Something New & Unexpected

by Sarah Matthews

  I bit my lip again.

  We sat in silence for a few seconds until Steve finally said something.

  “Please just tell me what’s wrong.”

  “I’m fine,” I said, unconvincingly.

  “No, you’re not.”

  “I caught you,” I whispered, finally breaking.

  “What?”

  “I caught you,” I repeated, but loud enough for him to hear.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “The girl who answered your phone.”

  “What girl?” Steve asked, confused.

  “The one who answered your phone twice when I called Monday.”

  “Oh that girl,” he sighed, as realization sank in.

  My heart sank. “Oh, that girl?” I repeated, really sarcastically, trying to hold back the tears.

  “Wait, I can explain,” he said, but I didn’t give him the chance.

  Slamming the phone shut, I turned and threw it then put my face in my hands and cried.

  The next day, I went through the day basically on autopilot and as if nothing had happened. I went to class and had conversations with other people, but I wouldn’t know what they were about if someone were to ask. Later that afternoon, I shut myself in my room, not wanting to talk to anyone, and just studied, or at least tried to study. No matter how much I read, I couldn’t comprehend anything. The only thing that registered in my mind were the calls and texts from Steve and I just ignored them. By the time five rolled around, I was emotionally, mentally, and physically exhausted so I grabbed a quick bite to eat and went to bed.

  Friday morning I woke well rested, but still both emotionally and mentally exhausted and I was glad I didn’t have class or have to study. I also knew that I had to talk to someone otherwise I’d have a breakdown. Knowing that Lillian had class until three, I decided to watch TV and movies and did absolutely nothing all day.

  After eating breakfast, I popped Miss Congeniality in the DVD player and got comfortable on the bed with a blanket around me. Two and a half hours later, I was wiping tears from my eyes and trying to catch my breath from laughing so hard. With my emotions all over the place and my brain not functioning, I needed something that was relaxing and enjoyable to watch, and that did the trick. I couldn’t remember the last time I laughed that hard. Granted, I chalked it up to my present state, but it didn’t matter. I popped in The Mummy and climbed back in bed. The only time I stopped it was just long enough to go to the bathroom and ask Quentin to make me a grilled cheese sandwich and then brought it back to my room.

  By the time the movie ended, it was 3:15 so I got out of bed. After putting the DVD away and going to the bathroom again, I checked my phone. Seeing that I had no messages, I grabbed my plate and glass and took them to the kitchen before heading upstairs. Stopping outside her door, I noticed Lillian was studying. Part of me just wanted to go back downstairs so she could study, and I didn’t have to talk about this, but the other part of me knew I needed to. So, taking a deep breath and scooting closer in the doorway, I knocked and she looked up.

  “Hey, Lil.”

  “Hey.”

  “Got a minute?”

  “Sure.” She smiled, backing away from her desk.

  “You sure, ‘cause if you’re busy, I can come back?” I asked, hesitating outside her door.

  “Absolutely. I was just doing a little reading for my class on Monday... no biggie. I’m already way ahead in that class anyway.”

  “Oh, okay.”

  “So, what’s up?” she asked, when I parked.

  “Steve.”

  “What’s going on?”

  “He’s cheating on me.”

  “What?” she said, surprised.

  “Yeah.”

  “How do you know?”

  “I called him Monday night.”

  “Oh,” she said, in recognition.

  “What?” I asked, a little confused.

  “Oh, nothing. It just explains Tuesday.”

  “Oh, yeah,” I said, remembering Tuesday.

  “Are you sure? I mean, it could be a total misunderstanding,” she asked, after a few seconds.

  “If it is, it’ll shock the hell out of me.”

  “Why?”

  “‘Cause he admitted it.”

  “What?” she asked, both surprised and confused.

  “Yep.”

  “Okay, explain and start at the beginning.”

  “Okay,” I said, and I couldn’t hide the small grin tugging on my lips over her reaction.

  As I told her everything from the two calls on Monday, to Tuesday, to Wednesday, then finally today, Lillian’s expression kept changing. By the time I finished, she had an expression I couldn’t quite identify. It was a mixture of shock, confusion, and thought, and we just sat in silence for a few minutes.

  “Wow,” she finally whispered.

  “Yeah.”

  We sat in silence again, and I could tell she was thinking about something and debating on whether to tell me.

  “What is it?” I asked, then continued when she bit her bottom lip. “You can tell me. I won’t bite.” I chuckled, trying to make her feel at ease and it worked.

  “I was just thinking it could still be a misunderstanding, seeing as you just hung up on him and didn’t let him explain.”

  “That’s true,” I replied, thoughtfully.

  “So, you gonna call him?”

  “I’ll think about it,” I told her, with a hint of a cocky grin, and she just laughed.

  After catching up with her about her and other things, I left and let her finish her reading and I went back downstairs to think.

  Around 5:30, my stomach growled and I went to get something to eat. I was surprised to see the dining room as full as it was because it was still early. After getting my food, I sat at a table with Lillian and Teddy.

  “Hey, y’all.”

  “Hey,” everyone at the table said.

  “So, what were you guys talking about? Or do I even want to know?” I asked, with a small laugh, before taking a bite of my food.

  “We were just talking about going to White Ho later,” Teddy said.

  “Oh,” I replied, taking a drink of Sprite.

  “You’re DPW number one, right?”

  “Nope. Not tonight.”

  “What?” he asked, a little confused.

  “I’m stayin’ in tonight. There’s something I have to do,” I answered, smiling at Lillian.

  She smiled back.

  “Oh, okay,” he said, looking between us, even more confused.

  “Don’t worry, Teddy, I’ll do it with Marisa so you don’t have to,” Lillian told him.

  “Oh, thanks,” he replied, in mock relief, and we all laughed.

  The rest of dinner was the same old same old. By the time I finished eating, I wondered once again how it was that one, we could go from the most mundane topic to the grossest in less than five minutes, and two, how I’d managed not to get sick every time, especially during meals.

  Backing away from the table, I said, “Bye,” and took my tray up then headed back to my room. Shutting the door, I inhaled deeply, but was unable to exhale. Going over to my desk, I picked up my phone and just held it, unable to do anything else. After a few minutes of just staring at it, and finally exhaling, I opened the phone, hit speed dial, took another deep breath and held it, and waited.

  “Hello?” I heard after three rings.

  “Hey,” I said, shyly.

  “Hey,” Steve said, surprised, but happy.

  I let out the breath I’d been holding. I was just about to apologize when Steve started laughing hysterically.

  “Are you okay?” I asked, chuckling a little, at his laughter

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” he said, through his laughter. “Hang on a minute.”

  “Okay.”

  Though Steve put the phone down, I could still hear what was going on in the backg
round and I started breathing heavy. I focused harder to make sure I was hearing what I thought I was hearing.

  “You need to stop,” Steve said, still laughing.

  “No I don’t,” the female voice from the other night laughed.

  “Yes, Brit, you do,” he replied, with just a hint of laughter.

  Unable to listen anymore, I slammed my phone shut. Instead of throwing it, because it probably couldn’t take anymore abuse, and screaming or crying, I calmly put it on my desk and went to look for Teddy. I found him still in the dining room talking to Lillian.

  “Hey,” I said, when I got to the table.

  They looked at me and said, “Hey,” surprised to see me.

  “Are you guys still going to White Ho?”

  “Yeah.”

  “What time?”

  “Nine-ish.”

  “Okay, thanks. I’ll be ready.”

  “Okay.” Teddy grinned, and I turned to leave.

  Just as I got to the doorway, I turned around and they looked at me again.

  “Oh, I’m not gonna be a DPW,” I told them, and turned back around.

  “Oh boy,” Lillian whispered, but I still heard her.

  “What?” Teddy asked, whispering, confused.

  “I’ll tell you later,” she whispered back.

  I headed to my room not even caring that she was going to tell him.

  All I cared about was having a good time and forgetting all about Steve. If that meant getting totally wasted, then so be it.

  Chapter 13

  “Shh,” Teddy whispered, leaning down next to my ear, as he pushed me through the doors. “You have to be quiet, people are sleeping.”

  “No,” Lillian said, coming in behind us, “they’re probably not.”

  “See, they’re not. You’re just a party pooper,” I whispered, loudly, in Teddy’s ear, as I wrapped my arm around his neck and rubbed the back of his short, natural blond hair, then started laughing loudly and uncontrollably again.

  “So I’ve been told.” He chuckled.

  I glared at him, but continued to rub his neck.

  “Anyway, you’re probably right,” he agreed.

  I looked at him with glassy eyes and a goofy, drunk grin.

  He continued, “But that’s only because you woke them up.”

  I immediately stopped rubbing his neck and scowled at him. He just laughed and I folded my arms across my chest and pouted, which only made him laugh harder.

  After shutting my door and parking me in the middle of the room, Teddy took off my jacket and scarf and put them in the closet. He grabbed my hair tie off the dresser and put my hair back and carefully took out my earrings before going into the bathroom. Coming back and setting a wet washcloth and towel on my desk, he began wiping off my makeup with a wet wipe. Once it was off, he took the washcloth and went over my face and neck one more time then dried them off with the towel before heading back into the bathroom.

  “Here, drink this,” he told me, holding out a plastic cup of water and putting my small basin on my desk, when he came back in.

  I immediately tightened my lips and shook my head exaggeratedly.

  He just sighed. “You need to. It’ll make you feel better.”

  When I shook my head again, he resorted to the one thing he knew I couldn’t say no to even when I was plastered.

  “Please. For me.”

  Narrowing my eyes at him in frustration, then taking the cup, I drank the water quickly and he smirked in satisfaction.

  After setting the empty cup on my desk, Teddy went behind me and untied the back of my shirt then came back around. “Lift your arms,” he said, quickly pulling it off and tossing it on the floor.

  Leaving my bra on, he went over to my bed and lifted the pillows and grabbed my pajama shirt and quickly put it on me, so I didn’t get cold. When my shirt was comfortable, he grabbed my comfy pajama pants and threw them on the ground, then squatted down. After taking off my shoes, he leaned up and started on my jeans.

  I started giggling as he unbuttoned them, but stopped when he looked up at me. He tapped my hip, and I shakily rose up and he pulled down my jeans and took them off.

  Suddenly feeling nauseous, I leaned down and tapped him on the shoulder. Looking up and seeing my face, Teddy immediately dropped my pants and reached up for my basin and put it in front of me just in time. Being careful not to move it, he stood up next to me and rubbed my back in soothing circles until I finished.

  “Finished?” he asked, reaching across for the washcloth with one hand and keeping the container under me still with the other.

  I slowly nodded my head.

  Putting the container on the desk, he tilted my head up so he was looking right at me.

  “I hate doing that,” I grumbled, dejectedly, with my eyes still closed, while he finished wiping off my mouth.

  “I know,” he replied, folding the washcloth and wiping the rest of my face again, as well as the back of my neck, “but you had to.”

  Opening, and narrowing, my eyes, I looked at him.

  He laughed lightly. “Do you feel better?” he asked, as he finished wiping my neck.

  “A little,” I answered, defeatedly.

  He laughed again and took everything back into the bathroom. Coming back in, Teddy went over to my refrigerator and grabbed a couple crackers. “Eat these.” He handed them to me.

  I took them willingly, no longer as drunk, and knowing they would settle my stomach.

  Smiling, he squatted back down and grabbed my pants. Despite my help, they proved to be more challenging to put on than they looked. No matter how many times he scooted each pant leg up to get my foot, it fell and I just giggled. Hearing me giggle, he looked up, but this time he laughed. Once he finally got both feet through, he put them back on the footrest and I raised up.

  With my pants comfortably on, Teddy pulled down my blankets, while I finished my last cracker. Walking back over to me, he put one hand on my back and the other under my knees, picked me up, and carried me to the bed, knowing that I was probably still too drunk to transfer myself without hurting myself.

  I wrapped my arms around his neck and he laid me gently on the bed then pulled the blankets up around me. I snuggled into them.

  Seeing that I was comfortable, he headed back into the bathroom and grabbed my towel and trash can. He set the trash can next to the bed. I raised my head up so he could put my towel over my pillow just in case I didn’t make it to the trash can. While I got comfortable again, he grabbed the call button and put it on my pillow, for an emergency. With me comfortably in bed, and everything taken care of and in place, he grabbed the sign and shut off all the lights and left. Drifting off to sleep, the corners of my lips twisted up thinking about the past three hours.

  By 8:45, I was looking at myself, yet again, in my full-length mirror, on the back of my door, amazed. My hair was a cascade of loose, open, flipped out curls that flowed all the way down the middle of my back, covering my bare shoulders. My makeup was subtle on my cheeks, but the eye shadow made my eyes pop and sparkle, especially with my contacts in. It was my usual neutral tones of browns, but with just enough burgundy to make them smoky, as well as go with my top. It was strapless, velvet and soft, with a tie in the back, and the color of red wine. My jeans were a darker blue that molded to my thighs, knees, and calves, but flared out just enough to cover most of my strappy, open-toed, black satin, slingback stilettos; except my toes. Needless to say, I looked hot.

  I was brought out of my thoughts when there was a knock on the door, making the mirror shake a little.

  “Wow,” Lillian said, when I opened it.

  I just grinned. “I’m ready. Just let me grab my things,” I told her, backing away to let her in.

  “Oh, you’re fine. No one’s out there yet. I just came to see you.”

  “Oh, okay.”

  “You look amazing,” she told me.

  “Thanks,”
I replied, putting in my dangle earrings. “Terese did most of it.”

  “Well, she did a great job.”

  “I think so, too,” I agreed, putting on the matching necklace and spraying a little perfume on my wrists.

  “I absolutely love what she did with your hair. It’s so wavy and has so much volume.”

  “I know. I can never get it to have this much volume, no matter what I do.” I chuckled. “I think that’s my favorite part, that and my eyes. She really made them pop without going too overboard.”

  “I know. They’re the brightest blue I’ve ever seen them. What did she do?”

  “Nothing much really. She used the natural browns I use, but added a touch of burgundy to make them smokier.”

  “Not to mention, bringing out the color of your top.”

  “Yep.”

  “Speaking of your top. Is that the one Hailee bought you last semester?”

  “The one and only.”

  “Well, it looks great on you,” Lillian complemented.

  “Thanks,” I said, with a huge smile.

  “You’ll definitely have every guy’s attention tonight.”

  “That’s my plan,” I admitted, with a bit of a smirk.

  “So I take it the phone call with Steve didn’t go well,” she ventured.

  My smirk disappeared. “You could say that,” I replied, with a snort.

  “What happened?”

  “Well,” I answered, hesitantly, “it actually started out okay. He was actually happy to hear from me.”

  “But?”

  “But then he started laughing hysterically and I heard her, laughing, in the background,” I continued, emphasizing ‘her’.

  “Oh,” she whispered.

  “Yeah,” I said, softly, my eyes glazing over at the thought.

  “So, is Terese still here?” she asked, trying to change the subject as quickly as possible.

  “Nope,” I told her, shaking my thoughts away. “She left about five minutes ago to go get ready.”

  “Oh, she’s coming out with us?” she asked, a bit surprised, but excited.

  “Yep. She said she would meet us there in about fifteen minutes.”

  “Oh, fun-fun.” She grinned, and I laughed.

  A few seconds later, after noticing the time, she started backing toward the open door.