You Had Me at "I Hate You"

I didn't own a car, so I had to take a cab to Aiden's. The driver was a sultry-lidded man, with a beefy frame. He smelled heavily of McDonald's, and his curly hair lay in greasy flops about his forehead.

He smiled at me as I climbed into the car, and cranked up the angry rock music that was pouring out of the radio. I gave him Aiden's address, and he began driving.

I guess the cabbie sensed that I was in a foul mood, so he didn't try to talk to me.

After the cab ride, I rang Aiden's doorbell in the "Shave-and-a-haircut-two-bits" tune. I wiped my eyes, knowing that it wouldn't do any good, as my mascara was probably running down my neck by now, but making the effort all the same.

I was early. We'd decided that I'd move in with him next week... But... With recent events...

So, I showed up unannounced at my boyfriend's house.

Aiden answered the door, hair tousled, and his shirt wrinkled, as if he'd just thrown it on. He looked confused.

"Violet?" he asked. "W-What are you doing here?"

"I got kicked out," I told him, flashing a weary smile.
"Oh," he said, looking sympathetic.

"Yeah... Is it okay if I move in early? The guys will bring my stuff over later..." I trailed off, confused.

Aiden was shuffling his feet back and forth, with a nervous look on his face. He kept glancing over his shoulder, and tugging at the collar of his shirt.

"What's wrong?" I asked, cocking my head to the side.
He jumped. "N-Nothing."

"Okaaaay..." I said slowly. "Then... Can I come in?"

I put my hand on his chest in order to move past him, but he leapt into the air, and slapped my hand off him.

"No!" he shouted. "You can't come in!"
I furrowed my eyebrows. "Aiden, if this is some sort of practical joke-"
"It's not! I'm... Uh... I've got a... A housewarming surprise for you! And... And it's not wrapped yet. So... I've got to wrap it."
"Alright. Go wrap it. I'll wait here."
"Um... Well, it's... Uh... it's a pretty big gift," he stuttered.
"Oh?" I asked, growing suspicious. "What kind of big gift?"
"A... A car."
"A car?"
"A car."
"A car?"
"Yes..." he winced.

"Aiden... Why would you try to wrap a car?" I said, narrowing my eyes.

I didn't have to wait for an answer. A fresh-faced Asian girl appeared in the hallway. She was wearing nothing but one of Aiden's over-sized tee shirts.

"Who's at the door, Hon?" she asked, approaching him.

Aiden's eyes widened. He looked to me, a pleading disposition on his face.

"Violet... I can explain!"

I was speechless. My feet were rooted to the ground. All I could think of was the girl behind him. The sultry way she gazed at him. My boyfriend. Her manicured nails seemed to stretch into claws, which she used to rip out my heart.

Naomi. Lincoln Fletcher's girlfriend. Naomi and Aiden. My Aiden.

My eyes stung. My throat clenched.

Aiden reached out for me, and I stumbled backwards, stuttering odds and ends of words that I couldn't comprehend. I sucked in air like I had seconds to live, and I continued backwards, down the stairs that led up to his front door.

"Violet!" he called to me. "Wait!"

I shook my head, and stared, open-mouthed, as Naomi whined something, and tugged Aiden inside his house again.

Numbly, I began sprinting away from that cursed place. I ran, filling my lungs with humid air, and bending my head against the beating wind. Abruptly, the toe of my sneaker caught a crack in the sidewalk, and I went down.

My right hand crashed into the pavement, and my elbow collided with the ground like a cymbal. My knees skittered on the rough surface, savagely ripping the skin from them. I laid there for a moment, praying that a car would drive over me a couple times.

Aiden. My Aiden. He was gone.

I sniveled. I hadn't realized it, but I was crying. My face wasn't screwed up in pain, like it normally was when I cried... I was too numb for pain. Just the tears.

I reached into my back pocket, still lying on the ground. I produced my slim cell phone. Quickly, I dialed the home number, hoping that Massia would pick up -- and hoping that she didn't realize how much trouble that article has caused.

As the phone rang, a man came jogging up to me. I was sprawled across the sidewalk, and, I imagine, looking quite strange.

"Uh..." the man stuttered, running in place.

He was wearing bright yellow running shorts, and he had his grey, sweat-stained shirt tucked into their waistband. His chest looked sculpted, and was covered in thick black hair. He wore sweatbands around his wrists, and he'd paused his iPod for a moment to talk to me.

"Hello," I said, wiping at my eyes, but not getting up off the pavement.
"Hello."

I continued to listen to the empty ring of the phone.

"Would you mind moving?" the man asked, putting two fingers on his neck, and monitoring his pulse.
"Would you mind killing my boyfriend?"

He rolled his eyes, and then moved around me, his running shoes crunching through the grass.

The machine picked up. I heard Jesse's voice:

Hi! You've reached Jesse King-

Lincoln jutted in:

Lincoln Fletcher, and-

Violet DiMarco!

All together now:

Leave us (me) a message!

Then, a small, smacking sound is heard. In an undertone, Jesse scolds:

Linc, you tard! It's "Leave us a message! Not "Leave me a message!

Ouch! Sorry! Sorry!

It beeped.

"Guys?" I hesitantly called. I'd only been gone about an hour. I wasn't sure it that was enough time to let them cool down. "Guys? Massia? It's me... Violet."

Linc picked up the receiver. "Don't call. We don't want to talk to you."
"Lincoln! That was mean!" There's Jesse, keeping his friend in check, like always.
"So? It's true!"

And he slammed down the phone.

Well, I wasn't going to give up after just one call.

I dialed again, and this time I sat up, no longer taking up the entire sidewalk.

The answering machine message played again.

"Guys..." I pleaded. "Please. Pick up."

My voice broke. "I have nowhere to go... Please..."

I heard a click as the phone was jostled out of the cradle. Thank God.

"Linc? Is that you?" I asked.
Silence.
"Hello? Hello, is anyone-"
"Talk," Linc's stony voice ordered.

"Aiden-"

I choked when I said his name. This time, the pain came. I started blubbering like a baby, sniffing and trying to talk at the same time.

"I r-rang the door-door-doorbell, and when h-he answered there was a-a-another girl!" I sobbed.

Silence.

"I can't believe h-he would do this!"

Silence.

I sniveled. "H-Hello?"
"I'll be there in five minutes."

And, once again, he hung up.