Trashed and Scattered

The men paddled out to the center of the lake, letting their lines hang lazily over the edge. Matt leaned back, hoisting his head up in his hands as he soaked up the late afternoon sun. Zach and Johnny worked together to fasten their boats to Brian and Jimmy’s, threatening the drummer not to make any abrupt movements lest he suffer their wrath.
Jimmy just laughed, passing Brian a beer with an exaggeratedly slow arm extension. Brian was distracted, though, peering back toward the shore and squinting his eyes as if it might grant him sudden psychic abilities. Jimmy shook the can in his hand, doing his best to garner the attention of his absent best friend.
“Dude,” he finally laughed.
Brian pulled his gaze back to the present, blinking away his anxieties and settling on the brew, “Oh, shit. Thanks.”
“What’s up, Gates?” Zach noted, cracking his own refreshing afternoon drink.
“He’s in love,” Johnny grinned, shooting an inquisitive look toward the guitarist.
Brian shook his head, taking a long sip from the can in his grip, “No. I’m just worried about the females.”
“Worried?” Matt asked, turning his head lazily toward the other boat. “Why? You think they’re going to burn the house down or some shit?”
“No,” Brian chuckled.
Zach raised his brows far above his sunglasses, “He’s worried that Natalie’s going to bully Peyton some more.”
“Bully?” Jimmy smirked. “I don’t think Natalie is bullying Peyton.”
“What?” Zach laughed sharply. “You’re shitting me, right?”
Jimmy narrowed his eyes, “No.”
“It’s a bit like bullying, Jim,” Matt said, pursing his lips.
Jimmy looked to Brian for confirmation to find his brown-eyed buddy frowning back at him.
“No way,” Jimmy dismissed. “She’s acting like an idiot, I’ll give you that. But I wouldn’t say bullying.”
Zach scoffed, “Were you present last night, big guy? I’m pretty sure I saw you there.”
“Her stupid questions?” Jimmy snickered. “She’s grasping at straws, man. She was drunk.”
Brian cleared his throat with impatience, “I’m not worried about that. This entire conversation is moot.”
Matt tilted his head, “Then what are you worried about?”
“I’m worried Peyton’s going to knock your girlfriend out,” Brian smirked at Jimmy.
Jimmy let out a disgruntled sigh, challenging his best friend without words.
“Natalie’s pushing it, man,” Brian shrugged. “I think Peyton’s getting’ fuckin tired of it.”
Jimmy shook his head, “Peyton would have said something.”
“To who?” Zach challenged knowingly.
The Peyton Boat fell into an awkward silence, the answer to the question lingering within the divide.
“She did, man,” Brian said quietly. “Just…not to you, I guess.”
This revelation hit Jimmy upside the head. He couldn’t imagine a world where Peyton wouldn’t let her thoughts flow freely over his ears. Given their conversation that morning, though, he supposed her refuge was justified. He’d been pushing her away so consistently that, of course, she wouldn’t want to voice her troubles to him.
He tried his best to subdue the jealous rage that sought to consume him.
“What’s with that anyway?” Johnny piped up.
Jimmy grumbled, “What’s with what?”
“The whole Lexi/Peyton thing,” his friend shrugged. “Why can’t you just tell Natalie what’s going on?”
It seemed as if all eyes fell onto the drummer then, each searching for their own version of the truth from somewhere in Jimmy’s crystal blues.
“It’s too late for that,” Jimmy waved them off. “Natalie’s brain would literally implode.”
Zach leered over at his tall friend, “Did it ever occur to you that you might be looking out for the wrong girl here, man?”
“What do you mean?” Jimmy pressed confusedly.
Zach shrugged dramatically, “I don’t think you’re protecting Natalie with the lie…That’s all I’m saying.”
“Then who am I protecting?” the drummer growled.
“Yourself, dude,” Johnny answered with a pointed laugh.
“What is this shit, a fucking convention?” Jimmy groaned. “You guys just sit around and talk about my life?”
Matt frowned sympathetically, “No, dude…We just…We think you might in over your head, man.”
Jimmy wanted to argue but knew instantly that he couldn’t. Trying to juggle the secret with his honesty was proving to be more difficult than he’d anticipated. Without the added complication of his heavy heart and torn loyalties, Jimmy’s limbs were being ripped in opposing directions.
“And what’s your take on this, huh?” he shot at Brian, who was looking severely discomforted.
Brian furrowed his brows, “My take?”
“Yeah,” Jimmy nodded once. “You’re clearly going along with this bullshit. So, are you in over your head too?”
“It isn’t my bullshit,” Brian shrugged simply.
“Yes, it fucking is,” Jimmy persisted irately. “The only reason Peyton is here is because you guys are supposedly dating.”
Brian huffed, “Did it ever occur to you that maybe I invited Peyton here because I fucking wanted to? Not because I was trying to help support your fucking charade?”
“You wouldn’t even know her if it wasn’t for me,” Jimmy noted with venom dripping from his teeth. “I wouldn’t go getting too fucking comfortable, Brian.”
“What the fuck would you know about it?” Brian hissed at his friend. “You’re one foot in, one foot out of everything!”
Jimmy snarled, “Does that extend to Peyton then? Or are you just fucking neglecting that punch line on purpose?”
“Guys!” Matt barked, working from his distance to break the mounting tension.
The lifelong friends ignored him entirely, each glaring at one another as testosterone flooded their boat and lingering resentments came to a head.
“Oh, there’s the truth,” Brian declared theatrically, downing the rest of his beer and tossing the emptied can to his feet. “I didn’t think you or Peyton were fucking capable of total honesty!”
Jimmy quickly discarded the dig at his own character flaw. That didn’t matter. Brian knew him better than Brian knew himself. Jimmy was constantly dancing along the line of honesty, toying with truths as disposable conveniences.
But Peyton…Peyton had never lied to him. He’d known Peyton as Lexi, who was the most genuinely honest human he’d ever encountered. She’d never turned her nose up to reality, regardless of its ugliness. She’d always been an open book with Jimmy, letting him read each line with greed.
Jimmy fell into an angry silence, which only fueled Brian’s entertained rage.
“Nothing to say, big guy?” Brian pushed with impatience. “You’re just going to keep fuckin’ tight-lipped about your little bullshit relationship with Peyton? We’re all just supposed to pretend like it doesn’t exist?”
Jimmy scowled, “You seem to be pretending just fine, Brian.”
Brian lowered his voice, letting his eyes bore into Jimmy’s heart and soul as he growled, “I promise you, Jim. There was no pretending last night when I fucked her brains out.”
Jimmy’s ears rang out, deafening his mind as his rage bellowed out from his throat and he leapt across the short distance, grabbing at Brian with a dedicated grip. He wound his hand into a tight fist, forcing it fiercely into Brian’s strong jaw. The connection let out a deafening crack as it floated along the still water.
The men grunted and growled as their fight for dominance ensued. Brian grabbed his best friend by the collar, pulling his weight beneath his own as he pummeled his tattooed fists into the smug face staring up at him.
“Jesus Christ!” Matt shrieked. “Guys! Knock it the fuck off!”
Jimmy faltered for a second, struggling to see through the haze of his glazy eyes. With all his might, he shoved Brian’s chest, effectively removing the guitarist’s advantage. Jimmy sprung up, lunging once more at his best friend.
“Brian!” Zach shouted, decidedly unable to do anything to intervene but to yell at deaf ears.
The men locked arms, engaging in another power struggle. The sudden disruption in balance of their weight worked to their disadvantage, teetering the boat against the water and sprawling fierce waves out in each direction.
“Oh, shit!” Matt yelped, leaping across his own boat to quickly untie the ropes tethering them to the boat bound to capsize at any second.
As the last yellow roped slipped from its anchor, Jimmy landed another fist into Brian’s pierced nose. There was no time for retaliation as the boat tipped with ease, sending the feuding friends crashing into the deep blue.
The dry men exchanged horrified looks, each at a loss.
“Well,” Zach sighed loudly, “I guess that solves that.”
The violence resurfaced, each respective half considering drowning the other. Despite the urge, they scowled at one another and silently got to work flipping their boat.
“Are you guys fucking done now?” Matt growled as a threat as Brian and Jimmy struggled to board their vessel.
Jimmy glared over at the guitarist glaring back at him.
“I’m done,” Brian declared, letting his gaze fall away from the drummer and out to their various tackle now drifting away from reach.
Neither man cared about their loss, the biggest of them all still lingering in the tension.
“We should go back,” Zach said awkwardly, already pulling his line from the water.
The men were drowned in silence as they paddled their way to shore. No one knew what to make of the hostilities that were exchanged or what it meant for the friends. No one had seen it coming—but once it had, everyone was sure there was nothing they could have done to stop it.
“For the record,” Brian stated matter-of-factly as the shore neared and Jimmy hopped out from the boat. “I think you’re in over your head.”
Jimmy took a deep breath, “So are you, buddy.”
“But,” Brian added, disregarding the reality Jimmy had sputtered. “I don’t think you’re protecting yourself at all.”
Jimmy’s gaze faltered. There was a subtle hint of fondness still laced in Brian’s tone, but Jimmy knew better than to take that as fact. His nose wasn’t bloody because Brian was feeling particularly understanding.
“Then who am I protecting?” Jimmy muttered, despite his better judgement.
Brian scoffed, pulling his body out from the boat and into the cold lake, “Peyton.”
If that was true, Jimmy thought to himself, he was doing a piss poor job of it. So far, he hadn’t done much for Peyton except expose her to a world of immense pain and confusion. He let Natalie dig into her past and he let Brian sway her with his charm.
He let himself lie and tell her she meant nothing more to him than a childhood memory.
Brian wiped at his lip, peering down to find a trail of blood smeared across his hand. Jimmy looked about as rough, blood trickling down from his nose and a gash stretched out across his eyebrow. It was, Brian noticed, almost exactly where Peyton’s scar could be found.
Like fate was slapping him on the wrist, Brian couldn’t help but feel like he’d stepped into a galaxy set against him.
The pair fell into silence again as they pulled the boat into the soil and each dragged their feet up the trail to the cabin. The peaceful group hung back, refusing to be anywhere near the hostility that followed Brian and Jimmy like a cloud.
As they climbed the stairs, they were greeted immediately by the heated faces of Peyton and Crystal. They tossed back their glasses, snickering about god knows what. The scene elated a piece of Jimmy’s bruised soul, finding solace in Peyton’s laughter and the wrinkles that spread from her infectious smile.
Brian wasn’t in the mood.
“Oh my god,” Crystal laughed loudly at the sight of the men dripping pools onto the deck boards. “Jimmy, did you tip the fucking boat?”
Jimmy sniffled, glancing quickly at his beaten friend, “Group effort this time.”
“What did you do to your face?” Peyton gasped quietly, springing from her chair and bounding over to their sides.
Brian couldn’t help but notice her piercing eyes fixated on Jimmy. It was like he was an after thought as she reached her hand out to survey the damage. Angry and inflicted, Brian stepped back from her.
“I’m fine,” he snarled lowly. “I’m going to change.”
He stormed off, unbothered enough to close the door behind him. As he disappeared and Peyton felt the unmistakably sting of fury pick at her bones, she cast an inquisitive look up to Jimmy. His icy blues met her in an endless series of apologies and confessions. Unfortunately, Peyton missed the memo.
“Are you okay?” she asked softly.
He nodded, offering a weak smile, “Nothing I can’t handle.”
“Okay,” she sighed, slowly stepping away to seat herself once more.
“Natalie’s inside brooding,” Crystal said to him, an entertained grin spread across her face as Jimmy wiped at the blood against his brow.
He nodded, pursing his lips as he awkwardly excused himself from the scene. As he neared his bedroom, sure he’d find Natalie on the other side of the door, he couldn’t quite escape the flight urge pulsing through him. There was a reason, he knew, that he couldn’t handle Brian’s affection for Peyton. Having it thrust into his face as a means of retaliation had awoken something deep inside of him. Like a demon clawing at the soil as it escaped from the fires of hell, Jimmy was wide awake.
He knew then that he had some serious thinking to do. And some apologizing. Both to Peyton and to Brian…and to Natalie too.

Notes

Oh boy....

xx