Pretend

by Charlene Antrobus

  As I went to answer, I was interrupted by the doorbell.

  "Hello beautiful," Murphy said as he opened the door to reveal two blonde chicks who were dressed pretty much identically to Trixy and Kelly.

  "Hey, I'm Maddy and she's-"

  "I'm Brook," the other girl said as she walked straight towards Murphy with her hand extended in front of him, much to his delight.

  "Well come on in Brook," he said, popping the B.

  "This is Aiden and this is Taise," he said as we all headed to the closest living room.

  "Nice pad," Brook said as we all sat down.

  "Thanks," Murphy said, still smiling.

  "This seat taken?" Maddy said as she pointed at the empty space next to Taise.

  "No, no, it's, it's-"

  I quickly gave him a look that I hope told him to be himself.

  "No, I was saving it for someone as beautiful as you," he said, looking up at her. I watched as she blushed, giggled and then took the seat next to Taise, it worked.

  * * *

  After about half an hour of pointless talk everyone was finally silent, well sort of. Brook and Murphy seemed to be in a kissing race against Taise and Maddy. I'm shocked to say this but Taise finally got a girl, by himself. I guess all he ever needed to do was be himself.

  "So, is she special?" Trixy finally said, breaking the silence.

  "Who?" I asked in a confused tone as I tried to ignore the disgusting noises coming from the other four.

  "Well, I just figured that a guy as hot as you would only be sat here doing nothing if there was someone special?" She asked.

  "Sorry," I said as I turned to face her.

  "It's not that you're not an attractive girl, believe me you are and if it was like a few weeks ago then-"

  "You don't need to explain," she giggled.

  "I understand and she's a lucky girl," she said as her cheeks went a little red.

  "I don't think that she sees it that way."

  "Why?" She asked.

  "It's sort of complicated," I replied.

  "Well, complicated or not she's got you sitting here thinking about her so I'd say that whatever the complication is, maybe it's time to make it uncomplicated," she said as she smiled at me.

  "Maybe, I don't know."

  "You'll figure it out," she said.

  "I hope so. I'm going to get a drink, want one?" I asked as I stood up from the chair.

  "No, I'm ok thanks," she said before I headed towards the nearest kitchen.

  As I stepped in, I clapped my hands together to turn on the lights. Everything has a sensor in this house, even the toilets, it's just crazy. I walked over to the fridge and took out a can of Pepsi. Murphy hates Pepsi, his dad only buys them for when I'm staying.

  "Hey," a voice said from behind me.

  "Oh, hi," I said as Brook appeared in the door way.

  "Murphy said that I could grab a drink. I'm Brook by the way, don't know if we formally got introduced," she said extending her hand to mine.

  She was quite pretty, shorter than me, blonde hair, blue eyes, curvy figure, very nice.

  "Aiden," I said as I shook her hand.

  "So, Murphy mentioned that you go to music school. Which one do you go to?" She asked as she headed towards the fridge.

  Murphy's mouth was so damn big and when did he even find the time to tell her that between all of the kissing?

  "It's called East Gate Music Academy," I said, hoping that that was the end of the conversation.

  "No freaking way, my brother goes there. His name’s Mitch, do you know him?"

  "Serious? You're Mitch's little sister? He’s in the class just above me but yeah I know him," I said as a smile filled my face.

  "Yeah but please don't tell him that I was here though," she said as a look of worry filled her face.

  "Don't worry your secret’s safe with me. I take it that he’s pretty over protective then?" I said as I leaned against the counter.

  "Urghhh yeah! He's ridiculous though, he like beats up guys for just looking at me," she said in a frustrated tone.

  "I'm sure he has his reasons," I replied with a smirk on my face.

  "Yeah, he wants me to die alone and miserable," she said as she screwed up her face.

  "I'm sure that's not his only reason," I said as we both began laughing.

  "Yeah, I'm sure. So that means you must know Jake too?" She said.

  "Yeah, I do, he's in my class. Cool guy," I replied. Well he was cool when he wasn’t on a date with April.

  "Mmm," she said in a disbelieving tone.

  "What does that mean?" I asked in a more serious tone.

  "Nothing,” she said as she tried to avoid my gaze.

  “That didn’t sound like nothing,” I pried.

  “Look it really is nothing, it’s probably just a rumour," she said as she tried to walk out of the kitchen.

  "Brook?" I said as I gently grabbed her arm.

  "Look, I shouldn't really say anything, it could just be all lies," she said as she tried to avoid my gaze.

  "Well, if it's lies then it doesn't matter, does it?" I said, trying to gain her trust.

  "Ok but you didn't hear it from me, ok? Mitch will kill me if he heard that I blabbed, he only told me so that I would stay away from him."

  "Told you what?"

  "About him and his ex-girlfriend," she said nervously.

  "What about them?"

  "Well, apparently he was really sweet to her, treated her like a princess and everything. From what I heard he was a real gentleman until-"

  "Until what Brook?" I interrupted.

  "Well, until she broke up with him and then he just switched on her and like hit her and stuff. They weren’t even together for very long but apparently it was like he just became a completely different person the minute that he knew that she didn’t want him anymore. He started to accuse her of cheating and all sorts but it could be all lies, I don't know. It was just something that Mitch heard," she said as I already started to walk out of the room.

  "Hey, where are you going?" She said as she raced behind me.

  I ignored her and stood at the bottom of the stairs.

  "Anthony!" I shouted up the stairs.

  "Anthony, come on we’ve got to go!"

  After a couple of minutes of shouting, he was running down the stairs, trying to zip up his jeans.

  "What's going on?" Murphy asked.

  “Please, Aiden it could just be lies,” Brook said as a look of panic filled her face.

  “What could be lies?” Murphy asked. None of us answered his question.

  “Anthony!” I shouted, again.

  "This better be good dude, I was going for round three," Anthony said as he got to the bottom of the stairs.

  "We got to go, it's April," I said as I began to walk out of the door, ignoring everyone's questions.

  "What?" Anthony said with a more serious expression. I knew that he would understand.

  "I'll explain in the car, come on," I said as I jumped into my silver mustang and started up the engine.

  "Let's go," Anthony said as he jumped in.

  April’s text said that she was going to tell Jake the truth and if what Brook said was true and he got angry then April wasn’t safe. I needed to get to her. I just hope that I wasn't too late...

  APRIL’S POINT OF VIEW

  As I looked down at my phone and saw Aiden's name everything just made perfect sense. I had gone on this date as friends, we talked at the park and I even got him to pick me up when Kyle and Aiden had a fight but I still just see him as a friend. Something tells me that he doesn’t see it that way and if that’s the case then I need to set things straight. I couldn't keep leading Jake on like this, it just wasn't fair. No matter how much I tried to pretend, he would never be Aiden and it was time to just be honest with both him and myself.

  "Sorry," I said as I quickly typed out my message to Aiden.

  "It's cool," he said as he waited patiently until I was done.
>
  "Look, Jake we need to talk," I said as I watched a sad expression fall onto his face. Great, now I feel ten times worse.

  "I moved too fast didn't I? I do this every time and then just scare people away," he said as he turned to face me.

  "No, Jake you've done nothing wrong, you've been great. It's just-"

  "Look, April, stop please, just let me say this. I've had a great night and I've never felt so comfortable with a girl before. I mean, you’re beautiful and down to earth, you don't get many girls like you these days. I'm just saying, give me a chance," he said as he continued to stare at me.

  I wanted to say ok, yeah I'll give you a chance but I would be lying. That would be me doing what I always do, running away from the truth. I was tired of being so nice that I had to compromise how I felt, I couldn’t do that anymore.

  "I had a great time too, I really did but this isn't going to work."

  "Why?"

  "I think that I kind of have feelings for someone else," I mumbled. Was it me or was I turning into Kyle? I felt awful.

  "Right," he said before resting his head on the steering wheel.

  I didn't really know what to do, he seemed sad which shocked me as this was only the first date but maybe he liked me more than I realised.

  I gently placed my hand on his back and tried to talk to him.

  "Look, Jake you're a great guy and any girl would be lucky to have you-"

  "What, accept you?" He asked as his head shot back up.

  The look in his eyes had changed now, he didn't look like the same gentle Jake that I had just spent the last few hours with, in fact he looked mad, real mad.

  "You're pathetic you know, just like all the rest. You just pretend to be a sweet, little innocent chick when really you’re all the same, aren't you?" He said in a harsh tone.

  "It's not like that," I said in a gentle tone.

  "It's not! Then tell me something? What was this all about, huh? You were trying to make some other moron jealous? Figured that sweet, little, pathetic Jake would be perfect for the role?" He spat back at me.

  "Jake, what's gotten into you? You know that I would never do that," I said defensively.

  "Ha! Don't put yourself on a pedestal April, you’re no better than the other easy chicks out there, that I've had before. I'll tell you this though, this is the last time that anyone is ever going to treat me like a moron. You're going to be the last!" He shouted.

  A feeling of fear came over me and I was pretty sure that the panic in my eyes was more than visible. I suddenly felt vulnerable and scared.

  This was so out of character for Jake or was it?

  How well did I really know him? I didn't.

  "Jake, you're scaring me," I said as he slammed his fist against the steering wheel, making a vibration travel through-out his entire truck.

  "Get out," he muttered under his breath.

  "Jake," I whispered as I looked at him.

  Before I knew it he had jumped out of the car, slammed his car door and was opening mine.

  "I said get the hell out my truck!" He said as he dragged me by the arm and threw me out, onto the ground. I fought with the tears that were threatening to pour down my cheeks, he was unpredictable and I didn't know what to expect.

  "Do you have any idea how many times this has happened to me, huh? You're all the same, you just think you can use good guys and then throw them away when you're bored, right?" He said as he paced up and down.

  I couldn't get the words out of my mouth and so I just shook my head from side to side. I couldn't stop the tears now, I was scared.

  "Answer me!"

  "No," I said as I sat, frozen on the steps of the Daniels’ house.

  "Liar! All the same, every single one of you but this is it, I promise you, this is it!" He said as he walked over and grabbed my wrist even tighter than before.

  "You think you can just flutter your eyelashes and have everything your way, don't you?" He said as he shook me.

  "No," I said as the tears streamed down my hot cheeks.

  Suddenly he began laughing as his grip on my wrist got tighter.

  "Ouch, you're hurting me," I whispered.

  "Hurting you? You want to feel pain April? Believe me, this is just the beginning!" He shouted as he shook me again.

  "What the hell do you think you're doing?" I heard Crystal shout from behind me.

  "Get your hands off of her, now!" She said as she shoved him hard in the chest.

  I can't explain why but it was as if everything was happening in slow motion. I knew what was going on but it seemed so distant, like I wasn't a part of it. There was one thing that I knew was one hundred percent real though and that was the next thing that Jake said.

  "Oh and April, this isn't over," he finally said before he sped off down the road. I will never forget the look in his eyes or the truth in what he had just said.

  "Oh my gosh! Are you ok?" Crystal said as she ran over to where I was sat.

  I couldn't talk, instead I just let her lead me back inside. I could feel myself shaking, I could feel how clammy my hands were, I could taste the salty tears that were coming down my face one after the other, I could even feel the throbbing pain that constantly reminded me of what had just happened, yet I felt numb. I felt as though I was watching someone else right now, not me. That wasn't the same Jake that I had just been laughing with at the diner or the same Jake that had been so sweet all this time, that isn't possible.

  "April, talk to me, I'm getting worried, please," Crystal said, breaking my thoughts. I could hear my name but it was as if it didn't belong to me, I didn't want it to.

  "April, you're scaring the hell out of me! I'm calling Aiden," she said as a look of fear filled her face.

  "No, don't," I managed to whisper through my tears.

  "You have to promise not to tell Anthony or Aiden anything, please," I pleaded with her.

  "Tell us what?" Anthony said as him and Aiden appeared at the doorway.

  I looked at Aiden's face and to say that he was angry, didn't even come close. He stayed completely silent as he walked over to where I was sat.

  "Was it him?" He said as he gently lifted my wrist in the air and examined it with a blank expression. I hadn't realised but my wrist was covered in red marks from where Jake had grabbed me.

  I shook my head to say yes, for some reason I knew that he meant Jake.

  The silence in the room mixed with all of the stares that I was getting from Crystal, Anthony and Aiden caused me to burst into tears.

  "I'm going to kill him," Aiden said before storming out of the door.

  "Wait up bro, I'm coming with you," Anthony said as he followed him out of the door.

  "Aiden don't do anything stupid," Crystal said as she too disappeared through the door.

  As I listened to the screech of car wheels and the sound of voices turn into silence, I sat there, staring at nothing. I wanted to close my eyes and just pretend that none of this had ever happened.

  Then as I thought about Aiden going to find Jake in the state that they had both just been in, a feeling of fear came over me. I panicked as I thought about what Jake might do to Aiden. If he ever got hurt because of me, I would never forgive myself.

  “What are you doing?” Crystal asked as she entered the room and saw me pull out my phone.

  “Hello, I need a cab,” I screamed down the phone.

  “Ok love calm down, where to?” The voice down the receiver asked.

  I looked up at Crystal for an answer.

  “Where does Jake live?” I said in a panicked tone.

  When I felt that feeling of fear run through me as I thought about the possibility of Aiden ever getting hurt I realised something. That was the moment that it suddenly hit me… I was in love with Aiden Daniels.

  "No April," Crystal said as she turned to look at me.

  "What do you mean no? Aiden and Anthony could be in real trouble and it's entirely my fault. I have to try and fix it. Just tell me where Jak
e lives!" I screamed as the frustration filled my entire body.

  "And what good is it going to do if you turn up in a cab, hmm? Are you going to stand in the middle of them all?"

  "Errr, hello is someone going to order a cab or what?" The voice down the phone asked.

  "Just a minute," I said in a frustrated tone.

  "If I have to, then yes!" I shouted as I turned back around to face Crystal.

  "Look, right now everyone's mad ok, so if you go there after Aiden and Anthony, how much angrier are they going to be when they see you, your wrist and Jake all in the same place?"

  She had a point.

  "Ok, so what I suggest is that you wait here and just let things settle down. Aiden can handle himself and Anthony won't let him get into any trouble," she said as she sat down next to me and rested her hand on top of mine.

  "Goodbye!" The voice down the phone shouted.

  We couldn't help but burst out laughing as we heard the dial tone, down the phone.

  "Guess he agrees with me," Crystal said as she smiled at me.

  "Yeah, you're right. I just hope that they'll all be ok, even Jake," I muttered.

  "They will be fine and I don't know why you're worried about that jerk."

  "I don't believe that he's a bad guy you know, I guess he just got his heart broken a few too many times and I know how much that hurts, believe me. What he did was wrong but I suppose he had his reasons," I said.

  "Maybe but I'm just glad that you're ok. I was really worried about you when I came outside you know. Why did he do that anyway?"

  "I told him that I just wanted to be friends and that we weren't going to work out, he begged me to keep trying, I said no and he kind of just flipped out."

  I decided to leave out the whole me having feelings for someone else bit, for now, it was only going to lead to a round of questions that I didn't want to answer.

  "Strange, it’s not as if you two were even dating, that’s just creepy. Anyway I'm sure that everything will work out just fine," she said as she gave my hand a little squeeze.

  "Yeah," I whispered as I allowed my head to rest on her shoulder.

  I really hope that she's right.

  AIDEN’S POINT OF VIEW