People Change

Brian stood hunched over the bathroom sink, his chocolate brown eyes closed. Water trickled down his face, dripping off his angular jaw into the sink basin. He’d needed the splash of cold water in the face, but it still hadn’t cleared anything up. Slowly, Brian raised his head and opened his eyes. The mirror screamed FUCK-UP back at him; it might as well have been stamped on his forehead.

He patted his face dry with the soft towel curled around the plastic bar screwed to the wall next to the sink. With one last glance in the mirror, Brian turned and stepped out of the bathroom, flicking the light off behind him. Once he stepped down into his living room, he sunk down onto the sofa, bracing his elbows on his knees and burying his face in his hands.

His cheek still stinging from Sydney’s palm, Brian pulled away from Michelle and half-ran after Sydney. Her long legs carried her far, especially when she was half-running herself. Brian finally caught up to her in the parking lot. He reached forward and snagged her elbow in his hand, spinning her around to face him. He didn’t want their relationship to end this way. None of this was supposed to happen.

Sydney’s eyes hardened into icy chunks right before his eyes. Her lips tightened into a thin white line, and she reeled back a fist. It slammed into Brian’s right eye, shocking him so much that his fingers slipped away from her elbow. She wrenched herself away from him, storming towards her Taurus in the nearly-empty parking lot. Brian didn’t chase after her, instead standing in the rain as Sydney pulled out of the parking lot. You’re a fuck-up, with a capital FUCK,Brian couldn’t help but think.

Once the sound of her car’s engine had faded away, Brian slowly turned around and walked back into the mall. Michelle still sat on the wooden bench, her clasped hands resting in her lap. She looked concerned and upset, and rose to her feet to brush her cool fingertips against the throbbing red handprint on Brian’s cheek. He’d deserved it, though, and deserved it a million times more.

“Who was that?” Michelle asked, her eyebrows dropping low over her eyes. Brian sighed and looked down, reaching up and wrapping Michelle’s hand in both of his.

“My girlfriend,” Brian answered quietly. “I’m sorry, Michelle.” He kissed her knuckles, once, gently, and then released her hand. Michelle said nothing as he walked away from her, heading out to his SUV.

Brian couldn’t sit anymore. He rose to his feet and began to pace, going over what had just happened over and over again in his head. Every time, his heart sunk further and further. Sydney would be pissed at him. If he tried to call her, she’d probably end up blocking his calls or just ignoring him. He’d have to wait for her to cool down before he tried to contact her again.

And Jimmy. Jimmy would not be happy. Brian didn’t think this could cost him his relationship with Jimmy, but he knew that there’d still be hell to pay. Jimmy cared a lot about Sydney; he always had. And Brian had just broken the poor girl’s heart, right after earning all her trust. He thought he’d be able to stay faithful, just this once, but he hadn’t, and it would cost him. It would cost him dearly.

Brian slid his hands into his hair and tugged anxiously. His entire world was falling at his feet, unraveling and entwining around his ankles. Whenever he took a step, the unwound world at his feet would trip him up and he’d fall flat on his face, as broken as the world he’d tried to escape. Brian wouldn’t try to escape, though. He’d crouch down and begin to seal the pieces back together, one by one, until his world was whole again.

Brian’s cell phone vibrated in his back pocket. He pulled it out, saw that it was Jimmy, and actually considered not answering. Brian got a vision of him falling down, tripped by the broken strands of his world, and thought better of it. He flipped the phone open and answered it, expecting Jimmy to instantly start cussing him out and telling him what a fuck-up he was.

“Sydney’s been in an accident,” Jimmy said instead. Brian almost fell over. He’d felt for sure Sydney had just been heading back to the bakery, maybe to find consolation in Lanie. And even more surprising: Jimmy didn’t sound mad at Brian at all, only upset and concerned about his sister. “Lanie and I are at the hospital now.”

“What hospital is it?” Brian asked. His heart flopped as he realized that maybe Sydney hadn’t told Jimmy what happened yet because either she couldn’t remember—she could be suffering from amnesia—or she was in such bad shape she couldn’t talk anyway.

“Pacific Side General Hospital,” Jimmy answered. “Do you know where it is?”

“Yeah,” Brian said, already grabbing up his keys and turning off lights. “I’ll be there in, like, five minutes.” He hung up, then, before Jimmy could protest. He rushed out of the front door, simultaneously reaching for two broken pieces of his world.

Brian arrived at the hospital within five minutes, just as he’d predicted. After asking the nurse sitting behind the desk where he could find Sydney Sullivan and receiving an answer along with directions, Brian hurried off towards the Emergency Room. The instant he turned into the ER hallway, he could see Jimmy and Lanie sitting in chairs, just sitting there and staring at the opposite wall. They both looked up at the sound of Brian’s footsteps.

“How bad is it?” Brian asked, bracing for the worst.

“Not sure yet,” Lanie answered, her eyes shining with unshed tears.

“The doctor came and talked to us as the nurses cleaned Sydney up,” Jimmy elaborated. “He thinks she has a fractured ankle; she told him it was hurting like hell. And there’s a big gash on her forehead. But she knows where she is and everything that happened. I’ll be able to see her once they’ve got her cleaned up and stuff.”

“So, you haven’t talked to her yet?”

“No,” Jimmy answered. Brian nodded, feeling a little relieved at that. He sat down next to Lanie and took up staring at the opposite wall, thinking of what he would say to Jimmy when he did, finally, find out what an asshole move Brian had made.