All in the Band

“What the fuck is this?!” Chris shrieked, slamming something down onto the table. My parents were away on a vacation in Hawaii for a week, and I had come home to a pissed-off Chris waiting for me in his car.

My heart stopped.

Some of the teenage boys who had passed the house must have taken some pictures for themselves, because on the table in front of us were pictures of me. On Tony’s roof. In my underwear.

“It was a joke, Chris!”

“A joke, huh? A fucking joke? Well, I can tell you it’s not so funny to me, because now everyone thinks I have a whore for a girlfriend! And you know what, maybe they’re right!” Chris shrieked. I growled.

“You know what? Fine. Maybe it wasn’t the best idea to sit on a roof in my underwear, but that is not an excuse to call me a whore!” I shouted angrily. I didn’t care if he was a little bit harsh sometimes in our conversations, but straight up calling me a whore was crossing the line.

“You’re disgusting! I’m ashamed to even talk to you right now,” he muttered.

“Then why are you here, Chris? Get the fuck out of my house, if you don’t want to talk to me! Because I sure as fuck don’t-“

I was cut off by a sharp stinging sensation on the side of my face. My mouth dropped open. I looked up slowly at him, hatred burning in my eyes.

“Abby...”

“Get out.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t-“

“Get. The. Fuck. Out.”

He opened his mouth again, but decided against saying anything more. Instead, he curled his hands into fists and stormed out of the house in a huff, slamming the door behind him.

I collapsed into a chair at the table, my cheek still throbbing. “Don’t cry.” I told myself. “Don’t fucking cry.”

But of course, a strangled sob managed to wrench its way out of my throat, and then it was all over. I burst into tears, feeling my heart break with the loss of someone whom I had trusted. I fumbled for my phone, pulling it out of my back pocket. I scrolled blurrily eyed through my contacts until I found Jaime’s number, hitting the green call button.

“Abs! Hey, I know you’re probably calling to yell at me. I’m so sorry I forgot you at Tony’s! That’s where I am right now, actually. I came back to get you and ended up staying for dinner. Anyway, I am so sorry...Abs?” he said quickly, pausing at the end.

“Jaime...” was all I could muster out. My voice was squeaky and high pitched, breaking in the middle of my words. I was a horrible crier.

“Abigail? Are you okay? What happened? Why are you crying?” he asked, obviously concerned.

“Ch-Chris, he-he...Jaime, I thought I c-could trust him!” I wailed, breaking into a fresh set of sobs.

“Hold on, baby. One second,” he said kindly to me. I heard him mutter my address to someone, and I heard the sound of keys jingling.

“I’m on my way. Now, I want you to go into the kitchen and put on some hot water, okay?” he instructed. I sniffled, nodding and complying with his directions.

“Okay.”

“Now, go into the cabinet and pull out the box of peach tea. That always makes you feel better.”

Again, I did as he told and put one of the bags into my favorite Snoopy-shaped mug. By the time the teakettle was whistling, Tony’s mother’s silver car was pulling up to my house, Tony in the driver’s seat. Jaime jumped out of the passenger side, taking large strides towards my house. I hung up the phone, turned off the stove, and half ran-half walked to the front door. I threw it open as he stepped onto my porch. He studied my face carefully, his eyes narrowing as they rested on my left cheek.

“Jaime,” I whispered pathetically. His eyes flitted over to mine, the coldness in them immediately being replaced by love. He grabbed me, pulling me to his chest.

“I’m sorry, Abby. I should have stopped him earlier. I’m so sorry,” he mumbled into my hair. I didn’t respond, just wrapped my arms tightly around his neck and began to cry again.

“I want him back!” I sobbed. He shook his head, pulling away so he could look at me, keeping his hands protectively on my waist.

“No. Don’t say that. You don’t want that monster back in your life, and if I have any say, he never will be again.”