Almost Easy

“I’m sorry, Sarah. I’ll pay for the table.” Brian told me quietly.

“No, it’s fine. I broke it when I…caught them.” I said, shaking my head.

“I feel bad about it. I’m gonna buy you a new one.” He insisted.

I rolled my eyes, but didn’t argue.

“Are you under control?” Matt asked warily.

“What does it look like, Matt?” Brian snapped.

“It looked like you were fine.” Matt said.

Brian sighed, and ran a hand through his hair, roughly.

“Are you alright?” I asked, slipping around Matt.

He reached for my arm, but I stopped him with a look.

“I don’t know.” He said, truthfully.

“I know what it’s like, hun.” I said, hugging him, and rubbing his back.

“Oh, so are you and Brian a thing now?” Max demanded.

“No. He needs comfort, since you allegedly fucked his girlfriend.” I shot at him.

“Oh.” He fell silent.

“Will you go out with me?” He asked, holding me at arms length.

“Sure.” I shrugged.

“Saturday.” He smiled.

“Where?” I asked.

“Baby, that’s the surprise.” He winked, and kissed my forehead.

“That’s not fair!!” I whined.

“I thought he was a prick.” Bethany’s voice broke into the conversation.

Brian looked at me, and raised an eyebrow. I smiled and shrugged. He laughed and rolled his eyes.

“He was.” I said, turning to her.

“You whore, you just wanted him to yourself.” She laughed.

“You caught me.” I laughed.

“Since you called me a prick…you get to pay.” Brian said.

“That’s very gentlemanly.” I scoffed.

“And it was so lady-like for you to call me a prick.” Brian rolled his eyes.

“It was true, then.”

“What did I do?” He asked.

“You…I don’t know, but you were a prick.” I shrugged, didn‘t want to bring up High school.

“Ooh, your in for it now.” Brian said, narrowing his eyes at me.

I slipped out of my shoes, and ran, but Brian was super fast, and he tackled me into the pool. I laughed as we hit the water, but my head crashed against the bottom, and I cried out, causing water to fill my lungs.

I tried to stop it, but the darkness, started to close in on me.

“Sarah!! Sarah!! C’mon, honey.” I felt someone putting pressure on my chest.

Just before I was pulled completely into the darkness, water spurted out of my mouth, and I started coughing it all up.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean for that to happen!!” Brian cried.

“I know.” I croaked.

My throat was raw, and I tried to smile, but my throat felt like it was burning.

“Are you sure your alright, or I’ll beat his fucking ass.” Zacky assured me.

“It’s fine, guys. I promise.” I smiled.

Jimmy was sitting behind Zacky with concerned eyes.

“What’s wrong, Jim?” I asked, sitting up, and reaching my hand out, for him to take.

He grasped my hand, and I pulled him over to me.

“I was worried about you.” He said, his eyes welling up.

“I’m a fighter, Jim, you don’t have to worry about me.” I laughed.

“You just looked so fragile, so lifeless…almost like a doll.”

“I did, huh?”

“He’s right, Sarah. You weren‘t breathing. I thought you were already gone.” Zacky nodded.

“I have sleep apnea, I stop breathing all the time.” I shrugged.

“Honey, you weren’t sleeping.” Kimberly said.

“She’s right. You weren’t. AND, did you see how much water you coughed up?” Johanna said.

But I wasn’t listening to anything they said. I had looked up, and seen Brian, Ronnie, and Max talking closer to the house.

Brian’s P.O.V.

“This, Brian, is exactly why you should just step out of her life. I’m so much better for her!! I’m mature. She needs someone to tame her!!” Max hissed.

“She doesn’t need someone to tame her. She needs someone just as wild to run beside her. God knows, you trying to tame her will only make her more wild.” I shot back, quietly.

I knew we had drawn Sarah’s attention. I could feel her eyes.

“She needs someone mature, Synyster. Your not good for her. Look what you just did.”

“She’s fine.” I growled.

“What if she hadn’t been? How would you have lived with yourself?”

“Hey guys, what’s going on?” Sarah asked.

She tried to take my hand, but I pulled away, and walked away. I could feel her eyes on me as I walked away.

When I turned to look, she looked hurt, and Max had a smug look on his face.

Sarah shook her head, and walked into the house. Zacky and Kimberly glared at me before rushing after her. I sat on the lawn chair, and stared at the night sky.

“What was that all about?” Matt asked, sitting on the lawn chair next to mine.

“I’m getting tired of her.” I shrugged.

“Brian, we’ve known each other since grade school. Don’t lie to me. Why’d you do that?” Matt demanded.

“What I told you was the truth.”

“Brian…you were the one all over her, then when she shows the slightest interest, you push her away? Typical American asshole.” Matt spit, going into the house.

If looks could kill, everyone here would be going to jail for murder, except Max and Ronnie…well, and the butler. Jimmy would have been charged for torture, because of the way he was slaughtering me with his eyes.

“You’re an asshole.” He yelled across the yard.

“Fuck you, too, Jimbo.” I called.

“You don’t deserve to call me that.” He said.

“C’mon.” Johnny nodded for Jimmy to come with him into the house.

“I’ll be in, in a little bit.” Jimmy snarled.

“Alright.” Johnny smiled, he turned to glare at me, and then went into the house.

As soon as Johnny disappeared into the house, Jimmy got up and walked over, taking the lawn chair that Matt had sat in earlier. He reached over, and punched me in the jaw, before settling into the chair.

“What the hell?!” I demanded.

“Why’d you listen to those assholes?” Jimmy demanded.

“I don’t know what your talking about.”

“I know you wouldn’t do that to her, unless you were trying to protect her. You won’t even let Michelle down hard, and she’s a cheating whore. What’d they tell you, that convinced you, to leave her alone?” Jimmy demanded.

How did he know? How the hell did Jimmy have any sense? He was always the one acting retarded.

“She’s my best friend. You hurt her, even if she tells them differently. She thought you changed from high school.” Jimmy said, reading my mind.

“They said, she needed someone mature. Someone who wouldn’t do the things I did that hurt her. Like the pool. They’re right. She needs someone to calm her down.”

“Bitch, if anything he’s just gonna drive her insane. First of all, she doesn’t want him. She wants you…don’t look at me like that, I saw the way she giggled in the kitchen. Second of all, nobody can tame her.
She’s Sarah! The girl that Panst our gym teacher!! The girl that knocked out Joshua Manning, the captain of the football team, for picking on the poor girl, who had her period for the first time…nobody can tame her, Brian. You knew her brother, you were best friends with him. You practically lived with her. You of all people should know what she‘s like.” Jimmy said, then he walked into the house.

Sarah’s P.O.V.

“He’s an inconsiderate asshole. He didn’t change.” I said, looking at Zacky.

“Oh, honey. You shouldn’t have trusted him.” Zacky told me.

Me him and Kimberly were sitting in my bedroom by ourselves.

“Ryan told me I could trust him. That he would be like an older brother to me. That he would never hurt me…I hate making my brother sound like a liar, but Brian’s done nothing, but hurt me, Zachary.” I told him.

“I know. I know.” Zacky hugged me.

There was a knock at the door.

“If it’s anyone, but Jimmy go away. If your Jimmy, you know how to get in.” I called, trying to make my voice normal.

The doorknob jiggled, then the door swung open. I jumped to my feet and ran at Jimmy, as he closed and relocked the door. I hugged him, and cried into the crook of his neck.

“Oh, Jimmy.” I sobbed.

“Shh, I know, I know…guys, give us a minute.” Jimmy told Zacky and Kim.

They nodded and they walked past us, to the door.

Kimberly’s P.O.V.

“Brian Elwin, Haner Jr.!!! I am going to beat your fucking make-up adorning ass!!” I screamed, running down the stairs.

“I deserve that.” He sighed.

“No shit!!”

“I didn’t mean to hurt her.”

“Are you sure? Because, I couldn’t think of anything worse then, leading her on, then dropping her on her face!”

“Kim, stop harassing Brian. It doesn’t bother me.” Sarah said, coming down the stairs, holding Jimmy’s hand as she did.

I looked between the two confused. She had flat out told me that she had no intimate feelings towards Jimmy. She knew what I was thinking. It must have been written all over my face. She rolled her eyes, and shook her head.

“Oh.”

Sarah looked at Matt who was over by the window, on the phone with Valary.

Her eyebrows furrowed, like she was deep in thought as she looked at the floor.

“What is it, honey?” Johanna asked, grabbing Sarah’s arm, gently.

“Michelle wasn’t the only on with Max…” She trailed off.

It dawned on me. Valary. After hanging up, Matt looked up, and beamed at Sarah. She gave him a small smile, but sat on her thinking chair.

After a couple minutes she got up, and walked to the bathroom. I laughed and shook my head. I knocked on the door, and she called that it was open.

“On your thinking pot, again?” I teased.

“Yeah.” She rolled her eyes.

She came into the bathroom and sat on the lid of the toilet whenever she needed to think.

“So. A three way. Michelle, Valary, and Max. What an odd combination?” I said.

“Yeah, I know. I want to tell. But I don’t. He’ll be heartbroken.” Sarah sighed.

“Honey, he’ll be heartbroken if you don’t tell him.” I said, rubbing her back.

“I figured that much out…so I’m just trying to figure out, how.” She said, rubbing her temples.