Trouble

by Ashley Blake

  I unpacked my things and then pulled up a paper that was due soon and checked my cell every 15 minutes, hoping to see at least a text from Declan. After two hours of working on my paper I still had not heard from him and I tried not to feel sad about it but I couldn’t help it. Nothing good could come from his ex-girlfriend unexpectedly meeting him at the airport.

  I went out to grab some dinner around 7:00 and when I got back I decided to call Sophie to see if she had gotten any info from Zach. I was surprised that she didn’t call me the second she got home. Her phone went to voicemail so I just left her a quick message asking her to call me back. She usually got back to me right away and when I didn’t hear from her by 9:30, I sent her a text. An hour later when I had not heard from Declan or Sophie I decided to go to bed. There was no one else I could talk to about Declan because Sophie was the only person who knew what was going on with us. She must have had a good reason for not calling, because it wasn’t like her to not call when something major happened like an ex-girlfriend showing up out of the blue!

  Talking to my mom about it was out of the question so I felt really alone. Before I spiraled into a pit of sadness I turned off the lights and climbed into bed. I told myself that everything would be better the next day.

  The next morning the first thing I did was check my phone for any missed calls or texts. There was still nothing from Declan but Sophie sent a text around midnight apologizing for not getting back to me sooner and said she would call me later. I got ready for class and the sadness I felt the day before was replaced with anger as I thought about everything Declan had said to me that last couple of days in Mexico. I should have known better. Declan was still the same pompous asshole I thought he was when I first met him. I felt used, hurt, and pissed all at the same time. I should have never let Declan Ryan touch me. I grabbed my bag and practically stormed out of my apartment. As I waited for the elevator I was seething.

  I was done with classes around 3:30 and went to the coffee shop near campus to meet my mom. I really wasn’t in the mood to hear all about her wedding, especially with everything that was going on with Declan, but I didn't have a choice. I didn't even want to think about the fact that I would have to be around him for the wedding so I pushed that part out of my mind and decided I would deal with that later. She was waiting for me when I got there and I don’t know if I had ever seen her look more nervous. I thought it was really cute that my mom was nervous about getting married and I was going to tell her that but she started talking before I even sat down.

  “I need to talk to you about something, honey.”

  My mom didn’t call me ‘honey’ very often so I knew something was wrong.

  I looked at her, holding her gaze.

  “Mom, what’s wrong?”

  She let out a deep sigh as her eyes filled with tears. “I broke up with Arty.”

  I was dumbfounded. “What?! Wait, you broke up with him?”

  Her blood shot eyes looked so sad.

  “Yes.”

  “Mom, why? He is such a nice guy and he’s crazy about you!”

  She let out a deep sigh and could barely look at me.

  “I know. Your father came back begging me to forgive him, practically crawling on his knees. He said he felt bad for the way he treated me, and you, over the years and he wants his family back. He apologized over and over and said that he’s changed.”

  I looked at her in disbelief. There is no way I just heard what I thought she just said.

  “You’re not serious.”

  “Yes, I am,” she said slowly.

  “Mom. Are you insane? Arty is a really nice man, not to mention he’s loaded! He just paid for my Spring Break! I know money isn’t everything but it doesn’t hurt that he happens to have a lot of it. And he really loves you! What are you doing?”

  I was so upset and it didn’t even occur to me that this was good news for Declan and me because I had not heard from him, and I guess I assumed things were over with us. My mom was throwing away a really great guy for my deadbeat of a father and, like when I was a little girl, it just didn’t make sense to me. He had a hold on her heart so tight he was never going to let it go. I hoped for her sake that my dad had really changed because she was royally screwing up a great thing if they didn’t work out.

  “Brielle, baby, you know how I feel about your father. I have never stopped loving him.”

  “But Mom, he has put you through so much.”

  “I know, but I believe that he has really changed this time.”

  I shook my head at her. “I just don’t understand how this could happen. A week ago you were head over heels for Arty and you couldn’t wait to get married. I get back from Mexico and you seemed to have lost your mind!”

  “Do not speak to me like that, Brielle.” Her tone was firm and I knew I had crossed a line.

  “Sorry. It’s just that Arty is so nice and such a catch and I just don’t know why you are throwing all of that away on a man who has never been there for you. Forget about the fact that he hasn’t been there for me; he has never come through for you. Why do you believe that this time is any different than any other time?”

  She took a long deep breath and slowly raised her eyes to mine. “Because I just do. We have spent the past few days together and I can see that he is a changed man. He asked me to marry him, baby.”

  I felt like I was in an alternate universe. My parents getting married after 23 years and umpteen wives, husbands, girlfriends and boyfriends between them? It just didn’t seem real.

  “What did Arty say when you called it off?”

  “He was sad but he said he wanted me to be happy. Arty will be okay. He will have no problem finding someone else.”

  I sat there in silence for a few minutes, not knowing what to say. There was so much to process and with everything going on with Declan, what was happening with my mom and dad was too much.

  “So when are you two supposedly getting married?”

  “He wants to fly to Vegas in a few weeks. I would love it if you came with us.”

  A few weeks? It just seemed so weird and I didn’t want to burst her bubble and tell her that I didn’t think he would go through with it. My dad had never given her a reason to believe that he was a stand up guy, I didn’t know why she thought this time was any different. As much as I wanted to say that to her, I didn’t want to rain on her parade because she lit up like a Christmas tree when she talked about him.

  “I don’t know mom, I have to think about it.”

  “Okay, baby.”

  “So I guess we’re stuck in Uptown for a while.”

  Her face brightened up.

  “No, your dad has a gorgeous house in Lakeview and he want us to move in with him. I have already moved a lot of my stuff over there while you were in Mexico, and movers are coming next weekend to move the rest of our stuff. That is another reason I needed to see you so soon. You need to pack your stuff.”

  Once again, I looked at her in disbelief. She really was crazy. There was no way I was moving in with her and my dad. It would be way too weird. Was I supposed to pretend that we were all one happy family? No way.

  “Uh, no.” I crossed my arms. “I’m not doing that.”

  “Brielle, you have to do it. The lease is up on the apartment soon and you can’t stay there. We can’t afford for you to have your own apartment and I don’t want you living in Uptown by yourself.”

  “I’ll figure something out. I’m not staying with you guys.”

  “Honey, he has a big house with plenty of room. I really want you to move in so you guys can spend some time together and really get to know each other.”

  I shook my head. “I’m not doing it, mom. Sorry.”

  She let out another deep sigh and I could see that she was frustrated with me. I didn’t care. She sprung all of that shit on me and expected me to be all happy jolly about it? That wasn’t going to happen.

  I pushed away from the table, stood up and looked at her.
>
  “I have to go. I need to think about all of this.”

  “Okay, I will call you tomorrow to talk about it some more.”

  I was in a total daze as I walked out of the coffee shop, all sorts of emotions running through me. I needed to talk to Sophie and, thankfully, she answered when I called her.

  “Hey, are you busy right now?”

  “No, just studying a little bit. I was going to call you later about what happened yesterday. That was weird about Declan’s ex, huh? Zach said…”

  “Can I come over?” I had to cut her off. I couldn’t deal with that stuff right then.

  “Yeah, of course. Are you okay? You sound funny.”

  “I need someone to talk to.”

  “Okay, come on over.”

  “Thanks, I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

  Sophie lived in a cool condo near campus so it took less than 10 minutes to walk over there. She greeted me with a big smile that instantly fell when she saw the look on my face. She pulled me over to the couch and gave me her full attention.

  “Brielle, what is wrong?”

  I took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “My mother broke up with Arty.”

  Her expression changed from shock to glee within seconds. “Okay, first, I’m sorry that they broke up, but second, that is great news for you and Declan!”

  I gave her a look and she took her excitement down a few notches.

  “That’s not the end of the story. My father came back into the picture and wants to marry my mom; that’s why she broke up with Arty. And she is moving in with him. Movers are coming next weekend to move everything out of our apartment and she wants me to move in with them. Can you believe that? My life is so screwed right now. There is no way I can live in the same house as that man! He probably thinks he can tell me what to do and he can’t! I don’t know what to do, Sophie.”

  I started crying and she put her arm around me, trying to comfort me.

  “Wow, that is just crazy! Well calm down, we’ll figure something out. Man, that is a ton of stuff for you to digest right after our trip to Mexico.”

  I wiped my eyes and looked at her. “That’s another thing. I haven’t heard from Declan. After everything that happened in Mexico that asshole hasn’t called me. He’s such a dick. I should have known better.”

  She gave me a curious look. “What happened in Mexico?”

  “Before I tell you that, were you able to find out anything about the ex?”

  “Yes, a little bit. But first I want to say I’m sorry for not calling you about it last night. I know you were probably freaking out so I’m really sorry.”

  “What happened? I thought you’d call me the second you got home.”

  “I ended up hanging out with Zach until almost midnight.”

  My eyes were as big as saucers. “What?!”

  She smiled and giggled at my reaction. “Yeah, he’s a pretty cool guy and we actually have a lot in common.”

  “Wow, are you going to see him again?”

  “I hope so. I would love to see him again. I don’t know why I didn’t notice him more in Mexico.”

  “Because you were on a mission to find someone you would not have to see again in Mexico. Wow, well this is pretty cool. Zach is a good guy.”

  “Yeah, he seems to be. We’ll see. So, Sarah, she’s kind of bad news.”

  I looked at her afraid to hear more. “Why, what did Zach tell you?”

  “Well, she basically is the one that got away, or she used to be until Declan met you. She shattered him when she broke up with him. Zach thinks she is manipulative and won’t stop until she gets what she wants. He thinks she wants Declan back.”

  My stomach fell to my toes. They had a ton of history and she was the one who got away. Why wouldn’t he take her back? He and I had basically just gotten to know each other so he was not invested in me. I was feeling really sorry for myself and felt I had nowhere to turn for comfort except to Sophie. I put my head in my hands and then lifted my sad eyes to hers.

  “We hooked up the last night in Mexico.”

  She quickly grabbed my arm. “I knew it! I saw the way you guys looked at each other. I wouldn’t worry about that girl, Brielle. She’s old news. I can see that he likes you from the way he looks at you.”

  “But I haven’t heard from him, not even a text.”

  “I bet he was totally thrown off by her just showing up like that and I’m sure he was exhausted from the fight, so I bet he just crashed early last night. I’m sure you’ll hear from him today. He was way too into you to just blow you off.”

  I let out a long sigh. “I hope you’re right.”

  She shifted on the couch, tucking her leg under her and smiled at me.

  “I know I am. So, back to your living situation…why don’t you just move in with me? I have plenty of room. You can take the spare third bedroom and just move your stuff in.”

  “Sophie, I can’t impose on you like that and I can’t afford to pay you any rent. At least, not until we graduate in a couple of months.”

  “Don’t even worry about that. You know my parents paid cash for this condo for me so I wouldn’t have to worry about renting somewhere. They take care of all the bills so you can stay with me for as long as you need to. I mean it.”

  Sophie’s parents were loaded. I threw my arms around her and gave her a big hug. “Thank you so much Sophie. I promise once I get a job after graduation I will contribute to the bills. I know your parents are covering those but I want to pay my share.”

  “You don’t have to but if you really want to, fine. We don’t have to worry about that for a couple of months. You can move in whenever you want.”

  I smiled at her. “I don’t know what I would do without you.”

  She smiled back. “Luckily you will never have to find out!”

  Chapter Twenty - Declan

  The morning after Sarah’s bombshell I stayed in bed for a while trying to think clearly and decided that I needed someone to bounce stuff off of. I called Zach and asked him to get over to my place as soon as he could. I had to figure something out because I had no idea what to do and I did not want to lose Brielle. I needed to call her because I was sure she was freaking out about not hearing from me after Sarah showed up. Fuck! I didn’t know what to do so I busied myself with unpacking my stuff until Zach showed up.

  I buzzed him in about an hour later and it was a huge relief to have someone to help me talk things out.

  “Dude, Sarah says she’s pregnant.”

  He stood there looking at me in disbelief.

  “No!”

  “Yes!” I ran my fingers through my hair in frustration. “What am I going to do?”

  “Is it yours?” He was still in shock.

  “She says it is.”

  “Shit, man, this is not good.”

  I looked at him and nodded my head. “I know. I can’t believe this.”

  “How far along is she?”

  “Six months.”

  “Damn. That’s about how long it’s been since you had that one night thing.”

  I stood up and started pacing back and forth.

  “This is a nightmare.”

  “Declan, you’re going to have to get a DNA test to make sure it’s yours. That chick could be telling you anything right now. Your star is rising and she might want to jump on the money train, if you know what I mean.”

  He was right. When I was in it with Sarah I didn’t notice what everyone else around me saw; I didn’t see her gold-digging ways. I was so caught up in what we had I let a lot of her shortcomings slide.

  I looked at him, confusion written all over my face. “I can’t do that until the baby’s born, can I?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  I took a deep breath and slowly let it out as I continued to pace. “If it’s mine I’ll pay child support and I’ll be in the kid’s life, but I want nothing to do with Sarah. I’ve moved on from that a while ago and I don’t want to go back.”


  Zach looked at me with compassion. “Dude, make sure you tell her that, too.”

  I didn’t mention what had happened with Brielle because I wanted to make sure she wasn’t going to bounce once she found out Sarah was pregnant with my kid.

  “I will.”