I’m able to catch a ride back to Huntington Beach with Brian and Michelle. The drive is quiet but I'm grateful for it. My head is being pulled in two directions and I don’t want to admit it, but my heart is too. I can’t wait to go home and find the bottle of whiskey I’ve been yearning for all night, but I know an argument is waiting for me there. I don’t want to go home and argue with Gena and I especially don’t want to be arguing with Gena knowing that Sheridan is out on a date with some douche bag. I don’t know what switch flipped in me tonight, but I know I am fucked.

I mumble a thanks to Brian and Michelle as I climb out of their car and search my jeans for my house keys. Of course, they’re not in my pockets because Gena has them, so I sigh and reach for the doorknob, hoping she didn’t lock me out. To my surprise, the knob turns, and I’m allowed in. Gena is walking up the stairs when I walk in; she turns gives me a look of utmost disgust.

“You can sleep in the guest room tonight,” she tells me.

“Gena,” I call, but she ignores me and continues up the stairs.

I stand at the bottom of the stairs until I hear Gena slam what I'm assuming is our bedroom door. I hang my head, groaning before making my way to the liquor cabinet. After finding the whiskey, I take a swallow straight from the bottle and then focus on the digits Sheridan wrote on the back of my hand. So much has changed in the last six years, but her handwriting looks just as it did when we were in school. I know the right thing to do would be to wash it off and act like tonight never happened. I weigh my options: what needs be, what should be and what I want to be. Except what I want isn’t very clear.

Still, I pull out my phone and click the “add contact” button, I enter in Sheridan’s information, but my thumb hovers over the “cancel” button for several seconds before I finally decide to hit “okay”. Fuck, everything is so complicated. I want to text her, but I know I shouldn’t. Not only did I know that she was on that date, but I know I really need to head upstairs and fix things with Gena. I set my phone down and swallow another mouthful of whiskey.

“Fuck it,” I mumble to myself. Sheridan and I could be friends. There was nothing wrong with that. After all, Sheridan was mature enough to be okay with Gena and me remaining friends in high school. I pick my phone back up and before I can change my mind again, I send Sheridan a quick text.

How’d your date go?

It is normal for friends to text their friends after a date. I am just checking in on her, there was nothing wrong with that. I take a third and final swallow of whiskey before putting my phone into my pocket. Now, it is time to make amends with my girlfriend.

The bedroom light is off when I open the door, but I enter anyway before turning on the light. Maybe if I got Gena to forgive me tonight, I could still get laid.

“Go away, Zack,” Gena tells me. She’s laying in bed with her back to me and doesn’t bother turning to face me.

I approach the foot of the bed. “Gena, baby, please listen to me.” She doesn’t reply. “I’m sorry for lying to you tonight but I promise nothing like what you’re thinking happened between me and that girl or me and Sheridan.”

Gena sits up in bed. Her face is splotchy, and her eyes are red and puffy. “But you still planned to do something with that groupie and you still went to fucking Sheridan’s!”

“Yeah but nothing happened! Gena, Sheridan and I are just friends, okay?”

“No,” Gena answers. “It’s not okay! Zack, I don’t want her in our lives! God, do you even remember how broken you were when she left because I do! It literally took me years to put you back together like you were Humpty fucking Dumpty! And you’re still not the same as you were back then! I’m still working on fixing you and you…you just welcome her back with open arms! I don’t want her around because she’s just going to hurt you again. So, no I’m not okay with you being her friend.”

I rub the back of my neck. “Ah, fuck,” I mumble to myself. I probably shouldn’t have sent Sheridan that text. “Gena, I’m sorry. I just…I thought you were acting like this because you were jealous.”

Gena wipes her eyes. “Of course, I’m jealous, Zack. Do you think I’m stupid? Even when we were in school, I knew I was second best to her. Why do you think I told everyone that she beat me up when it was really her crazy ass brother? I knew that you would never choose to be with me while she was still in the picture. I wanted everyone to stop talking to her because I wanted you back. Then she left, and I got you back! So, I just…I don’t know what I’ll do if you start hanging around her again. I know a part of you still loves her and will always love her. I can’t compete with that, Zack.”

This conversation was something I wasn’t prepared for. I was prepared for screaming and for her to throw stuff at me not for her to confess how broken she felt. “Gena, I don’t know what you want me to say,” I tell her quietly but we both know that’s not true. The truth was, I just wasn’t sure if I could tell her what she wanted to hear.

“Just forget it.” Gena sighs and lays back down. “Turn off the light, please.”

“Hey, no, wait. This conversation isn’t over.” I tell her. I walk over to her side of the bed and kneel beside it. “Look, I know you want me to tell you that I won’t talk to Sheridan anymore but I'm not going to do that because that would be lying and I'm not going to do that anymore.” Gena scoffs and tries to turn away from me, but I prevent it by grabbing her shoulder. “Stop. Hear me out. I’m not going to push Sheridan out of my life. She was one of my best friends in high school. And you’re right, a part of me will always love her but…a bigger part of me loves you. I don’t want to be with Sheridan and she doesn’t want to be with me. She’s on a date right now as we speak!” I ignore the twinge of jealousy I feel in my gut. “And as for her hurting me again or whatever…that’s not going to happen. I learned my lesson years ago and I will never let her in like that again, okay? That’s what I’ve got you for. I love you and I appreciate everything you’ve done for me in the last six years. I am so sorry for how I’ve been treating you and I swear it’s going to change.”

“Promise?” Gena sniffs.

I nod, kissing her forehead. “I promise.”

---

Gena isn’t in bed with me the next morning so I roll over and check my phone. I have several unread texts including one from Brian asking me how last night went, another from Val saying she hoped I wasn’t mad at her for telling Gena where I was last night and one from Sheridan which only had one word. Horrible.

I know I shouldn’t care, it wasn’t fair to Gena. Still, I feel myself grin at the news of Sheridan’s date going badly. I text her back. That sucks. What happened?

While I wait for Sheridan to reply, I decide to text a few others back. I tell type out a whole paragraph telling Valary to mind her damn business but erase it before deciding to just ignore her text and write Brian back. I’m in the middle of telling him that Gena and I talked it out when Sheridan replies. Long story.

I nibble on my lip ring for a brief moment before deciding on what to write her back. Finally, I decide and hit send. Wanna talk about it over lunch? You owe me a conversation anyway.

Sheridan writes me back immediately. Sure. Ruby’s at 1?

Ruby’s Diner was always one of Sheridan’s favourite places to eat. See you there, I reply before setting my phone on my nightstand and getting out of bed. I adjust my boxers before walking out of the room and downstairs. I hear pots and pans banging in the kitchen, so I start heading in that direction.

I walk into the kitchen to see Gena next to the stove, she has eggs bacon and waffle batter on the counter next to her. “Morning, babe.”

“Oh, shit!” Gena curses quietly. “Did I wake you? I’m sorry!”

I shake my head and take a seat at the island. “No, you didn’t wake me”

“I thought I would make you breakfast. Eggs, bacon and some waffles?” She asks with a smile.

I glance at the clock for the first time this morning. It’s already nearly noon and I had to meet Sheridan at one. “Uh....how about just some eggs?”

Gena gives me a weird look. “Are you sure? I don’t mind. You didn’t eat last night so you must be starving…”

“I’m not really hungry,” I tell her. Then I remember I wasn’t going to lie to her anymore. “Actually, I have…uh…lunch plans with Sheridan.”

Gena stares at me for a moment before turning around. She picks up the eggs, holds them for a long time and then puts them back down and turns back to me. “I’m sorry, you what?”

I sigh. “Babe, we had this conversation last night. Sheridan and I are friends and friends have lunch together.”

“Yeah but…” Gena trails off. “I didn’t think you were going to start hanging out with her right away.”

“It’s not a big deal, okay? Do you want to come? You can come if you want,” I told her. Then I silently hoped she didn’t want to come.

Gena looked like she was tossing the idea in the air before she finally answered. “No,” she sighed. “I mean, I do but…I know I have to learn to trust you with her.”

“Okay,” I tell her. I get up from the stool and walk over to her. “I better go hop in the shower. I didn’t realize it was so late already.” I kissed her gently. “Come join me if you want.”

Notes

Just gonna keep it short and sweet because im fighting sleep link a motherucker right now! Thank so much for reading, subscribing and rating! Huge thanks to Hildaborg, MotionlessTragedy and overneaththepathofmisery for commenting on the previous chapter!

Title credit: She Wants Revenge “Someone Must Get Hurt”