Red Flags

by C. C. Brown

  A few minutes later, Chelsea, with damp, freshly showered hair, pulled up in her sleek Infinity. She rushed out of the car and over to me, pulling me into her and led me into the car. The ride up to our apartment was unusually silent, with the exception of a few sobs here and there. Chelsea still didn’t ask any questions – she just drove and kept her hands on my thigh. My phone started buzzing and through my tear stained eyes, I saw Jason show up on the caller ID. I silenced the buzz and put the phone into my bag, only to have it buzz a few more times. Chelsea looked over and gave a warm, compassionate smile, but still said nothing. I tried my hardest to return her gesture, but the unease of my stomach didn’t allow for much of anything but a frown.

  Our arrival to the apartment was much of the same – quiet. I lugged myself into the apartment and made my way to my room. The feeling of utter defeat had occupied my body and I no longer felt the capability to control myself. That is, until I heard the door open and Jason’s voice calling out my name. I jumped up, only to hear Chelsea asking Jason, “What the hell did you do now?” He tried to sidestep her, but she didn’t budge and demanded to know what had me so deflated. Mila chimed in to try and subdue Chelsea, and that was when my adrenaline perked, and I darted out of my room.

  I rushed to where Jason and Mila were standing next to one another, and lost myself to an ugly, fit of rage.

  “Get the fuck out,” I screamed at Jason, while pushing his chest with every ounce of the energy I had somehow gathered. “Just get the fuck out.” His face read confused, and Mila tried to come to his defense, but I cut her short. “Don’t say a fucking word to me.”

  Her mouth dropped, and she gaped at me, while holding the very bottom of her neck.

  Chelsea was noticeably confused, and jumped in to sort through the unspoken keys to the conversation. “Wait, what am I missing here? What the hell is going on?”

  I turned to her and with my breathing erratic and uncontrollable, I screamed at the top of my lungs, “My ex-boyfriend and your fucking friend here, that’s what happened.” Chelsea’s eyes shot open, and as she turned to face Mila, Mila stepped forward to defend herself.

  “Pinks,” I interrupted her and warned her not to call me Pinks, “Cara, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  My irritation sky rocketed to an un-chartable level as she tried to deny the very words and actions that I had witnessed over the course of weeks. Jason tried to rub my shoulder, but I quickly moved away while shrugging off his advances. I couldn’t even stomach his touch; it felt so dirty and wrong.

  “Jason, last time I am going to tell you to leave, before I call security… and all the fucking money in the world won’t buy you out of this one. Now leave!” He shook his head, but turned and stormed out of the apartment. My attention turned to Mila, who was intentionally trying to keep her distance from me. “You are the dirtiest kind of bitch,” I said through clinched teeth, “I always knew you were a whore, and I should have listened to my initial thoughts instead of trusting you.” Rage flared throughout her face, and she stepped into my face, screaming some obscenities that came across as nothing more than mumbles. Chelsea jumped in between the two of us and pushed us away from each other.

  “I’m not breaking up any cat fights, so you catty bitches need to take this somewhere else.” She scolded, and glared back and forth between the two of us. I frantically worked to slow my breathing -- the anger that had surged throughout my body left me near hyperventilation.

  Mila stepped away from both Chelsea and I and as she stomped back to her room, she turned and yelled to me, “You’re fucking crazy Cara. Get your shit together.”

  Chelsea held me with one arm across my chest, preventing me from running back to Mila’s room. I had never been in a physical altercation in my life, but in this firestorm, I felt like I could bring myself to a fight -- and win.

  A few minutes passed and Mila came thundering out of her room with bags in her hands, and I took the opportunity to scream out to her, “Whose bed are you trying sleep in, Ryan’s or Jason’s?” She looked back to me, her long, silky hair angrily wrapping over her shoulders, and I continued, “Better make it Jason’s because after I call Ryan, you’ll be toast there.” She exhaled loudly, pursed her lips together, and then stalked out of the apartment, slamming the door after her.

  Chelsea looked to me and without even asking, I knew she wanted an explanation. I resigned myself to finally fill her in on what had happened as I left the athletic building. She closed her eyes and winced, then pulled me into a hug and rubbed my hair -- allowing me to cry.

  After what felt like forever, I sluggishly made my way to my bedroom and called Ryan. After the second ring, he picked up and his cheerful tone sent me back into a sobbing mess.

  “What’s wrong Cara?” He asked, in an alarmed, yet sympathetic tone.

  After trying frantically to catch my breath, I finally gathered myself enough to drop on him, “Your girlfriend is the whore I always thought she was.” I regulated my breathing after getting my main thought out in the open.

  “What? What the hell Cara? I know you and Mila have had your problems, but why would you go there?”

  “Because Ryan, I’ve been seeing too much and I am finally putting it together. Jason left for a week; no one knows his whereabouts except for Mila. They text frequently… apparently they talk just as much. In Vegas, did you know she left with him?”

  “What? No.” His voice was filled with surprise.

  “Yeah,” I continued, “they left together and Chelsea and I confronted them, but they both denied any wrongdoing. Then today, today was the final straw. I overheard them talking about telling me and not being able to keep quiet anymore…”

  “Are you sure it’s what you think it is?” His voice was showing signs of fleeting optimism.

  “Yes Ryan. Wake up! I know you like her and all, but she is no good… and neither is Jason.” There was a long moment of awkward silence, before Ryan sighed heavily.

  “This is so shitty, but thanks Cara. Who are you home with?”

  “Chelsea,” I answered quickly.

  ‘Ok good. Please don’t let her go anywhere, stay with someone tonight, please? I can come down if you’d like,” he offered, but I quickly shot down the invitation. “Alright. I’m going to call Mila. Hey, chin up sis. I love you!”

  “I love you too.” I answered back, and fell back on my bed, ending the call. I shut my phone down, and placed it at the end of my bed and fell asleep, fully clothed, eyes red, heavy and burning, and emotionally drained.

  Chapter 16

  The night was a blur. I spent so much time in and out of crying fits, blowing my nose, letting Chelsea rub my head, and ignoring phone calls, that by the time I actually fell asleep, I felt like it was time get up. After a quick glance at my phone, I realized that Jason had ridiculously called my phone every five minutes for at least six hours. I couldn’t stand the sight of his name, and I certainly didn’t want to see his face. Mila was basically in the same boat; for all I cared, they could have each other.

  There was a knock on the door and Chelsea bounded to it. Her excitement faded when she saw Chase on the other side.

  “Oh. Hi Chase.”

  “Whoa. Hi to you too Chelsea.” He said sarcastically, and smiled apologetically. I stood in the foyer, hands crossed over my shoulders, thankful that Jason wasn’t standing at the entrance of my apartment.

  “Sorry, I thought you’d be Hunter, he’s late,” Chelsea whined, and turned to head back into her bedroom. I led Chase into the living room; he took a seat on the couch, and I plopped down on the opposite end, looking every bit as exhausted as I felt.

  “I just haven’t seen you since you guys got back. I wanted to come tell you myself how proud I am of you and that I’m sorry things turned out the way they did.” I managed a genuine smile, which was something that had been terribly difficult for me lately.

  “I appreciate it Chase. It was a rough day.”

  “And you loo
k like you’re still having a rough day, three days later.”

  “Why thank you,” I retorted, full of sarcasm. “It’s been a rough couple of days.”

  “Let me guess. Your wonderful, fantabulous, boyfriend?” The look I shot in his direction was enough to confirm every thought on Chase’s mind. “What happened?”

  “I don’t really want to talk about it.” I managed to strangle out. The mere thought of having to rehash that very painful conversation again rushed tears to my eyes.

  “Okay, I won’t pry.” He shook his head in a show of disapproval, but didn’t continue with the conversation.

  After another hour of watching TV, we left for classes. I stopped by Professor Velez’s office to let him know that I wouldn’t be in class the next evening. He thanked me for my proactive move and offered the study guide for the final exam. The truth of the matter was I couldn’t imagine being in the same classroom as Jason and being able to function, so rather than sit in class with him, where I was sure he would pester me, I took the chance to study and prepare on my own. The compassion in Professor Velez’s eyes was a clear indication that my breakup was written all over my face, and I wasn’t taking it well

  The night was a lazy one; Chelsea was off with Hunter, and Mila still hadn’t come home. Apparently, Ryan didn’t see the significance in the information that I’d given him, or maybe she was with Jason. The thought made my skin crawl, so I shoved it out of my mind and started on my note cards. It wasn’t long before I was off to sleep, with books and index cards strewn all across my bed.

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  The sweet aroma of coffee woke me around seven fifteen in the morning. I stepped out into the hallway to find Chase and Chelsea sitting at the table talking. They both looked at me at the same time, and Chase held up a cup, inviting me over to join them. He said he had tried to call, but my phone went straight to voicemail, and I remembered that while I was studying the night before, I turned my phone off after having to continuously ignore Jason’s phone calls. I apologized for my phone being shut off, and ran to retrieve it, hoping that I hadn’t missed anything from my parents.

  “Cara. What are we doing for your birthday this weekend?” Chelsea yelled.

  “I don’t know… I don’t really feel like celebrating.” I replied, dryly.

  “Well, that’s too bad, because I do. It’s another year of life that you are my best friend, so we’re going out. What do you think Chase?”

  “Hell yeah! We’re taking you out Cara, whether you like it or not.” He said, grinning and sipping his coffee.

  I tried hard to stifle a smile but failed miserably. Chelsea and Chase were right; I had every reason to celebrate and I refused to allow Jason to trample on that happiness.

  I went to my classes and made it through final exam prep after final exam prep. Without softball, my days just seemed so empty, but Chase and Chelsea had promised me a night of fun set for Friday night, so I tried hard to focus my mind on them, instead of thinking about every angry, bitter thought that kept creeping its way into my head.

  As seven pm struck, thoughts of Jason sitting in his seat, awaiting me for Professor Velez’s class entered my head. I tried to picture his look of anticipation which slowly faded to disappointment as the minutes passed by. I would be lying if I said the thoughts didn’t bring smiles to my face, but on the same token, my heart ached at the thought of me having to avoid the one guy who had stolen it.

  Mila came roaring through the door, loud as ever on her cell phone, but stopped talking as she noticed that I was still at home. She didn’t say anything to me and proceeded to her bedroom and quietly shut the door. The jealous side of me wanted to go and stake out in front of her door, and spy on her conversation, but I turned to sanity and decided to let it go. I only had a couple more weeks at the apartment and I wanted to make them as pleasant as possible. I walked to the kitchen to grab a snack, when I heard her door open and saw her making her way towards me. Not another fight.

  “Chelsea tells me you’re going out tomorrow night for your birthday.”

  “Yup,” I replied, trying to keep my conversation with her to a minimum.

  “Any idea where you’re going?”

  “Nope.”

  She sighed, and ran her fingers through her hair. “Cara, I’m not screwing Jason or whatever the hell you think is going on, and I certainly don’t appreciate you telling your brother that either.” I looked at her, refusing to blink, because I wanted her to know that I wasn’t buying her bullshit. “So am I invited to celebrate your birthday or what?”

  “You can do whatever you want Mila.” And with that, I stalked out of the kitchen and into the safe place of my bedroom. I heard her get back on her cell phone, only this time, I could care less who she was speaking to, or what she was speaking about. I cranked up my music and started rummaging through my closet to find the perfect outfit for my Friday night birthday celebration. Technically, my birthday wasn’t until Sunday, but with finals coming up, no one would be partying on a Sunday.

  Friday morning came and astonishingly enough, I’d managed to have a fulfilling night’s sleep, with no restlessness. I woke up feeling rejuvenated, and quickly threw on some clothes to go out for a run. It was as if I was a new woman. My energy levels were back up, the melancholy sadness forever looming over my head had disappeared, and I was ready to tackle the day. I took the long route through campus, and as the sun beamed down on me, the sweat was a welcome feeling of being alive. The last few days I had never felt so far gone, and now, I felt like I could tackle the world.

  I entered back into an apartment that was blaring music like we were in a nightclub. Chelsea and Mila were in the kitchen blending smoothies and Chelsea tossed an apple my way as I passed by the kitchen opening. I caught it and smiled, took a huge bite and continued on my way back to the shower. I made quick work of cleaning myself, and went back to the kitchen where a smoothie had been set aside for me. Chelsea, with a smoothie mustache on her face yelled out over the music, “we’re going to The Spear tonight, nine o’clock.” I nodded my head, and continued drinking.

  <>

  The Spear was a local college dive bar. The10 minute drive it took to get there was enough for me to call my parents, let them know that everything was great with me, and hang up. The inside of the bar had pictures of local musicians who had gone on to become local celebrities, guitars, different labels of beer, and of course – girls, plastered all over the walls. There was a stage for live music in the back right corner, and luckily, because it was Friday, a local band by the name of The SDs (short for Smart Dummies) was playing tonight. We walked in and made a beeline for the bar, which had no sitting room. Chelsea barged her way to the front, flirting with the bartender, who sent extra shots our way. Leave it to Chelsea to get these guys to do anything for her.

  Chase found us some empty seats near the stage, and round after round came out. So far, Chelsea had ordered three tequila shots, two Amaretto Sours, and a Cape Cod – all for me. I never drank this recklessly, but I was warned that I would unwind and have a good time or else, so I decided to heed the warning, and let loose. We people watched for a while and Chelsea spotted some people she knew from class and got up to mingle with them. I kept pointing out girls that I thought would be a good match for Chase, and he politely turned all of them down. The alcohol fueled my frustrations with him and I couldn’t stop my mouth from blurting out, “are you gay or something?”

  He laughed loudly, and choked on his drink. “Uh no! And what if I were?”

  I shrugged, and laughed, “no problem with me, just wondering. You’ve shaken off every hot girl I’ve pointed out… every single one of them.” I continued to knock back the Cape Cod.

  “That’s because you haven’t pointed yourself out to me,” he said, eyes locked on me, and now rubbing the top of my hand. For a second, I thought I might have felt a small fickle of a flame go off inside of me, but the SD’s started up and broke that unwelcome feeling.

  Chelsea re
turned with more Cape Cods and we all pushed our way through the growing crowd and over to the stage area. The SD’s had played here quite a few times and most of the people on campus raved about them, and from what I was hearing, I could see why. The lead singer was the stereotypical heartthrob of the band. He was tall, and while thin, there was an element of nice guy hidden behind his entire chest of tattoos. His dark hair was overgrown, in a shaggy cut, and his hazel green eyes pinned down almost every female in the room. He was energetic, and moved about the stage very gracefully, even while dragging the microphone stand back and forth. They played a few upbeat songs before switching to a slower song entitled, Make Me Believe. Chase snaked his arm around my waist, and as I looked up to him, he gave me a warm, albeit nervous smile. I didn’t make a fuss, and we just swayed along with the rest of the bar patrons to the beautiful melodic voice of the SD’s lead singer.

  As the song came to an end, I felt Chase’s hand slip away from my hip, and I turned to find Jason standing there with Mila and Ryan. He stepped closer to Chase and calmly told him, “Keep your hands off my girlfriend.” I stared at him in disbelief, and he turned to meet my gaze, but said nothing. Ryan was staring Chase down and I felt the tension in the room building and taking every ounce of breathing room with it.

  “Ex-girlfriend Jason, remember?” I pointed out, leaving no room for argument.

  “Let’s talk outside.” He said, and grabbed my hand, trying to pull me in the direction of the back door patio. I resisted, and he looked at me speculatively.

  ‘I’m fine right where I am. Thanks.” Ryan stepped forward and leaned down to whisper in my ear.

  “Why are you out with this guy?”

  “He and Chelsea brought me out to celebrate my birthday. He’s my friend Ryan, get over it.” I stepped back, unable to look away from the disgust on his face and he shook his head and ran his hands through his hair. “How did you guys know we would be here anyway?”