Promises, Promises

by Baker, Janice

  And then, there was that last night. I’ll never forget the look on HIS face when HE removed my blindfold allowing me to see what I had done.

  I let the tears fall thinking of that night. I started crying, but then heard Flynn yell from down stairs, “The fucking bitch!! I KNEW it Z! I told you she was a cheating whore!” I sat up wiping my eyes and tried to hear more. He said a couple of things more to him that I couldn’t make out and then the front door slammed closed.

  I guess Melanie was right about Z’s girlfriend.

  Chapter 4

  Z

  My head was pounding. I tried to open my eyes slowly, but the room kept spinning. What the hell happened? Oh yeah…fucking whore. I tried to sit up but couldn’t. I felt like shit. I felt the bile coming up my throat and ran to the bathroom. I made it just in time. I heaved several times and sat there on the floor for a while. I put my head against the cold tub. It felt so good. I tried to stand, but realized sitting was best at this point.

  I tried to remember what happened. After closing the bar, I walked up my front stairs to my door and I thought I heard moaning. I opened the front door and there was Sheila bent over my couch taking it from behind from some asshole. It took me a second to register what the fuck was happening. It was all in slow motion. Reliving it in my mind, I started puking again.

  I remembered grabbing him and beating the shit out of him. Sheila was grabbing me trying to get me to leave him alone. I threw him out the front door and turned to her. She was pissed. Why the fuck was she pissed at me? She was fucking some douche!

  She started yelling at me that I’m always at the club and never giving her any attention. I still don’t get that. It’s not like I didn’t try to spend time with her, but she was always busy making plans. I thought having her move in with me would bring us closer. Wrong.

  I started dry heaving again remembering last night. My phone was ringing. Where was that sound coming from? Shit. It kept ringing. I wish it would stop. I realized it was in the living room somewhere. I stood up slowly and walked out. It stopped by the time I reached for it. Ten missed calls. Four from Sheila. Fuck her. The other calls were from Flynn, Mel and my brother, Matt.

  Just then the door swung open and Mel and Clark came in.

  “Second shift is here!” Mel chimed trying to put a smile on. She came over to hug me, but I put a hand up and ran back to the bathroom.

  “Flynn said you were pretty messed up. He said he made sure you were still breathing when he came home for a shower and to get some sleep,” she called out from the living room. “I think we need a trip to Rita’s for the hangover cure.” I heaved some more making hacking noises.

  “Maybe we’ll wait just a little bit!” Mel called out.

  Clark started laughing. “Holy shit. Look at this place! What’d you do, start punching the walls or something? What was wrong with the pictures?” I heard Mel saying something to Clark and he said, “Ah, right, bitch bought all that shit.”

  Mel came in with a glass of water and two Advil, handing them to me. I just sat there. “When are you going to fix the kitchen faucet? I almost got soaked again!” I ignored her.

  “Why Mel? What the fuck did I do to her?” I whined like a pussy. She sat on the floor next to me.

  She rubbed my back as she tried to reason with me. “You knew she was wrong for you to begin with. You even said that. Why were you even trying to make it work?”

  I closed my eyes. “I don’t know. I thought I could make it work. Uhh, I just want what my parents have.” She patted my shoulder and stood.

  “That shit only happens with the right girl. And that girl…was NOT the right girl. You’ll find her Z. Shit – you have a bar full of them coming in nightly!” Mel said laughing.

  Clark showed up at the door. “What is wrong with you that you keep wanting relationships? They’re bullshit. You just wind up following a chick around like a damn puppy dog. And the sex? That shit goes down after a couple months.” I winced when he said “sex.” He had a point. Sheila and I hadn’t had sex in a long time, only to come home finding her having sex with someone else on my couch.

  “You’ll get over her. I promise. Just like…what was her name?” Mel asked glancing up at Clark.

  He smirked, “Marie. She was just an idiot.”

  “Can we stop bashing my choices in women just for now, please? At least ‘til my hangover dies down.” I choked out.

  Mel got up and walked over to the living room. I heard her start to clean. “Holy shit. How many bottles did you guys go through?” I had no idea. I knew I was pounding them to try to get the vision of Sheila bent over, taking it from behind from some dickwad, out of my head. Then we started on hard liquor when we ran out of beer. I didn’t bother responding to her.

  “Come on. Are you done hacking it all up for now? Let’s hit Rita’s!” Mel said pulling on my arm. “Fresh air will do you some good anyway.”

  We started walking to the door. All I could see was the huge mess I made. All her shit was still here. What the fuck was I going to do with all her crap? I’d have to see her again. Shit.

  Mel noticed my look. “We’ll come back and throw her crap out on the lawn when we get back. You don’t need to look at her stuff.” I nodded, thinking the sooner we get it out the better.

  The walk to Rita’s was tough. I think I puked again on the way, but can’t really remember. We finally made it there and took our normal table by the window.

  Flynn walked in looking like I felt and sat down at the table. A round of hangover specials were ordered for the table. And we sat there in silence for a while.

  Flynn started up, “So, how ya feeling now that all your questions have been answered?”

  I closed my eyes and put my head in my hands. “Fuck. I guess it was going to happen, right? Who the hell can deal with me being at the club all the time?”

  “It’s not that Z. You just need the right girl to put up with a club owner, that’s all.” Mel said a bit too brightly. I like her better when she’s hung over too.

  Flynn clapped my shoulder and said, “Nah, that’s not it. You just need someone who has your same interests. Sheila did not have your same interests.”

  “Not to mention, she was just a bitch. Hot, but really a mean bitch!” Clark added in.

  I was just glad the food and Bloody Mary showed up. I so needed it. The Bloody Mary hit the spot just right.

  I looked up out the window and noticed a hot chick running in a tiny bra top and little shorts. She looked familiar. Her hair was up in a ponytail swinging from side to side. Holy shit, she was hot. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. Mel noticed me looking, followed my stare and exclaimed, “Hey, there’s Izzy!”

  “Izzy? My new bartender Izzy?” I asked.

  Mel started laughing. “Yes, my hung over friend.”

  “Man, she is so freaking hot.” Clark said looking out the window watching her until she was out of sight. Shit, he was right. She’s really gorgeous.

  “Off limits, remember? She’s got stuff to workout, Superman.” Mel said laughing at him. I felt a bit jealous that he was even talking about her. The guy seriously couldn’t keep it in his pants. How he does not have a disease by now was beyond me.

  My foggy brain was trying to remember what her deal was. Oh yeah, the psycho ex-boyfriend.

  “She seemed like she picked up pretty well last night at the bar,” Flynn said.

  “Yeah, but she was just serving beers. Tuesday I’ll have her start mixing drinks.” I said. I was just glad we changed the subject from me walking in on my girlfriend taking it from behind by another dude.

  We started chatting about different things to keep the conversation going. Well, they kept the conversation going, I mostly listened, trying not to think about…that whore. My attention turned back to the conversation when Flynn asked Mel and Clark if they’re going to the block party at our parents’ house in two weeks.

  “Nah, I’m out. Last time I went there I had to hold babies and be nic
e to little kids. Not my thing.” Clark said sitting back with his hands clasped behind his head.

  Flynn laughed, “We drink and always wind up playing some football and stuff.”

  Clark shook his head. “Nah the only chicks there are either underage or married with little kids. Not my thing, dude.”

  “What about you, Mel?” I asked.

  “You know I’m always in. I love both your parents. I always have a great time with them.” Then she asked, “Mind if I bring Izzy? I’m sure she could use a fun gathering like that. Something ‘normal’ people do,” She added in, glaring at Clark. I started thinking of Izzy in her little running outfit. Hell yeah, you can bring her.

  “Yeah, bring Izzy. My parents will probably love her like they love you, you know that Mel.” Flynn said winking at her. She smirked. I wish they would just get together, I thought as I sat there staring at them too long. Seriously, I feel like I’m still drunk.

  We paid our bills and headed back to my place.

  Mel insisted we throw all Sheila’s shit in garbage bags and throw them on the front lawn. And that’s just what we did. It took us about an hour since we were literally just bagging everything.

  By then, Sheila pulled up in her car and jumped out, wailing on the front lawn. “My stuff! What are you guys doing? This is all my stuff!”

  “Yeah, it is.” Mel spat out smiling smugly, “Now take it all, along with your nasty slut ass, and go!”

  “Fuck you, bitch! Are you fucking him now?” Sheila started screaming from the front lawn. I felt a cat fight coming on. Clark’s face lit up with a smile.

  “He can fuck anyone he wants because obviously you do!” Mel screamed out. Flynn stepped in and pulled Mel behind him as he watched Sheila starting to stalk over. Mel didn’t care. At that point she was ready to fight her and was reaching from behind Flynn to grab Sheila. I decided to step in before it got full blown. As I started walking to her, I heard Clark say “No, Z let ‘em go. This’ll be awesome!”

  I stepped right in front of Sheila. “Look. It’s over between us. You screwed someone else in my fucking house. Now just take your shit and go.”

  “You know this is all your fault, don’t you Z?” Sheila started saying and then Mel started screaming from behind me, “Bitch, it’s your fault! He treated you awesome and you’ll never get even half that shit from that dude you were fucking!” Flynn was trying to calm her down. I couldn’t help but chuckle. Mel really was protective over her friends.

  I turned back to Sheila and started picking up bags and carrying them to her car. I threw them all in there, shoving shit in as fast as I could. I didn’t even want to talk to her anymore. I felt like I was going to hit her, but I don’t hit chicks, ever. She was crying and saying over and over how it was my fault and that I live at the bar and something about all the sluts I flirt with. That pissed me off, so I yelled back at her, “I don’t flirt with them. They’re my customers.” Then I realized I was talking to a wall and what did it matter what I said to her now? I held her car door open and glared at her.

  “FINE!” She screamed. “But just remember this was all your fault because you suck at relationships!”

  I slammed the door and turned around shaking my head. Fuck her. She drove off, squealing her tires. Mel was still trying to calm down. “You should have let me beat the crap out of her. I know you don’t hit girls, but I sure as shit do!”

  Flynn was laughing at her, shaking his head. Clark was laughing saying, “I wish you would have. I love a great cat fight. Hair pulling. Titties bouncing. Aww, and then if you had rolled around on the ground. Sitting on top of her…”

  “OKAY!! Got it.” Flynn interrupted him. We walked back in my house and sat on the couch in silence.

  Mel interrupted our thoughts. “So, let’s go back and watch some football and play pool.”

  “Nah. I just need to be alone for a bit. I need to sleep anyway. I’ll hang back. You guys go.” I just wanted to wallow and I was still tired from my drinking binge.

  “Are you sure, man?” Flynn asked. “We don’t mind hanging here if you want.”

  “Nah, I’m good. Really, thanks. Thanks for everything. Especially packing up her shit. And Mel,” she looked up at me with a smirk, “Thanks for having my back!”

  “Anytime, Z, you know that! Besides, you guys were there for me when Allen dumped my ass!” She stood up smiling. “If you need anything, you know where we are.” Then she looked at Flynn. “Maybe we’ll hit Spike’s later for the game. We’ll text you where we’ll be so you can meet us out.”

  “Sounds good,” I said, knowing I probably wouldn’t meet them out, but appreciated the invite.

  Everyone said their goodbyes. I sat back on the couch thinking how my life changed in an instant.

  Chapter 5

  Izzy

  I came back from my run to an empty house. I took my shower, changed and came downstairs to make something to eat. I loved how big and equipped the kitchen was and I wondered if any of my new roommates cook. That was one thing I missed. I loved to cook, but of course, I haven’t cooked for two years because I had people making meals for me. It’ll be nice to cook meals again, I thought as I sat by myself at the kitchen island eating my sandwich.

  Everyone was still out and I assumed they were still dealing with the Z situation. I had such a nice run that I thought I should go out for a walk and maybe window shop.

  I left the townhouse and turned toward Allure to shop. After about an hour of shopping, I turned back toward the townhouse. I had this eerie feeling that someone was following me, but every time I looked around no one odd stuck out. I think it was just my nerves still on alert. There was no way HE knew where I was.

  I headed back with my purchases and walked into the living room where everyone was sitting on the couch watching football.

  “Hey! Where ya been?” Mel called out.

  “I went shopping after my run. What about you guys?” I asked.

  Mel got up and came to me to see what I bought. “We were at Z’s. He walked in last night on that skank of his with some jerk. So, he was a pretty upset, as you can probably imagine.”

  “Wow! That’s pretty messed up. Is he okay?” I remembered Flynn’s phone call last night, but still tried to sound surprised.

  “Too bad you weren’t there Izzy, it could have been a three-way cat fight!” Clark yelled from the couch.

  Flynn was glaring at him holding his head and said, “Dude, keep your voice down, my head is still pounding!”

  I looked at Melanie and asked, “What’s he talking about?” but kind of knew from our days in college. If you messed with her friends, she was out for blood!

  “She was being a bitch, saying it was Z’s fault she was taking it from another guy, so I was pretty pissed,” Melanie said raising her voice. I noticed Flynn cringing and closing his eyes.

  “What’s wrong with Flynn?” I asked looking over at him.

  Melanie answered, “Oh, he went to help Z forget the bitch last night. Beer and Jack Daniels.” She changed the subject. “So, we were thinking about heading out to a bar and watching some football, are you in?”

  “Yeah, that sounds great,” I replied. Clark stood up, “I’m in too! Come on Flynn, let’s head out. I need a wingman.”

  “Uhhh, no I can’t. I’m just going to hang back and crash. You guys go on ahead.” Flynn was really cringing with pain.

  “Okay, let’s go. Feel better Flynn!” Melanie waved as we went to the door.

  Clark threw his arms around both of us and said, “Oh yeah, two hot chicks! This will be a great night!” We just shook our heads and giggled. He’s too much!

  Clark, Melanie and I walked a couple of blocks to a small sports bar. It was nice – old dark wood and the walls were exposed brick. TVs were lined all over the walls and different sports were playing on each of them. We took seats at the bar and ordered beer. I took a swig of my favorite beer – Amberbock. Mmm…I must have looked like I was in heaven because I couldn�
��t stop smiling as I drank.

  Melanie noticed. “You okay? You look like you’re about to come!” She teased me.

  Clark perked up. “That’s all it takes?” He asked leaning in front of Melanie to get a better look at me.

  I laughed, “I haven’t had one in two years! Leave me alone!”

  Melanie gave me a weird look and chuckled. “What, you haven’t ordered your favorite beer in two years?”

  “No,” I blurted out the rest laughing at the same time, “I haven’t had ANY beer in two years!”

  “That doesn’t make sense. You love beer. What have you had to drink? Wine? Rich COCKtails?” Melanie said jokingly, (enunciating the “cock” in cocktails) but also with her eyes scrunched up and a bit serious.

  I took another long drink from my beer. “Mmmmm.” I moaned again and exhaled. “Yeah. HE never allowed me to have any beer and any wine I had HE limited to make sure it didn’t mess with my calorie count.” I exclaimed while laughing not thinking that was weird to anyone else. I think the beer put me in a dreamy state and I felt like I couldn’t stop talking. “Of course, one time at a party, I went into the kitchen to get away for a minute and found a beer on the counter. I downed it and HE smelled it on my breath and boy, there was punishment for that!” I blurted out giggling while I said it, but then stopped, realizing that Clark and Melanie were staring at me like I was nuts. And …I am. Oh my God. Why did I just tell them all that?

  “Punishment how?” Melanie asked, eyeing me like I was a crazy person and of course I am a crazy person because who gets punished for drinking a beer?

  I took another swig and waved her off. “Just ignore me; I’m just babbling.” I was hoping that might stop her questioning me.

  Melanie eyed me and whispered, “We’re not done with this conversation!”