‹ Prequel: The Pros and Cons of Loving
The Pros and Cons of Growing Up
Part Thirty-Five
Three Days Later
Eric’s POV
The next few days were torture. I went to school miserable. When I wasn’t at school, I worked extra and stayed at James’ house. The typical college life I had lived these three days, I realized, was not what I wanted despite what I may have thought previously. Nothing was more nerve wracking then trying to do homework, study, or sleep with drunken parties going on in the next room.
I didn’t know what was going on with Aiden, but he knew where I was. He had my phone number, he could call me. On the home phone, that is, as his is in bits in his sister’s garbage can apparently.
Every day I woke up, I wanted to go and yell at Asher. Ask him why he’d fucked up the one good thing in my life. If I’d told Aiden, though, maybe it would have gone differently. If I’d sat him down, told him I made a mistake… Why had Aiden even gone to Asher’s? They haven’t seen each other in 2 months.
I was halfway through Psych 102 when I just stood up and walked of the room. No one took notice, people left classes all of the time. It really didn’t matter in college. As the professors said, you paid for the class. If you weren’t there, why should they care? They still had their paycheck.
I went out to our car, opened the glove compartment, and searched wildly through it. Out fell one small folded piece of paper.
There.
I got out my phone, dialing the number. After all, I couldn’t really make the situation any worse could I?
There was a click, and then I heard a very familiar voice. One I hadn’t heard in years. It said, “Hello?”
“Dad… it’s Eric.”
Aiden’s POV
I hadn’t left Dad’s bed since I first laid down in it who knows how many days ago. I couldn’t bear to be in mine, everything reminded me of my current situation. I just lay like a zombie, staring at my parents ceiling like a zombie. I hadn’t even moved when Eric told me he was going to James’ house until I called him, which would likely be never at this rate. I was no longer even sad at him. I was completely and totally apathetic to everything in my life.
The door opened and Dad came in, holding a shiny neon green wrapped box. “This was Gerard’s idea but I picked the paper. And the orange bow.” He grinned at me like a little kid, coming forward.
I struggled to sit up and unenthusiastically peeled the paper off of the box. The phone I had been wanting for months. It wasn’t even made on our provider; they’d had to open a separate account. “Thanks…” I mumbled, and then fell back against his comfortable pillows.
“Honey, please get up. Let’s go for a walk, you and I. You’ll feel better if you get out in the fresh air and walk around some.”
“I don’t want to.” I moaned.
“You need to and I’m making you. I know you’re an adult now but this can’t result in you putting your life on hold… again.”
“I just want to eat ice cream!”
When had I begun crying again? I obviously had, because tears were sliding down my face and into my mouth leaving a bitter taste.
Instead of just crying, though, I began to yell angrily. “Ice cream doesn’t fuck the whipped cream! Whipped cream and ice cream know the true meaning of friendship which is to not have sex behind my back!”
“Oh, my sweet baby.” Dad sat on the bed next to me, pulling me close to him. He began to rock me back and fourth while rubbing my back soothingly. “Don’t’ cry anymore. Shh now, shh.”
“I hate him!” I stood up, now past angry. I was furious. Enraged. If Eric had been in the room, I would have killed him. Or at least slapped him very hard. “I’m going to fuck James, Jimmy, whatever his name is! I can handle five STDs if it means causing him this much pain!”
Dad roughly shoved me onto the bed in a sitting position. “You fucking will not because you’re too smart for that! Snap out of this. Grieve and be angry, yes. Don’t be stupid!”
“I am angry!”
“Good! Why?” Dad asked, almost sounding excited or relieved. I couldn’t tell.
“Because my fucking husband slept with my best friend!” I sobbed, burying my face in my hands. I didn’t want him to see me cry like this. I did not want to be comforted. I wanted to burrow in my misery alone.
“You can’t lay around like you don’t care because it will eat you alive. You have to feel this pain, baby. It’s healthy.”
“Then I don’t want to be healthy.” I whimpered into my hands.
“I bet you each day from now on it will get just a little bit easier. You can’t just lay in mine and Gee’s bed until you die… you have to feel this pain. You have to carry on through it, prove it to yourself that you’re okay. Then you’ll be okay.”
“That is total bullshit.” I groaned, frustrated with him for acting as if in two weeks I would be all better.
“I think you’ve had long enough to digest without seeing Eric… you need to call him and tell him what you’re thinking and feeling. Tell him everything that pops into your head.”
“I’m not ready for that.” I sighed, shaking my head.
“You’ll never be ready until you do it.” Dad opened the box with my new phone in it, handing it to me. “I’ll leave you alone… Either way you decide to go, you’ll have to talk to him sooner or later.”
And with that he left, quietly closing the door behind him. I just stared at the phone in my hands.
Eric’s POV
The next few days were torture. I went to school miserable. When I wasn’t at school, I worked extra and stayed at James’ house. The typical college life I had lived these three days, I realized, was not what I wanted despite what I may have thought previously. Nothing was more nerve wracking then trying to do homework, study, or sleep with drunken parties going on in the next room.
I didn’t know what was going on with Aiden, but he knew where I was. He had my phone number, he could call me. On the home phone, that is, as his is in bits in his sister’s garbage can apparently.
Every day I woke up, I wanted to go and yell at Asher. Ask him why he’d fucked up the one good thing in my life. If I’d told Aiden, though, maybe it would have gone differently. If I’d sat him down, told him I made a mistake… Why had Aiden even gone to Asher’s? They haven’t seen each other in 2 months.
I was halfway through Psych 102 when I just stood up and walked of the room. No one took notice, people left classes all of the time. It really didn’t matter in college. As the professors said, you paid for the class. If you weren’t there, why should they care? They still had their paycheck.
I went out to our car, opened the glove compartment, and searched wildly through it. Out fell one small folded piece of paper.
There.
I got out my phone, dialing the number. After all, I couldn’t really make the situation any worse could I?
There was a click, and then I heard a very familiar voice. One I hadn’t heard in years. It said, “Hello?”
“Dad… it’s Eric.”
Aiden’s POV
I hadn’t left Dad’s bed since I first laid down in it who knows how many days ago. I couldn’t bear to be in mine, everything reminded me of my current situation. I just lay like a zombie, staring at my parents ceiling like a zombie. I hadn’t even moved when Eric told me he was going to James’ house until I called him, which would likely be never at this rate. I was no longer even sad at him. I was completely and totally apathetic to everything in my life.
The door opened and Dad came in, holding a shiny neon green wrapped box. “This was Gerard’s idea but I picked the paper. And the orange bow.” He grinned at me like a little kid, coming forward.
I struggled to sit up and unenthusiastically peeled the paper off of the box. The phone I had been wanting for months. It wasn’t even made on our provider; they’d had to open a separate account. “Thanks…” I mumbled, and then fell back against his comfortable pillows.
“Honey, please get up. Let’s go for a walk, you and I. You’ll feel better if you get out in the fresh air and walk around some.”
“I don’t want to.” I moaned.
“You need to and I’m making you. I know you’re an adult now but this can’t result in you putting your life on hold… again.”
“I just want to eat ice cream!”
When had I begun crying again? I obviously had, because tears were sliding down my face and into my mouth leaving a bitter taste.
Instead of just crying, though, I began to yell angrily. “Ice cream doesn’t fuck the whipped cream! Whipped cream and ice cream know the true meaning of friendship which is to not have sex behind my back!”
“Oh, my sweet baby.” Dad sat on the bed next to me, pulling me close to him. He began to rock me back and fourth while rubbing my back soothingly. “Don’t’ cry anymore. Shh now, shh.”
“I hate him!” I stood up, now past angry. I was furious. Enraged. If Eric had been in the room, I would have killed him. Or at least slapped him very hard. “I’m going to fuck James, Jimmy, whatever his name is! I can handle five STDs if it means causing him this much pain!”
Dad roughly shoved me onto the bed in a sitting position. “You fucking will not because you’re too smart for that! Snap out of this. Grieve and be angry, yes. Don’t be stupid!”
“I am angry!”
“Good! Why?” Dad asked, almost sounding excited or relieved. I couldn’t tell.
“Because my fucking husband slept with my best friend!” I sobbed, burying my face in my hands. I didn’t want him to see me cry like this. I did not want to be comforted. I wanted to burrow in my misery alone.
“You can’t lay around like you don’t care because it will eat you alive. You have to feel this pain, baby. It’s healthy.”
“Then I don’t want to be healthy.” I whimpered into my hands.
“I bet you each day from now on it will get just a little bit easier. You can’t just lay in mine and Gee’s bed until you die… you have to feel this pain. You have to carry on through it, prove it to yourself that you’re okay. Then you’ll be okay.”
“That is total bullshit.” I groaned, frustrated with him for acting as if in two weeks I would be all better.
“I think you’ve had long enough to digest without seeing Eric… you need to call him and tell him what you’re thinking and feeling. Tell him everything that pops into your head.”
“I’m not ready for that.” I sighed, shaking my head.
“You’ll never be ready until you do it.” Dad opened the box with my new phone in it, handing it to me. “I’ll leave you alone… Either way you decide to go, you’ll have to talk to him sooner or later.”
And with that he left, quietly closing the door behind him. I just stared at the phone in my hands.