Right Here Waiting

Eliza felt complete.

She had been back in Huntington since leaving David, and she’d never felt more at ease. She’d been staying at Val’s apartment, while Katie moved her stuff from Boston to Zacky’s house. They’d been spending more and more time together, and finally he’d asked her to move in with him. Eliza was ecstatic for her best friend, and gladly help her move her stuff in.
It had been a month, and she hadn’t seen Brian. She meant to keep it that way.

The boys had immediately wanted to tell him she was there, but she swore them to secrecy. Every day she’d been in the studio with them, working on different songs, and finalizing the plan to apologize to Brian. She knew she had a lot of ass-kissing to do, and with the guys’ help, her apology was going to be epic.

They’d finally decided on a date to do it. March twenty-second.

“Why does that date sound so familiar?” Eliza asked out loud.

She and Katie were currently sitting in the studio, working on the song they’d written together.

“That’s the date you were supposed to marry David,” Katie said, flipping through some pages of sheet music.

“Oh. Well, that’s funny.”

“Yeah, it’s real funny.”

“Are you going to help me get ready for Val’s engagement party tonight?” Eliza asked.

“You’re still going?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“Brian’s going to be there,” Katie said, finally looking up. “I thought you didn’t want to see him until the concert.”

“He won’t speak to me,” Eliza said, dejectedly. “Everything should still work out.”



They took Eliza’s car downtown to the mall to find dresses for that night. Eliza had found a simple white one, while Katie found a coral and white striped dress. They were walking out of the mall when they were approached.

“Hi, Eliza,” Amber said.

Both girls froze in their laughter and stared at the blonde.

“Can I help you?” Eliza asked, icily.

“Yeah, I just wanted to talk to you.”

“Well, I don’t want to talk to you. Get the fuck out of my way.”

She moved to go around Amber, but the blonde moved to stand in front of her. Furious, Eliza raised her hand back and slapped Amber. The sound resonated around them. Amber sighed and looked back at Eliza. Her arm pulled back, and Amber prepared herself for the second blow that came seconds later.

“Get the fuck out of my way, Amber.”

“No, Eliza, I want to apologize.”

“For ruining my life? It’s going to take a lot more than ‘sorry’ to make up for that shit. You and your cousin both have a lot of shit to make up for.”

“I know I do, and I really am sorry,” Amber said.

Eliza looked at the girl. Her blonde hair that was usually pinpoint straight was thrown up into a messy bun, she wasn’t wearing any makeup and she looked older. She also looked like she meant what she said.

“I’m listening,” Eliza said cautiously.

“I know it was selfish of me. I was stupid and all I wanted was Brian. I tried for months to be accepted by that group of people, and all of a sudden you walked in and you were everyone’s best friend. Even though I lived with Val, we were never as close as you two. I was all about Brian. You walked in and you took over everything and I was angry. Then, when I found out you were dating my cousin, it felt like that all over again. It felt like you were going to take over my family, too.”

“So why didn’t you try to break up David and I?”

“I thought if I could just get you separated from Brian, make him hate you, I could at least have him back. Even when we were engaged, I could tell he still loved you. I listened to him play all the songs I knew you two used to play, and everywhere I turned someone was mentioning you.”

“What about the Unlimited Industries thing? You ruined my chances with them.”

“I know I have, and I called them. I tried to explain to them what happened, but no one would listen. I tried to tell them they still needed to listen to you.”

“You literally single-handedly ruined a good chunk of my life, Amber.”

“I know. I’m not asking for you to forgive me. I know you never could forgive me. I just wanted you to know how sorry I am and that Brian still loves you. He really does love you, Eliza.”

“Well, I’ve got a lot of shit to clear up with him.”

“Just fight for him, Eliza, okay? Fight for him, because I promise it will be worth it. He really does love you.”

“Thanks, I think.”

Amber just smiled sadly, and moved to walk away from the girls. They stood there, staring after Amber as she made her way into the mall.

“Well that was interesting,” Katie said, and they moved to get into Eliza’s car.