Page 37 of Don't Fall

“You’re also a shit liar.” She nudges me, squatting down next to me. Guess her commitment to being down in the trenches with me wavers around the toilet bowl.

“Are you going to keep being mean to me? Because I liked it better when you were giving me the ‘you’re so awesome, he’s the dumbest most stupidest idiot ever’ treatment.”

She laughs. “Oh, good. Funny Tessa is creeping back. I figured she’d take over sooner or later.”

“Excuse me?”

“You know, that thing you do where you use dry humor to cope with your pain and numb yourself to actual feelings? You’re doing that now. Things are going to be okay. You’re going to survive.” She waves her hands in the air. “Hurray.”

“I don’t like you very much right now,” I mumble.

“Excellent.” She gets up and pulls me along with her. “Now get in the shower and contemplate all the ways you could insult me with your wicked sarcasm. I especially like it when you zing me and then make me laugh at my own expense.”

“That’s because you’re an exceptionally confident person who’s immune to self-doubt. It’s freaky, and frankly unfair,” I point out as she’s shoving a towel at me and spinning me around in circles like I’m about to play pin the tail on the donkey when in reality she’s just overzealous and makes me miss my shower by a few turns.

“I only got this way because of you. All those years of you telling me how awesome I am, what did you think was going to happen?” She smirks, gives me one final push into my life size aquarium and closes the glass door on me. “Turn on the water, you’ll feel better.”

I flip the towel up until it catches on the side of the shower. I’m still partially dressed, so I’m profusely grateful she didn’t turn the water on for me this time.

“Thank you, Drea.”

“It’s what we do, babe.” She blows me a kiss and walks out.

Time to clean off last night’s ick.

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LANE

My hand was on the doorknob, ready to go after her a second time when I heard Drea come in and thought better of it. Trying to explain things to one woman at a time, is hard enough. I’m not even going to attempt to reason with both of them while they’re both busy ganging up on me, convinced I’m the greatest piece of shit that ever walked the earth. And they think that. Both of them. That much I know.

Truthfully, they’re not far off. For all the brazen things she spewed at me before she stormed out of my room, I knew Tessa was full of shit the second she was done. That look in her eyes spoke circles around the rant her mouth produced. I hurt her. And just like that, my morning of no regrets is flowing over with remorse. This isn’t how I saw things playing out. Not by a long shot.

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