The Things You Make Me Do

Brian Haner Jr. stared up at the ceiling as he tried to ignore his now ex-girlfriend, Emily, as she screamed utter nonsense while she packed up all her clothing. He had returned from touring to find her on the couch with some guy who looked like he worked for daddy's important business even though he didn't have the experience or the credentials. The guy ran as soon as he realized that this was Synyster Gates' house but that didn't stop Emily from taking out her aggression on him. She threw the TV remote at him as soon as Brian said they were over and that she needed to leave his house. Luckily, she wasn't living there but he had trusted her to keep an eye on his house and his dog while he was on tour, not use it as her personal love shack. He made a mental note to call his housekeeper and ask if she could do a thorough deep clean of his home.

Finding Pinkly in her kennel, he picked up the small Maltese and went to his office/studio. He knew Emily never entered the room because it was locked and the keys were with him and his father so there was no chance of it being defiled. Sitting down on the couch, he sighed and looked up at the ceiling to think about the last few years. He and Michelle got married but ended up divorcing just about two years ago. There were no hard feelings between the two. They just realized that despite the fact that they loved each other, they weren't in love with each other. It was doing more damage to their friendship to stay married so the two chose to end their marriage. Michelle was now happily dating the recently widowed Jordan Madigan. It was weird at first but Brian knew Jordan was a good man and wished them the best.

Brian, on the hand, had a string of girlfriends and relationships that never seemed to last more than two months. He thought he had changed when he met Emily at a school function that McKenna's school. She was one of the English teachers there and she seemed to have everything together but apparently, it was the all bait and switch. He didn't realize it at first but he had spent a lot of money on Emily, paying for her to get her hair and nails done and for whatever purse she wanted. It took him looking at his bank statement when he was on tour for him to see that she just wanted him for his money. Yet, he still had hope that she would change but unfortunately, that was not the case. Luckily, McKenna graduated high school so she wouldn't have to deal with the wrath of a teacher.

"Fuck you, Brian!" Emily screamed one last time before she slammed the door shut behind her, "You're never going to find a girl like me!"

"Why would I want to find another cheater?" Brian muttered as he laid down on the couch with Pinkly curling up on his chest.

Sighing, his mind went back to a certain summer day more than ten years ago. He had returned home from Warped Tour to find his girlfriend at the time on top of another guy and ran into none other than Jayde Madigan. Things happened between them and then she disappeared, never to be seen ever again. From time to time, he had wondered what happened to her and what she was doing. Last he heard was that she was attending some vet school in Pittsburgh after graduating from Boston University. He didn't want to seem too interested in what she was doing, still nervous about people finding out what had happened the last time he saw her.

Pulling out his phone, he saw that he had received a text. Surprised that he didn't hear the little tone that would sound whenever he had received a text, he looked at the side and realized that his phone was on silent. Brian knew that on a subconscious level, he had probably turned the volume off just to keep an ear open in case Emily did something. Now that she was gone, he put the phone on its normal setting before looking at the text.

You still coming to the BBQ at my parents?

It was from Jordan who was on vacation, or leave as he called it, before heading out for an underway. Still serving in the Navy, Jordan had risen up the ranks and was a Lieutenant Commander, attached to one of the various squadrons in Fresno. He had married a woman he met when he was stationed in Japan, Hana, and had a baby girl, Reiko. Unfortunately, Hana died in a car accident, leaving Jordan to get re-stationed stateside so that his parents could help care for Reiko. Brian remembered when he heard the news of Jordan's wife. He had met her a few times and she was a very kind woman who often struggled with the English language but loved her husband and daughter dearly. He thought they were a great family so when she died, he immediately reached out to Jordan. When Jimmy had passed, he had done the same for Brian, calling from the middle of the Pacific Ocean to make sure that he knew that if he needed anything, to let him know.

Yeah, I'll be there

Brian texted that before he called his usual housekeeper. She didn't answer which didn't surprise him. She was an older lady with no patience for technology but she always did a fantastic job when she cleaned his house.

Don't bring whore-bag

That was the name that Jordan and the rest of his friends used whenever they had to refer to Emily. Pretty much everyone, including his own family, had told Brian that she was a cheater but he said that he would believe it if he saw it with his own eyes. Looking back, he should have listened but he probably wanted to think better of Emily simply because she was a teacher. In his mind, a teacher wouldn't cheat but clearly, that was not the case.

I won't. Broke up with Emily

Jordan's response was instantaneous which of course, didn't surprise Brian. Jordan always kept his phone on him and if he was texting, his replies would come very quickly.

What? Going to need to hear this one

---

Brian was always welcomed in the Madigan home so he just walked right in. Ryan and Ava attended the early shows of Avenged Sevenfold, supporting him and his friends along the way and he often considered them to be a second set of parents to him. Hearing footsteps, an older blonde woman peaked her head out from the kitchen and instantly a warm smile appeared on her lovely face. Ava put whatever she was holding down on the kitchen before she went towards Brian, giving him a warm hug. She was still actively working as a vet and Brian always brought Pinkly to her for everything but it had been a couple months since his last visit and he was on tour.

"Good to see you, Brian," Ava greeted, placing a kiss on his cheek in a motherly fashion, "Everyone is out back. You know where to go."

"Thanks, Ava. Do you need help with anything?"

As usual, Ava just smiled and told him that she could handle it, almost pushing him towards the back door. The four Dobermans that they had were out lounging on the patio while Ryan did his duties as the grill master and everyone made conversations. A few of the kids ran across the grassy lawn as he spotted Jordan and Michelle talking with Matt and Val by the mini agility course that Ryan had built many years ago. Sitting on the runway, Brian could see a figure sitting there with a red Doberman. He couldn't see her face but he could tell she was a blonde woman but he figured that she must be one of Jordan's Navy friends. From what he did see, she wore a black tank top and blue jeans that hugged her body and that she was barefoot. Leaning against the fence that separated the course from the yard was another blonde woman. She had light blonde hair that was loose around her shoulders. She had porcelain skin with icy blue eyes that was filled with joy and laughter. She was a very attractive woman, as the Berry twins and Zacky, shamelessly admired her from a distance but Brian saw a golden band around that finger, indicating that she was married.

Figuring he might as well get it over with, Brian walked towards Jordan, Michelle, Matt and Val.

"Hey, man," Matt greeted as Brian gave Val and Michelle a quick hug before shaking hands with Jordan, "Heard you ended things with the whore-bag."

"Yeah, came home to find her banging some dude on my couch," Brian replied, taking the beer that Jordan handed to him, "Ended things right then and there."

Michelle patted his arm as Jordan simply shrugged, "There was a reason we all called her 'whore-bag'. I'm pretty sure she's the same chick who has been hanging around the base, trying to get whatever sailor to sleep with. She reminds me of Songtan Sally."

Everyone laughed as soon as Jordan mentioned the infamous woman who hung around the air base in South Korea. Both Ryan and Jordan told stories about this woman which shocked a lot of people to think that she was still active. Ryan had retired from the Navy about four years ago but worked at the Marine Air Station in San Diego while Jordan was reaching his sixteenth year in the Navy. Knowing that, Brian imagined this woman to look like a zombie or the crypt keeper.

"Well, I'm done with her so I'm good now."

"You need a good woman," Michelle commented, "Someone who isn't an easy whore-bag and has a hamster on the wheel."

Brian knew that she was right but the chances of finding someone like that was reaching an all-time low. All the "good women" he knew were married and living happy lives. Part of him had debated if he should get used to the fact that he probably wasn't going to re-marry and was going to end up living the rest of his life alone with a few dogs. Looking at the Madigan Dobermans, it probably didn't seem like a bad idea. Ava had always said that if he ever wanted one of her pups, the answer would be for him to tell her which one. With Pinkly getting older, it might not be a bad idea.

"You do realize that I'm still not pleased with the fact that you are moving clear across the country?" a heavily accented voice called, "Kris is already throwing a fit and I'm going to have to hear from Alex that he wants to FaceTime Mav and his Auntie Jayde."

As soon as he heard that name, Brian became frozen with shock as his thought process ceased completely. He felt like he was twenty-two again as he realized that Jayde left and disappeared from his life completely.

"Wait, that's Jayde?" his own voice called, surprising him that he still had the ability to speak.

He watched as the large red Doberman walked up to the other blonde woman while Jayden Madigan grabbed a bottle of water that was sitting on the railing, finally giving him a good look at her. Her hair, still sun kissed blonde, was tied back into a messy ponytail, keeping it out of her delicate face. Those sapphire blue eyes still sparkled with a savage laughter as her slender nose twitched in mock disdain. One corner of those pouty red lips was pulled up into a smirk. A casual attire of dark blue jeans and a black Pittsburgh Penguins tank top displayed the perfect blend of womanly curves and muscle that molded that lithe figure. She still was much shorter than he was but that didn't matter. Jayde was attractive at sixteen but now, she was drop dead gorgeous.

Fuck a duck. It had to be my fucking luck that Jayden Madigan is back.