Whatever It Takes

Just as she reached over to grab the computer, her door flew open causing her to snatch her hands back to her sides.

“How was your flight?” her mother asked as she walked into her room, holding folded laundry in her hands. “What ever happened to knocking?” Arianna asked as she tried to regain her breath and posture.

“I’m your mother, I don’t need to knock,” her mom responded with a smile as she placed some folded clothing on the edge of her bed. Arianna rolled her eyes as she smiled back at her mom. Her brown eyes connected with her mother’s light green ones.

“So how was it?” her mom asked again as she stood by the bed, one hand on top of the pile. “It was fine mom, just a regular flight,” Arianna said vaguely, as she cut their eye contact short.

She thought the conversation was over as she watched her mom move towards the door. Suddenly she hesitated as she reached the frame, turning back doubtfully to face her daughter. A curious expression overtook her face.

“What?” Arianna asked confused by her mother’s stance. “Nothing…” her mom began, as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “Just wondering what’s new with you…what’s new with your life…you know friends, boyfriends…” she said nonchalantly, although her eyes danced with curiosity.

Arianna stopped breathing for a quick second as she heard the words leave her mother’s mouth. “Boyfriend?” she asked shakily, although she tried to play it off.

“Yeah you know…any boys in your life?” her mom asked again, trying to act like she didn’t care although obviously failing.

“Not really…” Arianna said as she looked at her mom’s doubtful face. “I mean, kind of. It’s complicated…” Arianna began as she looked back down. She could sense her mother ready to pry more with questions.

“Mom, I promise you, if it turns into something worth mentioning you’ll be the first to know. But for now, it’s just very new and nothing really serious” she tried to explain, hoping her mother would understand.

Her mom nodded in response, as she walked over and placed a soft hand on her daughter’s cheek. “Ok,” she said as she leaned down and kissed her forehead. “Just know you only deserve the best. If a guy cant give you that, than he’s not worth it”.

She watched as her mom walked out the door and shut it behind her. Arianna sighed with relief as she rubbed her temples. Things were getting too out of hand. First Mike; now her mom. She glanced back over at the laptop, her curiosity suddenly peaking again.

After a few minutes of hesitation, Arianna reached over and pulled the computer onto her lap. She opened it up, clicking on the Internet browser as her insides twisted.

Was it wrong to do this? Did this mean she was spying on him? She shook away her irrational thoughts; of course not. It wasn’t spying if it was public knowledge. As she typed the words into Google she could feel her heart drop.

Her fingers lingered over the “enter” button, her heart telling her not to but her brain screaming to do it. If she did this… would it change everything? It made her feel anxious to know that a single click of a button had the possibility of changing everything.

Don’t be stupid, she told herself, it doesn’t change anything. It’s still Patrick. You know the real him.

Without a second thought she let her fingers press down hard against the button. Within half a second, a thousand hits appeared on her screen. Her eyes scanned them quickly, looking for anything that seemed interesting.

Her eyes only had to reach the second link to find the damage. She felt her throat go dry as she clicked on it. It opened into a new window, loading images and words too quickly for Arianna to process.

She shook her head as she skimmed through the contents. She wanted to vomit as she saw Patrick asleep in some girl’s bed, a picture taken after they won the Stanley cup last year apparently. Another post told the story of some girl who claims Patrick took her back to his house just to have sex with her. Next were the shirtless pictures of Patrick partying in a limo in Vancouver with a bunch of random girls.

The stories and pictures got worse the more she scrolled down the page. She could feel the bile rise in her throat, her heart beat faster and harder the more she looked at the page.

Suddenly she slammed the screen down shut, her eyes and heart not willing to take anymore in. She looked down to see her hands shaking slightly in her lap, her feet felt numb.

Patrick had sworn to her that he was nothing like what Jamie said. He had promised her that he was not that type of guy. Looking back down at the computer though, she felt her trust in him deflate as she realized those words meant nothing.

“Ari!” James’ voice yelled from downstairs, snapping her out of her trance. “Yeah?” she called back, praying her voice didn’t crack and give her away. “You’ve got visitors!” he yelled back, a slight edge in his voice.

Visitors? She thought as she got up off her bed and tried to steady her shaky feet. Who would come visit her now? She glanced at her reflection in the mirror, running her fingers through her hair to fix it. Her face had gone pale and her eyes looked swollen. She took a few deep breaths and told herself to calm down. She’d deal with Patrick when she was good and ready.

She opened her door and walked down the staircase quickly, trying to calm her nerves that were still evidently on her face. The cold marble floor felt good against her bare feet as she walked through the main floor towards the foyer.

James stood with his arms crossed, starring out the open door at whoever stood there. He was making small talk with what sounded like Marissa’s but something was wrong. Usually he was happy to see her, laughing and joking with her. Now he was serious, his voice monotone and harsh.

“James, what’s up? Who’s here?” Arianna asked as she came and stepped up beside him. Her eyes glanced up at her older brother before they fell to those who were at her doorstep. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw the figures before her.

“Wha-what are you guys doing here?” she tried to ask nonchalantly even though her heart was racing.

Marissa stood before her with a big smile on her face, but her eyes were filled with a new urgency of panic. Beside her stood Jon and Patrick, both in casual clothes and forced smiled that masked their nerves as they stood before James.

“Well, I thought I’d bring the boys by to see you as a mini surprise since I thought you were home alone and bored…but looks like the surprise is on us!” Marissa laughed nervously as she clasped her hands together.

Oh my God, Arianna’s brain repeated over and over again. Her throat felt dry as her eyes landed on Patrick. He looked so good in a blue-checkered flannel shirt and dark jeans. Instantly she wanted to jump in his arms, but her head was suddenly filled with the images she had just seen. It took everything in her to keep her anger in check and not slap him across that handsome face of his.

“I didn’t know you were friends with two of the most famous hockey players in the NHL,” James questioned his sister as he turned to face her, narrowing his eyes in her direction.

“Uh yeah…we kind of became friends through our trips to Chicago. Friends of friends introduced us,” Arianna lied before anyone else could speak.

It was awkwardly silent for what felt like eternity. Arianna knew the right thing to do was invite them in. But all she wanted right now was to be as far away from Patrick as possible.

She glanced in his direction to find his starring at her with his soft baby blue eyes. His expression was so innocent; the nerves on his face matched the concern in his eyes. Their exchange was cut short as Arianna broke their stare with a cold shrug.

Just as she was ready to suggest they go for a walk she heard the only voice that could make this situation even worse.