Intoxicated (24 page)

When I opened the bathroom door, I half
expected to knock over Gracie. I wouldn’t put it past her to
eavesdrop, though with the intensity of our conversation everyone
in the house could probably hear what had been said. However, the
hallway was empty. Eric trailed behind me as I made my way to find
my guests and attempt to salvage the rest of the holiday.

Nothing had been settled between us. If
anything, I had made things worse by trying to convince him to be
sociable. He had held firm to the opinion that something was
happening between Matthew and me, and that something was not
innocent. Maybe not to the level of cheating but dangerously close.
Even though I had adamantly denied the accusations, upon second
glance our actions did seem suspect. Coupled with the conversations
I had recently with Blake, I began to see Eric’s point.

Still, Matthew and I hadn’t done anything
wrong. Sure, we had hugged. Yes, he had comforted me when I was
upset. True, I had fallen asleep in his arms and he had carried me
up to bed. None of those things constituted cheating. They might be
bad judgment calls considering the circumstances, but they weren’t
inherently bad. He would do the same thing for Blake.

Eric had trust issues. For years I had
trusted him when he was miles away. There was just as much, if not
more, opportunity for him to cheat on me. The thought had crossed
my mind several times, though I had no grounds to think it had
actually happened. While I gave him the benefit of the doubt, he
accused me the moment I moved away. Was it his guilty
conscience?

“Please,” I whispered, “try to be nice this
time. For me?”

He said nothing.

I attempted to sneak into the living room
unnoticed. If I could just blend in with the background, maybe it
would be as though we had never left. That was easier said than
done. Like he had become attuned to my presence, Matthew looked my
way just as I entered. Our eyes met for a brief second; he was
trying to convey some sort of message, but I couldn’t comprehend.
He turned back to my dad. They looked deep in conversation. At
least something good had come out of this.

Blake and Gracie had retreated to the kitchen
to clean up after everyone. In essence, we were effectively paired
off, though my partner wasn’t exactly appealing at the moment. I
considered excusing myself to help the girls. However, that would
leave Eric alone with my dad and Matthew, and that didn’t seem like
the right thing to do, either.

I stood with my back against the wall,
feeling conflicted. I didn’t belong anywhere in this picture.
Ironic, considering that I was the one who had insisted on bringing
it all together. As I watched Eric pull his cell out of his pocket,
I rethought that sentiment. I had paired myself with the one who
didn’t belong, branding myself an outcast in the process.

He was connected to that phone like it was
his lifeline, but he couldn’t pick it up and call me when it was
appropriate. He couldn’t reach out to me just to say hi, or tell me
he loved me. But he could pull it out during holiday dinner and
check his voice mail.

“Put it away,” I breathed. I felt like I was
scolding a child.

“It’s getting late,” he began.

I crossed my arms over my chest. Here it
came, his excuse to leave.

“I have a plane to catch first thing in the
morning.”

“What?” My response was shrill, louder than
I’d intended.

“It’s a two hour drive back home, Lauren. I
have to be at the airport at six in the morning.”

“Who schedules a business trip for the day
after Thanksgiving? And when were you going to tell me?”

He looked at me guiltily.

“It’s not business, is it?”

He stared at his feet.

“The guys and I are going to Vegas. We work
hard, Lauren. We deserve to relax every now and again.”

“And I deserve to see you every now and
again. Did you think about inviting me? Did you think about telling
the guys no? Did you think about just spending the night with me?
Going back to my place and acting like you cared about me? Do you
ever think about me?”

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Blake
and Gracie come in from the kitchen. My dad and Matthew had stopped
talking. All eyes were on us. So we were going to have our knock
down drag out fight right here in the middle of everything. All of
those emotions had tumbled out of the bathroom and followed us down
the hall. It was nothing new to fight with him in front of Gracie,
even my dad, but Blake and Matthew had never been exposed to our
volatile relationship first hand. The desire to keep it under wraps
had left with my increasing anger.

“You have to work tomorrow.”

“That is the most feeble excuse you’ve come
up with in a while. I could have taken a vacation day.”

“Could you? Or would the entire bank fail
without you being there for one day? Don’t lie, Lauren, you are
just as cutthroat as I am when it comes to your career. You won’t
back down. If you really cared about me, if you loved me as much as
you say you do, you would have told them to keep their promotion.
You knew how I felt about it, but you didn’t care.”

“I knew that you were concerned about getting
outclassed by a woman.”

I paused, letting my words sink in. Eric
continued to stare at the floor.

“If you ever listened to me, you would know
how much that promotion meant to me. You would have known that it
was always in the works. It was always my goal. But you never
listen to me. You can’t even look at me. Am I that unattractive to
you? You can’t even tell me that you love me, and you expect me to
follow you to the ends of the earth and depend on you for
everything.”

“Lauren,” he pleaded, finally looking up and
realizing that we were the center of attention, “let’s finish this
at home.”

Clearly, home to him did not mean Blake’s
place.

“No.” I folded my arms across my chest,
feeling like a petulant teenager. If I wasn’t so upset, I’d be
embarrassed by my behavior. “Fort Wayne is my home now, and you
need to accept it.”

“You are so quick to forget where you came
from. Of who you left behind.”

“You left me behind a long time ago, Eric. I
have tried ever since college to keep this going, and you don’t
help me at all. If it were up to you, you would have kicked me to
the curb a long time ago. I am the only one who actually tries at
this. You just buy me shit. I’m never going to be happy being your
whore.”

“And you trying involves playing house with
the first fucking loser you come across?”

His words hung in the air. I winced, unable
to make a sound, unable to breathe. Eric grabbed for my arm, his
fingers encircling my wrist. I wasn’t sure of his intentions, but
his eyes were dark and his grip firm. I tried to yank free, but his
hold tightened to the point of hurting. A small whimper escaped my
lips. Terrified, I clenched my eyes shut.

“Let her go.” Matthew’s voice was low, but
his tone firm. From the sound of it, he was also standing very near
us. I wondered how he had crossed the room so quickly. Even though
time had seemed to stand still, I was certain that mere seconds had
elapsed since the most damaging outburst.

“My relationship with Lauren doesn’t concern
you.”

Eric had regained his composure, and he
released me. I opened my eyes as my arm fell back to my side. I
staggered backwards slightly, and Matthew took the opportunity to
move between us. Gracie pulled me back further, wrapping her arm
around me.

“You okay?” she whispered. I nodded. Eric
hadn’t grabbed me hard enough to leave a mark. I shuddered to think
what would have happened if things had been allowed to
escalate.

“I beg to differ,” Matthew said, unaffected
by Eric’s statement. “Your relationship with Lauren became my
concern the night I cleaned up your fucking mess.”

Oh, shit. I had been too quick to assume that
things would end peacefully. I knew what was coming next, at least
generally, and it wouldn’t make Eric’s suspicions of me cheating on
him lessen. I looked behind me to catch Blake’s eye. She stood
rigid, the only other one in the room who knew the whole story.

“You didn’t see her the night that you
ditched her. You didn’t see how broken you left her. You weren’t
there with her when she cried herself to sleep. I was. Who’s the
fucking loser now?”

Eric made a move towards Matthew, as if he
were going to strike. Even though they looked each other eye to
eye, it wouldn’t be a fair fight by any means. An ex-football star
who would have had a college scholarship if things had gone
differently against a scrawny insurance salesman. There was no
question who would be the victor.

Matthew smirked, knowing he had the upper
hand on more than one count. “I wouldn’t.”

My dad had finally had enough. He placed his
hand on Eric’s shoulder, practically dragging him away from
Matthew. Thankfully, Eric had enough respect for him to not fight
him off. Blake swooped in and pulled Matthew back, shooting him a
disapproving glare.

“You want to change your story now?” Eric
spat at me. “Now that the truth is out?”

“Nothing happened. I promise. He only stayed
until Blake came home. He didn’t spend the whole night.”

“Just part of it, then? Because that makes it
so much better.” He shook his head. “You don’t need much time to
cheat on your boyfriend. Don’t lie, Lauren. He saw you upset and
took advantage of you. Just tell me the truth. Is he better than
me?”

“Nothing happened!” I repeated.

“Whatever. I’m done here. Call me when you’re
capable of being honest.”

With that, he spun on his heel and showed
himself out. He announced his departure with the slamming of the
front door. We all stood frozen for a few moments, trying to digest
what had just taken place. Ever the perennial hostess, I felt it my
duty to break the ice.

“So, I guess he won’t be joining us on the
final leg of the Snyder family home tour.”

“My God, Lauren, are you okay?” Matthew
asked, striding over to my side.

“I’m fine,” I said and meant it.

He lifted the wrist that Eric had grabbed,
turning it over in his hand to inspect it himself. As usual, his
touch inflicted quite a bit of electricity and I jerked away
slightly. He mistook this gesture for pain.

“Really. I’m fine,” I said firmly, looking
squarely into his concerned eyes.

He let go of my wrist and it fell back gently
to my side.

“Look, if you’re not up to it, we can drop by
your place another time,” my dad offered.

I shook my head. “No, the two of you are up
here now and there’s no time like the present. It looks like the
kitchen’s all cleaned up, so let’s head out. I know Gracie has to
work tomorrow, and it’s a long drive home for you guys.”

“Sounds good to me,” Gracie enthused. “I kind
of like our party of five better anyway.”

“Lauren, why don’t you ride back with your
dad?” Blake suggested. “I need to have a discussion with my
brother.”

“Yeah, that’s fine,” I agreed. I wouldn’t
want to be a fly in that car.

Apparently, neither did Matthew. “I’ll just
drive over myself. That way, you don’t have to bring me back. I’ll
take my tongue lashing later, thanks.”

“Suit yourself,” Blake said.

“I’m really sorry,” I said, turning to him,
“I should have warned you about what he thought was going on. You
fed into it without even knowing.”

He shrugged. “It’s not a big deal. Let him
think what he wants. Something tells me he would anyway.”

“And don’t think you’re off the hook, missy,”
Blake continued, pointing at me. “Your dad doesn’t have to scold
you. I will.” The look in her eye suggested her amusement, so I
wasn’t too concerned.

“Gracie,” Matthew began, “want to ride with
me? I’ve got a Mustang. I have it on good authority that it’s a
pretty awesome car.”

“Sure, why not?”

My friend shot me a quizzical look over her
shoulder as she followed Matthew out to the garage. I shrugged. I
had absolutely no clue why he would invite her on a ride. They had
seemed pleasant enough at dinner, but I didn’t think I had seen any
interest on his part. He had to have something up his sleeve. I
noted with more than a little pride that he didn’t offer to let her
drive. Maybe there was something to Blake’s theory.

I sighed with relief as I climbed into the
passenger seat of Dad’s Buick. A giant weight had been lifted off
my shoulders just by having that part of the day over. It had gone
reasonably well, all things considered. If reasonably well equated
to no bloodshed.

“Tough day, huh?” Dad smiled as he started up
the car.

“I’ve had better. Trust me.”

I gave him general directions to Blake’s as
we headed down the driveway. Matthew had taken the lead, Blake
behind him and us bringing up the rear. I doubted that we would get
separated; traffic seemed fairly light. Still, I hated driving
aimlessly and feeling as though I had no idea where I was going. I
did it more for my sake than his.

“You know, Eric’s had a difficult time with
this promotion.”

“I know, Dad. And I get that, really I do. I
guess he never really considered what would happen when I reached
my goal. Our whole relationship has pretty much been focused on him
getting what he wants. When it was my turn, he didn’t know what to
do.”

“He does have a pretty crappy way of dealing
with it, though.”

“And I could have been more tactful in my
approach, too. I mean, I tried. I took him into the bathroom to
have a private discussion and got nowhere. Gracie interrupted
because she was concerned. I guess he wasn’t done having his say.
And I wasn’t about to sit back and just take it.”