MADversary

by Jamison, Jade C.

  “Imagine the shame and embarrassment I had to go through the rest of the year. They didn’t have the alternative high school here yet, so I had no choice. If I wanted to finish school, I had to go to WHS. And, believe me, it hurt to see him going on with his life while mine withered to nothing. He started dating you, but not long after, he approached me. And I had some weird, stupid thing going on in my head. I wanted him to love me. So when he wanted to sleep with me again, I said yes. I felt bad that he was cheating on you, but I wanted him for myself. I hope you can forgive me.” Megan nodded her head, not wanting to say anything. She didn’t even have time to decide if any of what Tamara was saying was true.

  Tamara continued. “So I agreed, but I was off the pill. He couldn’t wait and he had no protection. Well, of course it happened. I got pregnant with his child. I didn’t know at first, but when I went to get on the pill again, they told me I couldn’t because I was pregnant.

  “I was scared. I decided I wanted an abortion, so I asked Tyler to help me. He got angry and slapped and beat me and blamed me for it. So I just cried and worried and didn’t do anything. I finally told my mom I was pregnant, and she convinced me to keep the baby. So I was pregnant at graduation. I wasn’t really showing yet, especially under the gown. And I decided to try one last time to get Tyler to do the right thing. When we were lined up outside the football field, before we walked out there for the ceremony, I pulled him aside.”

  Megan remembered that incident. She remembered Tamara desperately clutching at Tyler, begging him to take her back, crying that she loved him so, that no one else could ever love him like she did. She could see in her mind’s eye how Tamara kept grasping Tyler’s hand and how Tyler was trying to get her off him without hurting her. Could this really be the person Tamara was describing, a young man who beat and raped her, who refused to care for his own child?

  “When he said he didn’t want me, I told him I was keeping his baby. And that’s when he told me to let go of him. He said he never wanted to see me again.” Megan remembered Tyler saying something like that. His voice had been raised in frustration. Megan hadn’t been the only classmate who’d heard Tyler telling Tamara to leave him alone.

  Still…she was finding Tamara’s story hard to believe. Her disbelief must have shown on her face. Tamara said, “I came here, wanting to try one last time to convince him to do the right thing, to be a good father to his son.” She lowered her voice. “You don’t believe me, but I have proof right here.” Tamara yanked her purse from off her shoulder and opened it. She reached in and pulled out an envelope. Inside was a paper that was folded in thirds. She handed it to Megan. Megan just looked at it, feeling confused. “Go ahead. Open it.”

  Megan folded open what wound up being two or three papers folded together. She noticed a child’s drawing on one of the back pages in blue ink. It was a spider hanging on a web drawn in blue ink. Megan figured Tamara’s son had drawn on it. She took a deep breath and unfolded the papers. The top sheet was on a company’s letterhead, but she didn’t take time to digest it. The writing seemed faded, and Megan thought it was because it was old. Megan scanned the page, but her eyes were drawn to Tyler’s name a little way down the page. It read, “Tyler Green cannot be excluded as the biological father of Tyson Dickens.” That didn’t mean much to Megan, but as she continued reading, she saw that the report said Tyler was considered the child’s father, and the results were up to 99.99 percent conclusive. Megan’s heart sunk. Tyler had lied to her. Suddenly, she felt dirty and betrayed, and she felt angry with Tamara too. Those feelings were immediately followed by guilt. Should she be mad at Tamara who only wanted vindication? Well, the woman hadn’t had to be so nasty about it. In shock, Megan handed the papers back to Tamara. She had no words.

  “Now do you believe me?”

  Megan heard the music from the gym swell as someone entered the lobby area. “Megan!” She recognized Lisa’s voice and turned around. Her friend’s face was red and, as she felt herself become reoriented, she realized Lisa was crying.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Lisa sobbed and said, “I don’t want to talk here.”

  Megan looked up at Tamara. “I gotta go.” The other woman nodded, a smirk on her face. For some reason, her look of satisfaction pissed Megan off, but she said nothing else. Instead, she wrapped her arm around Lisa’s shoulders and led her back into the gym. She planned to take her outside where they’d have quiet and privacy. Lisa followed without protest.

  As they walked outside, away from the stifled heat, noisy pop music, and flashy lights, Megan looked around. She saw, not too far from the entrance, a van with open doors. She figured out it belonged to Madversary when she saw Tyler and his bandmates loading equipment inside the back. She turned her head to Lisa, not wanting to see Tyler. She needed time to process what she’d heard. More than that, though, she had a friend who desperately needed her. So she continued walking them towards Lisa’s car, and Megan was grateful that it was on the opposite side of the parking lot. The two walked in silence, and Megan tried to wrap her mind around all that Tamara had dumped on her.

  Chapter Twenty-two

  THE TWO WOMEN half-sat on the bumper of Lisa’s car. Megan still had her arm around Lisa, trying to comfort her friend. “You wanna tell me what happened?”

  Lisa wiped at her cheeks and tried to subdue her sobs. “Randy Butler is a fucking asshole.”

  Oh, God, no. Megan had consoled her bestie through many a man problem, and when Lisa called a guy a fucking asshole, it was serious. “What the hell did he do to you?”

  Lisa sobbed again. “He’s married!” It took her friend a while, but Lisa explained that Randy had brought his family along but had gone to the first night mixer alone. Long story short, he couldn’t resist Lisa and then wondered how he could continue the charade. He decided to come clean with Lisa tonight, because his wife and kids were going to attend the Sunday breakfast. He gave her a big old sob story about how there was no love in his marriage, but Lisa had already been with more than one married man, and she knew it was all a lie. She’d slapped him across the face and walked away, donning what dignity she had left, and searched for her best friend. “God, I’m so fucking stupid,” she said.

  “No, you’re not, Lisa. You want to believe the best in people. And I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.”

  “I can’t read people, Meg. It gets me into trouble.”

  “Don’t blame yourself for the fact that he’s a cheating, lying asshole. He wasn’t wearing a wedding ring, and he never indicated that he was married. You can’t blame yourself.”

  Lisa sniffled. “I guess you’re right.”

  “I am.” Megan inhaled a deep breath. “You’re not the only one dealing with a cheater.”

  “What? Tyler?”

  “Yeah…I guess he was cheating on me with Tamara back in high school.”

  “You don’t believe anything that skank says, do you?”

  Megan looked at the street light halfway down the block, not wanting to make eye contact with her friend, even though it was dark. “I wouldn’t ordinarily. But she had the paperwork to prove it.”

  “What?” Lisa had stopped crying and was in protective mode. She sat up, barely on the bumper, and asked, “What kind of paperwork?”

  “She had a baby…and Tyler was the father. The paper said so.”

  Lisa stood and moved in front of Megan as though to get her attention. “What paper, Meg?”

  Megan blinked and swallowed. “It was a…a paternity test. It said they were 99.99 percent certain Tyler was the father of Tyson, Tamara’s son.”

  “What? When did she have his baby?”

  “A few months after graduation—eight, I think she said. That means he was fucking around on me.”

  “Motherfucker. They’re all cheaters, Meg.”

  “I’m beginning to think so.” She sighed. “What do you say we get the hell out of here?”

  “Yeah, let’s.”

&nbs
p; * * *

  The two women were curled up on Megan’s couch watching He’s Just Not That into You, sharing a bowl of popcorn. Megan had taken the keys and drove them away from the high school, giving Lisa a break. They’d been flipping cable channels and found one of their favorite movies.

  Halfway through, Megan paused. “See? Bradley Cooper cheated on his wife too. And I don’t care how sweet and cute he is; he’s just not worth it. I guess they are all cheaters.”

  “Yep. I’m over it.”

  Lisa drifted off on the couch before the movie was over, and Megan went to her bedroom, getting a sheet and extra pillow off the top shelf of her closet. She tucked her best friend in and then went to bed where she cried in earnest for the first time that evening.

  Megan awoke earlier than usual the next morning. Her sleep had been disturbed by dreams of Tyler, and she didn’t want to dream about him. Enough was enough. In fact, she had decided she was going on hiatus from all men for a while. She wasn’t going to let herself get hurt anymore.

  When she started a pot of coffee in the kitchen, Lisa stirred on the couch. “Shit,” her friend said.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “My arm fell asleep. I think I must have fallen asleep on it.”

  “Ooh. Sorry. I tried to make sure you were comfortable.”

  “Oh, it’s okay. It’s not your fault. I woke up and stretched out in the middle of the night. Thanks for the sheet and pillow.” Lisa padded over into the kitchen, continuing to rub her arm with her other hand. She sat at the table and Megan joined her while the coffee brewed. “I had an idea.”

  Megan didn’t like sounds of that. “What?”

  “I think we should go to the breakfast.”

  “No. In fact, hell no. I am done with this shit.”

  Lisa shook her head. “I know you didn’t want to do any of it, Meg, and believe me when I say I appreciate all you’ve done so far. But I need to do one last thing.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I’m going to tell Randy’s wife exactly what he’s been up to.”

  Megan felt her brows furrow. “Oh, no, Leese. Don’t do that.”

  “If it were me, I’d want to know.”

  Megan got up, walking over to the cabinet. “I think that’s a bad idea.” She pulled out two mugs and set them on the counter, waiting for the coffee pot to stop sputtering. She looked over at Lisa.

  Her friend ran her fingers through her blonde hair as she jutted out her chin. “Look, I’m going with or without you. But I really would appreciate your support.” Lisa started doing her little puppy dog face, her eyes begging Megan to give in.

  Megan sighed. “Jesus. I don’t know how you do it.” She shook her head, turning to the coffee pot and sliding the carafe out. “Fine. I’ll go.”

  Lisa squealed and stood up, running over to Megan and hugging her about the waist. “Thank you!”

  Megan let out another sigh. “I don’t know how you fucking manage to do that.”

  * * *

  God, she was such a sucker. Megan frowned as Lisa drove her car into the Sedgwick parking lot once more. She still couldn’t believe she was doing this. She was going to have to give some serious thought to seeking out therapy to learn to be more assertive with her friend. But Megan knew Lisa would have understood if she’d said no. Lisa was the best friend she’d ever had and, honestly, Megan would do anything for her…including come back to this goddamned reunion that had done nothing but seriously fuck with her emotions and mental well-being.

  Megan looked out the side window, viewing the gathering clouds that indicated showers were imminent, and smiled in spite of herself. One thing she could say for certain: She hadn’t felt this many strong emotions—good or bad—in a long time. So, even though part of her wished she could take back the whole weekend, she had Tyler to thank for waking her back up. She’d been so complacent, so neutral, so diplomatic for so long, she had forgotten what intense emotion felt like. For better or worse, Tyler had stirred up something deep.

  Her mind shifted gears. She knew there was a good possibility of running into Tyler at the breakfast.

  Oh, that was bullshit. There was one-hundred percent certainty, unlike the 99.99 percent of the paternity test. There was no way she’d be able to avoid Tyler. She already knew he’d be looking for her, unless, of course, he discovered she’d learned the truth last night. But she’d prepared by dressing for the occasion. She wore a three-piece suit she hadn’t donned in years, not since her last job interview. It was a dark gray matching jacket and slacks. She wore a red satin shirt and black one-inch heels and minimal jewelry. She also wore her hair up. At first she’d pulled it back into a stern-looking bun, but it was too severe, even for the look she’d wanted to pull off. So she’d loosened it and pulled a few stray hairs out to frame her face. Somehow, though, the suit empowered her, made her feel tough. There would be no crying in this get-up.

  So Megan put on a stone face when she and Lisa got out of the car and marched up to the revolving door. As she walked inside the air-conditioned hotel, she felt the butterflies begin stirring in her stomach. She had really hoped she wouldn’t see Tyler, but she was afraid she would. The only thing that might happen that could save her would be one scenario that she was holding out for—the one where he’d probably confronted Tamara, but she would have told him she’d spilled everything to Megan, along with the proof. When he realized Megan was gone last night in spite of promising to see him later, surely he had to know he’d blown it. And, knowing that, wouldn’t he have just gone off with his band buddies to score some easy, fresh pussy?

  Megan scowled during the walk down the hall to the ballroom where the reunion activities had been taking place. That didn’t sound like Tyler. No, what sounded more like him would be that he’d be here wanting to talk. And that knowledge was what was causing the butterflies in the pit of her belly to flutter. She just wanted to be done with it.

  They walked into the ballroom for what Megan hoped would be the last time. Unlike the previous two nights, the space was bright. To Megan, the area had looked bigger than it was when the lights were dim. It wasn’t a small room by any means, but being dark and crowded with people, it looked bigger. On this dismal morning, the place was still crowded, but it was laid out differently. There were families there, classmates with their spouses and children, and the place smelled like her mother’s kitchen.

  Megan noticed a buffet table where people were already lined up, piling hot breakfast foods on their plates. There was also a long table behind the buffet against the wall where there were coffee, juice, milk, and hot water, toasters next to bread and bagels, cereals, muffins, and fruit. But Megan’s eyes caught those details in just a glance. She was already scoping the room. If Tyler was there, she wanted to know where. She didn’t want to be surprised by his presence again. She wanted the upper hand.

  Lisa was scanning the room too, but she was looking for Randy. Megan hadn’t seen him either and was probably dreading that encounter even more than her own potential confrontation. Lisa accosting a woman with the information she planned to? That was gonna be ugly in an epic way.

  The two women stood just inside the room for well over two minutes. Megan finally said, “Look, he’s not here. Should we just go?” She hoped she could talk reason into her emotional friend.

  “Oh, hell no. That just means we’re going to eat breakfast first.”

  Megan inhaled a deep breath, willing back the butterflies again. She didn’t know that she could eat breakfast, and if she did, she doubted she could keep it down. One thing she knew for certain: It was going to be a long morning.

  Chapter Twenty-three

  MEGAN AND LISA made it through the buffet table unscathed. Megan had grabbed a little fruit and some coffee and wanted nothing else, but Lisa asked if she would go through the buffet with her too. Lisa couldn’t say no to the blueberry pancakes and put two on her plate but resisted the bacon. As it was, Megan knew Lisa would be eating salads for tw
o straight weeks to atone for the empty carbs she’d consumed over the long weekend.

  As they worked their way down the table, two children, probably four or five years of age, played just behind them. The two kids were chasing each other, giggling, unaware of anyone else. One of the kids ran into the back of Megan’s legs and she turned around to watch them. The young boy hadn’t noticed he’d run into her, was instead laughing and taunting the other little boy. The two were more than likely twins, Megan thought—same pure blonde hair, same green eyes, same height. Lisa turned and looked at the kids too and started chuckling. The two children were bobbing in and out of people’s legs. Megan wasn’t sure if they were playing hide-and-seek or tag or if they were just enjoying each other’s company, running around and playing peekaboo.

  And then it felt like Megan’s throat sank into her gut. She realized these children must be Randy Butler’s progeny. When she scrutinized their faces, she could tell he was their father, and that meant he was somewhere close by. Megan wondered how long it would take Lisa to realize it. And that’s when she noticed Lisa was already gone, storming across the crowded ballroom.

  Megan snapped to. She rushed to an empty table where she nearly threw her plate and coffee down. She hurried over to her friend, knowing she’d need to be there for as much damage control as possible. But by the time she caught up, she held back. Yes, Lisa was standing in front of Randy Butler and a woman Megan assumed to be his wife, but she wasn’t making a big scene. In fact, Megan couldn’t hear a word. She wanted to get closer so she could overhear what Lisa was saying, but she was afraid of being too obvious. The only clues Megan had to the conversation were the faces of Randy Butler and his spouse, and their expressions weren’t giving up a thing. Randy looked nervous, and he should be, but Megan couldn’t tell a thing from his wife. She looked curious and on the verge of something…that turned out to be a warm smile.