I Meant What I Said

“Bree? Can I talk to you for a second?” Alex grabbed her hand and walked out to towards the parking lot. The last week had been like a dream for Bree. Alex said he loved her. He actually loved her. She couldn't have been happier. She followed Alex to the side of the parking lot that was sort of a hill. It had a few benches and some trees that looked like they had been there for a hundred years. Knowing their school, they probably had been.

Alex sat down on a bench and motioned for Bree to follow. He turned towards her. “I love you, Bree Addison. I never thought I'd ever be lucky enough to meet someone like you, but I did. You're everything to me. Be my girlfriend?”

Bree felt her stomach jump and her heart stop beating. She leaned forward and kissed him, deeply and passionately. She pulled away, smiled at him, then hugged him.

“So, I'm guessing that's a yes?” Bree pulled back and kissed him again, this time deeper.

“Yes, of course, Alex. I'd love to be your girlfriend. I love you.”

Two Weeks Later

Bree had spent the night at Alex's and woke up Saturday morning to Alex laying next to her. His hair was all messed up- his typical bed head. And he had no shirt on, just his boxers. She smiled and wondered how she could get so lucky. She heard his dad call them from downstairs. “Breakfast, guys!”

She had asked him right after they became “official” how he got away with having her sleep over all the time. He said it was because his dad felt bad for putting Alex for all the girlfriends and wives he had and never making time for him. Alex said that this was his way of trying to make up for it- giving Alex exactly what he wanted.

Alex rolled out of bed and smiled at Bree. “Morning, beautiful.”

“Morning,” she said and smiled. He still gave her the biggest butterflies. “I'll be right down. I just have to use the bathroom.” She went into the bathroom and then walked back into his room to grab a sweatshirt. The house was actually kind of cold. She heard his phone going off. She leaned over to see who it was- just in case he needed to answer it.

'Three New Text Messages from Kelley'

Why was he still talking to Kelley? He had told her before they even got together that he was done with her and he wanted nothing to do with her. She picked up his iTouch that was on the bedside table next to his phone. She signed into Myspace and looked at his page. There was a whole list of comments from Kelley and she had recently commented on all his pictures, even the ones of Bree and him.

Bree felt a pang of jealousy hit her. She didn't want it to, but it did. She decided she was going to confront him on it after breakfast. She knew it wasn't anything. Kelley was just probably being the annoying psycho that she was.

She grabbed a sweatshirt from his closet and walked downstairs. Her dad had made home fries, scrambled eggs and bacon for breakfast. “Morning, Bree,” he said as she entered the kitchen.

“Morning, Mr. Denvin.” He had told her many times to call him Gary, but it just didn't feel right. She sat down next to Alex and he put his hand on her leg. It was warm against the light pants she had on. They ate breakfast and then walked back up to his room. She sat down on his bed and got comfortable. He walked to his bedside table and picked up his phone. She wondered if he would say anything about the texts from Kelley.

He scrolled through his phone, looking very focused on it. He typed something in and then closed his phone. She looked at him. “Who was that?”

“Just one of the guys from soccer.” Why was he lying?

“Oh, everything okay?”

“Yeah, don't worry about it.” Alex sounded annoyed. He never got annoyed at her when she asked questions. He knew from the start that she was very curious.

“What's wrong, baby?”

“Don't worry about it, Bree.” When he said her name, it was as cold as ice.

“Baby, what's wrong?”

“Drop it, Bree.” Alex walked over and sat on the bed.

“Fine,” she said, crossing her arms. He leaned over and tried to pull her into his arms, but she pulled away.

“Bree?”

“I'm all set where I am, thanks.” There was a finality to the way she said 'thanks'. Why was he lying and snapping at her? This wasn't the Alex she was used to.

“What's the matter, Bree?” He sat up straighter on the bed, looking at her. He looked worried.

She wasn't going to hold back. She never held back. “Why are you still talking to Kelley?” Alex looked taken back.

“How did you know I was talking to Kelley?”

“I heard your phone going off when I was grabbing a sweatshirt. I thought you said that you were done with her.”

“Bree, baby, I don't want to fight with you. Not over Kelley.”

“Why are you still talking to her?”

“Because! She won't leave me alone!” Alex stood up and looked at Bree. She hated when he did this. He was much taller than she was standing up, let alone while she was still sitting down.

“Well, if you didn't answer her texts, maybe she'd take the hint.”

“Bree. Honestly, why are you doing this?”

“Because. I don't understand why you're still talking to her, let alone lying about it.”

“I'm sorry. She's hard to get rid of. And I don't know. I just don't think.” He walked closer to her. “I'm sorry, baby. I'll try harder, I promise.” Bree was still angry.

“Why did you lie about it?”

“Because she's not worth this. She's not worth fighting over.” He leaned forward to kiss her and she let him. “I'm sorry.”

Bree let her guard down and leaned into him. “I'm sorry, too, baby. I don't know, I just don't think. I don't like thinking of you with other girls.”

Alex wrapped his arms around her. “You don't have to. I'm with you. I love you.”

“I love you, too,” she said.

Flashback to December of Freshman Year

“Why are you doing all of this to me? Why now?”

“Bree, listen, please. I miss you, come back to me. I'm sorry, for everything.”

“You can't just apologize again, Jamie. You've done it over and over again.”

“None of this should have happened like this. It just shouldn't have.”

“Then why'd you do it? You knew how much that concert meant to me. So what if we had just broken up and we were exes. Who even cares? You shouldn't have hooked up with her friggen four feet away from me!”

“Bree, stop yelling at me. Please. I'm sorry. I really am. But you shouldn't have reacted the way you did. We were exes. People hook up, it happened.” She started to walk away. He grabbed her arm.

“Don't touch me, not now, not ever.”

“Bree.” He kept saying her name, like it would make it hit her more. Hadn't this hit her enough already? He broke up with her after 8 days. Eight whole days and he just decided that they didn't work.

“I'm tired of this, Jamie. We don't work. Not as friends, not together, not apart. Can't you just pretend to forget about me and let me move on?”

“I can't go through the rest of junior year and senior year without you. And you said that you couldn't go through high school without me. I need you, Bree. You said you needed me too.”

“Why are you doing this to me all over again? We've talked this out so many times. There's nothing left to say. I told you I loved you. You don't even understand how much I love you.”

“I love you, Bree. More than anything. I meant it. But it just didn't work. I got so detached and it was just bad. I just, I don't know.”

“Well that's just great, Jamie. Isn't it? You don't know. I don't know, either! Did you ever think of that? That maybe you aren't the only one who's been fighting all of these feelings?”

“We still have the next to years together. Can we try to make this work? You never know what will happen between us, you can't completely get rid of the idea that you and me may be together.”

“So you're just saying that your new girlfriend doesn't mean anything? Are you for real right now? Are you even listening to yourself? You're such a joke.”

“I care about you, Bree. I care about you so much. We can work, somehow. I promise you.”

“I just don't know this time, Jamie.”

Bree shook out of her flashback and hugged Alex tighter. “I don't want to fight with you, baby. Ever.”