by Lena Nicole
“What do you mean, is she sure she knows what she saw? It’s kind of hard to miss a half naked slut standing in the living room,” he says to Morgan.
“I know she saw Samantha, smart ass. But my question is, what did Pierce have to say?” she asks me.
“Yeah, what did he say?” Colin says, finally speaking up. His voice is tight with anger and I can see it raising more and more by the minute. This is not good.
“He actually said it’s not what it looks like. I mean can you believe he actually used that line on me?” I say with a laugh, feeling offended he would think I’m stupid enough to buy that.
“What else did he say?” Morgan asks.
“He didn’t need to say anything else. He was so caught off guard that I had busted him, what else could he say? Samantha sure did have something to say about it, though. She had the nerve to sit there and talk about the amazing connection that they share and that she’s reminding him of what he’s missing.”
“Ouch, that’s harsh,” Jeremy says and Morgan hits him on his arm.
“So, what did you say?” Morgan asks, turning her attention back to me.
I bite my lip and can feel myself blush as the embarrassment sets in at what happened next. I am not a violent person, and I’m sure it’s going to surprise the hell out of everyone, but after Brooklyn’s snide comments and now Samantha’s, I’m tired of being treated like a doormat that everyone can just walk all over.
“It’s not so much what I said, but more like what I did,” I say, avoiding eye contact with everyone.
“What do you mean? What you did?” Colin questions. I look up at him and his one eyebrow is raised in curiosity, waiting for my response.
“Well, I was tired of Pierce’s lame ass excuse and her smart ass remarks, so I took the closest thing next to me, which happened to be a vase, and threw it at her head.” I see the surprise on everyone’s face, so I decide to tell them the rest. “And I may have lunged at her.”
Jeremy bursts out laughing so hard that he’s holding his stomach like he’s in pain.
“Jeremy! Stop laughing,” Morgan tells him. “What did Pierce do?” she asks.
“He held me back so I couldn’t get to her. I don’t even know what came over me,” I say. I do know what came over me, but I don’t want Colin to feel any worse than he does about sleeping with Brooklyn; which is why I chose not to tell them the whole truth.
“So, then what?” Colin asks.
“Then nothing. I broke free from Pierce and stormed out of there. I decided to come straight here. I’ve had enough of all this bullshit. I’m over it,” I say.
“Come on,” Colin says, grabbing my hand and heading toward the door, where he picks up my car keys.
“Where are you going?” Jeremy asks Colin.
“I’m taking her home. She needs some time to unwind.”
“Well how are you going to get home?”
“I will call you later and you can pick me up.” And with that said we’re out the door and headed to my car.
When Colin parks my car in the driveway, I’m glad to see that Pierce isn’t here. I get out of the car and start to walk toward the door when Colin grabs my hand.
“Come on. Let’s go for a walk,” he says, guiding me to the beach.
We walk down the beach in silence, holding hands, until we reach the jetty. This is my one spot that only Colin knows about. We used to come here all the time when both or even just one of us needed to unwind. Once we reach the last rock, he sits down and pats the spot next to him for me to sit. I take a seat and we watch the waves crash into the rocks.
“Before your memories came back, I knew I had to try and be supportive of you and Pierce in order for us to be friends. I’m not going to sit here and pretend it isn’t awkward for me to hear about your struggles with him because since your memories came back, I actually feel like I have a fighting chance. But if you want to talk about it, I will listen,” he says, grabbing my hand in his and placing it on his lap.
I bring his hand up to my lips and kiss the back of it before placing it back on his leg. “I appreciate that Colin, and thank you, but right now I don’t want to talk about it. I just want to sit here and enjoy the sound of the waves crashing, if that’s alright.”
Colin nods. As I rest my head on his shoulder and close my eyes, I take in the calming sounds of the ocean, hoping it’ll wash all my worries away.
I TEXT messaged Jeremy and asked him to come get me from Addison’s. I think listening to the ocean had a calming effect on her. Too bad it didn’t calm me. I’m so pissed at Pierce right now. I fucking warned him about hurting her. Looks like I’ll have to pay him a visit.
Jeremy rolls up the driveway and I hop in when he comes to a stop.
“I need you to take me to Pierce’s,” I say as I buckle my seatbelt. Jeremy doesn’t move, just stares at the side of my face. I slowly turn my head toward him. “Is there a problem?” I ask slowly.
Jeremy scratches his jaw. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea. I think you should stay out of their drama.”
“Thanks for the advice, but I need to have a little chat with him.” Facing forward, I hope he gets the hint that this isn’t up for debate.
“Just let me take you back to your house and---”
“Look, you can either come with me or I’ll go without you when you drop me off. It’s your choice.” We both stare at each other, seeing who will cave first. It will be him, because I’m not budging.
He lets out a long sigh, “Fine. But if you get into a fight, I’m not jumping in.”
I don’t respond to him as we drive off toward Pierce’s house. I don’t plan to get physical, at least not yet.
We pull up to his house and I charge for the door, ignoring Jeremy as he shouts for me to wait. I pound on the door and it is whipped open quickly. By the fallen expression on his face, I can only assume he was hoping I was Addison. No such luck for him.
“Hey, we need to talk,” I tell him gruffly.
His eyes narrow as he looks over my shoulder at Jeremy. “Okay, sure. Come on in,” he says, moving to the side to allow us entry. I walk passed him and stop in the middle of the foyer.
When I spin around, he’s already facing me, clearly still confused as to what I’m doing here. “I warned you, Pierce.” I shake my head in disappointment. As much as it killed me to have Addison with him while she was recovering, it kills me more to see her so upset over this. I could tell he literally crushed her.
“What do you mean?”
“When you told me you were going to propose to Addison, I told you if you hurt her, I’d have to break your legs. Are you making me come through on that promise? Because if Addison’s tears are any indication, I would say you are.” I clench my fists down at my sides and wait for some kind of explanation from him that could possibly make sense of all this.
He lets out a huff and looks at the floor. “I know what Addison saw looked really bad. Trust me, I get it. And it kills me that she thinks I would ever cheat on her with Samantha. But, I swear that that’s not what happened earlier today. She stormed off before I had a chance to explain and Samantha running her mouth was only making it worse.” He grabs the bridge of his nose and squeezes his eyes shut.
“Well, why don’t you tell me what happened, so I can decide if I need to make good on my threat.”
Pierce goes through the whole story of how Samantha just showed up unannounced. He even told me about the constant texts and calls he’s been getting from her. He looks completely frustrated and distraught with the situation.
I step closer to him and point my finger at his chest. “You need to get your shit straightened out. I have no problem keeping her in my bed at night if you’re not willing to commit to her while she works through this.” I see his jaw tick and I know I’ve hit a nerve. I probably shouldn’t have said anything and it’s clear that Addison hasn’t told him that we’ve had sex recently, but he hurt her, so I wanted to hurt him. Mission accomplis
hed.
I walk out of his house before he has a chance to respond. The sincerity in his eyes was enough to tell me that he’s telling the truth. I feel a little relieved that he isn’t playing Addison and hope that she’ll come around and let him explain so she’s not upset over this anymore. I hate that she’s hurting, especially over a misunderstanding.
“That went well,” Jeremy says in a chipper voice before starting the ignition. I roll my eyes and look out my window. “I don’t know about you,” he says, “but I think he’s telling the truth. I don’t think he’s really seeing Samantha.”
“Yeah, me neither. Doesn’t take away from the fact that Addison is hurting over it, and that’s what bothers me.”
“If you believed him, then why did you throw out that last comment about your bed? Were you trying to hint to the fact that you’re hitting that?”
Looking over at him from the corner of my eye, I respond, “I’m not really sure. It’s not like I wanted to rub it in his face, I just knew that it would bother him. I don’t know, I guess I was just trying to get one in for Addison.” Shrugging my shoulders, I look back out the window. I hope this doesn’t get back to Addison and piss her off.
I ALWAYS loved October growing up in New Jersey. The weather would cool down and you could watch the leaves change colors right before your eyes. Fall is a beautiful season. Unfortunately, since I moved to Florida, I haven’t been able to witness it.
I don’t know why that is even on my mind when I’m about to meet Pierce. Maybe if I had the tranquil scenery around to distract me, it would put my mind and nerves at ease.
It’s been four months since the wedding and two weeks since I walked in on him and Samantha. I haven’t spoken to him, nor have I read his text messages. I even took the extra step to deleting his voicemails. I wasn’t ready to talk about it, and if I’m being honest with myself, I’m still not. What happened with Samantha was way worse than what had happened with Brooklyn. At least Colin and I weren’t together. I was moving on without him, and he was free to see whomever he pleased. Pierce and I were still together when this happened and he told me repeatedly he wasn’t seeing anyone else. That makes it harder to get over.
After talking a bit more with Colby and Morgan, they pointed out something that I already know. I can’t avoid Pierce forever. I will eventually have to talk to him and decide if we can move forward from here. So here I sit at Cup of Joes, waiting for Pierce.
I got here an hour early so I can enjoy a cup of coffee and get some emails squared away. After getting my coffee, I pull out my phone and see my unread messages flashing across the screen. I let my finger hover over the mail icon and contemplate whether or not I to want respond to emails or read the messages from Pierce. Deciding to choose the latter of the two, I move my finger up and hit the message icon instead. I open the messages from the day I ran out of his apartment.
Charming: Please call me and let me explain.
Charming: I know it looked bad but I promise I’m not seeing her.
Charming: I love you. Please come back to me.
After deleting those, I see some from a couple days later, pretty much saying the same thing. But it’s the last text message that tears at my heart.
Charming: I know you think you need space, but I can’t give that to you. I refuse to let you give up on us so easily. I swear nothing happened between me and Samantha and I will do anything to prove it to you. Just please tell me what I have to do. I’m slowly breaking inside trying to hold on to you. Please Addison, it will crush me if I lose you. I can’t lose you. I won’t lose you. I love you, Beautiful. Always, only you.
I’m staring at the last text message Pierce left me when I hear a familiar voice. Although I know that voice very well, its tone is different. It’s a mixture of nervousness and sadness, lacking the confidence that is normally there.
“I see you got my messages.” I look up to see Pierce standing by the table. He looks as horrible as his voice sounds. He has dark circles under his eyes, like he hasn’t gotten any sleep, and his facial hair is way passed a five o’clock shadow. His hands are in his pockets and his shoulders are slightly slumped forward.
“Do you mind if I sit?” He looks at the chair across from me.
“No, go ahead.” I know I’m being short with him, but I still don’t know why Samantha was half naked in his living room and I’m still hurt. Although I’m not ready to talk about this, I need answers.
“Can I get you a coffee or something else?” he asks.
I check my cup of coffee and see it’s empty. “Sure I’ll take…”
“A French vanilla, light and sweet. I haven’t forgotten,” he says, giving me a sad smile before he leaves to order our coffee. I hate seeing him look so defeated, but I have to remember why I’m here. I can’t let my emotions get in the way of the answers I need.
Pierce returns with our coffees and hands me mine. I smile at him and thank him as he sits back down. I take a sip and place my cup on the table. I’m about to speak, but Pierce beats me to it.
“Thank you for meeting me. If it’s all right with you, I would like to just jump right into it and discuss the main reason why we are here.” I nod and he continues. “Before I start explaining, is there anything you need to know or want to know right away?”
“The only thing I want to know is what’s going on with Samantha. And I want the truth, no bullshit lies. Just be honest with me, please,” I answer. Pierce moves his chair around the table so he’s sitting by my side. He grabs my hand and holds it tight.
“Look at me,” he says. I turn my head and I’m staring into his whisky brown eyes. “I want you to be looking at me, the man you know and fell in love with and trusted enough with your heart to marry, when I tell you this.” I nod again. “Nothing, and I mean nothing, was or is going on with Samantha. I meant it when I told you that the day we went surfing. She is nothing to me and hasn’t meant anything to me since the day I kicked her and Max out of my apartment.
“I knew you were coming over, so I left the door unlocked. I wanted you to feel comfortable to walk into our home again and not feel the need to knock. Even though you aren’t living with me right now, it is still our home. So when I heard the knock on the door, I yelled that it was open. I turned around expecting to see you, but to my horror, it was her.
“I had no idea why she was at my house. As I told you before, the last time I saw her, I told her she needed to stop with the calling and texting. I never in a million years thought she would ever show up at my house, let alone half naked. I kept trying to get her to leave and put it in that thick skull of hers that I was taken and my heart only belongs to you. She wasn’t listening, as usual, and the more I tried to get her to leave, the more insistent she got on staying. I couldn’t exactly pick her up and throw her out of my house. I would never lay a hand on a woman, not even someone as vile as Samantha.
“When you stormed out, I told Samantha she better be gone by the time I got back or else the cops would be called. I came after you. I went looking for you and couldn’t find you anywhere. I tried calling and texting and couldn’t reach you. I was so pissed off that I couldn’t find you-- that you didn’t want me to find you-- that when I got home, I called Samantha’s parents. I told them the situation with Samantha in hopes they can get through to her. Hell, I even called Max. I made sure all of them knew if they didn’t get her under control, I was going to get a restraining order.” He stops and takes a sip of his drink and continues.
“Addison, I will do whatever you want. I will change my number and move into a new house so she doesn’t know where I live. Just say it and I’ll do it. Just please don’t give up on us because I never will,” he pleads.
Sitting here listening to Pierce makes me feel horrible. I should have let Pierce explain sooner instead of ignoring his calls. The way I handled the situation was childish and I hurt Pierce in return. Taking in his appearance and seeing him lack his usual confidence and looking so torn and upset wounds
me. I don’t know what to say right away, so I give his hand a reassuring squeeze.
“Thank you for explaining that to me. I’m sorry that I didn’t give you the chance to explain sooner. I was just taken by surprise and have been so unsure of myself lately. First, it was all the drama with Brooklyn then bam; it’s the same thing with Samantha. I was angry, hurt and confused,” I say as my phone starts ringing. I hit the ignore button on the blocked call and return my attention to Pierce.
“I understand. I would be upset too if I had walked in on what you did. I’m just glad you’re sitting here with me right now, giving me a chance. That’s all I wanted since that day, to assure you that you are it for me,” he says, leaning in and placing a kiss on my cheek.
“I’m sorry if the vase I broke was expensive or a family heirloom. I wasn’t thinking, and I don’t even know what came over me. I have never done anything like that before in my life,” I say, hiding behind my hands in embarrassment.
Pierce lets out a chuckle. “It’s more than okay. To be honest with you, I’m actually a little upset you missed her. If it hit her, maybe it would have knocked some sense into her. Plus, it was really hot,” he jokes.
I allow myself to let out a small laugh and remember what Morgan told me. My phone starts ringing again and I see it is a blocked number…again. I look up and see curiosity on Pierce’s face.
“I’m sorry, whomever is calling me must have the wrong number. When I answer, they hang up and if I don’t, they call right back. They always call from a restricted number, so I can’t block it since it doesn’t show up,” I say, silencing my phone.
“Does that happen a lot?” Pierce questions.
“Lately, yes. It’s rather annoying, and I wish they would just realize they have the wrong number and move on.”
“I’m sure they will stop. If not, you can always change your number,” Pierce says before taking a sip of his drink.
“Anyway, Morgan told me that Colin showed up at your place. I’m sorry for that, and I want you to know I didn’t send him there. He was at Morgan’s place when I went over there upset.” I bite my lip and fidget with my hands, hoping Pierce doesn’t think I sent Colin there to fight my battles and knows I’m telling him the truth.