Page 14 of Travis

“Twenty bucks says that if I needed a kidney, and Travis needed a kidney, and you had the matching one…you’d have a tough time making up your mind.” I add, irritated.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” She waves.

“Tell me it isn’t true!” I shout.

She huffs. “Why are you being such a big baby, huh? God, he’s a grown man, and he’d never hurt you, Becky!”

“Oh, so, I’m sure you patted his little behind when he left your house after Macey’s birthday!”

“Why the hell would I do that?!” she shouts. “I didn’t even see him leave!”

“Bullshit!” I rise from the table, so angry. “You probably paid him fifty bucks to follow me up to Macey’s room, so he could give it to me!”

Now it’s her turn to widen her eyes in shock. “What??!!” she gasps. “You two…oh my God! You fooled around with Travis?!”

“Puullease! Like you don’t know!”

“How should I know!”

“You knew about him living at Kelsey Ranch!”

She throws her arms in the air. “So what! I sure as hell didn’t know about you two fucking on my daughter’s bed!”

“What’s the matter with that?! You and Ron used to fuck on mama and daddy’s bed when we were in high school!”

“That was different!” her face is beet red. “We were teenagers!”

“Oh, believe me! It was just like high school when Travis and I did it!” I shout, self-righteously. And then I take a step back. I have just effectively dug my own hole. And Sara knows it. She folds her arms across her chest, taps her toe on the floor, and purses her lips together in a condescending sneer.

“But I take it you just used him for sex, huh. Seeing as you aren’t back together with him.”

“No!” I deny adamantly.

“Oh, so, you’re going to say that he used you for sex?” She accuses.

“No!” I whine loudly. “Of course not! We were both drunk! It was a total mistake, and it’ll never happen again!”

“Oh, you are such a….” she trails off, trying to think of an appropriate word to both point out that me and my ex-husband had inappropriate relations in her daughter’s bed, and that I’m a two-faced, manipulative whore, that should be punished for what she inflicted on both her ex and her daughter’s innocent bedroom. At least, that’s what I would be doing if I were her.

“What…what am I!” I taunt.

Her chest heaves. Her nostrils flare. Her lips purse. “All I can say is…poor Travis!”

I hesitate, thinking of an equally hurtful retort. “Why? He seemed to enjoy himself!”

Sara growls. “I can’t believe you did that to him, Becky! You know how sex messes with men’s minds! He probably thinks that you’re back together.” She looks at me, and I’m about to say something bitchy back. “Oh, but, no. I bet you just crushed him again, didn’t you!”

“I didn’t crush him, Sara! He wanted it, too! I would have crushed him if I didn’t give in!” Which is a lie, but I’m going for bold here.

“So, it was mercy sex!” she bellows. We’re both yelling at every turn, as though we’re on opposite sides of the street, meanwhile, we’re spitting distance from each other.

“No, it wasn’t mercy sex! It was drunken sex!”

“So much better!” She hisses.

“I don’t know why you care so much! It’s not like I cheated on him…with him! I gave him what he wanted! We enjoyed ourselves, and that was it! Done!”

She sighs, resigned. The look she gives me is a combination of disappointment, frustration, and hurt. I take a breath, wondering why I’m having to justify myself, but then I remember how hard Sara took it when I decided to leave Travis. She’s right. Sara and Travis are kindred spirits. It’s sweet but sometimes a battle because she takes things so personally when it comes to him. They’ve known and loved each other for as long as Travis and I have. In fact, if I’m honest, I think Sara had a crush on Travis at one point. She wants so badly for us to reconcile. It’s devastating to her that we parted ways.

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