't reply.
"Let's go outside," Damien suggested. Brody looked from the direction of the door to me. "Liv can come too. Actually, we'll all go."
"Come on," I said. I slid my hand down his arm and wrapped it around his clenched fist. I squeezed gently before working my fingers between his. His hand released and wrapped around mine but he didn't move. "Brody," I pleaded softly. "Please." He looked down at me, then he turned towards the back door. I breathed a sigh of relief as we all moved outside to the deck.
Damien stopped just outside the door, leaning casually against the wall. I knew he was there to try to stop Brody if he changed his mind. It was chilly and I shivered as I stepped to the railing and leaned against it, trying to stop my legs from trembling. Brody wrapped his arms tightly around me from behind. Even now, I could feel that all his muscles were tense, like he was still ready to fight. I slid one hand up his sleeve and gently stroked his wrist with my fingertips.
"Are you okay?" he asked quietly in my ear. I nodded and leaned my head back against his chest. I felt the taut muscles in his arms relax incrementally as he rested his chin on the top of my head.
When the door opened, we all turned to look. It was James, and he was alone. "You get him out?" Damien asked.
"I got him passed out in bed. He's drunk as hell," James reported, rubbing his hand over his short hair. He looked over to me and Brody. "I'm sorry, Liv. He wasn't invited. I don't know why he even came here."
I shrugged as best as I could with Brody's arms wrapped around me. "It's okay, thanks for dealing with him." Brody remained silent, and I was thankful for that. "I do think we'll probably go, though," I continued.
James nodded. "I don't blame you."
We walked back inside, and I put a hand on James's arm as everyone else walked towards the door. When we were alone in the kitchen I said, "Are you okay?"
He laughed. "I should be asking you that." When I didn't reply, he sighed. "I don't know, Liv. His drinking is getting out of hand. He's out of control when he's drunk. I'm pretty fed up with him."
"I'm sorry," I said with a grimace. "That's so tough."
He shook his head. "I'll talk to him tomorrow. I'm really sorry."
Brody appeared in the doorway. "Ready, Liv?" he asked. He glanced briefly at James, but didn't address him.
"Yeah, I'm coming," I replied. I gave James a quick hug and walked over to Brody. He took my hand as we walked out. We said goodbye and headed to my car. We were quiet as I drove us back to my house, and I wondered if something besides Jordan appearing was bothering him.
I went straight to my bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. When I came out, Brody went in. I laid down in bed and waited for him. When Brody got into bed next to me, he immediately moved over against my back. "I love you, Liv," he said, as we wrapped his arm around me and pulled me closer.
"I love you too," I replied. "Are you done being all weird?" He was quiet for a long time. "Brody?"
"This wouldn't have happened if I was here," he said, finally.
"What are you talking about?" I asked, confused.
"If I hadn't gone to Miami," he replied. "If I had been here the whole time, you never would have dated James and you'd never have met Jordan."
I lifted his arm off of me and rolled over to face him. "Are you seriously blaming yourself for this? Brody, you had to go to Miami. And anyway, it wasn't that big of a deal."
"That's not true," he argued, pushing a piece of hair out of my face. "I know what happened. I can guess what else might have happened if James didn't happen to find you guys when he did. I saw the bruise on your arm, and more importantly, I see how freaked out you are when we run into him."
"Yes," I agreed. "The whole thing sucked, and it was scary, and my preference would be to never see Jordan again. But it could have been a lot worse, and it wasn't. And even when you are here, you can't protect me from all the bad things in the world."
"I can try," he said stubbornly. I sighed and slid closer to him, pushing my fingers into his hair. There was no point in arguing with an overprotective man. Instead, I kissed him.
"Why don't you put all that testosterone to better use?" I asked, wrapping one of my legs around his. He rolled on top of me and kissed me hard, nudging my legs apart with his knee. He pulled the flimsy straps of my thin tank top down and lowered his head, grazing his teeth gently across one breast. I arched up against him and reached down for his shorts. He grabbed both of my arms by the wrists and pinned them up by my ears, then kissed me gently. The contrast of my pinned arms and the tender kiss drove me mad, and I pressed my hips against his and nipped at his bottom lip.
He shifted back and pulled off my shorts and then his own. Then he lowered his head between my legs and I moaned as his lips and tongue moved over my skin. I tried to pull him back up to me, but he was clearly on a mission and he didn't stop until I cried out. He slid his hand up my trembling leg as he kissed his way back up my body. I grabbed his arms and pulled him up, desperate to have him inside of me.
I guided him into me and he pushed slowly against me. I arched my back and wrapped my legs around him, pulling him hard into me. He got the hint and drove into me fast, causing me to gasp and dig my fingers into his arms. By the time we were finished, we were both sweaty and breathless. I curled against his side, my fingers absently trailing across across his chest and stomach. "I needed that," I muttered.
Brody kissed the top of my head and pushed my damp hair back. "That makes two of us," he replied with a laugh, stroking my shoulder gently. "I feel a whole lot better now."
"Does that mean you're not going to protect me from the monster under the bed?" I teased.
"That monster doesn't stand a chance," he boasted. I laughed. "Seriously though, Liv, I protect the people I love. I can't help it. I know you don't want to be protected so I'll try to keep it reasonable, but I can't just stop."
"I get it," I said. "And I guess that it's not the end of the world to have such a dedicated bodyguard, but I appreciate you trying to keep it reasonable."
"It'll be tough, considering there's nothing reasonable about how much I love you," he said softly, squeezing my arm gently.
"There's nothing reasonable about me, so it makes sense," I joked, always ready to ruin a sappy moment.
"That's for sure," Brody agreed with a chuckle. I yawned and snuggled into him.
"I love you unreasonably too," I managed, before drifting off to sleep.
____________________________________
On Saturday, Brody, Kinsley, Lauren, and I went to James's housewarming party. I was still a little weirded out by James and Brody's budding friendship, but it was certainly better than the alternative.
"A plant? I don't exactly have a green thumb..." James said, looking skeptically at the pot I offered him.
I grinned. "Every house needs at least one plant. And anyway, some people call this one a 'Mother-in-Law's Tongue.' It's damn near impossible to kill." He laughed and took the plant, thanking me.
Brody handed him the rest of our gift, a bottle of vodka. "I bet this will kill it," he said, smirking at me.
"Sorry Liv, but this one is definitely a little more my style," James teased. "Thank you guys. Lauren and Kinsley are in the kitchen with Damien, but do you guys want the tour?" James took us on a quick tour of the house, which was much larger and newer than his old place. We ended in the kitchen, where Kinsley and Lauren were talking to Damien and another of James's friends.
We mingled, meeting some of James's other friends, and enjoyed the casual get together for awhile. We ended up being some of the last people there, and Kinsley, Lauren, Damien, Brody, James, and I were standing in the kitchen again when the door opened and a loud voice called out, "Having a party without me?" I froze, my head craned in the direction of the door that I couldn't see.
James jumped up from where he was leaning against the counter and hurried towards the door, throwing a quick, worried glance towards me and Brody on the way. Brody looked at me, confused for a second, but then recognition dawned on him.
"Jordan, what are you doing here?" we heard James say. My legs felt untrustworthy and I leaned back against the counter to steady myself. The other sounds in the room faded away and all I could hear was Jordan's voice. I squeezed my eyes shut and sucked in a deep breath, trying to fight the panicky feeling that was rising.
Brody took a step towards the door, but Damien casually moved into the doorway. "Come on, man, you don't want to go out there," he said, calmly.
Brody regarded him, fingers curling into fists, as we heard James and Jordan's raised voices from the entry. "I do, though," he replied, his voice deadly calm. "Get out of my way."
"Why?" Damien asked. "So you can go break his nose again?" He leaned against the doorframe and easily met Brody's gaze. He didn't seem at all intimidated by the couple of inches Brody had on him.
Brody stepped forward again and growled, "I only did what James should have done the first time that piece of shit put his hands on Liv." The sound of my name snapped out of my anxious daze and I walked over to Brody.
"Brody," I said quietly, putting my hand on his arm. "Don't bother, it's not worth it." He didn't reply.
"Let's go outside," Damien suggested. Brody looked from the direction of the door to me. "Liv can come too. Actually, we'll all go."
"Come on," I said. I slid my hand down his arm and wrapped it around his clenched fist. I squeezed gently before working my fingers between his. His hand released and wrapped around mine but he didn't move. "Brody," I pleaded softly. "Please." He looked down at me, then he turned towards the back door. I breathed a sigh of relief as we all moved outside to the deck.
Damien stopped just outside the door, leaning casually against the wall. I knew he was there to try to stop Brody if he changed his mind. It was chilly and I shivered as I stepped to the railing and leaned against it, trying to stop my legs from trembling. Brody wrapped his arms tightly around me from behind. Even now, I could feel that all his muscles were tense, like he was still ready to fight. I slid one hand up his sleeve and gently stroked his wrist with my fingertips.
"Are you okay?" he asked quietly in my ear. I nodded and leaned my head back against his chest. I felt the taut muscles in his arms relax incrementally as he rested his chin on the top of my head.
When the door opened, we all turned to look. It was James, and he was alone. "You get him out?" Damien asked.
"I got him passed out in bed. He's drunk as hell," James reported, rubbing his hand over his short hair. He looked over to me and Brody. "I'm sorry, Liv. He wasn't invited. I don't know why he even came here."
I shrugged as best as I could with Brody's arms wrapped around me. "It's okay, thanks for dealing with him." Brody remained silent, and I was thankful for that. "I do think we'll probably go, though," I continued.
James nodded. "I don't blame you."
We walked back inside, and I put a hand on James's arm as everyone else walked towards the door. When we were alone in the kitchen I said, "Are you okay?"
He laughed. "I should be asking you that." When I didn't reply, he sighed. "I don't know, Liv. His drinking is getting out of hand. He's out of control when he's drunk. I'm pretty fed up with him."
"I'm sorry," I said with a grimace. "That's so tough."
He shook his head. "I'll talk to him tomorrow. I'm really sorry."
Brody appeared in the doorway. "Ready, Liv?" he asked. He glanced briefly at James, but didn't address him.
"Yeah, I'm coming," I replied. I gave James a quick hug and walked over to Brody. He took my hand as we walked out. We said goodbye and headed to my car. We were quiet as I drove us back to my house, and I wondered if something besides Jordan appearing was bothering him.
I went straight to my bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. When I came out, Brody went in. I laid down in bed and waited for him. When Brody got into bed next to me, he immediately moved over against my back. "I love you, Liv," he said, as we wrapped his arm around me and pulled me closer.
"I love you too," I replied. "Are you done being all weird?" He was quiet for a long time. "Brody?"
"This wouldn't have happened if I was here," he said, finally.
"What are you talking about?" I asked, confused.
"If I hadn't gone to Miami," he replied. "If I had been here the whole time, you never would have dated James and you'd never have met Jordan."
I lifted his arm off of me and rolled over to face him. "Are you seriously blaming yourself for this? Brody, you had to go to Miami. And anyway, it wasn't that big of a deal."
"That's not true," he argued, pushing a piece of hair out of my face. "I know what happened. I can guess what else might have happened if James didn't happen to find you guys when he did. I saw the bruise on your arm, and more importantly, I see how freaked out you are when we run into him."
"Yes," I agreed. "The whole thing sucked, and it was scary, and my preference would be to never see Jordan again. But it could have been a lot worse, and it wasn't. And even when you are here, you can't protect me from all the bad things in the world."
"I can try," he said stubbornly. I sighed and slid closer to him, pushing my fingers into his hair. There was no point in arguing with an overprotective man. Instead, I kissed him.
"Why don't you put all that testosterone to better use?" I asked, wrapping one of my legs around his. He rolled on top of me and kissed me hard, nudging my legs apart with his knee. He pulled the flimsy straps of my thin tank top down and lowered his head, grazing his teeth gently across one breast. I arched up against him and reached down for his shorts. He grabbed both of my arms by the wrists and pinned them up by my ears, then kissed me gently. The contrast of my pinned arms and the tender kiss drove me mad, and I pressed my hips against his and nipped at his bottom lip.
He shifted back and pulled off my shorts and then his own. Then he lowered his head between my legs and I moaned as his lips and tongue moved over my skin. I tried to pull him back up to me, but he was clearly on a mission and he didn't stop until I cried out. He slid his hand up my trembling leg as he kissed his way back up my body. I grabbed his arms and pulled him up, desperate to have him inside of me.
I guided him into me and he pushed slowly against me. I arched my back and wrapped my legs around him, pulling him hard into me. He got the hint and drove into me fast, causing me to gasp and dig my fingers into his arms. By the time we were finished, we were both sweaty and breathless. I curled against his side, my fingers absently trailing across across his chest and stomach. "I needed that," I muttered.
Brody kissed the top of my head and pushed my damp hair back. "That makes two of us," he replied with a laugh, stroking my shoulder gently. "I feel a whole lot better now."
"Does that mean you're not going to protect me from the monster under the bed?" I teased.
"That monster doesn't stand a chance," he boasted. I laughed. "Seriously though, Liv, I protect the people I love. I can't help it. I know you don't want to be protected so I'll try to keep it reasonable, but I can't just stop."
"I get it," I said. "And I guess that it's not the end of the world to have such a dedicated bodyguard, but I appreciate you trying to keep it reasonable."
"It'll be tough, considering there's nothing reasonable about how much I love you," he said softly, squeezing my arm gently.
"There's nothing reasonable about me, so it makes sense," I joked, always ready to ruin a sappy moment.
"That's for sure," Brody agreed with a chuckle. I yawned and snuggled into him.
"I love you unreasonably too," I managed, before drifting off to sleep.
Monday, November 24, 2014
(Now) Brody: Meet the Parents: Dad
I woke up suddenly when Liv shot out of bed, and I was confused and concerned. In the dark room, I could just barely see her standing next to the bed. "Liv?" I asked, worried. "What's wrong?" When she didn't answer right away, I sat up.
She sat down heavily on the edge of the bed and finally responded. "Nothing, nightmare. Sorry. I'll be right back." As soon as the word "nightmare" was out of her mouth, I felt an overwhelming urge to hit something, hard. Preferably Jordan's smug, cruel face.
When she slipped back into bed and curled up next to me, I could feel her shaking still. "You're shaking," I murmured softly, wrapping my arms around her. "Must have been some nightmare."
"Jordan," she whispered, and the confirmation of my suspicions just fueled my anger at him. If I ever get the chance to get my hands on him again...
But right now, I have other things to deal with. "Do you want to talk about it?" When she shook her head, I was selfishly relieved. Had she wanted to talk, I'd have gladly listened, but my anger at Jordan didn't need anymore prodding. I focused on trying to soothe Liv, which was a much more productive use of my energy right now. I felt her tense muscles start to relax as I massaged her scalp and neck, and her head grew heavier against my chest. But try as I might, I couldn't lull her back into sleep. She spent the next several hours tossing and turning before she finally stilled. I looked at the clock and saw it was already after 5. Looks like we were both going into dinner with my dad on a shitty night's sleep.
I finally fell back to sleep too, but woke up again around 8. I tried to decide if I'd be able to get up without waking Liv, who was thankfully still sleeping. Her hand was on my arm, and I tentatively moved my arm. As soon as it moved, Liv stirred. Shit. I'd stay here for awhile then. I laid there for nearly an hour until I could stand it anymore, and then slowly pulled my arm out from under her hand. She didn't move until I got carefully out of bed. Damn it, so close.
"What time is it?" she asked, blinking sleepily at me.
"Almost 9," I replied softly, smoothing her hair off her forehead and kissing her gently. "You should go back to sleep if you can." She nodded and shut her eyes. I quietly pulled on shorts and a sweatshirt and left the room.
My mom was the only person moving around and I found her in the kitchen. "Good morning," she said, smiling brightly at me. "How did you sleep?"
"Not good," I admitted, pouring myself a cup of coffee from the coffee pot. "Liv had a nightmare, and we both had a hard time falling back asleep. This coffee is really good."
"Thanks, it's from the coffee shop in town that I like. A nightmare?" She looked concerned, and I almost smiled. Leave it to my mom to be worried about someone that she's just met.
"Yeah, she has them sometimes," I replied. I changed the subject, asking what time Ken's flight was.
"It's at 11. Jen is taking him to the airport right now. She said she had a couple errands to run and she'll back by lunchtime. Does Olivia like French toast?"
"She does," I replied.
"Do you want bacon or sausage?" Mom asked, surveying the fridge.
"Sausage," I answered automatically. Mom raised an eyebrow at me. "Liv doesn't like bacon. But you can make either, she won't mind."
"Sausage it is," she replied with a broad grin. "Brody, Olivia is lovely. I'm so happy you brought her here to meet us. I'm sorry that Ken couldn't act more appropriately, though I wasn't exactly pleased with your behavior in response, either." She tried to give me a disapproving look, but failed, her face cracking into a slight smile.
"Frankly, Mom, Ken's lucky that all I did was kick him under the table," I grumbled.
"Oh really? And how are you going to handle your father tonight then? Because I'm sure Kenneth will look perfectly pleasant compared to him. Do you really think it's wise to take her with you? She can stay here and keep Jen and I company, you know. We'd love to have her."
"I've told her that she has that option if she wants it," I replied. "I'm not going to push her into it if she doesn't want to go. But...she needs to know. Mom, I love her, and if she can't deal with him, then I need to know now."
My mom paused her egg whisking and looked at me, surprise evident on her face. Then she smiled, slowly. "Do you think she can handle him?"
I laughed drily. "I'm actually a little more worried about him handling her. She's a force to be reckoned with when she's angry. She could make any man miserable, even him. Hopefully he doesn't piss her off too much."
"I take that to mean you've pissed her off and been made miserable, hmmm?" my mom asked, her voice gently teasing. "Shame on you."
I could barely contain my laughter at my mom's scolding. "Shouldn't you be on my side?" I asked indignantly.
"Absolutely not. What is it that they call it? Girl code?" I nodded and burst into laughter, no longer able to contain it. My mom nodded curtly, still keeping a straight face somehow. "It's girl code. So you be nice to her, or you'll hear it from her, me, and your sister!"
"I guess I'm lucky that Liv is an only child," I grumbled.
"Oh, you certainly are," my mom said ominously. Then she cocked her head towards the ceiling and said, "I think she's up. Take her some coffee, I'm sure she'll appreciate it after a poor night's sleep. Breakfast will be ready in about 15 minutes."
I poured a cup of coffee, added some creamer and a little sugar, and walked up to the room we were sharing. I opened the door and slipped in. Liv was nearly dressed (damn) but she looked exhausted. I gently tilted her chin up to examine her face and kissed her on the forehead. She smiled at me as I handed over the coffee.
"Did you get any sleep?" I asked her, even though I knew the answer.
"Not really, and I'm guessing you didn't either," she replied contritely. "I'm sorry."
"I slept some," I said shrugging. "Better than you, I imagine." Leave it to Liv to be up in the middle of the night with a nightmare bad enough that she bolted out of bed and was still shaking for 15 minutes after, but then still be concerned about how I slept.
We went downstairs for breakfast, which perked her up considerably. After my mom disappeared with her "things to do," I suggested we go for a walk. Liv happily agreed and we bundled up and headed out.
We had fun exploring and while we were playing in the snow at the park, she finally looked relaxed and happy. She'd been so stressed out lately from work and her anxiety about this weekend, it was good to see her smile and actually have fun. By the time we got back and showered, she looked awake and bright again and I was relieved.
Then, when we were leaving to go meet my dad, she looked much more relaxed than I felt. I could tell she was nervous, but she didn't seem nearly as stressed as she had been on the drive down here and when I told her about the dinner. I probably shouldn't have sprung that on her, but if I had told her sooner, she just would have worried about it longer.
I wasn't surprised when we found out my dad was already there, and I knew it would be strike one against us, even though we were still ten minutes early. I was surprised to see a young woman sitting next to him. I couldn't help but wonder how much he'd paid her to be here tonight.
I swallowed my irritation when my dad didn't stand up to greet us. It was an obvious exercise of his imagined power and I suddenly wished I would have left Olivia home with my mom and sister. Liv was perfectly polite when introduced and my dad nothing but start to grill her. I couldn't resist jumping in, and was shocked by his admonition, complete with accusing me of manipulating both her and him. He accused me. Of manipulating people. I was so surprised by the entire exchange that I couldn't even formulate a response before he was back to grilling her.
His questions and responses were each tinged with just enough disdain and contempt to be obvious to me but not so much that I had something concrete to call him on. I sat in awe at Liv's composure. She was fielding his questions perfectly, politely, and even tried to make conversation with his...date. I wanted nothing more than to jump in and rescue her from his barrage of questions, but I knew it would make it worse for both of us. Plus, Liv was really holding her own. There wasn't a trace of annoyance on her face, and the only answer that made me pause was her very short, "I'm not," and subject change in response to my dad pointing out that she doesn't look Italian. It was obvious to me that was not a subject she'd be elaborating on tonight, and I made a mental note to ask her about it later.
When he started asking about what her parents did, I'd about reached my limit, and I cut in. He snapped back at me and then continued asking questions. Liv gave me a small smile and squeezed my leg reassuringly and I was again awed at how she was handling this. I was impressed and grateful and quite frankly, I'm not sure I'd ever loved her more than I did right now.
Then my dad asked how many children she had. Not "Do you have any children?" but "How many?" A blatant implication that she was just like anyone else I'd ever...been with. That she was a whore, a slut, perhaps using me for my money because my dad tended to assume that about every woman. Liv had proven she could handle the benign questions, as contemptuous as they were, but I was not going to allow him to make these types of insinuations about her. I was absolutely done with this idiocy and I didn't care what the repercussions would be as I snapped, "Enough!" at him. It was far too loud for the setting we were in, but it got his attention. He met my eyes and we stared each other down for several seconds before the server came to the table to take our order.
After he left, Liv murmured that she was going to find the restroom. I stood and pulled out her chair and when she met my eyes she smiled. She still looked perfectly calm and put together, which was more than I could say for myself.
As soon as she was out of earshot, I turned to my father. "How fucking dare you," I growled at him. He raised his eyebrows in an expression of surprise that might have fooled someone that wasn't related to him. "I will not sit here and let you insult my girlfriend any further. This stops now, or we go."
"I was simply making conversation, Brody," he replied calmly.
"You and I both know there isn't an ounce of truth to that statement. You can drop your shocked and innocent act. You've spent 30 years pushing me around, but now it's over. And if you think for one second that I will let you push someone I love around, you have another thing coming. If you really feel the need to be a sneaky, underhanded asshole tonight, do it to me. I'll take it. Hell, I'll take it with a smile and a 'yes sir', but you will not fucking do it to Olivia anymore."
Now my dad's face looked vaguely impressed. "Well, well," he replied, the corners of his lips turning up in a slight smile that looked nothing short of menacing and evil. "No wonder you finally found the balls to stand up to me. It's just too bad it's a woman that has you utilizing your skills. Women come and go." He glanced dispassionately at the young woman sitting next to him, who frowned in confusion.
I leaned forward and said, still angry, "You are finished with your bullshit tonight. If you so much as insinuate that Olivia is anything less than a perfect fucking angel and the most wonderful person in the entire world, we are done. Not just with dinner. With you. Forever. You will get nothing from me. I will pretend you're dead, and I won't be sorry."
Now my dad looked genuinely surprised. I admit that the last sentence was a little over the top, but that was the only way to drive home a point with my father. And I know, that as much as he acts like a complete asshole with no care in the world for others, he would not be pleased to never speak to me again. Who would he control then? "You really do love her," he said softly, his tone one of wonderment--not his usual tone at all.
I looked up and saw Liv approaching. "Yes," I replied. "I really do love her. More than I thought possible. So remember your manners." My dad gave me a curt nod, and I forced my face to relax as I stood to pull out Liv's chair for her. As I sat, I gave him one last hard look.
Of course, my dad couldn't do anything just the way someone else wanted, especially after being threatened. So instead of just being polite and nice the rest of the meal, he took what I demanded of him and ran with it. He shut out his date and me, and focused all his pleasant attention on Liv. He was nothing but polite, friendly, and charming, so I couldn't even say a word about it. At least it was clear that he took my threat seriously, even if he still had to get his stab in at me. That's okay though, I told him I would take it, and it was better me than Liv.
When he cheerfully asked about dessert, I was still too angry to even entertain the idea. I was reasonably certain that I would have been better able to handle this whole situation if I hadn't started my day at 2am with serious anger towards Jordan. Fucking Jordan.
When Liv offered to drive, I gladly took her up on it. I didn't think she'd appreciate my angry driving. It was definitely better if she drove. I was thankful she was perceptive enough to not try to talk to me. I couldn't even remember the last time I had been this angry, and the last thing I wanted to do was snap at Liv just because she had the bad fortune to have to be near me right now.
When we got home, I stalked straight downstairs without a word to anyone. I knew my mom and sister would take care of anything Liv needed, and right now I needed to burn off some of this anger so I could tell her how much tonight meant to me.
I pushed open the door to the room with my bag and the treadmill. I tugged off my stupid tie and took off my shirt. I liked this shirt. It didn't need to take the brunt of my anger. Over and over I slammed my bare fists into the bag, feeling every hit reverberate painfully up my arms. I hit the bag until Jordan and my dad faded out of my mind, and all that was left was the amazing way that Liv dealt with the entire evening. I knew that she'd hold her own. If I hadn't been confident in that, I wouldn't have taken her. But I couldn't have anticipated the grace with which she'd handle my father--and me for that matter.
I stopped, finally, my arms shaky and feeling like overchewed gum, my hands throbbing angrily. I leaned against the wall, examining my knuckles and considering all the ways that Liv had blown my mind in the few short months we'd been together.
When she walked into the room with a smile, teasing me about my hands, I was relieved. I wasn't sure how she'd react to my anger. Granted, she might not have had such a nice response if she had heard what I'd said to my dad while she was in the bathroom. I hoped she wouldn't ask about it. I wouldn't lie if she did, but I definitely preferred her to not know how low I'd stooped to get him to act semi-appropriately.
Liv seemed to sleep great that night, but I didn't. I tried to go back to sleep after we had sex, but just as I drifted off, my phone rang. I rolled carefully out of bed and answered out in the hall. It was a quick call, but I knew I wasn't going back to sleep. I wandered downstairs and found my mom in the kitchen again.
My mom greeted me with a cup of coffee and once I was settled with it, she asked, "Well, how'd she do?"
"She was amazing, Mom. I knew she'd be okay, but she was unbelievable." I grimaced and said, "Actually, she handled him much better than I did."
My mom pursed her lips, then asked, "What did you do?"
"I lost it," I admitted. "Only once, and not in front of Liv, at least. He was being absolutely awful to her. I was so angry. After he essentially implied that she was a gold-digging whore, I chewed him out. And I....I threatened him."
"Brody," my mom chided. "Dare I ask?"
I put my head in my hands, miserable at the memory. "I told him I'd cut him out. Never speak to him again. I said...I said I'd pretend he was dead and I wouldn't be sorry."
My mom simply stared at me for a moment, then said, "Well, what's done is done, no sense in beating yourself up over it. I'm just sorry you let him get under your skin so badly."
"I just couldn't understand why he was being so awful to her. I expected him to be a jerk, but he was far beyond that," I said, frustrated.
"You really don't know?" my mom asked, looking surprised. I looked up in confusion. "Honey, he's threatened by her. You were the only one left in this family that he had any control over, and that was just because of the company." I considered this. My mom and brother hadn't spoken to him in years, as far as I knew. And my sister only did when she had to. I was stuck under his thumb as long as he was my boss. "You know he called me, right?"
"What do you mean? Called you when?" I asked, still confused.
"Hmmm, I believe it was when you went down to sort of the mess with his manager? The first time, before he offered you the shares and new position. He asked me if you had been seeing anyone. He knew. I think he was worried about losing his control over you."
"So, he...what? Offered me the position and shares as a last ditch effort to keep me under his thumb forever?" I asked, astounded.
"I think that's exactly what he did," my mom replied calmly. "And when you defied him by not only not taking the position, but buying him out, you sent him into a serious tailspin." I gaped at her, stunned and disappointed in myself for not figuring it all out sooner. "Are you okay?" she asked me.
"I'm...I don't know," I muttered. "I'm going downstairs. To the treadmill. If Liv gets up, will you keep her occupied? I just need to wrap my head around this."
"Of course, sweetheart. I was thinking brunch at 11 before you leave, is that okay?" I nodded.
I slipped silently into our room, being as quiet as possible while I grabbed socks and my shoes. Liv didn't move, and I was glad she was sleeping. She needed it. I looked at my watch. It was just after 9, giving me plenty of time to pound out some miles on the treadmill. My arms and hands were sore from my punching bag assault the night before, but my fingers and knuckles were surprisingly only a little swollen. Good form, I guess. Now I could make my legs hurt too.
I ran at a brutal pace for 45 minutes, only stopping when I was worried that my legs would actually give out. I hadn't spent enough time running lately, and my body was protesting. I felt a million times better now, though. I flexed my arms and stretched my legs, savoring the soreness that represented the anger I had worked out.
As nice as it was to see my mom and sister, I was relieved when Liv and I headed out. I was also relieved that she wasn't interested in going out and that she wanted to spend the night with me. I couldn't imagine a better way to round out this insane holiday weekend than sleeping in my own bed with the woman I loved.
She sat down heavily on the edge of the bed and finally responded. "Nothing, nightmare. Sorry. I'll be right back." As soon as the word "nightmare" was out of her mouth, I felt an overwhelming urge to hit something, hard. Preferably Jordan's smug, cruel face.
When she slipped back into bed and curled up next to me, I could feel her shaking still. "You're shaking," I murmured softly, wrapping my arms around her. "Must have been some nightmare."
"Jordan," she whispered, and the confirmation of my suspicions just fueled my anger at him. If I ever get the chance to get my hands on him again...
But right now, I have other things to deal with. "Do you want to talk about it?" When she shook her head, I was selfishly relieved. Had she wanted to talk, I'd have gladly listened, but my anger at Jordan didn't need anymore prodding. I focused on trying to soothe Liv, which was a much more productive use of my energy right now. I felt her tense muscles start to relax as I massaged her scalp and neck, and her head grew heavier against my chest. But try as I might, I couldn't lull her back into sleep. She spent the next several hours tossing and turning before she finally stilled. I looked at the clock and saw it was already after 5. Looks like we were both going into dinner with my dad on a shitty night's sleep.
I finally fell back to sleep too, but woke up again around 8. I tried to decide if I'd be able to get up without waking Liv, who was thankfully still sleeping. Her hand was on my arm, and I tentatively moved my arm. As soon as it moved, Liv stirred. Shit. I'd stay here for awhile then. I laid there for nearly an hour until I could stand it anymore, and then slowly pulled my arm out from under her hand. She didn't move until I got carefully out of bed. Damn it, so close.
"What time is it?" she asked, blinking sleepily at me.
"Almost 9," I replied softly, smoothing her hair off her forehead and kissing her gently. "You should go back to sleep if you can." She nodded and shut her eyes. I quietly pulled on shorts and a sweatshirt and left the room.
My mom was the only person moving around and I found her in the kitchen. "Good morning," she said, smiling brightly at me. "How did you sleep?"
"Not good," I admitted, pouring myself a cup of coffee from the coffee pot. "Liv had a nightmare, and we both had a hard time falling back asleep. This coffee is really good."
"Thanks, it's from the coffee shop in town that I like. A nightmare?" She looked concerned, and I almost smiled. Leave it to my mom to be worried about someone that she's just met.
"Yeah, she has them sometimes," I replied. I changed the subject, asking what time Ken's flight was.
"It's at 11. Jen is taking him to the airport right now. She said she had a couple errands to run and she'll back by lunchtime. Does Olivia like French toast?"
"She does," I replied.
"Do you want bacon or sausage?" Mom asked, surveying the fridge.
"Sausage," I answered automatically. Mom raised an eyebrow at me. "Liv doesn't like bacon. But you can make either, she won't mind."
"Sausage it is," she replied with a broad grin. "Brody, Olivia is lovely. I'm so happy you brought her here to meet us. I'm sorry that Ken couldn't act more appropriately, though I wasn't exactly pleased with your behavior in response, either." She tried to give me a disapproving look, but failed, her face cracking into a slight smile.
"Frankly, Mom, Ken's lucky that all I did was kick him under the table," I grumbled.
"Oh really? And how are you going to handle your father tonight then? Because I'm sure Kenneth will look perfectly pleasant compared to him. Do you really think it's wise to take her with you? She can stay here and keep Jen and I company, you know. We'd love to have her."
"I've told her that she has that option if she wants it," I replied. "I'm not going to push her into it if she doesn't want to go. But...she needs to know. Mom, I love her, and if she can't deal with him, then I need to know now."
My mom paused her egg whisking and looked at me, surprise evident on her face. Then she smiled, slowly. "Do you think she can handle him?"
I laughed drily. "I'm actually a little more worried about him handling her. She's a force to be reckoned with when she's angry. She could make any man miserable, even him. Hopefully he doesn't piss her off too much."
"I take that to mean you've pissed her off and been made miserable, hmmm?" my mom asked, her voice gently teasing. "Shame on you."
I could barely contain my laughter at my mom's scolding. "Shouldn't you be on my side?" I asked indignantly.
"Absolutely not. What is it that they call it? Girl code?" I nodded and burst into laughter, no longer able to contain it. My mom nodded curtly, still keeping a straight face somehow. "It's girl code. So you be nice to her, or you'll hear it from her, me, and your sister!"
"I guess I'm lucky that Liv is an only child," I grumbled.
"Oh, you certainly are," my mom said ominously. Then she cocked her head towards the ceiling and said, "I think she's up. Take her some coffee, I'm sure she'll appreciate it after a poor night's sleep. Breakfast will be ready in about 15 minutes."
I poured a cup of coffee, added some creamer and a little sugar, and walked up to the room we were sharing. I opened the door and slipped in. Liv was nearly dressed (damn) but she looked exhausted. I gently tilted her chin up to examine her face and kissed her on the forehead. She smiled at me as I handed over the coffee.
"Did you get any sleep?" I asked her, even though I knew the answer.
"Not really, and I'm guessing you didn't either," she replied contritely. "I'm sorry."
"I slept some," I said shrugging. "Better than you, I imagine." Leave it to Liv to be up in the middle of the night with a nightmare bad enough that she bolted out of bed and was still shaking for 15 minutes after, but then still be concerned about how I slept.
We went downstairs for breakfast, which perked her up considerably. After my mom disappeared with her "things to do," I suggested we go for a walk. Liv happily agreed and we bundled up and headed out.
We had fun exploring and while we were playing in the snow at the park, she finally looked relaxed and happy. She'd been so stressed out lately from work and her anxiety about this weekend, it was good to see her smile and actually have fun. By the time we got back and showered, she looked awake and bright again and I was relieved.
Then, when we were leaving to go meet my dad, she looked much more relaxed than I felt. I could tell she was nervous, but she didn't seem nearly as stressed as she had been on the drive down here and when I told her about the dinner. I probably shouldn't have sprung that on her, but if I had told her sooner, she just would have worried about it longer.
I wasn't surprised when we found out my dad was already there, and I knew it would be strike one against us, even though we were still ten minutes early. I was surprised to see a young woman sitting next to him. I couldn't help but wonder how much he'd paid her to be here tonight.
I swallowed my irritation when my dad didn't stand up to greet us. It was an obvious exercise of his imagined power and I suddenly wished I would have left Olivia home with my mom and sister. Liv was perfectly polite when introduced and my dad nothing but start to grill her. I couldn't resist jumping in, and was shocked by his admonition, complete with accusing me of manipulating both her and him. He accused me. Of manipulating people. I was so surprised by the entire exchange that I couldn't even formulate a response before he was back to grilling her.
His questions and responses were each tinged with just enough disdain and contempt to be obvious to me but not so much that I had something concrete to call him on. I sat in awe at Liv's composure. She was fielding his questions perfectly, politely, and even tried to make conversation with his...date. I wanted nothing more than to jump in and rescue her from his barrage of questions, but I knew it would make it worse for both of us. Plus, Liv was really holding her own. There wasn't a trace of annoyance on her face, and the only answer that made me pause was her very short, "I'm not," and subject change in response to my dad pointing out that she doesn't look Italian. It was obvious to me that was not a subject she'd be elaborating on tonight, and I made a mental note to ask her about it later.
When he started asking about what her parents did, I'd about reached my limit, and I cut in. He snapped back at me and then continued asking questions. Liv gave me a small smile and squeezed my leg reassuringly and I was again awed at how she was handling this. I was impressed and grateful and quite frankly, I'm not sure I'd ever loved her more than I did right now.
Then my dad asked how many children she had. Not "Do you have any children?" but "How many?" A blatant implication that she was just like anyone else I'd ever...been with. That she was a whore, a slut, perhaps using me for my money because my dad tended to assume that about every woman. Liv had proven she could handle the benign questions, as contemptuous as they were, but I was not going to allow him to make these types of insinuations about her. I was absolutely done with this idiocy and I didn't care what the repercussions would be as I snapped, "Enough!" at him. It was far too loud for the setting we were in, but it got his attention. He met my eyes and we stared each other down for several seconds before the server came to the table to take our order.
After he left, Liv murmured that she was going to find the restroom. I stood and pulled out her chair and when she met my eyes she smiled. She still looked perfectly calm and put together, which was more than I could say for myself.
As soon as she was out of earshot, I turned to my father. "How fucking dare you," I growled at him. He raised his eyebrows in an expression of surprise that might have fooled someone that wasn't related to him. "I will not sit here and let you insult my girlfriend any further. This stops now, or we go."
"I was simply making conversation, Brody," he replied calmly.
"You and I both know there isn't an ounce of truth to that statement. You can drop your shocked and innocent act. You've spent 30 years pushing me around, but now it's over. And if you think for one second that I will let you push someone I love around, you have another thing coming. If you really feel the need to be a sneaky, underhanded asshole tonight, do it to me. I'll take it. Hell, I'll take it with a smile and a 'yes sir', but you will not fucking do it to Olivia anymore."
Now my dad's face looked vaguely impressed. "Well, well," he replied, the corners of his lips turning up in a slight smile that looked nothing short of menacing and evil. "No wonder you finally found the balls to stand up to me. It's just too bad it's a woman that has you utilizing your skills. Women come and go." He glanced dispassionately at the young woman sitting next to him, who frowned in confusion.
I leaned forward and said, still angry, "You are finished with your bullshit tonight. If you so much as insinuate that Olivia is anything less than a perfect fucking angel and the most wonderful person in the entire world, we are done. Not just with dinner. With you. Forever. You will get nothing from me. I will pretend you're dead, and I won't be sorry."
Now my dad looked genuinely surprised. I admit that the last sentence was a little over the top, but that was the only way to drive home a point with my father. And I know, that as much as he acts like a complete asshole with no care in the world for others, he would not be pleased to never speak to me again. Who would he control then? "You really do love her," he said softly, his tone one of wonderment--not his usual tone at all.
I looked up and saw Liv approaching. "Yes," I replied. "I really do love her. More than I thought possible. So remember your manners." My dad gave me a curt nod, and I forced my face to relax as I stood to pull out Liv's chair for her. As I sat, I gave him one last hard look.
Of course, my dad couldn't do anything just the way someone else wanted, especially after being threatened. So instead of just being polite and nice the rest of the meal, he took what I demanded of him and ran with it. He shut out his date and me, and focused all his pleasant attention on Liv. He was nothing but polite, friendly, and charming, so I couldn't even say a word about it. At least it was clear that he took my threat seriously, even if he still had to get his stab in at me. That's okay though, I told him I would take it, and it was better me than Liv.
When he cheerfully asked about dessert, I was still too angry to even entertain the idea. I was reasonably certain that I would have been better able to handle this whole situation if I hadn't started my day at 2am with serious anger towards Jordan. Fucking Jordan.
When Liv offered to drive, I gladly took her up on it. I didn't think she'd appreciate my angry driving. It was definitely better if she drove. I was thankful she was perceptive enough to not try to talk to me. I couldn't even remember the last time I had been this angry, and the last thing I wanted to do was snap at Liv just because she had the bad fortune to have to be near me right now.
When we got home, I stalked straight downstairs without a word to anyone. I knew my mom and sister would take care of anything Liv needed, and right now I needed to burn off some of this anger so I could tell her how much tonight meant to me.
I pushed open the door to the room with my bag and the treadmill. I tugged off my stupid tie and took off my shirt. I liked this shirt. It didn't need to take the brunt of my anger. Over and over I slammed my bare fists into the bag, feeling every hit reverberate painfully up my arms. I hit the bag until Jordan and my dad faded out of my mind, and all that was left was the amazing way that Liv dealt with the entire evening. I knew that she'd hold her own. If I hadn't been confident in that, I wouldn't have taken her. But I couldn't have anticipated the grace with which she'd handle my father--and me for that matter.
I stopped, finally, my arms shaky and feeling like overchewed gum, my hands throbbing angrily. I leaned against the wall, examining my knuckles and considering all the ways that Liv had blown my mind in the few short months we'd been together.
When she walked into the room with a smile, teasing me about my hands, I was relieved. I wasn't sure how she'd react to my anger. Granted, she might not have had such a nice response if she had heard what I'd said to my dad while she was in the bathroom. I hoped she wouldn't ask about it. I wouldn't lie if she did, but I definitely preferred her to not know how low I'd stooped to get him to act semi-appropriately.
Liv seemed to sleep great that night, but I didn't. I tried to go back to sleep after we had sex, but just as I drifted off, my phone rang. I rolled carefully out of bed and answered out in the hall. It was a quick call, but I knew I wasn't going back to sleep. I wandered downstairs and found my mom in the kitchen again.
My mom greeted me with a cup of coffee and once I was settled with it, she asked, "Well, how'd she do?"
"She was amazing, Mom. I knew she'd be okay, but she was unbelievable." I grimaced and said, "Actually, she handled him much better than I did."
My mom pursed her lips, then asked, "What did you do?"
"I lost it," I admitted. "Only once, and not in front of Liv, at least. He was being absolutely awful to her. I was so angry. After he essentially implied that she was a gold-digging whore, I chewed him out. And I....I threatened him."
"Brody," my mom chided. "Dare I ask?"
I put my head in my hands, miserable at the memory. "I told him I'd cut him out. Never speak to him again. I said...I said I'd pretend he was dead and I wouldn't be sorry."
My mom simply stared at me for a moment, then said, "Well, what's done is done, no sense in beating yourself up over it. I'm just sorry you let him get under your skin so badly."
"I just couldn't understand why he was being so awful to her. I expected him to be a jerk, but he was far beyond that," I said, frustrated.
"You really don't know?" my mom asked, looking surprised. I looked up in confusion. "Honey, he's threatened by her. You were the only one left in this family that he had any control over, and that was just because of the company." I considered this. My mom and brother hadn't spoken to him in years, as far as I knew. And my sister only did when she had to. I was stuck under his thumb as long as he was my boss. "You know he called me, right?"
"What do you mean? Called you when?" I asked, still confused.
"Hmmm, I believe it was when you went down to sort of the mess with his manager? The first time, before he offered you the shares and new position. He asked me if you had been seeing anyone. He knew. I think he was worried about losing his control over you."
"So, he...what? Offered me the position and shares as a last ditch effort to keep me under his thumb forever?" I asked, astounded.
"I think that's exactly what he did," my mom replied calmly. "And when you defied him by not only not taking the position, but buying him out, you sent him into a serious tailspin." I gaped at her, stunned and disappointed in myself for not figuring it all out sooner. "Are you okay?" she asked me.
"I'm...I don't know," I muttered. "I'm going downstairs. To the treadmill. If Liv gets up, will you keep her occupied? I just need to wrap my head around this."
"Of course, sweetheart. I was thinking brunch at 11 before you leave, is that okay?" I nodded.
I slipped silently into our room, being as quiet as possible while I grabbed socks and my shoes. Liv didn't move, and I was glad she was sleeping. She needed it. I looked at my watch. It was just after 9, giving me plenty of time to pound out some miles on the treadmill. My arms and hands were sore from my punching bag assault the night before, but my fingers and knuckles were surprisingly only a little swollen. Good form, I guess. Now I could make my legs hurt too.
I ran at a brutal pace for 45 minutes, only stopping when I was worried that my legs would actually give out. I hadn't spent enough time running lately, and my body was protesting. I felt a million times better now, though. I flexed my arms and stretched my legs, savoring the soreness that represented the anger I had worked out.
As nice as it was to see my mom and sister, I was relieved when Liv and I headed out. I was also relieved that she wasn't interested in going out and that she wanted to spend the night with me. I couldn't imagine a better way to round out this insane holiday weekend than sleeping in my own bed with the woman I loved.
Monday, October 27, 2014
(Now) James: The Challenge
A short bonus with James's perspective.
________________________________________
I was insanely irritated that I got stuck at work late that night. Jordan fucked up a security consult and of course he was out of town, so I got to clean up the mess. When I finally finished, I looked at my watch. A little after 12. I was near Liv's house, but it was awfully late. I didn't want to wake her up if she was sleeping, but I wanted to see her. I decided I'd try.
I didn't think she was going to answer, but she picked up just as the 4th ring started.
"Hey," I said. "I know it's late, but I'm finally done. I'm near your neighborhood so I thought I'd call to see if you were still awake. Since you are, can I swing by?" I was already starting my car, ready to head over to her place.
"No," she replied. "I'm sorry."
"Busy?" I joked. Maybe she had been sleeping. I probably shouldn't have called.
"No. But you're wonderful, and you deserve better than a girl that's in love with someone else."
"I deserve..." I repeated, confused. "What?"
"I'm sorry," she said again. There was finality in her tone.
"Liv--" I tried to interrupt before she hung up.
"Goodnight, James." And then the line went dead.
I sat in my car for a few seconds, staring at my phone. Then I shook my head and pulled onto the street to head home. I wasn't shocked by this, but I guess I didn't think it would happen like this. I'd been expecting things to wrap up soon ever since Kinsley's birthday. Any idiot should have been able to feel the sexual tension between Olivia and Brody. He didn't even try to hide it, even though she was clearly fighting it. Between that, her initial reluctance to go out with me at all, and what had happened with Jordan, I was honestly surprised that we had made it this long.
Thinking about Jordan increased my irritation. Even after growing up with him and watching the alcohol try to eat him alive, I was seriously shocked to walk down that bar hallway and see him holding Liv against the wall. Maybe I shouldn't have been. I don't know. And maybe I should have done more about it, but Liv seemed hell bent on brushing it off. I got no information from Jordan. He just acted like it wasn't a big deal and he didn't do anything wrong. I knew that that meant nothing, but Liv never brought it up again, so I just left it alone. Still, I don't blame her if what happened contributed to her decision.
Really though, I can't even be mad. I was never expecting anything serious with Liv. In fact, I went out with her for the first time for all the wrong reasons. I initially asked her out because I thought she was hot and she seemed really down to earth. When she turned me down, I just wanted to go out with her more. I've always been hooked by challenges. I think it's what makes me enjoy my career so much. When she turned me down, she turned into a challenge.
I wasn't expecting to run into her again so soon, much less twice. After she had turned me down for the third time, I proposed that she meet me for one drink, and if she chose to leave after the one drink, I'd never ask her out again. I knew she wouldn't be able to resist the chance to get me to back off. So really, we both went out for the wrong reasons that first time.
I'm not sure what I expected, but I definitely wasn't expecting to have such a good time. She was brilliant and funny in her own subdued way, and when she told me she'd go out with me again, I was a little surprised that I wasn't completely uninterested now that the challenge was gone. I definitely wanted to go out with her again, but it's not like I was looking for a commitment.
When we went on our first actual date, I was a little surprised by how obviously nervous she was. It was a far cry from the confident girl that had told me the terms of our first meeting and chewed me out for buying her drinks. It was endearing, even if it threw me for a bit of a loop. It also added to her mystery, which sucked me in.
Through the first few times we hung out, I couldn't get a good read on her, because at times she seemed into me, and other times she was completely distracted. After seeing her interact with Brody at Kinsley's party, I understood why. And to be fair, she warned me. I just didn't listen.
I think Jordan expected me to be incredulous or upset when he called me Sunday morning to inform me that he had run into Liv and Brody while he was doing a security consult at a bar. Or in his words, "That hot girl you were boning and some arrogant fuckhead." I wouldn't call Brody an arrogant fuckhead (though that is surprisingly eloquent for Jordan), but I knew exactly who he meant. It took everything I had not to laugh when he told me that the "arrogant fuckhead" had punched him in the face.
Of course, he wouldn't tell me why--he just made it seem like Brody took issue with his presence and punched him out of the blue. I was certain that wasn't even close to what had happened. I felt bad for the owners of the club. It's not usually good news when your security consultant nearly gets knocked out, even if he deserved it. When he texted me the picture later, I was glad I didn't have to hold back my laughter. Two black eyes and his nose was definitely broken. Especially impressive given the fact that Jordan probably has close to 6 inches on Brody. I guess the arrogant fuckhead knows how to throw a punch.
I also wasn't surprised when Liv called me on Sunday. I guessed that she wouldn't be the type to just leave someone hanging. Since I wasn't upset, I hoped my joke about the situation would put her a little more at ease, because I also figured she was probably pretty nervous. It seemed to confuse her, but she talked to me easily enough.
I was actually more interested in hearing about Brody punching Jordan, but I let her get through her "It's not you, it's the other guy," speech before asking about it. When she told me what had happened, I groaned. What an asshole. I hated having to apologize for Jordan's behavior, because I hated that Liv had to see the worst side of him, and more than once. And honestly, I felt guilty that Brody had managed to do what I should have done the first time. I was impressed that Brody would stand up to someone Jordan's size and it further confirmed what I had sensed at Kinsley's party. Not that Brody was a small guy, by any means--Jordan was just that big. Liv deserved someone that would put himself on the line for her, not someone who was still afraid of his big brother.
We ended up talking for nearly 20 minutes. She still sounded bewildered when we hung up, but I figured it would wear off by the next time we saw each other, assuming that Kinsley and Damien continued seeing each other. I wondered how Brody would act around me now. Hopefully there wouldn't be any issues there. I decided I'd just try to be careful to not run into them until a couple weeks had gone by, just in case.
________________________________________
I was insanely irritated that I got stuck at work late that night. Jordan fucked up a security consult and of course he was out of town, so I got to clean up the mess. When I finally finished, I looked at my watch. A little after 12. I was near Liv's house, but it was awfully late. I didn't want to wake her up if she was sleeping, but I wanted to see her. I decided I'd try.
I didn't think she was going to answer, but she picked up just as the 4th ring started.
"Hey," I said. "I know it's late, but I'm finally done. I'm near your neighborhood so I thought I'd call to see if you were still awake. Since you are, can I swing by?" I was already starting my car, ready to head over to her place.
"No," she replied. "I'm sorry."
"Busy?" I joked. Maybe she had been sleeping. I probably shouldn't have called.
"No. But you're wonderful, and you deserve better than a girl that's in love with someone else."
"I deserve..." I repeated, confused. "What?"
"I'm sorry," she said again. There was finality in her tone.
"Liv--" I tried to interrupt before she hung up.
"Goodnight, James." And then the line went dead.
I sat in my car for a few seconds, staring at my phone. Then I shook my head and pulled onto the street to head home. I wasn't shocked by this, but I guess I didn't think it would happen like this. I'd been expecting things to wrap up soon ever since Kinsley's birthday. Any idiot should have been able to feel the sexual tension between Olivia and Brody. He didn't even try to hide it, even though she was clearly fighting it. Between that, her initial reluctance to go out with me at all, and what had happened with Jordan, I was honestly surprised that we had made it this long.
Thinking about Jordan increased my irritation. Even after growing up with him and watching the alcohol try to eat him alive, I was seriously shocked to walk down that bar hallway and see him holding Liv against the wall. Maybe I shouldn't have been. I don't know. And maybe I should have done more about it, but Liv seemed hell bent on brushing it off. I got no information from Jordan. He just acted like it wasn't a big deal and he didn't do anything wrong. I knew that that meant nothing, but Liv never brought it up again, so I just left it alone. Still, I don't blame her if what happened contributed to her decision.
Really though, I can't even be mad. I was never expecting anything serious with Liv. In fact, I went out with her for the first time for all the wrong reasons. I initially asked her out because I thought she was hot and she seemed really down to earth. When she turned me down, I just wanted to go out with her more. I've always been hooked by challenges. I think it's what makes me enjoy my career so much. When she turned me down, she turned into a challenge.
I wasn't expecting to run into her again so soon, much less twice. After she had turned me down for the third time, I proposed that she meet me for one drink, and if she chose to leave after the one drink, I'd never ask her out again. I knew she wouldn't be able to resist the chance to get me to back off. So really, we both went out for the wrong reasons that first time.
I'm not sure what I expected, but I definitely wasn't expecting to have such a good time. She was brilliant and funny in her own subdued way, and when she told me she'd go out with me again, I was a little surprised that I wasn't completely uninterested now that the challenge was gone. I definitely wanted to go out with her again, but it's not like I was looking for a commitment.
When we went on our first actual date, I was a little surprised by how obviously nervous she was. It was a far cry from the confident girl that had told me the terms of our first meeting and chewed me out for buying her drinks. It was endearing, even if it threw me for a bit of a loop. It also added to her mystery, which sucked me in.
Through the first few times we hung out, I couldn't get a good read on her, because at times she seemed into me, and other times she was completely distracted. After seeing her interact with Brody at Kinsley's party, I understood why. And to be fair, she warned me. I just didn't listen.
I think Jordan expected me to be incredulous or upset when he called me Sunday morning to inform me that he had run into Liv and Brody while he was doing a security consult at a bar. Or in his words, "That hot girl you were boning and some arrogant fuckhead." I wouldn't call Brody an arrogant fuckhead (though that is surprisingly eloquent for Jordan), but I knew exactly who he meant. It took everything I had not to laugh when he told me that the "arrogant fuckhead" had punched him in the face.
Of course, he wouldn't tell me why--he just made it seem like Brody took issue with his presence and punched him out of the blue. I was certain that wasn't even close to what had happened. I felt bad for the owners of the club. It's not usually good news when your security consultant nearly gets knocked out, even if he deserved it. When he texted me the picture later, I was glad I didn't have to hold back my laughter. Two black eyes and his nose was definitely broken. Especially impressive given the fact that Jordan probably has close to 6 inches on Brody. I guess the arrogant fuckhead knows how to throw a punch.
I also wasn't surprised when Liv called me on Sunday. I guessed that she wouldn't be the type to just leave someone hanging. Since I wasn't upset, I hoped my joke about the situation would put her a little more at ease, because I also figured she was probably pretty nervous. It seemed to confuse her, but she talked to me easily enough.
I was actually more interested in hearing about Brody punching Jordan, but I let her get through her "It's not you, it's the other guy," speech before asking about it. When she told me what had happened, I groaned. What an asshole. I hated having to apologize for Jordan's behavior, because I hated that Liv had to see the worst side of him, and more than once. And honestly, I felt guilty that Brody had managed to do what I should have done the first time. I was impressed that Brody would stand up to someone Jordan's size and it further confirmed what I had sensed at Kinsley's party. Not that Brody was a small guy, by any means--Jordan was just that big. Liv deserved someone that would put himself on the line for her, not someone who was still afraid of his big brother.
We ended up talking for nearly 20 minutes. She still sounded bewildered when we hung up, but I figured it would wear off by the next time we saw each other, assuming that Kinsley and Damien continued seeing each other. I wondered how Brody would act around me now. Hopefully there wouldn't be any issues there. I decided I'd just try to be careful to not run into them until a couple weeks had gone by, just in case.
Sunday, October 26, 2014
That was weird.
Posting a little earlier than usual today. Thanks for hanging in there with my weird (for me anyway) posting schedule the past week. Come back tomorrow (Monday) evening for a short bonus with James's perspective on everything that's been happening lately!
Also, I'm hearing that you can't use the "Reactions" feature on the mobile view. I scoured the Blogger help section and Google and tinkered with it for nearly an hour yesterday and couldn't make it available on the mobile view. :( It looks like it's just not an option for those of you viewing the mobile view, but if anyone knows how to do it, please comment or email me! If for some reason, you have a strong desire to use the feature, but you're on mobile, you can always scroll to the bottom of the page, hit the little "view web version" link, and select a reaction there.
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Brody wasn't in bed with me when I woke up the next morning. I blinked sleepily and looked around. I dragged myself out of bed and walked downstairs. Brody was sitting on the couch, watching TV.
"Good morning, gorgeous," he said with a smile when he saw me on the stairs.
"What are you doing?" I asked, laying down on the couch and settling my head on his leg.
"I couldn't sleep anymore. I didn't want to wake you, so I just got up." He stroked my hair and my shoulder as I nodded. My eyes drifted shut again.
"How's your hand?" I mumbled, before I yawned again.
"A little sore, but it'll be fine," he replied. I nodded again, eyes still closed.
"I'm hungry," I declared 15 minutes later, sitting up.
Brody just shook his head. "Are you ever not hungry? Where do you put it all? You weigh about as much as a fifth grader."
"Rude!" I exclaimed, swatting him in the leg.
45 minutes later I was showered and awake and we were pulling out of my driveway to get breakfast. As we sat and ate, we talked about Kendra and Christian's upcoming wedding.
"I can't wait to see Savannah," I grumbled sarcastically. Savannah was a bridesmaid, so seeing her was pretty much inevitable.
"Yeah, it should be interesting," Brody replied. "But, I guess as long as she doesn't try to ruin my life again I can just pretend she's not there." I snorted. I had a feeling that pretending she wasn't there wasn't going to be an option.
"Well, I can't wait to see you in a tux," I said, changing the subject with a smirk. Brody was an usher for the wedding.
He groaned. "I'm just glad I'm not a groomsman. I hate that whole head table thing."
"It wouldn't have mattered," I pointed out, "because Kendra told me they're doing a sweetheart table."
He looked at me oddly. "I have no idea what that is." I laughed and explained that it's when the bride and groom just sit at a small table by themselves instead of doing the head table with the whole wedding party.
"Head tables aren't really 'in' anymore in a lot of places," I finished. He was still looking at me like he had no idea what I was talking about, and I just changed the subject. "I suppose at some point today I have to take you home, huh?" I asked.
"You could hold me hostage, but I don't think I'd be much good to you with my right hand swollen and stiff," he joked.
So after breakfast, we went out to his house. When we got there, I parked and went inside with him.
"When do I get to see you again?" he asked.
I thought through my work schedule for the week and grimaced. "I don't know. Thursday? I'm going to the gym with Kinsley tomorrow, and I work until 7 Tuesday and Wednesday. I'm not sure if I have time for lunch at all either."
He frowned. "I have a lot of stuff to do at work. Staying until 7 would be pretty easy. Can we meet for dinner on Tuesday or Wednesday? You have to eat, at least." I told him Wednesday would be better because I had to be to work super early on Tuesday too, so I'd probably want to just go home and crash after. He agreed, then slid his arms around my waist. "If I have to wait until Wednesday, maybe you should let me test out my left hand before you go," he said, smiling mischievously.
"Now that is a good idea," I said, kissing him.
An hour later I was kissing him again, but this time it was kissing him goodbye. I needed to get home and get some stuff done, and the longer I put off calling James, the harder it was going to be.
When I got home, I sat on the couch with my phone in my hand, staring at it. I had no idea what I was going to say. I took a deep breath and dialed.
"Are you calling to explain the other night, or calling to tell me your boyfriend broke my brother's nose?" James said when he answered, catching me off guard.
"Um...well, I was calling to explain the other night. And clearly I don't have to tell you that my boyfriend broke your brother's nose," I said in response.
"So he is your boyfriend? And don't worry, I'm sure Jordan more than deserved it. I can't wait to see him."
"Is it really broken?" I asked.
James laughed. "Judging by the picture he sent me, it's pretty fucking broken."
I paused and then asked, "Can I just...maybe start at the beginning?" James didn't seem angry at all. I was completely perplexed by his casual tone.
"Sure, have at it," he said.
So, I rambled away in true Liv style. I apologized for being so abrupt on the phone Friday night. I told him that he had been right about Brody. I told him that I really hadn't realized it, or really understood my feelings, and that if I had, I never would have dated him because the whole situation would have been really unfair to him.
"Well, I'm glad you didn't understand your feelings then," he said.
"What?" I asked, completely baffled by his reaction.
"You just said if you had understood your feelings for Brody, you wouldn't have dated me. And I'm glad you didn't understand them, because you did date me. And I'm glad."
"Okay...but aren't you...?" I trailed off.
"Mad? Not really. I mean, don't get me wrong, it sucks. I like you a lot. I think you're awesome, and you're gorgeous. I had a blast hanging out with you. But if you're in love with someone else, well, you're in love with someone else. So I'm just glad I got the time I had with you." He sounded so calm and sure of himself.
"This is weird," I blurted out before I could stop myself. He laughed.
"Never had a breakup go so smoothly?" he asked, still laughing.
"I don't think so," I said cautiously.
"Look, Olivia. I've had some really crappy breakups and rejections. Messy, hurt feelings, just disasters. I'm done with that. I'll miss you." He laughed and continued, "I'll really miss having sex with you. But I'm not into dramatic exits anymore."
"Well, I appreciate that a lot," I said, relieved.
"Plus," he added, "If Kinsley and Damien keep dating, we're bound to run into each other, and I don't want it to be weird."
"Me neither," I agreed.
"And I really appreciate that you had the balls to actually call me and tell me what's up, instead of just never talking to me again."
"I've been the victim of a disappearing act, and it sucked. I will never do that to someone. I am sorry that I didn't call sooner though," I said.
"I was pretty clear on what you meant on the phone, so it's not like you left me totally hanging," he replied. "Can you tell me more about Brody punching my brother?"
I laughed and told him the story. He groaned when I told him about Jordan slapping my ass. "I'm really sorry. I wish you wouldn't have had to meet him. He is such a tool around women. He's actually a totally different person in the office, you'd never believe it. I feel terrible though. I'll punch him again, if you want." I assured him that it wasn't necessary, but that if he felt the need to punch him for the hell of it, I certainly wouldn't fault him for it. He laughed. "I hope he didn't hurt his hand too badly on Jordan's thick skull." This was seriously the weirdest breakup conversation ever.
We wrapped up the conversation, and when I hung up, I still wasn't quite sure what had just happened.
Also, I'm hearing that you can't use the "Reactions" feature on the mobile view. I scoured the Blogger help section and Google and tinkered with it for nearly an hour yesterday and couldn't make it available on the mobile view. :( It looks like it's just not an option for those of you viewing the mobile view, but if anyone knows how to do it, please comment or email me! If for some reason, you have a strong desire to use the feature, but you're on mobile, you can always scroll to the bottom of the page, hit the little "view web version" link, and select a reaction there.
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Brody wasn't in bed with me when I woke up the next morning. I blinked sleepily and looked around. I dragged myself out of bed and walked downstairs. Brody was sitting on the couch, watching TV.
"Good morning, gorgeous," he said with a smile when he saw me on the stairs.
"What are you doing?" I asked, laying down on the couch and settling my head on his leg.
"I couldn't sleep anymore. I didn't want to wake you, so I just got up." He stroked my hair and my shoulder as I nodded. My eyes drifted shut again.
"How's your hand?" I mumbled, before I yawned again.
"A little sore, but it'll be fine," he replied. I nodded again, eyes still closed.
"I'm hungry," I declared 15 minutes later, sitting up.
Brody just shook his head. "Are you ever not hungry? Where do you put it all? You weigh about as much as a fifth grader."
"Rude!" I exclaimed, swatting him in the leg.
45 minutes later I was showered and awake and we were pulling out of my driveway to get breakfast. As we sat and ate, we talked about Kendra and Christian's upcoming wedding.
"I can't wait to see Savannah," I grumbled sarcastically. Savannah was a bridesmaid, so seeing her was pretty much inevitable.
"Yeah, it should be interesting," Brody replied. "But, I guess as long as she doesn't try to ruin my life again I can just pretend she's not there." I snorted. I had a feeling that pretending she wasn't there wasn't going to be an option.
"Well, I can't wait to see you in a tux," I said, changing the subject with a smirk. Brody was an usher for the wedding.
He groaned. "I'm just glad I'm not a groomsman. I hate that whole head table thing."
"It wouldn't have mattered," I pointed out, "because Kendra told me they're doing a sweetheart table."
He looked at me oddly. "I have no idea what that is." I laughed and explained that it's when the bride and groom just sit at a small table by themselves instead of doing the head table with the whole wedding party.
"Head tables aren't really 'in' anymore in a lot of places," I finished. He was still looking at me like he had no idea what I was talking about, and I just changed the subject. "I suppose at some point today I have to take you home, huh?" I asked.
"You could hold me hostage, but I don't think I'd be much good to you with my right hand swollen and stiff," he joked.
So after breakfast, we went out to his house. When we got there, I parked and went inside with him.
"When do I get to see you again?" he asked.
I thought through my work schedule for the week and grimaced. "I don't know. Thursday? I'm going to the gym with Kinsley tomorrow, and I work until 7 Tuesday and Wednesday. I'm not sure if I have time for lunch at all either."
He frowned. "I have a lot of stuff to do at work. Staying until 7 would be pretty easy. Can we meet for dinner on Tuesday or Wednesday? You have to eat, at least." I told him Wednesday would be better because I had to be to work super early on Tuesday too, so I'd probably want to just go home and crash after. He agreed, then slid his arms around my waist. "If I have to wait until Wednesday, maybe you should let me test out my left hand before you go," he said, smiling mischievously.
"Now that is a good idea," I said, kissing him.
An hour later I was kissing him again, but this time it was kissing him goodbye. I needed to get home and get some stuff done, and the longer I put off calling James, the harder it was going to be.
When I got home, I sat on the couch with my phone in my hand, staring at it. I had no idea what I was going to say. I took a deep breath and dialed.
"Are you calling to explain the other night, or calling to tell me your boyfriend broke my brother's nose?" James said when he answered, catching me off guard.
"Um...well, I was calling to explain the other night. And clearly I don't have to tell you that my boyfriend broke your brother's nose," I said in response.
"So he is your boyfriend? And don't worry, I'm sure Jordan more than deserved it. I can't wait to see him."
"Is it really broken?" I asked.
James laughed. "Judging by the picture he sent me, it's pretty fucking broken."
I paused and then asked, "Can I just...maybe start at the beginning?" James didn't seem angry at all. I was completely perplexed by his casual tone.
"Sure, have at it," he said.
So, I rambled away in true Liv style. I apologized for being so abrupt on the phone Friday night. I told him that he had been right about Brody. I told him that I really hadn't realized it, or really understood my feelings, and that if I had, I never would have dated him because the whole situation would have been really unfair to him.
"Well, I'm glad you didn't understand your feelings then," he said.
"What?" I asked, completely baffled by his reaction.
"You just said if you had understood your feelings for Brody, you wouldn't have dated me. And I'm glad you didn't understand them, because you did date me. And I'm glad."
"Okay...but aren't you...?" I trailed off.
"Mad? Not really. I mean, don't get me wrong, it sucks. I like you a lot. I think you're awesome, and you're gorgeous. I had a blast hanging out with you. But if you're in love with someone else, well, you're in love with someone else. So I'm just glad I got the time I had with you." He sounded so calm and sure of himself.
"This is weird," I blurted out before I could stop myself. He laughed.
"Never had a breakup go so smoothly?" he asked, still laughing.
"I don't think so," I said cautiously.
"Look, Olivia. I've had some really crappy breakups and rejections. Messy, hurt feelings, just disasters. I'm done with that. I'll miss you." He laughed and continued, "I'll really miss having sex with you. But I'm not into dramatic exits anymore."
"Well, I appreciate that a lot," I said, relieved.
"Plus," he added, "If Kinsley and Damien keep dating, we're bound to run into each other, and I don't want it to be weird."
"Me neither," I agreed.
"And I really appreciate that you had the balls to actually call me and tell me what's up, instead of just never talking to me again."
"I've been the victim of a disappearing act, and it sucked. I will never do that to someone. I am sorry that I didn't call sooner though," I said.
"I was pretty clear on what you meant on the phone, so it's not like you left me totally hanging," he replied. "Can you tell me more about Brody punching my brother?"
I laughed and told him the story. He groaned when I told him about Jordan slapping my ass. "I'm really sorry. I wish you wouldn't have had to meet him. He is such a tool around women. He's actually a totally different person in the office, you'd never believe it. I feel terrible though. I'll punch him again, if you want." I assured him that it wasn't necessary, but that if he felt the need to punch him for the hell of it, I certainly wouldn't fault him for it. He laughed. "I hope he didn't hurt his hand too badly on Jordan's thick skull." This was seriously the weirdest breakup conversation ever.
We wrapped up the conversation, and when I hung up, I still wasn't quite sure what had just happened.
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Protective Instinct
Jordan stumbled to the side and slouched against the wall, both hands on his face.
"That felt good," Brody muttered as he shook out his hand. I gaped at him. A burly bouncer approached us angrily.
"Out!" he directed. "All of you!" We happily obliged him, moving quickly outside. I had forgotten it was snowing and was surprised to see a light dusting on the ground.
"Holy shit," Alex said, staring at Brody. "That was awesome." I grasped Brody's forearm and looked at his hand in the dull light from the streetlights. It was already swelling, and he grimaced as he flexed his fingers. I sighed.
"You should probably get that checked out," I said. He shook his head.
"It's fine. I'll put some ice on it. Nothing feels broken." He flexed his fingers again and ran the fingers of his other hand tentatively over his knuckles. He suddenly became aware of the snow and cold and looked at me. I had my arms crossed and was shifting from foot to foot. "Let's find a cab and get back to your place before you freeze," he said, sliding his arm around me and pulling me close.
I leaned into his chest as we waited for a cab. We let Lauren, Alex, and Christian have the first one. Brody, Kinsley, and I took the one that pulled up a minute later. It dropped Kinsley off first, then stopped in front of my house. Brody handed the driver some cash as I hurried up to unlock the door.
The snow was slowing down, but it was still cold, and I was happy to get inside my house. I walked straight to the kitchen and grabbed an ice pack for Brody. He sat on the couch and put it on his hand, then looked at me.
"You're pissed at me for punching that asshole," he observed.
I sighed and sat next to him. "Pissed isn't quite the right word. I certainly didn't mind seeing him get punched, and I'm glad to know that you've got my back. But I hate that the whole thing happened and I wish we just would have left right away."
He nodded. "I wish we would have left right away too. If we would have, maybe he wouldn't have put his hands on you again. I'm sorry I didn't listen when you asked to go the first time. I'm not sorry for punching him though." I laughed at the petulance at the end.
"I have a question," he said after a second. I raised my eyebrows. "So, that guy? He's James's brother?"
"Yes," I said, nodding. "Unfortunately he is."
"So, why did you make it seem like he was just some random guy when you told me about it the first time?"
I grimaced. "Because I didn't want to give you any reasons to dislike James even more than you must have already, and I knew if you knew that his brother was the one that had done that, you'd probably think less of him," I said. "I didn't think that it would ever matter."
"Well, you were right. What the hell kind of guy would let you be around his brother when he knows full well his brother is like that?"
"He didn't let me be around his brother," I replied. I paused, considering how much to tell him, and I decided that if I was really "all in", I should be completely honest with Brody about what had happened. I told him the whole story, figuring that was the best way to explain what had happened. It did little to assuage Brody's protective anger. By the end of my story, Brody's jaw was clenched so hard I was worried he was going to break his teeth, and his eyes were flashing with anger.
"Liv, I had no idea it was that bad," he said, after a few seconds of silence. "I can't believe James let him just walk away like that. And I wish you would have told me sooner."
"When? The day you came back and saw the bruise? The day we had lunch to talk about Savannah? Last night? There really wasn't a 'sooner' to tell you. And I didn't even tell James everything. You, me, and Jordan are the only people who know everything that happened." I was already agitated from what had happened tonight, and just re-telling the story had caused a knot to form in my stomach. I didn't need to be scolded for this too. I leaned back and rubbed my hand across my eyes, fighting back frustrated tears.
"Hey," he said, his voice gentle now. He pulled my hands away from my face and tilted his head to make eye contact with me. "I'm sorry. I just hate the thought of anyone hurting you. I'm pissed that I wasn't there to do something about it, and I wish James could have protected you better. That's all." I sighed again. I hated the thought of needing anyone to protect me, but I appreciated his concern.
I scooted closer to him and leaned against his chest. He wrapped his left arm around me and kissed the top of my head. I carefully moved the ice pack to look at his hand. It had stopped swelling, but it was still considerably puffy compared to his left hand.
"It better heal fast," I commented, looking up at him with a devilish grin, "because your right hand has many very important uses for me." He laughed and shook his head.
"I guess I'll have to learn to be just as good with the left, huh?" he replied.
I laughed and relaxed against him, glad that nothing worse had happened and hopeful that we'd never run into Jordan again.
When we went to bed, I was exhausted and fell asleep quickly. Unfortunately, it didn't last, and I was soon wide awake, gasping and drenched in sweat. Brody sat up quickly next to me and fumbled for the light. "What...are you okay?" he asked, confused. He looked at me in the soft light from the lamp and his face immediately grew concerned. "Liv?" He slid over to my side of the bed touched my arm gently.
"Nightmare," I managed, when I had caught my breath a little. "I'm fine." I got up and walked into the bathroom. I splashed water on my face and dried it. I heard Brody get up and walk out of the bedroom and I stood in the bathroom for close to a minute, my face resting against the cool tile of the wall.
I turned off the light and walked back into the bedroom. Brody held out of a bottle of water that he must have gone downstairs to get. I took it and took a drink before climbing back into bed. Brody turned the light off and curled around me protectively, pulling me tightly against his chest. "Was it about...?" he trailed off, not wanting to say Jordan's name.
I shook my head. "Maybe, but I don't remember anything," I replied. "I just remember being absolutely terrified, and then waking up." Brody's arm tightened around me even more. I wiggled around so that instead of having my back against his chest I was facing him. I pressed my face against his shoulder and shut my eyes. The fear from my nightmare wasn't fading as fast it should have been, and I was wide awake.
Brody ran his hand up and down my back and I forced my brain to focus on that. After what felt like forever, my mind and body started to relax, and I managed to fall back asleep. I made it the rest of the night without nightmares.
"That felt good," Brody muttered as he shook out his hand. I gaped at him. A burly bouncer approached us angrily.
"Out!" he directed. "All of you!" We happily obliged him, moving quickly outside. I had forgotten it was snowing and was surprised to see a light dusting on the ground.
"Holy shit," Alex said, staring at Brody. "That was awesome." I grasped Brody's forearm and looked at his hand in the dull light from the streetlights. It was already swelling, and he grimaced as he flexed his fingers. I sighed.
"You should probably get that checked out," I said. He shook his head.
"It's fine. I'll put some ice on it. Nothing feels broken." He flexed his fingers again and ran the fingers of his other hand tentatively over his knuckles. He suddenly became aware of the snow and cold and looked at me. I had my arms crossed and was shifting from foot to foot. "Let's find a cab and get back to your place before you freeze," he said, sliding his arm around me and pulling me close.
I leaned into his chest as we waited for a cab. We let Lauren, Alex, and Christian have the first one. Brody, Kinsley, and I took the one that pulled up a minute later. It dropped Kinsley off first, then stopped in front of my house. Brody handed the driver some cash as I hurried up to unlock the door.
The snow was slowing down, but it was still cold, and I was happy to get inside my house. I walked straight to the kitchen and grabbed an ice pack for Brody. He sat on the couch and put it on his hand, then looked at me.
"You're pissed at me for punching that asshole," he observed.
I sighed and sat next to him. "Pissed isn't quite the right word. I certainly didn't mind seeing him get punched, and I'm glad to know that you've got my back. But I hate that the whole thing happened and I wish we just would have left right away."
He nodded. "I wish we would have left right away too. If we would have, maybe he wouldn't have put his hands on you again. I'm sorry I didn't listen when you asked to go the first time. I'm not sorry for punching him though." I laughed at the petulance at the end.
"I have a question," he said after a second. I raised my eyebrows. "So, that guy? He's James's brother?"
"Yes," I said, nodding. "Unfortunately he is."
"So, why did you make it seem like he was just some random guy when you told me about it the first time?"
I grimaced. "Because I didn't want to give you any reasons to dislike James even more than you must have already, and I knew if you knew that his brother was the one that had done that, you'd probably think less of him," I said. "I didn't think that it would ever matter."
"Well, you were right. What the hell kind of guy would let you be around his brother when he knows full well his brother is like that?"
"He didn't let me be around his brother," I replied. I paused, considering how much to tell him, and I decided that if I was really "all in", I should be completely honest with Brody about what had happened. I told him the whole story, figuring that was the best way to explain what had happened. It did little to assuage Brody's protective anger. By the end of my story, Brody's jaw was clenched so hard I was worried he was going to break his teeth, and his eyes were flashing with anger.
"Liv, I had no idea it was that bad," he said, after a few seconds of silence. "I can't believe James let him just walk away like that. And I wish you would have told me sooner."
"When? The day you came back and saw the bruise? The day we had lunch to talk about Savannah? Last night? There really wasn't a 'sooner' to tell you. And I didn't even tell James everything. You, me, and Jordan are the only people who know everything that happened." I was already agitated from what had happened tonight, and just re-telling the story had caused a knot to form in my stomach. I didn't need to be scolded for this too. I leaned back and rubbed my hand across my eyes, fighting back frustrated tears.
"Hey," he said, his voice gentle now. He pulled my hands away from my face and tilted his head to make eye contact with me. "I'm sorry. I just hate the thought of anyone hurting you. I'm pissed that I wasn't there to do something about it, and I wish James could have protected you better. That's all." I sighed again. I hated the thought of needing anyone to protect me, but I appreciated his concern.
I scooted closer to him and leaned against his chest. He wrapped his left arm around me and kissed the top of my head. I carefully moved the ice pack to look at his hand. It had stopped swelling, but it was still considerably puffy compared to his left hand.
"It better heal fast," I commented, looking up at him with a devilish grin, "because your right hand has many very important uses for me." He laughed and shook his head.
"I guess I'll have to learn to be just as good with the left, huh?" he replied.
I laughed and relaxed against him, glad that nothing worse had happened and hopeful that we'd never run into Jordan again.
When we went to bed, I was exhausted and fell asleep quickly. Unfortunately, it didn't last, and I was soon wide awake, gasping and drenched in sweat. Brody sat up quickly next to me and fumbled for the light. "What...are you okay?" he asked, confused. He looked at me in the soft light from the lamp and his face immediately grew concerned. "Liv?" He slid over to my side of the bed touched my arm gently.
"Nightmare," I managed, when I had caught my breath a little. "I'm fine." I got up and walked into the bathroom. I splashed water on my face and dried it. I heard Brody get up and walk out of the bedroom and I stood in the bathroom for close to a minute, my face resting against the cool tile of the wall.
I turned off the light and walked back into the bedroom. Brody held out of a bottle of water that he must have gone downstairs to get. I took it and took a drink before climbing back into bed. Brody turned the light off and curled around me protectively, pulling me tightly against his chest. "Was it about...?" he trailed off, not wanting to say Jordan's name.
I shook my head. "Maybe, but I don't remember anything," I replied. "I just remember being absolutely terrified, and then waking up." Brody's arm tightened around me even more. I wiggled around so that instead of having my back against his chest I was facing him. I pressed my face against his shoulder and shut my eyes. The fear from my nightmare wasn't fading as fast it should have been, and I was wide awake.
Brody ran his hand up and down my back and I forced my brain to focus on that. After what felt like forever, my mind and body started to relax, and I managed to fall back asleep. I made it the rest of the night without nightmares.
Sunday, October 19, 2014
Security Detail
Thanks to a wonderful reader named Ashley, you guys will not have to suffer through poorly edited posts while I'm off doing things that are far less fun than editing my own posts (for example, right now, I am very likely working on a 16 page research paper). She emailed me and volunteered to look over my posts while I'm busy with my other stuff, and I'm exceedingly grateful for her help. A huge thank you, Ashley!
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An hour after our kiss in the snow, we were getting out of a cab in front of the club where we were meeting Lauren, Kinsley, Alex, and Christian. I had swapped my flats for tall boots and ditched my coat, knowing it would be hot in the club. We walked quickly into the building while Brody texted Alex to find out if anyone else was there yet. Alex texted back that they had gotten a table on the upper level.
When we walked up to their table, hand in hand, 4 pairs of eyes widened in surprise. Kinsley, never one for subtlety, jumped up. "Are you guys...?" she asked, and squealed when we nodded. She threw her arms around me, almost knocking me over. "It's about damn time!" she declared. Lauren was grinning at me. I, of course, was blushing from the attention.
"Stop looking at me like that," I admonished her as I sat down.
"I knew you'd do it," she whispered before hugging me.
"You guys are being super weird." I made a face. Brody laughed. "I feel like you all need Team Brody t-shirts or something."
"I wish you would have suggested that a week ago!" Kinsley exclaimed. "I definitely would have worn one of those."
"For what it's worth," Alex said, "I was Team James. Poor sucker." Christian punched him in the arm and I blushed a deeper shade of red. Brody went to get us drinks, and luckily, the others quickly became bored with our new relationship status. As Alex and Christian went back to discussing tomorrow's football games, Lauren and Kinsley looked at me expectantly.
"Did you tell James?" Lauren asked.
"Sort of," I responded. "I'm going to have a more thorough conversation with him tomorrow, if he'll talk to me."
"So did you just call Brody and say 'oh hey, let's be together'?" Kinsley asked, looking around to make sure Brody wasn't coming back.
I laughed. "Um, not quite. I drove out to his house at 1 in the morning in the pouring rain, and luckily he was there, answered the door, and let me in even though I was dripping all over the floor."
"That's so romantic," Kinsley sighed.
"And so stupid!" Lauren exclaimed. "What were you thinking? What if he hadn't even been there?"
"I wasn't thinking," I admitted. "But he was there, and it worked out."
I was spared any further inquisition when Brody reappeared with drinks. I thanked him and took a sip, listening to Alex and Christian argue about quarterbacks. Shortly after, the band began.
They were pretty good, and the venue was the perfect size. There was standing room on the dance floor and the elevated areas around it, then tables up on the second floor loft area. I was glad they had gotten here early enough to get us a table up here, because it was a perfect to listen and see, but it wasn't quite as loud or crowded as it would be down on the floor.
While the band was taking a quick break, I got up to get a drink. As I turned from the bar, I heard a low chuckle and my eyes snapped up to lock on Jordan's face.
"Well, look who it is," he growled. "Here with my brother, princess?" I felt like the wind had been knocked out of me. I struggled to keep my face calm, but judging by the way he was leering at me, I was sure he could see the panic in my eyes.
"Hello Jordan," I said as calmly as possible. "Please get out of my way."
"Oh, are we going to play that game again?" he asked, taking a step towards me. It was loud near the bar, and no one seemed to notice anything out of the ordinary. I tried to push past him but he stepped into my path. My breath caught and I tried to remind myself he couldn't really get away with doing anything with all these people here. I forced myself not to flinch away as he reached out a hand and lightly stroked my hair with his fingertips.
"Hey, man, get out of the way! People are trying to get through!" came an angry voice from the other side of him. Jordan turned to deliver a nasty remark back and I slipped past him and hurried back to our table.
Brody took one look at my face and shaking hands and stood up. "What's wrong?" he asked, guiding me into my seat. I put my face in my hands and took several deep breaths. Lauren touched my back, but I shied away from her. "Liv?" Brody prodded gently when I didn't respond.
"I..." I started, pausing to take a deep, shaky breath. "Jor--the guy that grabbed me when I was out with James is here. I just ran into him up at the bar."
Brody looked furious. I shook my head. "He didn't really do anything. I mean, not now." The words rushed out and I realized I was holding the arm that Jordan had bruised after the comedy show. Brody reached for it. I held it out to him for inspection. "He didn't touch me this time. I just panicked when I saw him." Brody's jaw was set and his eyes were hard. "Don't," I said, reading his mind. "I'm fine, I'm just shaken up."
I was starting to feel a little ridiculous with all 5 of them staring at me. I sat up straight and forced a smile onto my face. "Seriously, guys, I'm okay. It was just a little disconcerting seeing him. There were so many people near the bar and I got a little anxious, but I'm fine." Alex and Christian shrugged and turned their attention back to the stage, but Lauren, Kinsley, and Brody were still staring at me.
"Do you want to go?" Brody asked quietly. "We can go. You're white as ghost."
I shook my head. "I'm fine, I promise. If I change my mind, I'll let you know." He sighed in frustration at my stubbornness but dropped it. He shifted his chair and slid his arm around my shoulders. I leaned into him and willed my body to stop shaking. Lauren was still looking at me with concern. I offered her a smile. She narrowed her eyes, then turned back towards the stage. I shut my eyes briefly and sucked in another deep breath. When I opened them, I felt a little calmer, and returned my attention to the music.
We stuck around at our table chatting for about 20 minutes after the show ended. As we were walking out, I caught sight of Jordan again. I turned my head, hoping he wouldn't see us. Near the door, I heard his voice boom, "Well, that certainly isn't my brother!" Shit. I looked at him. He was looking at my hand where it was connected to Brody's, our fingers entwined.
"Your brother?" Brody asked in confusion. "No, definitely not, and thank god for that." I could tell by the set of his jaw that he had realized exactly who this was.
"Can't say I blame you," Jordan continued to me, ignoring Brody. "This guy is much better looking than my idiot brother."
"Come on," I said to Brody, pulling on his hand. "Let's get out of here." The panicky feeling was starting to come back, even though Brody was in between me and Jordan, and Alex, Christian, Lauren, and Kinsley were right behind us. Plus there were bouncers all over the place, since we were near the bar and the door.
"So soon?" Jordan asked, his face contorting into what looked like it was meant to be a friendly smile, but it missed the mark. "I was hoping to get to know you and your friends better, sweetheart." His eyes drifted down the length of my body.
"I'd appreciate if you didn't look at my girlfriend like that," Brody said evenly.
"Let's go!" I hissed at Brody. This time he listened. Brody was careful to stay between me and Jordan, but after we walked past, Jordan reached behind us and slapped my ass. Brody didn't even hesitate. He spun and punched Jordan square in the face.
_______________________________________
An hour after our kiss in the snow, we were getting out of a cab in front of the club where we were meeting Lauren, Kinsley, Alex, and Christian. I had swapped my flats for tall boots and ditched my coat, knowing it would be hot in the club. We walked quickly into the building while Brody texted Alex to find out if anyone else was there yet. Alex texted back that they had gotten a table on the upper level.
When we walked up to their table, hand in hand, 4 pairs of eyes widened in surprise. Kinsley, never one for subtlety, jumped up. "Are you guys...?" she asked, and squealed when we nodded. She threw her arms around me, almost knocking me over. "It's about damn time!" she declared. Lauren was grinning at me. I, of course, was blushing from the attention.
"Stop looking at me like that," I admonished her as I sat down.
"I knew you'd do it," she whispered before hugging me.
"You guys are being super weird." I made a face. Brody laughed. "I feel like you all need Team Brody t-shirts or something."
"I wish you would have suggested that a week ago!" Kinsley exclaimed. "I definitely would have worn one of those."
"For what it's worth," Alex said, "I was Team James. Poor sucker." Christian punched him in the arm and I blushed a deeper shade of red. Brody went to get us drinks, and luckily, the others quickly became bored with our new relationship status. As Alex and Christian went back to discussing tomorrow's football games, Lauren and Kinsley looked at me expectantly.
"Did you tell James?" Lauren asked.
"Sort of," I responded. "I'm going to have a more thorough conversation with him tomorrow, if he'll talk to me."
"So did you just call Brody and say 'oh hey, let's be together'?" Kinsley asked, looking around to make sure Brody wasn't coming back.
I laughed. "Um, not quite. I drove out to his house at 1 in the morning in the pouring rain, and luckily he was there, answered the door, and let me in even though I was dripping all over the floor."
"That's so romantic," Kinsley sighed.
"And so stupid!" Lauren exclaimed. "What were you thinking? What if he hadn't even been there?"
"I wasn't thinking," I admitted. "But he was there, and it worked out."
I was spared any further inquisition when Brody reappeared with drinks. I thanked him and took a sip, listening to Alex and Christian argue about quarterbacks. Shortly after, the band began.
They were pretty good, and the venue was the perfect size. There was standing room on the dance floor and the elevated areas around it, then tables up on the second floor loft area. I was glad they had gotten here early enough to get us a table up here, because it was a perfect to listen and see, but it wasn't quite as loud or crowded as it would be down on the floor.
While the band was taking a quick break, I got up to get a drink. As I turned from the bar, I heard a low chuckle and my eyes snapped up to lock on Jordan's face.
"Well, look who it is," he growled. "Here with my brother, princess?" I felt like the wind had been knocked out of me. I struggled to keep my face calm, but judging by the way he was leering at me, I was sure he could see the panic in my eyes.
"Hello Jordan," I said as calmly as possible. "Please get out of my way."
"Oh, are we going to play that game again?" he asked, taking a step towards me. It was loud near the bar, and no one seemed to notice anything out of the ordinary. I tried to push past him but he stepped into my path. My breath caught and I tried to remind myself he couldn't really get away with doing anything with all these people here. I forced myself not to flinch away as he reached out a hand and lightly stroked my hair with his fingertips.
"Hey, man, get out of the way! People are trying to get through!" came an angry voice from the other side of him. Jordan turned to deliver a nasty remark back and I slipped past him and hurried back to our table.
Brody took one look at my face and shaking hands and stood up. "What's wrong?" he asked, guiding me into my seat. I put my face in my hands and took several deep breaths. Lauren touched my back, but I shied away from her. "Liv?" Brody prodded gently when I didn't respond.
"I..." I started, pausing to take a deep, shaky breath. "Jor--the guy that grabbed me when I was out with James is here. I just ran into him up at the bar."
Brody looked furious. I shook my head. "He didn't really do anything. I mean, not now." The words rushed out and I realized I was holding the arm that Jordan had bruised after the comedy show. Brody reached for it. I held it out to him for inspection. "He didn't touch me this time. I just panicked when I saw him." Brody's jaw was set and his eyes were hard. "Don't," I said, reading his mind. "I'm fine, I'm just shaken up."
I was starting to feel a little ridiculous with all 5 of them staring at me. I sat up straight and forced a smile onto my face. "Seriously, guys, I'm okay. It was just a little disconcerting seeing him. There were so many people near the bar and I got a little anxious, but I'm fine." Alex and Christian shrugged and turned their attention back to the stage, but Lauren, Kinsley, and Brody were still staring at me.
"Do you want to go?" Brody asked quietly. "We can go. You're white as ghost."
I shook my head. "I'm fine, I promise. If I change my mind, I'll let you know." He sighed in frustration at my stubbornness but dropped it. He shifted his chair and slid his arm around my shoulders. I leaned into him and willed my body to stop shaking. Lauren was still looking at me with concern. I offered her a smile. She narrowed her eyes, then turned back towards the stage. I shut my eyes briefly and sucked in another deep breath. When I opened them, I felt a little calmer, and returned my attention to the music.
We stuck around at our table chatting for about 20 minutes after the show ended. As we were walking out, I caught sight of Jordan again. I turned my head, hoping he wouldn't see us. Near the door, I heard his voice boom, "Well, that certainly isn't my brother!" Shit. I looked at him. He was looking at my hand where it was connected to Brody's, our fingers entwined.
"Your brother?" Brody asked in confusion. "No, definitely not, and thank god for that." I could tell by the set of his jaw that he had realized exactly who this was.
"Can't say I blame you," Jordan continued to me, ignoring Brody. "This guy is much better looking than my idiot brother."
"Come on," I said to Brody, pulling on his hand. "Let's get out of here." The panicky feeling was starting to come back, even though Brody was in between me and Jordan, and Alex, Christian, Lauren, and Kinsley were right behind us. Plus there were bouncers all over the place, since we were near the bar and the door.
"So soon?" Jordan asked, his face contorting into what looked like it was meant to be a friendly smile, but it missed the mark. "I was hoping to get to know you and your friends better, sweetheart." His eyes drifted down the length of my body.
"I'd appreciate if you didn't look at my girlfriend like that," Brody said evenly.
"Let's go!" I hissed at Brody. This time he listened. Brody was careful to stay between me and Jordan, but after we walked past, Jordan reached behind us and slapped my ass. Brody didn't even hesitate. He spun and punched Jordan square in the face.
Saturday, September 27, 2014
(Then) James
We hit 100,000 page views today! This blows my mind, as this blog is barely over two months old. I know I've said it before, but I cannot believe how much this has taken off, and I appreciate so much all the wonderful people that take time to read and/or comment. When I asked who you guys would like to see backstory on, most people wanted to hear more about James and Jordan. It's funny, because even with the significant part (even though neither have been around too long) they've played in Liv's story, I really hadn't thought through their story much, so it was good for me to have to do that. For now, I only have one post, so I decided to do it as a bonus this week to thank you guys for reading and commenting and getting this blog to where it is! I can promise you more on this story in the future, too.
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16 months is not enough time separating sibling birthdays. Especially when both siblings are competitive boys.
It really wasn't my fault that I made varsity basketball as a freshman when he had just made it that same year, as a junior. I couldn't help that I got more play time than he did. Basketball was my thing. It was never his thing, so I didn't get why it pissed him off so much.
Not that that was the main reason for our shitty relationship. But it was certainly the catalyst that sent it rocketing over the edge of the cliff. After that basketball season, things were never good between us again.
Jordan was always loud. He was always getting into trouble. Never anything too crazy. Just a detention here, a day of in-school suspension there. The police only brought him home once before he turned 16. Apparently, putting a hole in the fence and climbing the water tower is frowned upon. Who knew? Not Jordan, I guess.
I was always sort of quiet when we were younger. Jordan could be overwhelming, and our parents loved my quietness. I think Jordan picked up on that. He just got louder and more obnoxious, and more convinced that I was the favorite. I don't know, maybe I was. It's not like they fed me filet and lobster and him dog food. It wasn't that obvious. But I guess there was a subtle feeling.
Once Jordan got to high school, he realized how attractive he was. Most of his detentions and in-school suspensions resulted from stupid shit he did to show off for girls. Once I got to high school, Jordan realized I looked just like him, and he started avoiding bringing girls home or telling them we were related. Not that it was an easy fact to hide. If he wasn't taller and bigger built than me, we could have been twins.
I was surprised at the amount of female attention I got my first year in high school. I guess being on varsity basketball and being tall for my age helped with the older girls too, but I wasn't really big into dating at the moment. I had enough going on with school, basketball, and avoiding Jordan as much as possible.
But then there was Celine. The first time I saw her, I thought she was the hottest girl in the school. Then I saw that the arm she was touching was Jordan's. I immediately took her off my list of possible girls I might actually want to make the time to date, and quietly lusted after her from afar.
Jordan ended up dating her for long enough that he started bringing her home every once in awhile. She was actually really nice, and I have no idea what she saw in Jordan. She started saying hi to me in the hallways at school, and chatting when we'd run into each other. Eventually, Jordan started to notice, and he wasn't very happy about it.
"We're just friendly," I protested, when he came flying into my room one day, roaring about me making a move on his girl.
"Friendly my ass," he growled. "Stay away from her. You aren't going to take this from me too."
I considered arguing back, but the bruise on my jaw from our last fight had finally faded and I didn't feel like getting my face fucked up again. I was tall for my age, but I was still just tall and scrawny and Jordan had about 6 inches and 40 pounds on me. That meant that the fights where I had held my own as a kid now generally went in his favor.
When Celine came up to me in the hallway the next day at school, all smiles, I frowned and said, "I'm not supposed to talk to you anymore, sorry." It was stupid thing to say, but I said it anyway. She looked bewildered, then hurt. She tried to say something, but I walked away. Not worth it.
After school, Jordan was waiting for me when I walked in the door at home. "What the fuck?" he yelled, before I even had a chance to put my backpack down.
"Now what?" I sighed, thinking that at least my face had been unmarred for 24 hours.
"You fucking told her I told you to stay away from her?" he snapped, standing and taking a menacing step towards me. I supposed it would be too much to hope for that mom or dad might be home early today and we could keep this to a verbal altercation.
"Well, no, I didn't tell her that you said that," I said with a shrug, hoping it came off more nonchalant than I was feeling.
He laughed--a short, loud, barking sound that lacked humor. "She broke up with me, asshole," he growled, punctuating the "asshole" with a quick, hard punch to my gut. He walked away laughing as I doubled up and sank to my knees, trying to catch my breath.
He didn't speak of the situation again after that, but he took great pleasure in sabotaging all my budding relationships. He did it for fun. He could really turn on the charm when he wanted to, and most people at school had no idea what an ass he was at home.
I can't put my finger on when things started to really go downhill, but the Friday night that my parents got a frantic phone call from one of Jordan's friends was certainly not even close to the beginning. My parents rushed out of the house around midnight and didn't come back until the next afternoon. They wouldn't tell me what happened, just that Jordan was sick and would be in the hospital until that evening, or perhaps the next morning.
It wasn't until Monday at school when I got the real story from the rumor mill. Jordan had been at a party with his friends and had drank so much that his friends couldn't wake him up. When he started vomiting and choking in his stupor, one of his friends had frantically and "anonymously" called my parents, who had called 911 and rushed to where he was. He ended up getting his stomach pumped and spending a couple days in the hospital detoxing.
He was in bad shape, and none of us had even realized it. Of course, he played it all off and threatened to fuck up my face so badly I'd be unrecognizable if I talked to my friends about it. No problem, because I didn't want to talk about him. He managed to hold it together for the rest of the school year at least.
During the summer between my freshman and sophomore years (so his junior and senior years), he was out a lot. He came home drunk a few times, but more often he just didn't come home. My parents kind of gave up on him, not that they ever had high hopes for him in the first place.
I spent the summer lifting weights and working out with a couple friends from the basketball team, and I actually started to fill out a little. That would be helpful when Jordan and I inevitably got into it again.
Once school started, Jordan got his shit together again for about the first two months. After that, he started doing stupid shit again, staying out all night and coming home drunk. He even showed up to school drunk a few times. He was on his game for stealing my girls, at least. I pretty much just gave up, rather than lose another one to him. My only consolation was that he didn't even bother with basketball this year. And after this year he wouldn't be at school anymore.
I didn't worry much about dating during basketball season. I kissed a few girls here and there, but nothing serious. In March, though, one of my friends introduced me to a junior named Brooke. She was gorgeous, smart, and funny. And interested. I took a chance, and Jordan actually left it alone.
We had been dating for about 6 weeks when Jordan walked into my bedroom on a Thursday night. "Hope you don't mind, little brother, but Brooke's going to go to prom with me this weekend," he said with a smirk.
"Yeah, okay," I replied, not looking up from my Geometry homework. Jordan hadn't been planning to go to prom, and Brooke wasn't that stupid.
"No, really," he said. "I decided to go last minute. I obviously needed a date and I knew she wasn't going because you're both too young. So I asked her. Told her you were cool with her doing a favor to help your big brother out."
I looked up at him. He was clearly serious. "You are the biggest fucking dick," I snarled, standing up. Jordan now only had about 2 inches and 20 pounds on me. We hadn't gotten into a physical fight in several months but I was more than ready to go this time.
He leaned against my door frame, clearly not expecting me to make the first move. He was shocked when my fist connected solidly with his nose, slamming his head back against the door frame.
"You motherfucker!" he yelped, hands flying to his face to try to stop the blood streaming from his nose.
"You're bleeding on my carpet, asshole," I retorted calmly. "Mom's gonna kill you." Just then our dad came running up the stairs. He took one look at Jordan, then shook his head at me.
"What the hell are we going to do with you two?" he asked, exasperated. My mom yelled up from the bottom of the stairs, trying to find out what was going on. Seriously? Out of all the times he nailed me, I get one good slug in and they're on my ass?
Mom had made her way up the stairs. "Jordan! You're bleeding on the carpet!" she screeched. I smirked at Jordan. His left eye was already starting to blacken. My hand was throbbing but I didn't even care. I wanted to hit him again. And again.
Mom led Jordan to the bathroom and my dad just stared at me. Finally he shrugged and said, "He probably had it coming, but you should stay in your room for the rest of the night." No problem. As long as Jordan stayed out, anyway.
___________________________________________
16 months is not enough time separating sibling birthdays. Especially when both siblings are competitive boys.
It really wasn't my fault that I made varsity basketball as a freshman when he had just made it that same year, as a junior. I couldn't help that I got more play time than he did. Basketball was my thing. It was never his thing, so I didn't get why it pissed him off so much.
Not that that was the main reason for our shitty relationship. But it was certainly the catalyst that sent it rocketing over the edge of the cliff. After that basketball season, things were never good between us again.
Jordan was always loud. He was always getting into trouble. Never anything too crazy. Just a detention here, a day of in-school suspension there. The police only brought him home once before he turned 16. Apparently, putting a hole in the fence and climbing the water tower is frowned upon. Who knew? Not Jordan, I guess.
I was always sort of quiet when we were younger. Jordan could be overwhelming, and our parents loved my quietness. I think Jordan picked up on that. He just got louder and more obnoxious, and more convinced that I was the favorite. I don't know, maybe I was. It's not like they fed me filet and lobster and him dog food. It wasn't that obvious. But I guess there was a subtle feeling.
Once Jordan got to high school, he realized how attractive he was. Most of his detentions and in-school suspensions resulted from stupid shit he did to show off for girls. Once I got to high school, Jordan realized I looked just like him, and he started avoiding bringing girls home or telling them we were related. Not that it was an easy fact to hide. If he wasn't taller and bigger built than me, we could have been twins.
I was surprised at the amount of female attention I got my first year in high school. I guess being on varsity basketball and being tall for my age helped with the older girls too, but I wasn't really big into dating at the moment. I had enough going on with school, basketball, and avoiding Jordan as much as possible.
But then there was Celine. The first time I saw her, I thought she was the hottest girl in the school. Then I saw that the arm she was touching was Jordan's. I immediately took her off my list of possible girls I might actually want to make the time to date, and quietly lusted after her from afar.
Jordan ended up dating her for long enough that he started bringing her home every once in awhile. She was actually really nice, and I have no idea what she saw in Jordan. She started saying hi to me in the hallways at school, and chatting when we'd run into each other. Eventually, Jordan started to notice, and he wasn't very happy about it.
"We're just friendly," I protested, when he came flying into my room one day, roaring about me making a move on his girl.
"Friendly my ass," he growled. "Stay away from her. You aren't going to take this from me too."
I considered arguing back, but the bruise on my jaw from our last fight had finally faded and I didn't feel like getting my face fucked up again. I was tall for my age, but I was still just tall and scrawny and Jordan had about 6 inches and 40 pounds on me. That meant that the fights where I had held my own as a kid now generally went in his favor.
When Celine came up to me in the hallway the next day at school, all smiles, I frowned and said, "I'm not supposed to talk to you anymore, sorry." It was stupid thing to say, but I said it anyway. She looked bewildered, then hurt. She tried to say something, but I walked away. Not worth it.
After school, Jordan was waiting for me when I walked in the door at home. "What the fuck?" he yelled, before I even had a chance to put my backpack down.
"Now what?" I sighed, thinking that at least my face had been unmarred for 24 hours.
"You fucking told her I told you to stay away from her?" he snapped, standing and taking a menacing step towards me. I supposed it would be too much to hope for that mom or dad might be home early today and we could keep this to a verbal altercation.
"Well, no, I didn't tell her that you said that," I said with a shrug, hoping it came off more nonchalant than I was feeling.
He laughed--a short, loud, barking sound that lacked humor. "She broke up with me, asshole," he growled, punctuating the "asshole" with a quick, hard punch to my gut. He walked away laughing as I doubled up and sank to my knees, trying to catch my breath.
He didn't speak of the situation again after that, but he took great pleasure in sabotaging all my budding relationships. He did it for fun. He could really turn on the charm when he wanted to, and most people at school had no idea what an ass he was at home.
I can't put my finger on when things started to really go downhill, but the Friday night that my parents got a frantic phone call from one of Jordan's friends was certainly not even close to the beginning. My parents rushed out of the house around midnight and didn't come back until the next afternoon. They wouldn't tell me what happened, just that Jordan was sick and would be in the hospital until that evening, or perhaps the next morning.
It wasn't until Monday at school when I got the real story from the rumor mill. Jordan had been at a party with his friends and had drank so much that his friends couldn't wake him up. When he started vomiting and choking in his stupor, one of his friends had frantically and "anonymously" called my parents, who had called 911 and rushed to where he was. He ended up getting his stomach pumped and spending a couple days in the hospital detoxing.
He was in bad shape, and none of us had even realized it. Of course, he played it all off and threatened to fuck up my face so badly I'd be unrecognizable if I talked to my friends about it. No problem, because I didn't want to talk about him. He managed to hold it together for the rest of the school year at least.
During the summer between my freshman and sophomore years (so his junior and senior years), he was out a lot. He came home drunk a few times, but more often he just didn't come home. My parents kind of gave up on him, not that they ever had high hopes for him in the first place.
I spent the summer lifting weights and working out with a couple friends from the basketball team, and I actually started to fill out a little. That would be helpful when Jordan and I inevitably got into it again.
Once school started, Jordan got his shit together again for about the first two months. After that, he started doing stupid shit again, staying out all night and coming home drunk. He even showed up to school drunk a few times. He was on his game for stealing my girls, at least. I pretty much just gave up, rather than lose another one to him. My only consolation was that he didn't even bother with basketball this year. And after this year he wouldn't be at school anymore.
I didn't worry much about dating during basketball season. I kissed a few girls here and there, but nothing serious. In March, though, one of my friends introduced me to a junior named Brooke. She was gorgeous, smart, and funny. And interested. I took a chance, and Jordan actually left it alone.
We had been dating for about 6 weeks when Jordan walked into my bedroom on a Thursday night. "Hope you don't mind, little brother, but Brooke's going to go to prom with me this weekend," he said with a smirk.
"Yeah, okay," I replied, not looking up from my Geometry homework. Jordan hadn't been planning to go to prom, and Brooke wasn't that stupid.
"No, really," he said. "I decided to go last minute. I obviously needed a date and I knew she wasn't going because you're both too young. So I asked her. Told her you were cool with her doing a favor to help your big brother out."
I looked up at him. He was clearly serious. "You are the biggest fucking dick," I snarled, standing up. Jordan now only had about 2 inches and 20 pounds on me. We hadn't gotten into a physical fight in several months but I was more than ready to go this time.
He leaned against my door frame, clearly not expecting me to make the first move. He was shocked when my fist connected solidly with his nose, slamming his head back against the door frame.
"You motherfucker!" he yelped, hands flying to his face to try to stop the blood streaming from his nose.
"You're bleeding on my carpet, asshole," I retorted calmly. "Mom's gonna kill you." Just then our dad came running up the stairs. He took one look at Jordan, then shook his head at me.
"What the hell are we going to do with you two?" he asked, exasperated. My mom yelled up from the bottom of the stairs, trying to find out what was going on. Seriously? Out of all the times he nailed me, I get one good slug in and they're on my ass?
Mom had made her way up the stairs. "Jordan! You're bleeding on the carpet!" she screeched. I smirked at Jordan. His left eye was already starting to blacken. My hand was throbbing but I didn't even care. I wanted to hit him again. And again.
Mom led Jordan to the bathroom and my dad just stared at me. Finally he shrugged and said, "He probably had it coming, but you should stay in your room for the rest of the night." No problem. As long as Jordan stayed out, anyway.
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