What was there to explain?
He was caught fucking his wife on the piano two minutes after I walked away.
That night, skull-tattoo guy and I made out for like an hour on the beach while I was completely drunk on some concoction. He wanted more, but I pulled out the period card at the last minute. It was enough to turn him off, but not before he begged for a blow job, another thing I so willingly declined.
“Me, Elijah, Finn, Jennifer, that chick from English class with the huge rack.”
“You mean Lily?”
“Yeah, that’s her name.”
California showcased the best upcoming new talent once a year, and the concerts always went off. It was a four-hour drive, so Dr. Edwards organized a room for us at a posh hotel next door, and the only reason my dad allowed me to go.
“And what about your…” I cleared my throat, pretending to pass it off as a nasty cough, “… brother?”
“He and Samantha have some event to go to.”
Like a couple.
Okay, I’m fucking done.
As much as I hated him right then, there was that tiny part of me that wanted to see him so he could beg me to forgive him. This wasn’t the right frame of mind to be in. I had filled out a survey and read numerous articles in Cosmo magazine. They all came up with the same answer—he was a fucking jerk, so leave his sorry ass now before you ended up being the fool. Yep, fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. Well, unfortunately, the fool was sitting in Adriana’s room still thinking about how much I missed him.
I began flipping through Adriana’s magazines, my mind not focusing on them but rather on the bulletin board above her desk. The photographs were scattered everywhere, a ton of us, but it was the ones of Alex which caught my attention. How could one human being be so photogenic in every picture? He was like a goddamn male supermodel. Glancing at the images ignited a spark, one I had been trying to bury along with the hurt and humiliation.
There’s one of Alex and Samantha on their wedding day. I felt the knots starting to form in my stomach, reality creeping its way in as I examined his expression. He loved her, right? Otherwise, why would he marry her and fuck her on the piano? There it was again, anger rearing its ugly head.
“I love that photo of them,” Adriana sighed.
“How did they meet?”
“In college. First-year, I think. You know my brother, he was a manwhore here in Carmel. I’m surprised he’s settled down. I don’t know how she did it, but she did.”
Way to go for asking that question. Alex was a manwhore. I couldn’t say I really paid attention back then, but if I could feel any smaller right now, I’d be a goddamn ant.
“She’s nice.” It was all I could manage to say.
“Yeah, she is. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I like her, but sometimes I think she asks too much of him. Almost like its back to 1950 where women stayed home making pies and leaving them on the windowsills to cool down while the men brought home the bacon.”
“Maybe he likes that. You know… that whole I’ll-be-the-caveman-you-be-the-cavewoman thing,” I mumbled.
“I guess… maybe. It’s just that Alex isn’t like that. Yes, he’s my brother and annoys the fuck out of me, but deep inside, he is such a kind-hearted guy. He’d never hurt anyone intentionally, and he would never treat a woman that way. Sure, he fooled around in high school, but who didn’t?” Adriana walked over to her stereo and cranked up the latest Rihanna song.
As we both sang our lungs out, a knock on the door echoed through the room. I was lying on Adriana’s bed throwing a rubber ball hitting the ceiling as it rebounded back to me. Yes, I was that frustrated.
“Adriana, you have someone here to see you.” His voice made me lose my catch, and the ball rolled over to his feet. “It’s Finn.”
I sat up as he looked at me, annoyed. What the fuck did I do? I wasn’t the one fucking my wife on the piano.
“Sweet. Char, grab your things and let’s go. I call shotgun,” she cheered.
I quietly gathered my things and my phone trying my best not to make eye contact as Alex stood in the doorway blocking the entrance. You could cut the tension with a fucking chainsaw in here. I was praying he’d leave, so I could exit without the drama of having to walk past him.
“C’mon, the concert starts in a few hours, and we need to get a good spot. Thank God, Finn is driving so I can be car DJ.”
I was looking forward to Adriana being car DJ, but it annoyed the fuck out of Finn. Their arguments over petty things provided good entertainment while slumming it in the back seat.
Alex stood still by the door, and I had no choice but to walk past him. As I made my way to the door careful not to make any physical contact, he quickly held onto my arm.