Best of Me

After Michelle’s arrival, things seemed to be going okay for the most part. She was catching up with everyone and civility was being kept. However, Brian wasn’t fooled. He knew Kat better than she knew herself. He could see that she was uncomfortable. Shortly after Michelle showed up, Kat had moved from his lap and seemed to be restless. She would find something to get into; she would find some reason to not stay in one place.

As the sun began to set, Kat got chilly and grabbed his hoodie from his car. Whenever Michelle was nearby, Kat would make sure the black material was zipped and would then try to wrap it tighter around her body. Truthfully, at first glance, it was hard to see that Kat was pregnant, but she was still trying to hide it.

Kat was bothered by the fact that Michelle seemed to always be within five feet of Brian at all times, but she was trying not to be jealous. Brian wasn’t doing anything wrong; he was trying to keep some distance. It wasn’t fair for Kat to be jealous when nothing was going on, but she didn’t like what Michelle was clearly trying to do.

“Val, when are you and Matt having kids? We always thought you guys would be the first ones to take that plunge. I didn’t think that Brian would ever want to be a dad.” Michelle laughed, her tone coming off playful, but it irked Kat. There could have been no malicious intent, but it rubbed her the wrong way.

“If it happens, it happens.” Val shrugged, trying to steer clear of the whole pregnancy topic. She didn’t mind talking with her twin sister about it, but this wasn’t the right time or place.

“Well, I just hope you’re ready for this, Bri. You can kiss any peace or sleep goodbye.”

Kat cleared her throat and stood from her seat. “I’ll be right back. We need that other case of soda brought out.” She slipped into the house, looking for a reprieve. She leaned against the kitchen counter, taking a few moments to clear her head.

Kat had always disliked confrontation, it was never the route that she wanted to go. And she understood that Michelle was probably hurting. She and Brian were together for a long time, that’s something that’s hard to let go of. But Kat was growing increasingly frustrated. Maybe it was her hormones, maybe it was insecurities, maybe it was just jealousy, she didn’t know.

Kat disliked confrontation, but she wasn’t afraid of it.

“Everything okay, Kat?” Michelle interrupted the silence, concern on her features, but there was a touch of a condescending tone in her voice.

“Yeah, just felt a little dizzy.” Kat responded, keeping things civil despite how badly she wanted to scream. Michelle nodded her head as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“Good.” Pause. “You couldn’t wait, could you?”

Kat frowned, eyebrows creasing. “I’m sorry?”

“Five weeks. We’ve been broken up for five weeks and here you are, hanging all over him.” Michelle spoke, finally saying what she had been dying to say all evening.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think that’s any of your business.”

“None of my business? You were throwing it in my face! Did you think, for even a second, that you might be just a rebound for him? You’ve been pining after him for years, you saw an opportunity, and you took it. You knew that by getting pregnant, Brian wouldn’t leave you by yourself.”

Kat laughed humorlessly, hands running over her face. Was she really in this spot right now? Was she really standing in Val’s kitchen, two seconds from blowing her top on Michelle? She wished that she wasn’t.

“This is bullshit, Michelle. Did we suddenly get teleported back to high school? Are you seriously standing there, telling me that I got pregnant on purpose?”

“Yeah, I am.” Michelle confirmed. “Because you did.”

“Why would I do that? Why would I get pregnant just so I can steal my best friend away from his girlfriend? Why would I ruin his life like that? For years I have stood by his side, hoping that the two of you could work things out because I just wanted him to be happy. I told him that he didn’t have to be involved if he didn’t want to be. I already feel like shit about it, you don’t get to make me feel worse!”

Kat had finally lost it. She had reached her limit. She had stayed quiet, letting Michelle think what she wanted for long enough. She was done.

The yelling at reached everyone outside, and Brian was the first person to jump up. He knew that he should have gone inside with Kat. When he got to the kitchen, he saw both women separated by the island. Kat was clearly upset, and Michelle looked like she was itching for a fight.

Everyone else filed in right behind Brian, curious as to what was happening. Brian had shifted closer to Kat but kept a reasonable distance. Everyone held their breath as they waited for the next move.

“If you had just stayed in your lane, none of this would have happened.” Michelle continued, and Brian tried to end things before they got worse, but his voice went unheard.

“Stayed in my lane? What are you, his keeper?”

“I knew you were nothing but a two-faced whore from the moment I met you.” Michelle spat back.

“HEY!” Brian’s voice echoed through the kitchen, interrupting them, but it was more directed to Michelle. At first, he was just worried that this would escalate, but now he was livid. “You wanna tell me what the fuck is going on?”

“Brian, how can you be so blind? She trapped you.”

Kat scoffed, throwing her hands up. “I’m fucking done. I’m not going to deal with this shit.” She turned to walk away, but not before looking back at Michelle. “And you can go fuck yourself.”

Kat briskly walked through the house and onto the front porch, the door slamming behind her. Her hands were shaking as anger coursed through her veins. She desperately wanted a cigarette, but instead, she started walking.

Her mind was racing, and tears started to slide down her cheeks. She was angry at Michelle and she was angry with herself for letting Michelle get to her. She should have just walked away before the argument even started.

This incident had been an unpleasant reminder that she still had some remaining guilt for getting pregnant. Of course, it wasn’t on purpose, but part of her felt like maybe Brian felt obligated. The logical side of her knew that wasn’t the case, but she couldn’t help but think.

Before she knew it, Kat was standing outside her home. She frowned and patted down her pockets, finding her keys, but realizing that she left her phone at Val’s. She could just drive back to get it later. For now, she unlocked her door and stepped inside, feeling better now that she was back in her sanctuary.