Unexpected (5 page)

Thank God Ryan is at work, otherwise he would
definitely know what I did in here.

I get redressed and realize I haven't looked
at my phone since yesterday. When I pull it out of my purse, I
notice several messages, missed calls, and voice mails. I only have
enough time to see that they came from Victoria and Drew before my
phone shuts down. “Damn it!” That's what happens when you're not at
home to charge your phone overnight. I guess I have no other choice
but to go back there and face the possibility of running into
Victoria.

I muster up my courage, grab the spare key,
and drive to my apartment. When I open the door, it's completely
silent. Good. Maybe she's sleeping and I can get what I need
without her even knowing I'm here. I step lightly as I cross the
living room and head down the hall to my bedroom. I pull out a
duffel bag from my closet and fill it with pants, shorts, and
shirts. I grab my charger and toss it in, as well as some health
and beauty essentials. Before I zip it closed, I snatch the two
books I was planning to read next. Might as well have something to
do while I'm sitting around waiting for Ryan to get home,
right?

I don't see anything else that I need
immediately, so I head for the door. Right as I'm about to make my
escape, I hear a sound behind me. My head snaps back to find
Victoria standing in the hallway with her arms crossed. “What the
hell are you doing here?” she asks.

“Getting some of my stuff,” I answer as
coolly as I can. “My name is on the lease, too, you know.”

She heaves a heavy sigh. “Did you know
t
here's a light bulb out in the
bathroom?”

“
Oh yeah. I
forgot about that.”

“
So, you
noticed it before you left?”

“
Yes.”

“
Why didn't
you change it?”

Oh, I don’t know, probably because I was
too busy having the worst day of my life to
give a damn about changing it.
I fight back the urge to punch her.
“Why can't you change it?” There's a “how many blondes does it
take” joke in here somewhere, but I'm not going to say it out
loud.

She rolls her eyes. “Just get out of
here.”

Looking at her, I can barely recognize the
girl who used to be my best friend. We were close right off the
bat, even when we decided to become roommates. Once the newness of
our apartment faded, things changed. We would still hang out, talk,
and go out together, but it became less and less frequent. The
medical office she works at cut her hours and she had to get the
job at the sports bar to cover the loss of income. Our paths
crossed less since I worked earlier in the day. I didn't think much
of any of it before, but it makes so much more sense knowing what
was going on behind the scenes for four months.

I know I should just go—let
this
go—and walk away. Yet, her change in demeanor is bringing out a
white-hot rage I've never been inclined to feel until now. I set
the duffel on the floor. “If he was willing to cheat on me, who’s
to say he isn’t cheating on you?”

Her eyes narrow. “Drew loves me.”

My whole body tenses up thinking about the
betrayal. I swallow and say, “Drew told me he loves me, too.”

“He didn't mean it when he said it to
you.”

Likely story. “What about you? Why did you
even date Ryan if you were already 'with' Drew?”

Victoria makes a face like the answer is
obvious. “I had to do it so nobody would suspect us.”

What a self-centered bitch!
It's bad
enough she hurt me, but she brought Ryan into this intentionally,
knowing she was lying from the beginning. “So you led Ryan on for a
whole month? How could you do that to someone? He's a nice, sweet
guy.”

She purses her lips. “You should know.”

“What's that supposed to mean?”

“I know you spent the night at his
place.”

I blink at her. “How do you even know where I
was—”

“I drove by Ryan's place last night to talk
to him and saw your car there.”

Right. She wouldn't have known if I hadn't
asked Ryan to get my car. “All I did was sleep on his couch.”

An evil smirk comes across her face. “I'm
sure you did.”

My jaw drops. “I don't have to explain
anything to you. Even if something
had
happened, it doesn't
suddenly change the fact you've been lying to me for months. You
betrayed me and stomped all over our friendship. Did I really mean
so little to you that you could condone your actions?”

For a brief, fleeting moment, a look comes
across her face that makes her seem almost human. It goes away
seconds later, replaced by the scowl I've come to know as her new
face. “You just make sure you come back and get the rest of your
shit out of here.”

“Don't worry, I plan to.” I grab my duffel
and turn to the door. As soon as I get to my car, I peel out of the
parking lot and get out of town as quickly as possible without
breaking the law.

I'm about to head back to Ryan's apartment
when I make a last-minute decision and get on the highway. Half an
hour later, I'm in Park Meadows pulling in to the driveway at my
mom's house.

The place
hasn't changed much since I lived here four years ago. In fact, it
hasn't changed much since we moved in when I was five.
There
may have been
some fresh coats of
paint here and there,
plus some additional shrubs.
Not to mention the trees
that
were held up with string are now towering over my head.
Other than that? Exactly how I
remember it. I'm thankful that my father never sold the place, or
the extra property. Some of our neighbors did, and now a lot of the
scenery down the road has changed dramatically. It feels wrong,
like the loss of something intrinsic. If my childhood home was
different, I don't know if I would like coming here as much as I
do.

My mom always keeps
the side door unlocked when she's home. She's usually watching my
brother Nick's kids, Sasha and Toby, while he's at work. They love
to explore the same spots I did growing up. When I come into the
kitchen, my mom turns around from the stove. Her eyes brighten for
a second, then the light in them fades when she sees the look on my
face. “Honey, what are you doing here?”

“
Drew was
cheating on me with Victoria.” I close my eyes. Saying the words
out loud makes it hurt all over again.

Her hand slams down on the counter, causing
my eyes to shoot back open. “He
w
hat
?”

I go to the nearest
wall outlet. “My phone died. Can I plug it in?”

“
Of course,”
she says as she turns off the stove. “But honey, what happened?”
She comes over to me, taking hold of my hand.

I sigh,
hating that I have to say
the words.
“They were cheating; Ryan and I caught them
yesterday.”

“
Who's
Ryan?”

“The guy Victoria was dating.”

She pulls me over
to the kitchen table and I sit down. She lets go of my hands and
gets a couple mugs from the cabinet. “Tell me everything.”

While she puts the
kettle on to make us some tea, I fill her in on the details. At
least, the details I want her to know. My mom doesn't need to know
about what happened with Ryan other than the fact that he offered
up his couch for me. “I'm a mess,” I say in conclusion.

“
Pish posh,
you're not a mess.” She sets down both mugs and sits next to me.
“You're twenty-two. You're allowed to make mistakes, sudden career
changes, and ditch bad boyfriends.”

“
You left out
trading in decent shelter for living in a cardboard
box.”

“
Please.” She
waves her hand at me, rolling her eyes. “That Ryan guy has
generously offered up a place for you to stay.”

“
I can't stay
with him forever.” As tempting as it is. I brush the thought aside
and take a sip of my tea, savoring the lemon flavoring. “Even if I
would extend my stay, I can't do so without compensating
him.”

“
Yes, dear, I
know.” She sighs. “Are you going to be okay?”

“
Not today,
but eventually.” I gulp down more of the tea and close my eyes. I
need to get my mind off the bad things in life. “Are Sasha and Toby
outside?”

My mom nods. “Where
else would they be?”

I smirk. “How have
they been?”

“
Ornery as
usual, like their father.” She looks at me and frowns, reaching
over to touch the side of my face gently. “If you need to stay with
us while you find a place, I can tidy up the guest
bedroom.”

The guest
bedroom used to be
my
bedroom until last
year. I love my family more than anything, but the thought of
living here again scares me. Not in the “who wants to live with
their parents?” kind of way. More like a “living with my parents
again is like going backwards” way. Admitting defeat. Giving up.
“Thank you, Mom. I appreciate the offer.”

“
Of course,
baby doll.” She stands up. “
Are you going to stay for
supper?”

I shake my head.
“Ryan said he was going to pick something up after work.” I rub my
temples with my index fingers. “I'm going to go out in the woods
for a little bit.”

“
Okay,” she
says, reaching down to give my hand a squeeze. “Don't stay out
there too long.” She kisses me on the cheek and I head out the door
toward the woods.

Once in the middle
of the woods, I start to pick up stray sticks and break them. It's
been my habit to do this whenever I'm upset. Mom knew it was best
to let me come back here rather than continue to talk about what
happened. I need a moment—a moment to be angry—and then I can go
back to real life.

After about
five minutes of stick breaking, I find a tree I had forgotten
about. When I was thirteen, my junior-high boyfriend Mark Paulson
and I came back here and carved our initials into it inside a big
heart. At the time, it seemed like the right thing to do. Like
carving our initials into a tree trunk would solidify our
relationship as something that would stand the test of time. Two
weeks later, I caught him making out with Cynthia Parker behind the
school. He was the first boy to cheat on me and
break my
heart.

Damn that kid.

I find myself a
stick almost as tall as me and hit it against that tree as hard as
I can.

“
Jesus
Christ, Alina!”

Spinning around, I
do a double take. “Ryan? What are you doing here?”

He steps cautiously
forward, his skin glistening from being outside all day. “I called
your phone a few times and your mom finally answered. She thought
it had to be serious if I wouldn't stop calling. She told me where
you were.”

“
Of course
she did. How'd you get here so fast?”

“
The house
I'm working on is a few miles east of here.”

“
Why were you
calling?”

“
I just got
off work and thought I'd see if you were ready for dinner. I wasn't
sure if you were hungry yet. I was getting a little worried when
you weren't answering.”

“
Oh.” Why
would he be worried about me?

“
So...” He
stuffs his hands into his pockets. “What are
you
doing here?”

“
I went to my
apartment because I left my phone charger...and Victoria was
there.”

“
Shit.”

I huff. “That's an
understatement.” I pick up another stick.

“
What did she
do?”

“
She drove by
your place last night and saw my car. She basically told me I was a
whore for spending the night at your apartment.” I break my stick
in half. “That little bitch stood there accusing
me
of being the whore.” I point one of the sticks
to my chest. “Me.” Throwing the two pieces, I say, “We may have
kissed, but I wasn't screwing you behind her back.” I pick up a
longer stick and whack it hard against another tree causing it to
break and shoot off into the brush. “I'm
not
that kind of person. I'm the kind of person who keeps having
that shit happen to me.” When I lean my back against the tree, my
chin starts to quiver. Before I can stop it, the tears spill
over.
My hands cover my face.

Almost immediately,
Ryan gathers me into his arms. My fingers grip his shirt as I let
it all out. He holds me tightly, whispering comforting words as he
rubs my back.

“
God, why am
I crying?” I let out a choked grunt. “It needs to stop.”

His
hand
smoothes
down my hair.
“I was actually surprised you didn't cry yesterday.”

Shaking my head
against his chest, I say, “I hardly ever cry. Especially over
breakups. If a guy doesn't treat me right, I'm better off without
him. I usually just get angry.”

He tries—and fails—to stifle a chuckle. “I
noticed that.” He holds me closer. “Victoria has an evil side that
is willing to step on and crush anything—
anyone
—that
threatens her. You're a threat to her because you're a better
person. She wants to break down your defenses and break your
spirit.” He presses a kiss to the top of my head. “Be strong like I
know you are and don't let her get to you. She's heartless. Don't
let her win.”

I smile at his
consoling words. “Thank you,” I whisper. I look up at him. “Did you
know Drew and I were talking about moving in together?”

His eyebrows quirk,
more puzzled than surprised. “You were?”