Sound Effects and Overdramatics

I drove around the city, chain-smoking to try and calm down. I wanted to bash Kai's head in, but it wouldn't do any good. Beth and I had just gotten to a good place and now he was back to ruin it all.

Jason wasn't answering his phone. He slept like the dead, but he could have also been with someone else, so he wasn't an option either.

How did everything get so fucked up?

Out of cigarettes, and options, I called Zack. He was a neutral party. I could talk to him without blowing a gasket.

Just my luck, Johnny was with him too, and Gena and Lacey, guaranteeing my good behavior. I liked both of them and was constantly pestering Zack and Johnny about proposing.

The door was open, so I announced myself through the screen door and followed my nose to the kitchen where Zack and Gena were slicing and dicing together. Johnny had Lacey in his lap, trying to take her drink from her.

"Hey stranger." Gena greeted. She put down her knife and wiped her hands on her apron before greeting me with a hug. "Where's Beth?"

Nervously, I rubbed the back of my neck and then scratched my forehead. Gena and Lacey hadn't met her in any official capacity-there was just never a good time for a huge get together.

"Beth has a...thing. Something with her mom, I think."

"Her mom?" Zack looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah. Jason found her. We saw her this morning. It was...a lot."

Him and Johnny exchanged a look that told me they didn't believe me, or they knew a lot more than I thought they did. Johnny patted Lacey's side and she let him up. I followed him outside and took the cigarette he offered.

Per Gena's request, smoking was frowned upon in the house. It wasn't a hard no, but it was easier to go outside than face her annoyance. It seemed that my house was the only one left where smoking was allowed everywhere.

"What's up?"

"Why are you making excuses for her?"

"I'm not. We really did see her mom this morning."

"That's not what I'm talking about. She doesn't have to hide. Just because we all thought Michelle-"

"This has nothing to do with Michelle. She isn't hiding. I went to Ali's and Kai showed up. I wasn't really in the mood to fight with her about it, so I left."

"Shit." Johnny muttered. Lacey came out to stand with him. I looked out over the pool. I had calmed down a bit but that didn't mean he was off the hook.

Both of them could talk to me until they were blue in the face about how they weren't going to sleep together, but that didn't mean I could believe them.

"She shouldn't have come back." I muttered to myself. I plopped down into a patio chair and leaned forward, elbows on my knees. I inhaled deeply on my cigarette before putting it out, half-smoked.

"You love her, right?" Lacey asked, sitting next to me.

"Yeah."

"Then talk to her. She hasn't been fair to you, Brian, and you know it."

I sighed. She had a point and I hated that I had to agree with her. Beth and I needed a serious sit-down session. I didn't want to scare her away again, but I couldn't keep tiptoeing around the eggshells.

Zack and Gena came out to join us, starting a conversation around me. I heard myself agreeing to getting everyone together and making a backyard party of the day, although I wasn't in much of a mood to be fun company.

I wasn't sure who was responsible, but someone kept me in supply of beer and cigarettes. I'd called Jason, but he said he was busy. I didn't bother asking with what.

I called Ali.

"You're not in jail, then."

"No, just went for a drive. Where's Laurel?"

"Why'd you call me and not her?"

"I wasn't sure if she would answer."

"Where are you?"

"Zack decided to throw a party. Can you let her know if she wants to talk, I'll be here?"

I heard her sigh heavily. She pulled the phone away from her ear and I heard low voices. It wasn't terribly late. I had to assume she was talking to Christian.

I finished my cigarette just as she came back on the line. "I'll tell her. After you left she kinda just locked herself in her room."

I was buzzed enough to believe her. I gave her my thanks and hung up, disappearing into the house for something stronger.

Everyone was around, sharing a good meal and good times. My dad and Suzy were around somewhere. My sister had shown up but left again with friends. Matt had come with Val and I was pretty sure they were the ones who started the game of chicken in the pool.

I just wanted quiet, so I grabbed a bottle of rum and disappeared down the hall to an empty room away from the noise.

I sat on the bed and took a long pull from the bottle, trying to drown out the noise in my head. There was a knock on the door and I was slow to answer. Michelle slipped in and shut it behind her, leaning against it and looking at me with pity.

"Want some company?"

I shrugged and held the bottle out to her. She took it and sat next to me.

"You okay?"

"No." I said with a chuckle. "I never really apologized to you."

"Is this your way of apologizing?" She asked with a smile.

"No, sh. I'm serious. I lied to you and cheated on you...I'm sorry. You didn't deserve any of it."

"Thank you."

I grabbed her hand and held it between both of mine. "I don't know what to do, Mich."

"Talk to me, Bri. What's going on?"

"It's all fucked up. Laurel...she's so far away all the time. And Jason is a shit show and it's my fault. I can't fix it."

"Who says you have to?"

I took another pull from the bottle. "Laurel expects me to help take care of her brother. I let her down. Now her mother is here causing all kinds of problems. It isn't supposed to be like this."

Michelle took the bottle and set it down before grabbing both of my hands. "Just because you love her doesn't mean it's your job to babysit her brother. They're adults. They make their own choices. She shouldn't be putting the blame on you. You can be supportive without having everything fall on your shoulders."

"You shouldn't be here." I mumbled. "You should hate her. You should hate me."

"Brian," she forced me to look at her by putting her hand on my face. "We're friends. I'll always be there for you. Okay? You're stuck with me."

I smiled at her and leaned in to kiss her. She didn't stop me, but she didn't kiss me back, either. I put my arm around her to pull her closer. She put her hands up to keep space between us, but didn't move away.

There was a knock on the door, but it opened before I could call out an answer. "Brian, you in-oh."

Laurel stopped in her tracks when she saw how close Michelle and I were. Michelle quickly stood and pushed past her to leave us alone, her face red from embarrassment.

"I wasn't sure you'd come." I mumbled. She stayed standing, her arms folded across her chest.

"What the hell did I just walk in on?"

"Nothing. We were just talking."

"You really expect me to believe that?"

I sighed and stood up, more unsteady on my feet than I originally thought. "No, but it's the truth."

"You're drunk."

Even though it was true, I wasn't sure why it hurt so much. I reached for her hand but, reasonably, she didn't let me take it.

"Were you going to sleep with her?"

"No." I answered, too quickly. She shook her head.

"How about you sober up and I'll call you later."

"Laurel-"

She left without saying anything else. I collapsed back onto the bed, fisting the bottle and sucking face with it, not seeing any other alternative to end my night.