Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Part One - VIII : "Best Friends Keep The Best Secrets For Themselves"

Part One


Chapter VIII



Best Friends Keep The Best Secrets For Themselves





"Emily, it's me again, please call me back. I really need to talk to you in person. Your dad told me you were going to Canada with Jean. I'm on my way up there right now. Please, just hear me out."


I can't blame her for acting this way, I just wish she would hear me out, and give me the benefit of the doubt.


Ring, Ring.


"Hello?"


"Stop calling her."


"Jean? Is she there?"


"No. She's in the restroom. Now stop calling Brandon, I mean it!"


"How could you do this to me Jean? Or her for that matter? What is wrong with you?"


"I told you why. She wants nothing to do with you now, get it through your head."


"That is only because..."


Click


"Hello? HELLO??"


What a bitch. There is no way I am letting her get away with this. It is all her fault that I am in this situation.


"Restroom, huh?"


She must be at a gas station, and the sign back there said last station for forty five miles is coming up. Their lead was not that great to begin with, I must have almost caught up with them.


This was her plan all along, I know it. Jean wanted Emily to break up with me, and then she was gonna try and get her to move on. Two girls on a road trip to Canada sounds like a great way to forget about an ex. Where she can meet some other guy looking for someone in exactly her position, a wounded girl looking for someone to make her feel good again. Some random fling to show her that she has still got it, and re-affirm her thoughts on how I am the one who is missing out. Of course she would be right.


I am not letting Jean ruin this for me. I don't know why she thinks I'd want anything to do with her after this. She was jealous, no, she was envious of how great Emily and I were together. Emily would describe me as the perfect guy, the best boyfriend, I know she did, because I used to say the same things about her. Jean wanted that, and instead of looking for her own, she thought she could just take me.


It is always weird weird looking back on the pivot-able moments of your life, and how at the time they never feel as grand or definite as they turn out to be.


"You wanted to talk to me about something Jean?"


At the time I just thought she was having a rough time, I thought maybe she was just confused and needed someone to talk things through with. Now thinking back I can see there was no confusion, the type of talking she had in mind needed no words. She moved in before I knew what was going on.


"Jean! What are you doing?"


None of these hesitations seemed to deter the unwanted assault.


"Oh come on Brandon, we both know this has been a long time coming."


"No. No we do not know this."


Finally pushing her off me and back into her own seat. She had a look of complete shock on her face, like she had just been slapped. In retrospect I wish I had slapped her, it would make me feel a little better right now. The look of shock faded as she buried her face into her hands and started crying.


"I am so sorry, I don't know what came over me, ever since Daniel I have just felt so alone, but you and Emily have been so great. You never make me feel unwanted. After Daniel, well, you know..."


Truth was I didn't know. She never told me exactly what happened, she hinted towards him wronging her in some unspeakable way.


"I haven't been myself."


She shot her face up with a look of terror.


"Please Brandon, don't tell Emily! She would never talk to me again. I can't lose the two of you, I am sorry, I didn't mean to, I wasn't trying to..."


Her face was buried once again, sobbing even louder now.


"Easy, okay, Jean don't worry, I won't say anything. I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong signals at all, I only have feelings for Emily. Let's just pretend it never happened."


Once again her face appeared, a hesitant smile upon it now, with, even at that moment I thought, was hiding a grin. I brushed it off, and when she moved back towards me I backed up defensively.


"Oh sorry, I um, it was just a hug. I understand though, forget it, I'm sorry."


She slumped back into her seat. I felt sorry for her, I actually pitied her. Stupid Bitch. I moved in and gave her a friendly comforting hug.


That was when she must have done it, I am sure of it. Maybe when I was hugging her, or when I was putting my seat belt back on, but it was definitely at this moment. The evidence, was only the first thing she planted. As soon as she got home she planted something far worse, the seed of doubt in Emily. I would not learn of either until the next night when I picked her up.


"Brandon, I need to ask you something."


"Yes hun? Anything."


"What did you do last night? I mean, who were you with?"


Her eyes were fighting back tears, but her face was stone solid.


"What was I? Um, I didn't do anything really, just stayed in and watched TV."


I was watching TV before Jean called. I did not mention that because I did not want to explain why Jean s desperately needed to talk to me, alone.


"Why do you ask?"


The tears started slowly at first, but they kept pace with her words as she spoke.


"Well, I didn't believe it at first. A friend of mine told me they saw your truck parked up by the baseball field. I did not think twice about it, but now getting in your truck, I, I can smell her Brandon!"


This is starting to get out of control.


"Emily, I just stayed in most of the night. Julie needed a ride home from softball, so I went to get her."


The statue like stillness that was her face, melted.


"And stayed at the field for forty-five minutes? Stop lying to me! The seat was pushed back all the way. The way it used to be when we would go to the baseball field."


"Julie must have pushed it back when she..."


"No! You're twelve year old sister does not wear these!"


Emily pulled a pair of panties from the side of the door seat.


"Next you are going to say my friend didn't see you kissing a girl as she drove by. Was that Julie too? Just giving her a kiss on the cheek for a good practice?"


"No Emily! That wasn't Julie. It was..."


Wrong way to start a defensive statement.


"So it was someone! I can not believe you, after everything we have been through! At least have the decency to tell me who it was you were with."


"Emily please hear me out! Nothing happened. I was just talking, it was Jean, you know we are just friends!"


Balling now she opened the door and started to get out.


"You just can't stop lying can you? I never want to hear from you again, next time check with your accomplices before you make up your alibis. Jean was with me last night, who do you think saw you parked? She lives across the street. You disgust me."


Jet set me up. Fucking Bitch. Emily got out of the truck slamming the door, and jumped in her car and took off before I even really grasped what had happened.


"I'm not letting her get away with this."


Jack's Corner Store, two miles on the right. Like you really need a sign to point something out on this road. The only thing I have seen for the last ten miles was some side roads and a maple sugar farm. Until now I had not even seen another car in almost half an hour. Figures with all the open road out here I have to get cut off from someone who does ten under the limit. I had to slam on my breaks to stop from running into the rear end of the car.


"Pick a side!"


Can't even pass if I want. The driver seems to think the yellow line is more of a guideline than a set of boundaries.


I had to slam on my breaks a second time when he all of a sudden pulled off to the side of the road and parked still partially in the lane.


"Drunk!"


He did not seem to hear me as I passed him. He threw open his door, coming inches from my front bumper. Just barely had enough time to swerve out of the way. In my rear view mirror I can see the driver stumble into the woods where he threw up, then fell, hard. I grabbed my phone from the passenger seat and called 911.


"911, what's your emergency?"


"I'm driving up Route 135, and I just saw a guy get out of a car and collapse. He was vomiting, and then fell hard onto the ground."


"Where on Route 135 are you?"


"I'm heading North. I am about a mile before a place called Jack's Corner Store."


"We are sending someone right away. Did the male seem hurt?"


"I can't really tell, he just didn't look good, he was driving erratically in front of me, then pulled over and stumbled into the woods."


"Thank you sire, we'll take care of it."


"Is there anything I can do?"


"You've helped as much as you can, we've got it from here, thank you."


"Okay. Thank you, bye."


With all the excitement I couldn't pull my eyes away from the rear view mirror to see if the car was coming around the corner. Maybe he got back up and got back on the road. I wanted to believe the guy was okay. I was believing it so hard that I thought the car in front of me all of a sudden was part of my imagination right up until it was too late. A car pulled out of the corner store right into my lane. Braking was not even an option by the time I realized what was going on.


The truck landed on it's roof, and I stayed in my seat because of the seat belt. My shirt was quickly feeling wet. My head was spinning so much I almost thought the truck was still rolling. Below me on my ceiling the phone began ringing. I went to go grab it but I couldn't move. I saw Emily's picture on the phone, it was her calling. I needed to answer it, to tell her what happened. She needed to hear it from me. I fell asleep thinking I answered the phone.

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