Last Year Was Complicated

"Obviously I can't answer the phone right now, leave a message and I'll try to call you back."

Brett rolled her eyes as she pulled her cell phone away from her ear and angrily hit the little red phone icon to end the call. She put her phone down on the kitchen counter and stared down at it in annoyance. Dinner with her parents had gone less than stellar, she figured it would probably help if Tyler had bothered to show up at all, or at the very least even send her a text to let her know he wouldn't be there but she got nothing. He wasn't even answering his phone after the fact, go figure.

"Brett honey, it's okay." She glanced over at her mother, who was sitting on the couch next to her father. Patty sent her a soft smile, but Ryan had a scowl across his face that made Brett sigh.

So she stuck her phone into the pocket of her jeans and headed into the living room, taking a seat next to her mother on the couch. Patty rubbed Brett's leg and Brett, cheeks flushed, said, "Sorry he didn't show up."

Before her mother could say anything her father turned to her and said, "Well, I guess we're done with him and we don't need him anymore."

"Yeah..." Brett said softly, picking at her jeans.

"You never told us how your classes were going." Patty told Brett, trying desperately to change the subject for her.

Brett shrugged her shoulders, "They're okay."

"Are you failing? Because I know you spend so much time with... not studying." Ryan asked her, giving her a very pointed look that Brett knew was his way of telling her not to even try to lie to him.

"I'm not failing. It would be pretty ridiculous if I was taking two classes and failing, don't you think?" Brett asked him, and he narrowed his eyes just the slightest at her.

And then he cracked a smile and told her, "Good, because you're right, if you were failing I'd have to disown you. You know, that whole dishonor on your whole family issue."

Brett chuckled and she assured him, "I'm not failing, don't worry."

"You're gonna take more classes, next year right?" Patty asked her with concern and Brett nodded.

"I am, I just didn't want to take too many given... you know." Brett didn't want to straight up say that she took a much smaller course load this year so that she could go home more to visit with her mothers health the way that it was. She knew that Patty wouldn't want to hear that, and frankly Brett didn't want to say it out loud either.

"Speaking of that." Ryan said, catching both of their attention. Brett raised her eyebrow and he asked her, "I know that you like it here with Gia, but your mother and I were talking-"

"Dad I'm not moving home." Brett told him firmly, she didn't know why she constantly had to have this fight with him ever since she had moved out to Dallas almost five years ago.

"No, no that's not what this is about." He assured her and when Brett once again raised her eyebrow he cleared his throat and told her, "We're gonna be back and forth quite a bit with doctors, twice a month or so and the hotel bills are adding up, and it's just way too small here for us to stay with you... we were thinking about getting a condo."

"You're gonna buy a condo... four hours away from where you live?" Brett asked him in surprise and curiosity.

He nodded his head and told her, "I was hoping that you would move there. Gia could go too, we're looking at a couple three and four bedroom ones, not too far from here actually. Then when we're here for medical stuff we could just stay there, instead of in a hotel."

Patty glanced at Brett and asked her with a small smile, "What do you think?"

"I mean... condo's are expensive." Brett said softly.

"I know that you take a lot of pride in the fact that you pay your own rent, and your own vehicle stuff but this is something we wanted to do. If it makes you feel better you could cover all the internet and cable and stuff." Ryan told her with a smile. When Brett looked over at him with a look that told him she was probably going to argue with him he told her, "You haven't let us take care of you since you were fifteen. I know you like being independent but let us do something nice for you, beside's you would be really helping us out."

"How?" Brett asked him with a raised eyebrow.

"Because we would have a place to stay when we're here, you'd keep it clean and we wouldn't have to worry that something broke or wasn't working properly. You'd be doing us a favor kid."

She sighed dramatically and told him, "Fine we can look, but I'm not making any promises and I'd have to talk to Gia because I am not living in some big ass condo by myself."

Ryan chuckled, "Fair enough."

With her parents headed back to their hotel Brett knocked on Gia's door, and when she called out to come in Brett pushed the door open and dropped onto Gia's bed. Gia watched her in amusement, and asked, "What's up buttercup?"

"So... how much do you like this place?" Brett asked her curiously.

"Our tiny apartment where the windows never seal and our heating and air conditioning doesn't like to work at the most inconvenient times?" Gia asked her with a grin, and when Brett nodded she shrugged, "It's not terrible."

"Would you be open to moving up in the living world?" Brett asked her curiously and when Gia raised her eyebrow Brett told her, "My parents want to buy a condo downtown, so that they have somewhere to stay that isn't a hotel and they want us to live there."

"Your parents want us to what?" Gia asked her, eyebrow raised, mouth damn near dropped in surprise.

Brett nodded, "Dad won't let me pay anything other than like cable and shit. So I was thinking, we take what you pay now, plus the cable and stuff, divide it in half between the two of us and that's what we pay per month only they'll think it's all from you."

"You want me to lie to your parents... after they pay for three quarters of a condo for us?" Gia asked her, brow raised.

"Don't look at it like that... look at it as helping your best friend not feel like a mooch." Brett told her with a grin.

Gia rolled her eyes and informed Brett, "I mean... I could handle condo living."

Brett reached out and hugged her tightly, "Oh, I knew you were my best friend for a reason."

"Just think, maybe we won't have to sleep in the same bed with four blankets on in December now." Gia joked with a wide grin on her face that made Brett laugh and nod her head. When they stopped laughing Gia glanced over at Brett and asked her softly, "How did dinner go?"

"How do you think it went? He never showed up and then didn't even bother to pick up his phone or send me a text saying why." Brett muttered, tucking her blonde hair behind her ears before she said, "I don't even know why I thought he would, you know? Like why did I think this would be any different at all."

"Because you're a romantic, and you've seen one too many Julia Roberts movies." Gia told her with a soft smile.

Brett rolled her eyes and told Gia, "I will have you know that Pretty Woman is hands down one of the greatest movies of all time."

"And also incredibly unrealistic." Gia pointed out, asking Brett, "I mean are we seriously supposed to believe that some girl who wears patent leather thigh highs with colored condoms stuck in them wins some millionaire's heart?"

Brett shrugged, "Why not? Thigh highs are hot, and who doesn't like protection and safety? Vivian was a very smart lady."

"Or really stupid, depends which way you look at it." Gia stated, shooting Brett a look when Brett rolled her eyes.

Gia burst into laughter when Brett mused out loud, "Maybe I should get into prostitution."

"I'm sorry, it's just... I'm picturing you out on the street in thigh highs now and I can't handle it." Gia said through her laughter. Brett narrowed her eyes at her as she continued to laugh and Gia added, "It's just...you have such short legs that your boots would be up to your hips honestly."

"You're rude." Brett told her, letting out a laugh as it bubbled out of her mouth.

"So... are you even gonna bother talking to him about this or are you just gonna call it a day and get on with your life?" Gia asked her curiously.

Brett shrugged her shoulders, "Part of me wants to just forget it even happened and delete his number from my phone and Mexico or something."

"Mexico?" Gia asked her in amusement.

Brett nodded her head, "I could handle that. Taco's, tequila, guac... give it all to me."

Gia snorted and told Brett, "You're something else lady."

"I know." Brett said with a smile. She glanced around Gia's bedroom before she got up from the bed and announced, "I think I'm gonna go over there."

"And say what?" Gia asked her with a raised eyebrow.

Brett shrugged her shoulders and then dropped onto the bed again with a sigh, exclaiming, "You're right, I have nothing to say. I'd show up there and make a fool out of myself."

"No offense, but you already have that one down pat." Gia stated and when Brett turned to her with narrowed eyes she sighed and explained, "It's just...honey how many times are you going to let him make a fool out of you? He just disappoints you time and time again."

Brett sighed and nodded her head, "Yeah, I know."

"You know as in you're done with him or you know as in you're gonna go over there and talk to him and he's gonna convince you that he's not a shitty person like he always does?" Gia asked her curiously, watching Brett carefully as she thought about her answer.

Brett really, honestly, wasn't sure. She never knew how to explain to Gia why she kept going back, she didn't know how to explain that to anyone if she was being truthful. Maybe it was because she loved him, maybe it was because she knew somewhere, albeit probably very, very deep down Tyler somewhat loved her in some way as well, maybe it was because she knew how good things were when they were good. Shouldn't all of that outweigh the bad? Didn't any of that count for anything?

All Brett told Gia was, "I don't know. I guess it depends on what his excuse is this time."

Gia sighed and Brett's brows raised when she told her, "Well... go over there then."

"Really? You, miss 'I hate Tyler with every fibre of my being' is telling me to go over to his house right now?" Brett asked her in surprise.

"I don't hate him." Gia told her with an eye roll. When Brett shot her a pointed look Gia sighed again and added, "I just don't necessarily like him, and pardon me for saying it but you wouldn't like Alex very much if she put me through half of the shit Tyler puts you through."

Brett this time sighed, she knew that was true she just refused to admit it out loud and Gia knew that. Instead she tucked her blonde hair behind her hair and got up from the bed, stating, “Okay, I’m going over there.”

“What are you gonna say?” Gia asked her curiously.

Shrugging her shoulders Brett said, “I’m just gonna wing it. I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Doubtful.” Gia stated as Brett walked out of her bedroom.

Brett made sure to call out as she was leaving the apartment, “I hate you.”

She heard Gia’s laughter as she pulled the apartment door closed and headed out into their hallway. She took the stairs down one level, to the lobby and headed out into the parking lot where she got into her car, turned the key in the ignition and drove out of the parking lot and into the street. As she drove she thought of all the possible reasons he might have flaked on her and what she was going to say to him.

Practice. At seven o’clock at night?

A team thing. There is such a thing as a cell phone.

Wasn’t feeling well. See above.

My mom is here. Ours parents are friends, you could have brought her.

She thought that she had thought of every possible scenario for why he had made plans with her and her family and then not shown up but when she walked into his house to find he, Jamie and Jason in the media room watching sports highlights she had clearly thought wrong.

Crossing her arms over her chest Brett looked at Tyler and said, “I think this is a new one.”

He looked over at him and she could immediately tell that he knew he had been caught; it was all over his face. Still he asked her, “What?”

She rolled her eyes, ignored the looks of uncomfort on his guest’s faces, and stated, “I mean, I was expecting to come here and find you in bed because you were sick… that would totally warrant you blowing me and my parents off, but this? This just tops the list of shitty things you’ve done in the last week alone.”

Jamie stood to leave, clearing his throat and saying, “We’ll just get out of your hair.”

Brett shook her head and looked directly at Tyler when she said, “No, please stay. I can see you guys are very busy, I wouldn’t want to interrupt that and I think we’re about done here.”

“Brett-” Tyler started but she cut him off by holding up her hand the way one might do to a dog when they were jumping at your legs.

“Do you have any idea how fucking embarrassing that was?” Brett asked him, giving him a death glare when he sighed.

“What’s the big deal? Just tell your parents I was sick or something.” Tyler muttered, and this time Jamie did get up and Jason followed him, both of them leaving the media room and Brett assumed the entire house all together. At least his friends had half a brain.

“What’s the big deal? Are you serious right now? God, do you ever even think before you speak?” Brett muttered, completely bewildered.

Tyler rolled his eyes and told her, “I’m not gonna fight with you, if that’s what you came over here for just go home.”

“Do you really not care that the things you do might hurt my feelings?” Brett asked him softly, watching as he sighed and leaned forward, elbows against his knees.

He looked up at her and told her, “Honestly? Sometimes I don’t.”