Wait. I dont have a strobe light.
I sit straight up on the bed. Sydney hands me my phone and begins to text me, but my phone is dead. Did we fall asleep?
The lights. The lights are going on and off.
I grab Sydneys phone out of her hand and check the time: 8:15 A.M. I also read the text she just tried to send me.
Sydney: Someones at your bedroom door.
Warren wouldnt be up this early on a Friday. Its his day off.
Friday.
Maggie.
SHIT!
I hurriedly jump off the bed and grab Sydneys wrists, then swing her to her feet. She looks shocked that Im panicking, but she needs to get the hell back to her room. I open the bathroom door and motion for her to take that route. She walks into the bathroom, then turns and heads back into my bedroom. I grab her by the shoulders and force her back into the bathroom. She slaps my hands away and points into my bedroom.
I want my phone! she says, pointing toward my bed. I retrieve her phone, but before I hand it to her, I type a text on it.
Me: Im sorry, but I think thats Maggie. You cant be in here, or shell get the wrong idea.
I hand her the phone, and she reads the text, then looks back up at me. Whos Maggie?
Whos Maggie? How the hell can she not remember . . .
Oh.
Is it possible Ive never mentioned Maggie to her before?
I grab her phone again.
Me: My girlfriend.
She looks at the text, and her jaw tightens. She slowly brings her eyes back to mine, and she snatches the phone out of my hand, grabs the doorknob, and steps back into the bathroom. The door closes in my face.
So was not expecting that reaction.
But I dont have time to respond, because my light is still flickering. I head straight to the bedroom door and unlock it, then open it.
Warren is standing in the doorway with his arm pressed against the frame. Theres no sign of Maggie.
My panic instantly subsides as I walk backward and fall onto my bed. That could have been ugly. I glance up at Warren, because hes obviously here for something.
Why arent you answering my texts? he signs from the doorway.
My phone died. I reach over to my phone and place it on the charging base on the nightstand.
But you never let your phone die.
First time for everything, I sign.
He nods his head, but its an annoying, suspicious, Youre hiding something kind of nod.
Or maybe Im just being paranoid.
Youre hiding something, he signs.
Or maybe Im not being paranoid.
And I just checked Sydneys room. He arches a suspicious brow. She wasnt in there.
I glance to the bathroom, then look back at Warren, wondering if I should even lie about it. All we did was fall asleep. I know. She was in here.
He holds his stern expression. All night?
I nod casually. We were working on lyrics. I guess we fell asleep.
Hes acting strange. If I didnt know him better, Id think he was jealous. Wait. I do know him better. He is jealous.
Does this bother you, Warren?
He shrugs and signs back. Yeah. A little.
Why? You spend almost every night in Bridgettes bed.
He shakes his head. Its not that.
What is it, then?
He breaks his gaze, and I can see the discomfort cross his face before he exhales. He makes the sign that indicates Maggies name. He brings his eyes back to mine. You cant do this, Ridge. You made this choice for yourself years ago, and I tried to tell you then what I thought about it. But youre in it now, and if I have to be the annoying friend to remind you of that, so be it.
I wince, because it kind of pisses me off how hes referring to mine and Maggies relationship. Dont refer to my relationship with Maggie as being in it ever again.
His expression grows apologetic. You know what I mean, Ridge.
I stand and walk toward him. How long have we been best friends?
He shrugs. Thats all I am to you? A best friend? Ridge, I thought we were so much more than that. He smirks as if hes trying to be funny, but I dont laugh. When he sees how much his remarks have bothered me, his expression quickly sobers. Ten years.
Ten. Ten years. You know me better than that, Warren.
He nods, but his face is still full of doubt.
Good-bye, I sign. Shut the door on your way out. I turn and walk back to my bed, and when I face the door again, hes gone.
8.
Sydney
Why am I so pissed? We didnt do anything.
Did we?
I cant even tell what the hell happened last night before we fell asleep. Technically, it wasnt anything, but then again, it was, which is probably why Im so pissed, because Im so freaking confused.
First he doesnt tell me about Hunter for two solid weeks. Then he fails to mention that hes deaf, although I really have no right to be upset about that. Thats not something I should feel obligated to have been told.
But Maggie?
Girlfriend?
How could he fail to mention in the three weeks Ive been talking to him that he has a girlfriend?
Hes just like Hunter. He has a dick and two balls and no heart, and that makes him Hunters twin. I should probably just start calling him Hunter. I should just call them all Hunter. From here on out, all men shall be referred to as Hunter.
My father should be thanking the high heavens that Im not in law school, because I am by far the absolute worst judge of character who has ever walked the planet.
Ridge: False alarm. It was just Warren. Sorry about that.
Me: SCREW. YOU.
Ridge: ???
Me: Dont even.
A few seconds pass with me staring at my silent phone, and then a knock comes from the bathroom. Ridge swings the door open and enters my room, holding his hands with his palms up in the air as if he has no idea why Im upset. I laugh, but it isnt a happy laugh at all.
Me: This conversation will require a laptop. I have a lot to say.
I open my computer as he makes his way back to his room. I give him a minute to log on, then I open our chat.
Ridge: Can you please explain why youre so pissed?
Me: Hmm. Let me count the ways. (1) You have a girlfriend. (2) You have a girlfriend. (3) Why, if you have a girlfriend, was I even in your BEDROOM? (4) You have a girlfriend!
Ridge: I have a girlfriend. Yes. And you were in my room because we agreed to work on lyrics together. I dont recall anything happening between us last night to warrant this reaction from you. Or am I mistaken?
Me: Ridge, its been three weeks! Ive known you for three weeks now, and youve never ONCE mentioned that you have a girlfriend. And speaking of Maggie, does she even know I moved in?
Ridge: Yes. I tell her everything. Look, it wasnt an intentional omission, I swear. You and I have just never had a conversation where she came up.
Me: Okay, Ill let it go that you failed to mention her, but Im not about to let everything else slide.
Ridge: And this is where Im confused, because Im not clear on what you think we did.
Me: Youre such a guy.
Ridge: Ouch? I guess.
Me: Can you honestly say that your reaction to the possibility of her being at your door earlier was a normal, innocent reaction? You were freaking out that she would see me with you, which means you were doing something you wouldnt want her to see. I know all we did was fall asleep, but what about the WAY we fell asleep? Do you think she would have been okay with the fact that you had your arms around me all night and your face was practically glued to my chest? And not only that, but what about the fact that I sat between your legs the other night? Would she have smiled and kissed you hello if she had walked in right then? I doubt it. Im fairly certain that would have ended with me being punched.
Ugh! Why is this upsetting me so much? I bang my head lightly against the headboard out of frustration.
Moments later, Ridge appears in the doorway between our bathroom and my bedroom. Hes chewing on the corner of his bottom lip. His features are a lot calmer than when he was in here just a few minutes ago. He walks slowly into my room, then sits on the edge of my bed with his laptop on his knees.
Ridge: Im sorry.
Me: Yeah. Good. Whatever. Go away.
Ridge: Really, Sydney. I havent been looking at it like that at all. The last thing I want is for things to be weird between us. I like you. I have fun with you. But if for one second I led you to believe that something was going to happen between us, I am so, so sorry.
I sigh and attempt to blink the tears away.
Me: Im not upset because I thought something was going to happen between us, Ridge. I dont WANT anything to happen between us. I havent even been single for a whole week yet. Im upset because I feel like there was a moment, or maybe two, whenas much as neither of us wants to cross that linewe almost did. And you can deal with your actions on your own, but the fact that I was unaware that you had a girlfriend was really unfair to me. I feel like
I lean my head back against the headboard and squeeze my eyes shut, long enough to force back the tears once more.
Ridge: You feel like what?
Me: I feel like you almost made me a Tori. I absolutely would have kissed you last night, and the fact that I didnt know you were involved with someone would have made me a Tori. I dont want to be a Tori, Ridge. I cant tell you how much their betrayal hurts me, and I will never, ever do that to another girl. So thats why Im upset. I dont even know Maggie, yet you made me feel like Ive already betrayed her. And as innocent as you may be, Im blaming you for that one.
Ridge finishes reading my message, then calmly lies back on the bed. He brings his palms to his forehead and inhales a deep breath. We both remain still as we think about the situation. After several quiet minutes, he sits back up.
Ridge: I dont even know what to say right now other than Im sorry. Youre right. Even though I thought you knew about Maggie, I can absolutely see what youre saying. But I also need you to know that I would never do something like that to her. Granted, what happened between us last night is not something I would ever want Maggie to see, but thats mostly because Maggie doesnt understand the process of writing music. Its a very intimate thing, and because I cant hear, I do have to use my hands or my ears to understand things that come naturally to others. Thats all it was. I wasnt trying to cause anything to happen between us. I was just curious. I was intrigued. And I was wrong.
Me: I understand. I never thought for a second that your intentions werent genuine when you asked me to sing for you. Everything just happened so fast earlier, and I was still trying to recover from the fact that I woke up in your bed and the lights were flickering. Then you go and flash the word girlfriend in my face. Its a lot to process. And I believe you when you say you thought I knew about her.