Somebody That I Used to Know

The next morning, I decided to suck up my pride and go to work. I took a long, leisurely shower, enjoying the feeling of the warm water cascading down my long brown and blonde hair before going onto my back. I heard Smudge meowing from outside the bathroom door and frowned when I realized I now had to get out of warm shower. I turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, opening the bathroom door to let Smudge and Sailor into the bathroom. I dried off my semi-tanned skin with a fluffy gray towel. I walked over to my bedroom and pulled on what I had chosen for today.

I heard Smudge meow again and walked down the stairs after doing my hair and makeup with my heels in one hand and my phone in the other. I placed both things on the kitchen counter and poured the two different dry foods into their two different bowls before filling one large metal pet bowl with water.

I slipped into my heels and walked out of my front door, making sure my phone was in my hand and the door was locked. I walked to my car and began the long drive to work. I turned my radio on, letting the voice of my best friend sing situations to me. I sighed as I thought a bit about the good days when we were all stupid teenagers and falling in love with the world of rock and roll.

I arrived at work a few minutes later, and before I knew it, I was sitting at my desk. Aimee wasn’t working today so I sat alone, organizing the photos for next month’s magazine.

“Ana!” I heard my boss Jason call to me from his office.

I saved my progress of the photos on the computer I was working at and walked over to his office. I sat down on one of the comfortable chairs and propped my feet up on the desk.

“What’s up, Jason?” I asked him.

He leaned back in his chair and looked at me with a smirk on his lips.

“I have a job for my top photographer today.” he said.

“Oh, tell me everything!” I said happily, knowing that if I was the one he had chosen to take the pictures than it must be important.

“Well, it’s a band and I’ll give you complete and total control of the shoot. I’ll even let you use your own camera and not the studio one.”

I leaned back in my chair for a second before nodding my head.

“Okay, I’ll do it.”

“Thank you, Ana. It’s on the fifth floor in your room.” he said.

I nodded my head before walking out. I walked to my desk and opened the bottom draw to pull out my camera before heading downstairs. The elevator went slowly, stopping at almost every floor to either pick someone up or drop someone off. A few minutes later, the elevator was empty except for me and when the doors pinged open to the fifth floor my jaw dropped open at the sight of the new Escape the Fate logo on the wall across from me. I hurried to press the close button on the elevator door and I rushed to the top floor where my office was.

“Anastasia, back so soon?” he asked me.

“You knew, didn’t you? You knew that Escape the Motherfucking Fate would be downstairs. Why do you insist on torturing me?” I asked him as I sat back down in the chair.

“I’m not trying to torture you. This photo-shoot is a big deal for us, and I need my best photographer to be there so that it goes perfectly. I’ll make it worth your while.” he said.

“What could you possibly do that would make me agree to this?” I asked him.

He smirked at me a bit before opening his mouth to speak.

“I’ve been thinking, and you do much more than what is in your job description. So, I decided to narrow it down a bit, you’ll be not only the photographer, but the magazine editor, and you can coordinate what bands get on what issues and why. To be honest, you’ll basically be the vice president of the company; the only person with more authority than you is me. But, of course, we’ll need to give you more money for doing such an amazing job; I suggest we double, no, triple your pay!”

“Jason, that sounds amazing. But I don’t think that I can be civil with them after everything that happened with them and Ronnie.” I told him.

“Hmm, let’s speak of Ronald. He gets out of jail soon, how would you like a week off when he first gets out, paid of course? Not to mention, he’s in a band, that’s a lot of tour dates that we may just need a photographer there.” Jason crossed his arms behind his head and leaned back in his chair, knowing that he had already won.

I nodded my head, and stood up. I walked back to the elevator and took my sweet time approaching the fifth floor.

“Ms. Chek,” I heard one of the interns say, I turned to see her standing timidly behind me, “do you need a headset so you can speak over the intercom?” she asked me.

I nodded my head and continued walking to the room. The large red, black and gray room was set up to look like a haunted house and my eyes searched for the assholes members of Escape the Fate. I finally found huddled over by one of the large snack tables at the same time that a headset was brought to me. I took a seat and waited a few more minutes for the lighting to be perfect. I stood up and put my camera on the stand.

“Get in your places, Ms. Chek will be ready soon!” I heard my assistant Parker say over the loud intercom.

Everyone scrambled to their places and I watched as the boys of Escape the Fate walked to the middle of the room where the first pictures would be taken, a pair of mossy green eyes examining me as he walked beside his friends. Once they were in position, he nudged his friend and motioned towards me which caused each member to look in my direction. Their jaws dropped open and I smiled to myself in amusement.

“Stop mentally undressing the photographer, she’s the one that’s paying you to be here.” Parker said again over the intercom.

I laughed a little to myself before approaching them slightly, stepping into the light where they could perfectly see who exactly I was and they each had their suspicions confirmed.

“Let’s get this over with as quickly as possible.” I said aloud.

After what seemed like hours, I had finished taking the pictures and I told everyone to start putting everything where it goes and to sign out before they left. I sat on top of one of the fragile and expensive glass tables that if it was forced to support any weight other than my small frame it would have surely collapsed. I carefully looked through the pictures I had just taken when I felt someone tap my shoulder.

“You better not be who I think you are.” I said to the person behind me.

“Ana, please can’t we just talk?” he pleaded.

I turned my head around slightly to see Max standing there with his hands tucked deep inside the pockets of his zebra skinny jeans. The rest of the band was not there and I assumed they had left to give Max and me some privacy.

“Speak quickly before I change my mind.” I told him.

“I’m sorry.” He mumbled.

I stood up from where I was and walked away from him.

“Wait, Ana, please! Just hear me out! I need to talk to you!” he yelled as he followed me outside of the room.

“If all you’re going to say is sorry then I don’t care to hear it. Either way, I’m not the one you should be apologizing to.”

“I understand that, but please Ana can we just find a place to talk this out?”

I turned around from where I was standing and looked at him, his green eyes held back a few tears but they still did not fail to suck me into his very essence. I did my best to restrain myself as I shook my head.

“Max, I just can’t talk to you after everything that happened between us. I mean, come on, a week after my best friend was put in jail you cheated on me? What the fuck is that?” I said.

“Ana, I know I did something horrible and I ruined the best relationship I have ever been in, but I never stopped loving you. We were together for over a decade, you can’t just go back on that now.”

“I already have gone back on that, I don’t think I could ever forgive myself for what you did to me and what you did to Ronnie.”

Max reached his hand out and grabbed my left wrist, turning it gently so that the tattoo I often covered with bracelets was visible to anyone who passed. There, forever etched across my skin lay his name – Maxwell.

“This alone is enough proof to show how you feel about me,” he let go of my hand and pulled back the sleeve of his leather jacket on his own left hand to show the black tattoo that read Anastasia, “I never stopped loving you, and I never will.”

I felt my breathing catch up in my body for a minute. He stepped closer to me and pushed my hair out of my face, staring at me for a few seconds.

“Please just give me one last chance.” he pleaded.

I stayed silent for a minute.

“What do you suggest?” I asked.

“Well, on Friday, the guys and I are invited to a party to promote a new tour that’s starting up soon.” he began to explain, “Would you like to go with me? You don’t have to be my date; we could go strictly as friends or even just acquaintances.”

I laughed a bit before nodding my head and watched as his face lit up.

“But we’re just friends, the second you try something I’m leaving.”

He eagerly nodded his head.

“Yeah, of course.”

“Ugh, I already feel like I’m going to regret this.” I mumbled.

Max laughed and pulled me into an unexpected hug.