One Wild Night

Depressed, Marissa stuffed her smock into her locker and slammed the door, the sound echoing throughout the otherwise silent stock room. She snapped the padlock in place, then grabbed her Black Veil Brides hoodie and headed for the swinging doors that opened onto the sales floor. She tread the familiar path to the front of the store and clocked out.

"Bye, Danny!" she called in the general direction of the office.

"See ya, Lulu," came his response.

Marissa slipped on her hoodie and pushed out into the chilly afternoon. The sun was shining weakly from behind thick gray clouds that were promising rain. A light breeze shifted her hair as she paused on the sidewalk and dug out her keys.

She was on her way to pick up Jacob at her parents'. Once she had him, it would be another night in with something simple for dinner and another movie she'd already seen or didn't care to see. It wouldn't have seemed so bad if she didn't know that Avenged was playing in Atlanta tonight.

All of my best friends in one place, having the time of their lives without me, she thought, climbing into her car and starting it up. Air blasted from the vents, still cold because the engine wasn't yet warm. Marissa quickly switched off the heater.

She sat with the engine idling while she checked her phone. There was a text from Cecelia, telling her she would be missed tonight and that her girls loved her. She also had a voice message from Brian. He wanted her to call him as soon as she was able.

Marissa glanced at the clock on her dashboard. It was ten 'til five. She'd gotten off a few minutes early. She didn't have to be at her parents' for about an hour. Plenty of time for whatever Brian wanted to talk about. How important can it be?

She flicked the heater back on, listening to the distant rings on the other end of the line. Brian picked up on the fifth ring. "Hey."

"Hey," Marissa echoed. "I got your message. What's up?"

She heard him softly exhale and knew he was smoking a cigarette. She could picture him standing on his deck, a cigarette between his lips, as she'd seen him so many times during her stay in Cali.

"I know Matt and Jim talked to you yesterday," he began, and Marissa tensed. Brian would either try to convince her to leave Alabama, or he would again refuse to try to get her to change her life for him. She wasn't sure which option was less painful.

"I don't want to have this conversation again," she protested, hoping to save herself the now familiar hurt and stress that accompanied these discussions/arguments with her friends.

"Nothing has changed since you left," Brian said. "Except that we all saw what your life is like in Alabama, what you're condemning Jacob to."

"Oh, my God!" Marissa burst out angrily. "Just because I'm not living in a beachfront mansion and driving a car that costs more than most people's homes doesn't mean that something is wrong with my life. I'm not condemning Jacob to anything. I'll always be here for him. I'll be a constant in his life! That's worth more than being rich."

"I knew you'd throw that in my face," Brian muttered. "Apparently it's the only thing you can find wrong with me, because you keep bringing it up."

"No, you have a couple of other flaws, like the fact that you're probably going to give Jacob another brother or sister soon, if he doesn't already have a few!"

"And you aren't?"

"I'm not a fucking whore like you!"

"Well, you were definitely acting like one the night we met. Sweet innocent virgins don't fuck two guys their first time!"

Marissa gritted her teeth. Brian let out a long, slow breath.

"I don't want to fight," he said, and it was obvious he was struggling to keep his calm.

"Sorry," Marissa mumbled. "It's just..." she trailed off, her throat tightening with unshed tears.

"What?" he queried gently.

"You don't know what it's like," she said, careful not to sound accusatory. "You have this amazing life, a life that's as distant to me as the moon. All of my girls have been welcomed into that life with you and your friends, but all I'll ever have is the taste of it I experienced during my pregnancy. It will never be real to me. It will never be my life."

"It could be."

"How, Brian? Explain to me how I can have that life."

"Come back to California."

"And? I'll be working the same kind of job and living in the same kind of apartment. Nothing will change."

"You'll be with your friends."

"Who are in happy, healthy relationships and don't have time for the friend that fucked up."

"Marissa," Brian cajoled. "You know that's not how they view it."

"I can't do this right now. I'm on my way to pick up our son." Marissa snapped her cell shut and slumped forward, resting her forehead on the steering wheel. Tears flowed unchecked from her eyes, falling into her lap.

Brian, Matt, and Jimmy were right. Moving back to California made sense, but Marissa couldn't make herself do it. Her emotions were getting in the way.

How am I supposed to tell them that? she wondered miserably. How am I supposed to tell Brian that I'm in love with him?

She sat up and wiped the tears from her cheeks. Shifting the car into gear, she pulled out of the parking lot, turning in the direction of her parents' house. All she wanted was to get Jacob, go home, and crawl into bed. She'd worry about everything else later.

****

Marissa stretched, wincing as the muscles in her lower back protested. She looked around her spotless living room with satisfaction. It was her first day off in a week and her parents had agreed to watch Jacob so Marissa could take care of some things: cleaning her apartment, paying her bills, grocery shopping, etc.

She stood for a moment, basking in the peaceful sunlit silence. The faint orange scent of the furniture polish she'd used tickled her senses. She tossed aside the dirtied rag and padded to the kitchen in her socks.

She washed her hands before opening the recently stocked refrigerator to find something to eat. Nothing in the fridge appealed to her so she rummaged through the freezer. Microwaveable pizza. That works.

After heating up the mini-pizza and pouring herself a glass of sweet tea, she returned to the living room. She watched Little Miss Sunshine while she ate, then stuck her plate and glass in the dishwasher and went to the bathroom for a shower.

Going into her bedroom for a brush, Marissa glanced at her alarm clock. It was nearing six-thirty. She needed to go get Jacob soon.

She brushed the tangles from her still dripping hair and put on jeans and a turtleneck sweater. She tied her hair up in a careless ponytail and slipped on her sneakers. Snatching her keys from the hook by the door, she breezed out of her apartment.

She walked right past the gleaming black car without noticing it or the man who had just emerged from behind the wheel. She had just unlocked her own vehicle and opened the door when his voice jerked her attention up.

"Marissa."

She looked across the roof of her car. Brian was standing on the sidewalk that led to her apartment building. He was in a plain black hoodie and jeans that were ripped and torn in strategic places.

Damn. Marissa bit her lip. Why does he have to be so attractive?

"What are you doing here?" she asked, stepping away from her car and crossing her arms over her chest. The ding alerting her that her door was open seemed loud in the late afternoon quiet.

Brian arched an eyebrow and, rolling her eyes, Marissa slammed the door.

"I haven't heard from you since we talked about you coming back to California," he stated.

"There's a reason for that."

"Yeah, I know. You don't want to deal with it. I get it."

Marissa pursed her lips and said nothing.

He frowned. "You can't sulk forever. And you can't punish me for saying things you don't want to listen to by not letting me talk to my son."

"That's not what I was doing," she replied. "I've been busy. I worked every single day last week, getting the store ready for inventory." She narrowed her eyes at him. "Did you seriously come here to scold me?"

"No."

Marissa uncrossed her arms. "Get in." She jerked open her car door.

"What?"

"I'm on my way to my parents'. They have Jacob." She paused, glancing at him with raised eyebrows. "You do want to see him, right?"

"Of course I do," Brian agreed. "But..."

Marissa waited expectantly.

"I'm here for you."

Marissa's heart gave a painful thump and she licked her suddenly dry lips.

He spoke again and he sounded a tad embarrassed. "I came over intending to ask you out. On a date." He met her eyes. "Dinner and a movie?"

Slowly, a smile spread across Marissa's lips. "I'd like that," she said softly. "I'd like that a lot."