Right Here Waiting

Val had had enough. She went out looking for Eliza and Katie when she realized they weren’t home. Brian wouldn’t talk to her, Matt had no idea what was going on, and neither of the other two girls was answering their phones. She drove all around town until she spotted the grey Mustang outside of a restaurant. Immediately, she pulled her SUV into the parking lot and walked into the building. She searched all around before she spotted the pink hair sitting at the bar. She didn’t speak to the hostess as she moved past her and slammed her purse down on the bar beside the two girls, making them jump.

“You want to explain to me what the fuck is going on?”

“I should be asking you that,” Eliza said, looking back to her drink.

“If I had any fucking clue of what the hell anyone is talking about, I would answer questions.”

“How does it feel knowing you helped him win the bet?”

“What the fuck are you talking about? What bet?” Val asked, sitting down on the stool.

“Please spare me the act and just answer the question.”

“Eliza,” Val started, turning the girl to face her. “I swear to God on my life, on Matt’s life, on whatever I need to swear on I have no idea what you’re talking about. What bet are we talking about?”

“The bet between Matt and Brian on Brian being able to sleep with me.”

“What?!” Val hissed out.

Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was the desperation Eliza felt at wanting to believe Val, or maybe it was just the way Val reacted that made Eliza stop and decide to listen to the girl.

“There’s a video of Matt and Brian talking, making a bet on Brian being able to sleep with me. Matt said he didn’t think Brian could do it and Brian said that due to his charm, he knew I would. They bet fifty bucks on it.”

“That’s fucking ridiculous,” Val said, her mouth hanging open. “Why the fuck would Brian do that?!”

“Your guess is as good as mine.”

“I don’t understand why you’re pissed at me.”

“It was the way you said ‘his game’ the other night,” Katie piped up.

“I honestly didn’t mean anything by that,” Val said looking at Katie before turning her attention back to Eliza. “What I meant was the way you two were acting the past couple of weeks. You guys had been stealing glances at each other, acting like you wanted more but were afraid. I only meant that he was finally acting on those feelings.”

“Yeah, he acted on them alright,” Eliza said and downed another shot.

Val ordered a round when the bartender came back and all three girls shot the liquor down their throats.

“I’m really sorry, Eliza. I didn’t realize he would be a dog like that. I genuinely thought he had feelings for you. I’m sorry if it seemed like I was involved with that shit, but trust me, I will be finding out for you.”

“I’m sorry I jumped to conclusions. I never wanted you to be a part of that, I just couldn’t help but think that you were due to the evidence and shit. You don’t need to worry about confronting him. It’s already been handled.”

“What does that mean?” Val asked, confused. “You talked to Brian?”

“I don’t have to. Honestly, I don’t want to. I spent the last twenty-four hours crying over him. I’ve already made up my mind.”

“I don’t understand,” Val said, shaking her head. “You cried? What do you mean you’ve made up your mind?”

“You’ll understand soon enough,” Eliza said and looked away from the girl.



Val left the restaurant an hour later when Eliza and Katie did. She went straight to the guy’s home, but was too late to see Brian. Matt informed her that he had left twenty minutes before to go out with Amber. Val’s temper raised three more notches.

She sat with Matt in the living room, the other guys slowly trickling in to watch television with them. Val remained silent the whole time, arms and legs crossed, her left leg shaking, an indication she was pissed off. None of the guys said anything, knowing if she was pissed at them, she would’ve said something.

They stayed away until two in the morning when Brian and Amber finally poured themselves into the house. They were laughing and stumbling, obviously drunk. Brian sloppily shushed Amber’s giggles, but once he saw the lights on and everyone in the living room, he forgot about being quiet.

“HEY GUYS!” he said, swinging his arms out in front of him. “GUESS WHAT!?”

“Brian Elwin Haner, Jr.”

Brian’s eyes crossed as they focused on Val who was stalking towards him.

“I’M ENGAGED!” Amber shouted out.

Val stopped in her tracks. Every single mouth in the room fell open except for the grinning couple.

“Ex-fucking-cuse me?” Val said, raising an eyebrow.

“I proposed! That’s my news!” Brian said stumbling into the living room.

“You’re shitting me, right?” Jimmy said out loud.

“C’mon, guys, be nice,” Brian said, falling on the couch beside Jimmy. “We get to have a bachelor party!”

Slowly, all the guys stood up and went to their rooms, not saying anything. Amber shrugged and made her way upstairs to Brian’s room. Val remained in the living room, her arms crossed over her chest again, staring at Brian.

“What’s wrong, Vally-wally?”

“You’re a real fucking bastard, Synyster. You’re the biggest joke I’ve ever seen in my life. Just in case you were wondering, this is me talking shit to your face,” Val said, and turned on her toes to walk out of the room.

Brian sat there for a few more minutes, confused.



Eliza woke up early the next morning, ready for whatever the day would bring. Looking around the house, she sighed and closed the envelope. She walked down the street and knocked on the door. Val answered and she smiled at her.

Val looked at Eliza closely. Her eyes were red and puffy, sure signs she’d been crying, and she was even angrier at Brian. Eliza looked broken and out of her element, something Val had never seen from Eliza. Even in high school, she was always confident in herself. This girl wasn’t the same girl.

“Can you give this to Brian for me?” Eliza asked, handing the envelope to Val.

Val saw Brian’s name neatly scrawled on the front of the envelope and didn’t have the heart to break the news to her. She wasn’t going to be the one to tell Eliza about the fucked up engagement.

“Sure, I’ll give it to him.”

Eliza stepped forward and hugged Val. “Thank you for everything.”

“Wait, why does that sound like goodbye?” Val asked, releasing the smaller girl.

Eliza just shrugged, smiled, and turned to walk away.

Shutting the door, Val walked up the steps slowly, dying to know what was inside the envelope. She didn’t dare open Brian’s door, afraid she’d have a repeat of the day before, so she slid the envelope underneath the door and walked away.

Amber woke up and stretched. Glancing at the clock she saw it was already noon. Her clothes were missing, and she crawled out of bed to look for them. She found her bra near the door and as she reached for it, she saw the envelope on the floor with Brian’s name on it. She picked it up, and turning to make sure he was still asleep, she opened it.

Brian,
I’m not sure what happened… or if us having sex meant nothing to you, so I’m going to give you a chance to explain yourself. I’ll be at our spot at noon. Meet me there.

Amber was furious. There was no way in hell he was going to see the note. At the sound of Brian waking up, she immediately stuffed the envelope and note into her purse, rushing to put on clothes.

“I’m going to take a shower!” she called and walked out the door.

“Okay,” Brian said, groggily.

He slowly stood up, stretched, and made his way out the door to grab some water.

Standing in his doorway, he chugged the bottle of water, regretting the drinking the night before. He regretted proposing to Amber. He regretted everything about the night before.

Taking the bottle away from his mouth, he moved forward back to his bed, but his foot caught on something. Looking down, he found Amber’s purse; a piece of paper was sticking out of the top. Curious, he pulled the paper out and saw it was an envelope with his name on it. He flipped it over, looking inside for a note or something. Not finding one, he went back into her purse. He found the second piece of paper and read it. Immediately, he looked at the clock.

12:17.

He was late. Before he could even blink or remember that he was angry with Eliza, he was out the door, down the steps, and running through the back door. Not caring that he didn’t have shoes or a shirt on, he pushed himself. The note he read was not was not the note of someone who would talk shit about him. The way she had moaned she loved him did not suggest she would think he was annoying. Realizing that Val was right, he dug his feet in faster.

The sand flew underneath his bare feet as he ate up the distance between his house and Eliza’s. Finally, her house was in sight, but she wasn’t. He slammed on his breaks, skidding to a halt in the sand behind her house. He didn’t see her, and none of the lights in the house were on. He looked through the doors and saw everything was completely dark; it was as if no one lived there.

He moved around to the front of the house and found her standing beside the passenger side of her car. She was staring at the house, and even from Brian’s distance, he could see the tears that streaked her face. His heart broke, realizing she was crying.

“Eliza!” he yelled out.

Immediately her head jerked in his direction. A sob escaped her lips and her hand lifted to cover her mouth. Her eyes closed as more tears leaked out of her eyes. He was too late. She climbed into the car and shut the door, Katie driving off as soon as the door was closed. She buried her head in her hands and cried harder.

“Eliza, wait!” Brian hollered as he chased after the car.

He ran into the street, watching as the car grew smaller and smaller until it turned and was out of sight. Tears stung his eyes at the thought of Eliza crying. Defeated, he turned around to walk to his house. Something caught his eye, and he turned to his right.

A white sign was standing in the front yard of Eliza’s house. As he read the words, his heart shattered.

“FOR SALE” was written in big red letters.

He fell to his knees in front of the sign and cried.

Finally, he stood up and walked back to his house. Matt was in the living room.

“Hey man, what’s— dude, have you been crying?”

“Where’s Val?”

“I think she’s at home. Amber just left like ten minutes ago.”

“I don’t care. If Val comes by or calls, let me know, okay?”

“Yeah, sure,” Matt said, and his eyebrows drew together as he watched Brian trudge up the stairs.

Brian picked up his phone and tried to dial Eliza’s number. The call wouldn’t connect. He tried Val’s cell, but she let it go to voicemail. Angry now, he tried Eliza’s number again. Still, nothing.
He picked up the acoustic guitar he’d taken to Eliza’s that first day, and sat on the edge of his bed, picking at the strings. Subconsciously, he started playing “Right Here”, thinking of Eliza. Sweet, strong, free-willed Eliza who never cried. Eliza, who punched guys in the face, sang, and played a wicked guitar. The same girl who didn’t shed a tear as her father was lowered into the ground, but cried when Brian broke her heart. The same girl who’d said she’d loved him while they made love, and that girl was now gone. Angry at himself, Brian stood up from the bed and slammed his guitar on the ground over and over.

Zacky and Jimmy came running at the sound, Matt not far behind them. They found Brian on his knees in front of a shattered guitar. His eyes were red, and tears poured down his face.

“I made her cry.”