Fragile Simplicity

by Tara Neideffer

  “Okay, that’s enough of that,” Brooke said as she pushed Kyleigh’s hand away. “I swear, Brad, if you don’t take good care of her, I will hunt you down. I can’t believe I’m letting her go with you, but I think she’s getting drunker by the second and I’m afraid she’s going to pass out in the car and I’d never be able to get her out,” she said, casting an irritated look towards him.

  “He’s just taking me home,” Kyleigh said in a distant voice, reaching a shaky hand out to grab onto a metal trashcan to steady herself.

  “She’ll be fine. Don’t worry, I’ve taken care of her many times, Brooke. I’ve got this, it’s not like you guys don’t know me. How many times have we all gone out before?” Brad asked in his always confident tone as he ushered her away from the door.

  Brooke gave him one last concerned look before running a hand through her long hair. “Okay, Brad, you’re right.” Giving Kyleigh a quick hug, she said, “I’ll call you first thing in the morning and check on you.” She quickly turned around and headed right towards her car, and through blurred vision, Kyleigh saw her look over her shoulder one last time before turning a corner.

  “I can walk by myself,” Kyleigh stammered as she jerked out of his grip.

  “No, you can’t. You’re going to fall face first in the middle of the street if I let you go,” Brad said as he reached out and grabbed her wrist. “Just let me help you to my car, Kyleigh.”

  “Fine,” she sighed as she cautiously watched each step. She didn’t think she’d gotten this drunk but now her thoughts were all blurring together. One minute she remembered leaving David’s place, pissed, and now she was leaving a bar with Brad. Her night had taken a complete twist and she wondered what had happened with all the time in between.

  They finally got to his BMW; he opened the door, and helped her in. They’d been together for so long that even though they’d broken up a few months ago, it didn’t take long for them to slip back into their familiar routine. It was both soothing and terrifying to her.

  He opened the door and got in, turning to give her a smile before he asked, “Are you feeling okay? The alcohol isn’t getting to you too much, is it?”

  “No, I think I’m okay. I just want to lie down, though,” she said as she leaned her head back and looked out the window.

  She felt his hand slip into hers and as she looked down he said, “I’m glad you’ve decided to give me a second chance, Kyleigh. You’ll see that things between us can work out.”

  She stared at him, not sure what to think about that statement, and decided to leave it at that. Had she actually said she’d give him a second chance? She wasn’t sure but figured she had at some point tonight and decided that for now she wasn’t going to argue with him. The last thing she wanted was to stir up a fight with him while she was drunk and incapable of taking care of herself.

  She leaned her head back against the seat as he took off, the motion of the car making her stomach turn. It had been a while since she’d been this drunk and she now remembered another reason why she hated alcohol. She hated not being in control of herself and she hated the way it made her feel. Now, she was ready to just crawl into her bed and sleep the past twenty-four hours off.

  After a short, bumpy car ride, she felt the car slowing down, and as she opened her eyes, she saw his large, three story house up ahead. She must have passed out at some point. She looked around in confusion and said, “Brad, isn’t that your house up ahead?”

  She felt his hand squeeze her knee as he said, “Babe, you are really drunk and you passed out so I figured it’d be best for you to stay with me tonight. I wasn’t about to carry you up those stairs to your apartment. I can take you to your car in the morning.”

  Her head started shaking back and forth involuntarily, causing strands of her hair to fly into her face as she said, “No, you were supposed to take me home.”

  “Kyleigh, it’s fine. It’s not like I’m a stranger or anything. Besides, maybe you’ll sober up and we can talk about us,” he said with a wink.

  That idea made Kyleigh feel even more nauseous, causing her to flinch. She must have been drunker than she thought, but seeing his house up ahead was sobering her up real fast. “Look, Brad, I’m fine now and can make it up the stairs to my apartment, so just turn around and take me home, please,” she said trying not to show the panic that was beginning to form. She willed her racing heart to slow down, the last thing she needed to do right now was let him see her panic.

  “Kyleigh, it’s late and I’m not driving all the way back into town. I’ll take you home in the morning. Don’t worry, I won’t do anything you won’t want to do,” he said with a grin, looking at her for a few seconds before putting his eyes back on the road.

  “The only thing I want to do is go to bed, Brad, so don’t be getting any ideas. If I have to stay here, I’ll sleep on the couch,” Kyleigh said as she pushed his hand off her knee and continued to look out her window, willing the headache and dizziness to go away.

  “We’ll see about that. Here we are,” he said lightly, pulling the car into the garage.

  The vibration of the garage door opening brought her out of her drunken stupor and she gave him a weak smile. “Great.”

  Always the showoff, Brad had to have the best of the best. From a brand new BMW to a brand new three story house in the nicest subdivision in the city. It felt strange to pull into Brad’s driveway again. It was almost like the feeling she got when she woke up from a bad nightmare. She knew she was awake, but the bad vibes would linger for a while, making her feel uneasy, like she was still in the haze of the dream. She felt like that now. There was a nagging voice in the back of her head somewhere, telling her this wasn’t right, that she was still in danger from that dream. She shook the feeling away, telling herself the haze she felt was from being drunk, and the bad feeling was just Brad himself. She’d always felt that around him, and always brushed it off, telling herself it was just him.

  “Do you need help out of the car?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “No, I can do it. But thanks.”

  She stumbled out, almost lost her balance and gripped the door for support. Once her head stopped spinning, she walked around the car towards the door that led inside the house.

  “God, remind me never to drink that much again,” she breathed, as she held her fingers up to each temple. Her head was beginning to pound.

  “Here’s some aspirin,” he said as he handed her a glass of water along with two pills.

  She looked up at him for a long moment, trying to see what he was up to. She thought she saw spite shadowed within that smile, but it was hard to tell through the fuzziness of her mind. “What’s going on with you, Brad? Usually you’d be in front of the TV by now, making me fend for myself or making me bring you the aspirin, even if I was the one with the headache,” she asked as she downed the pills and chased them with the water.

  He took a step towards her, reached out, and grabbed her hand. “I told you I’ve changed,” he said with sincerity in his voice that she’d rarely seen from him. He looked down at her hand in his and then brought it to his mouth to give it a kiss.

  “Okay,” she said, speechless as to what to say to that. The way he was acting was so different that she didn’t know what to say or how to act. She was beginning to feel uncomfortable. “Brad—” she began, but was immediately cut off by his mouth crashing into hers. It startled her and she tried to push him away, but to no avail.

  “Kyleigh, you don’t need to talk right now,” he said, against her lips. “Just trust me. We can pick up where we left off, but head in a better direction,” he said quickly, not giving her a chance to answer or move before he started kissing her again.

  With her hands pressed against his chest, she tried pushing him away, but he wouldn’t budge. Her head was beginning to spin even faster now, but with panic instead of just alcohol. She didn’t know what he thought he was doing. “Brad—” she said again, as she tried to squeeze out of his gri
p, but her limbs suddenly felt like jelly and she didn’t have the strength to resist. The alcohol felt like it was swarming in her body, making her cave in to whatever he wanted. The feeling terrified her, but at the same time, it made every care she had seem irrelevant.

  Minutes seemed to race forward in a blur, and at some point she realized she had begun kissing him back, not sure why she was doing it, but not having the desire to understand. Her tongue found his in a familiar pattern that she knew. His hands slid over her skin like an old cashmere sweater that she thought she’d lost, only to find again buried deep in her closet. She let herself succumb to his touch and didn’t stop him as he began to familiarize himself again with her body. Everything felt wonderful. All her senses were heightened to complete awareness.

  She felt the wall hit her back and let out a moan as wetness from his mouth covered the fullness of her breast. He gripped the bottom of her shirt with his hands and yanked it up over her head. Taking her breast in his hand, he reached around with the other one and undid her bra, letting it drop to the floor. She tilted her head back as his teeth pulled her nipple into his mouth. She ran her hand through his hair, pulling him closer towards her.

  Lifting her up, he wrapped her legs around his waist and took her down the hall towards the bedroom. The quick motion had her head spinning again for a brief second, but it quickly subsided. As she fell onto his bed, she looked up at him, his body blurry and doubling before her eyes. The thought of there being two Brads struck her as hilariously scary and she couldn’t help but laugh. He paid her laughter no attention as he took his clothes off, and she leaned back on the bed and looked around the room, taking it all in. Everything looked distorted, like she was in a funhouse mirror maze. She was never good at finding her way out of those damned mazes, and the thought of getting lost in Brad’s bedroom scared the shit out of her.

  She felt the bed squeak and dip down as he crawled in, his warm body sliding in next to her.

  He kissed her cheek. “Come here, babe,” he said in a soft tone.

  She turned toward him, letting him push down her trailing thoughts with a kiss. Her mind felt like it was on cloud nine, she felt like she loved everyone and everything, and her head lolled to the side, letting his lips ignite the pleasure her body desired. She felt like she was on fire. Every part of her body burned with want and need.

  As their kiss intensified, she wrapped her arms around him, bringing him closer to her. She wanted to feel him against her, wanted to feel the warmth of his body. He kissed her neck; leaving dampness in each place his lips left and making chills erupt across her skin. She tilted her head back to give him all the access he needed. His fingers ventured downward, tracing the edge of her panties before sliding them down. As his hand slipped between her thighs and gently coaxed her legs open, she was suddenly hit with a feeling of anxiety and guilt, it seemed to come out of nowhere and she didn’t understand why it was there when her body was yelling for more. Something seemed wrong, but she couldn’t put her finger on it.

  She swallowed hard and weakly pushed away from him a bit, looking around the room as she tried to wrap her head around things. She wasn’t sure what she was doing. His eyes flew open in confusion and she didn’t know what to say. “Brad, I just need a minute, okay. I feel really out of my mind right now. Maybe we need to take things slower or maybe I need a glass of water or something,” she said hearing the obvious slur in her words as she pulled the comforter up around her.

  He scooted back from her, his eyes looking into hers as questions begin to form. “You want to stop now?” he asked as he sat up on his elbow.

  She shook her head, all of a sudden feeling tears threatening to spill. She didn’t know what was wrong with her. One minute she wanted him and the next she was having doubt.

  He flung himself back against the bed, groaning as he rubbed at his eyes, frustration evident in his tense muscles. “Kyleigh, I love you, babe, and there’s no reason to be worried about anything,” he said as he pulled her over to him and slid his hand around her bare waist. “You’re so beautiful,” he said, leaning down to kiss her lips. “And I can’t not have you tonight.” In one quick motion he was on top of her, his lips eagerly finding her neck. “Tell me you still want to say no,” he said as his hand gripped her nipple and his tongue slipped inside her mouth with enough persuasion that she found herself forgetting why she had even tried stopping him before.

  She leaned into him, the urge to push him away dissolving against her better judgment, and let him take her as he’d done many times before. Those times seemed to flash in her mind in an incoherent mess. Her body told her that she wanted him, but in the back of her mind, another voice was telling her something different. From the words of ecstasy that were coming out of Brad’s mouth, to the sound of moans and groans, the other voice was being held hostage. She knew it would come crawling back out of the darkness in the morning, spewing enough hate that she wouldn’t be able to forgive herself for giving in, but right now, there was no turning back because every touch felt so good.

  As he kissed her, it was rougher than earlier, leaving her lips with a slight stinging sensation when he pulled away. The long look he gave her before he pushed inside her filled her mind with a sense of unease. The way his eyes fastened on hers, showed a hint of animosity there that she’d never seen before, but as they fell into a rhythm, it faded for the moment, and was replaced with lust as every thrust became harder and faster.

  Once he was finally done, he pulled away from her, kissed her hard one last time before rolling over on his side.

  Kyleigh fell back onto the bed, head spinning as exhaustion and alcohol began taking its toll on her. Clutching her stomach, she felt a wave of nausea hit her. Turning over onto her side, she laid in the fetal position, waiting for the ill feeling to subside. Her head hurt and cobwebs hung in her mind from all the alcohol she’d drunk. She felt something was off about tonight but she didn’t have the energy to figure it out at the moment. Right now, she needed sleep to erase the hangover that was already creeping up on her.

  As she lay there, scrunching her eyes in pain, David’s face was the last thing she saw before her mind drifted away to sleep. But the heartache that trailed behind that thought left her tossing and turning the rest of the night.

  Chapter 15

  Bad Decisions

  The stinging sensation that spread across her cheek caused her to dart up, and as she cradled the right side of her face, her sleep-ridden eyes landed on a smiling Brad. He stood with his arms crossed as he stared down at her.

  She glared up at him and lightly rubbed her face. “What the hell was that for?”

  She wrapped her arms around herself as she began to shiver, not understanding why she was so cold, and as her gaze trailed down her naked body, then towards the black and white tiled bathroom floor, she realized why her skin had completely erupted in goose bumps.

  A pleased laugh slipped from him as he watched her struggle for answers and he said, “You’re late for work.”

  Kyleigh’s eyes flew up to him. “Okay, and why the hell am I naked on your bathroom floor?” she asked as she grabbed the toilet and hoisted her aching body up. Her stomach churned as she stood straight and she looked at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, seeing an unrecognizable woman. She looked like she’d had a rough time last night and for a moment thought she was going to get sick again, but was thankful when the feeling subsided. The smeared make-up coating her face made her look like a prostitute and the smell of stale cigarettes that clung to her hair made her nauseous.

  His face brightened, looking out of place on his usually hard features. “It’s a complicated story. Maybe I’ll tell you another time.”

  As she began searching for her clothes, she paused when her hands fell on her shirt lying on the floor, as bits and pieces of last night began to spring into her mind. Between weird flashes of sex scenes that she barely recalled, to the creepy feeling coming over her, she wasn’t sure she wanted to know e
xactly what happened, but found the question slipping from her mouth anyway. “What the hell happened last night?” She knew it was a stupid question as soon as it left her mouth, but she had to ask. She remembered drinking last night and somewhat remembered leaving with Brad. But he was supposed to have taken her home, not back to his place. She didn’t remember much once she got here, and she didn’t know if she had actually slept with him, but it seemed like she had.

  She looked up to see him shrug. “Don’t you remember? We agreed that you were too drunk to make it up the stairs so I brought you here and told you I’d take you to your car in the morning. And then, well, one thing led to another.”

  Letting out a huff, she turned her back to him and began dressing. She shook her head, the answer not satisfying her. “Yeah, well, I don’t really remember much after we got here. I can’t believe I’d sleep with you. And why didn’t you wake me earlier?” she questioned, pulling her shirt over her head.

  “That’s a shame because you had a lot of fun. And I figured you get yourself up every day, not sure why I have to suddenly babysit you,” he said casually as he took a seat on the edge of the bed, watching her.

  She shoved past him towards the kitchen and poured herself a cup of coffee in a to go mug, squinting as the sun’s rays blasted in through the window. “I gotta go, I’m late now so I need you to take me to my car,” she said, keeping her eyes diverted from his. She didn’t like the eerie feeling that was residing inside her. She turned away from him and headed towards the garage, ready to get out of his house and as far away from Brad as possible.

  ***

  Twenty minutes later, the smell of antiseptic filled her nose as she hurried through the double doors of the hospital, taking the elevator to the fifth floor. As soon as she was buzzed in, she headed towards the break room to put her purse away.

  “Rough night?” she heard someone ask as she shoved her purse into her locker.