Broken (5 page)

The remainder of the night passed by
very quickly, the caterers in this place had it down to a science.
The next time I checked my watch it was almost time for me to go. I
was looking forward to ending the day. It was difficult for me to
see Garrett and Marie all over each other on the dance floor. He
nuzzled his face into her hair and then stared at me, making me
feel very uncomfortable. Marie seemed to really enjoy flaunting his
attention at me. They were grinding on the dance floor, and her
eyes were always on me. It was almost like she knew Garrett and I
had a past, or she was just a super bitch who wanted to show me
that the hottest guy in the room was with her. Either way she was
really getting on my nerves, and I was so ready to get out of
there.

As soon as my watch hit 9:30 PM, I
gathered my stuff and got ready to head out to my car. I made sure
Garrett was out on the back patio first, and then I made my move. I
usually stopped and said my goodbyes to the bride and groom, but in
this case, there was no way in hell I was doing that.

As I walked to my car, I realized the
temperature must have dropped a good twenty degrees since this
afternoon. I shivered and told myself that I should really start
keeping a jacket in the back seat of my car. Just as I reached the
Honda and opened the door, I heard “Leila! Wait up!” I spun around
in shock to see Garrett jogging across the parking lot.

I dropped my head down and whispered,
“Fuck, I was so close to getting away.” Apparently, my perfect
escape plan sucked ass.

“
So, you weren’t even
going to say goodbye?” He said as he jogged up to my
car.

“
Well, I didn’t want to
bother you and the douche of honor. She was on you like a fly on
shit all night. Does she know who I am?”

“
No, she doesn’t know
about you. She just became very possessive when she realized a
beautiful single woman was staring at me. And like I told you
before I am just here with her.”

“
What gives you the idea
that I am single? And just for the record I wasn’t staring at you,
so please don’t flatter yourself,” I snapped.

He winced at my words.

“
Um. . . I just assumed
because, I saw no ring on your finger. Aww, shit Leila. That didn’t
come out right. I just thought you were single. I apologize if
you’re dating someone,” he stammered.

“Well, you can tell the douche of honor
not to worry, you’re all hers,” I said in a very snotty tone and
abruptly turned back towards my car to leave.

His words stopped me. “Babe . . . I .
. . I . . . Mean Leila, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.
Please don’t leave angry.”

Dropping my head I said, “Garrett, I’m
not leaving angry, I’m just leaving. I didn’t want to have to say
goodbye again. The last time we said goodbye it almost killed me.
Not that you would’ve known or even cared for that matter.” I was
trying so hard to hold back the tears that were welling up in my
eyes.

I felt his body move closer to me,
filling the gap between us. The butterflies started going again in
my stomach. “Are you sure you are okay?” He asked has he gently
touched my shoulder.

I shrugged his hands off. “Yes, I am
fine. I’m tired. It has been a really long day and I just want to
go home. I still have an hour and a half drive ahead of me and I
would like to have some time to relax at Danny’s.”

“
Danny? Is he your
boyfriend?” He asked in an annoyed tone.

I spun around to face him. “No,
Danny’s is the bar I work at. I usually have a few drinks before
bed to help me sleep. I don’t sleep much.”

“
Oh . . . It was really
great to see you, Leila.” He leaned in to give me a hug, and I
could smell the alcohol on him.

“
Oh, there you are, I’ve
been looking all over for you!” We both froze. I peered over his
shoulder to see Marie giving me a death stare as she walked towards
us.

Garrett abruptly spun around. “I was
just walking Lei – I . . . Mean the photographer out to her car.
It’s dark out here and I wanted to make sure she got off
safe.”

“
Well, she’s obviously at
her car and she looks pretty safe to me! Can we go back in now?
It’s my sister’s wedding and you shouldn’t be seen with the hired
help,” she sneered.

His eyes scanned to mine. I nodded my
head and said very quietly with a quiver in my voice, “I’m fine, go
ahead.”

“
It really was great to
see you,” he whispered.

As he began to walk away, I jumped
into my car and immediately turned on the heat. I was now chilled
to the bone, although I was unsure if it was actually from the cold
air. I couldn’t get out of there fast enough. It took all of ten
seconds for me to pull out of the parking spot before the tears
started to fall.

As I drove away, I turned
on the radio to keep my mind off of what had just happened, but
Katy Perry was singing
The One That Got
Away
. “Really, of all the songs to play on
the radio, this song has to be playing right now!” I said out loud.
Tears were pooling in my eyes, and I could barely see the road. I
pulled over and rolled my window down to get some fresh air. I
started to feel the onset of hyperventilation.

I knew that feeling all
too well.
After one of our fights, Garrett
showed up at my doorstep unexpectedly. We hadn’t spoken in a few
days, and I could tell he’d been drinking again. His drinking had
been getting more and more frequent. He looked tormented. His hair
was all over the place. The look in his eyes told me he hadn’t
slept in days. He begged me to take a ride with him. We got in the
car, and he drove off like a bat out of hell. He didn’t speak or
look at me, but I knew exactly where we were going.

He pulled into “our” spot
at Wales Park. We’d spent so much time there, taking long walks,
partying with our friends and all the times we would just come here
to be alone and make love in the back seat of his car.

Things hadn’t been right
between us for some time. We were both in denial, struggling to
save our love. The rift between us was getting bigger and bigger.
It felt as though I’d already lost him. I could feel his anger and
resentment towards me. He said I had broken his trust, that when he
looked at me, he felt sick to his stomach. I apologized over and
over. I begged him to let me make things right between us. I loved
him, and our love could survive this.

A flash of light woke me from the fog
I was in. A police officer had pulled up at my driver’s side
door.

“
Are you ok,
Miss?”

“
Yes, officer I’m fine. I
just pulled over because I was dozing off.”

“
Okay. I just wanted to
make sure you were alright. Don’t stay here too long, it’s not
safe.”

He left, and I turned on the light
inside my car. I adjusted my rear view mirror to take a good look
at myself.

“
Fuck me,” I huffed. “Why
do I always let Garrett get the better of me?” I searched my camera
bag for my cell phone. Once I found it, I immediately sent Nicole a
text--

Me–

Well, I barely survived
that wedding. Meet me at Danny’s in two hours. I need about five
shots of tequila after the day I’ve just had.

Nicole –

I’ll be there. Did you get
to talk to him?

Me –

Long story. I’ll see U
soon.

I pulled back out onto the road and
decided to leave the radio off this time. I vowed to myself to make
it home without any more tears. I made really good time and got
back home with about twenty minutes to spare. I headed to my
apartment to freshen myself up, I can just imagine what I looked
like. Even though Danny’s wasn't a fancy place no one should be
seen in public the way I was looking right now. I began rummaging
through my closet looking for my favorite pair of jeans and one of
my WSU sweatshirts. I quickly changed my clothes and headed into
the bathroom.

“
Urgh . . .” I sighed.
“You look like a Mack truck has run you over.”

I re-applied my make-up, and put my
hair up in a ponytail and threw a baseball cap on my head. I
stopped by the fridge to grab a glass of soda and gave Molly a
little food.

I checked the time, shut off all the
lights except the one over the kitchen sink and headed downstairs
to Danny’s. I could hear the music bumping already and wondered if
any regulars would be in tonight, I really needed my girls with
me.

As I stepped through the employees’
entrance, the heat hit me like a brick wall. I was regretting
putting a sweatshirt on. It felt like it was hundred degrees and
Danny’s was packed. All the bodies on the dance floor had really
heated the place up. Danny’s was a decent sized bar. As you walked
in the main entrance, the dance floor was directly in front of you
with strobe lights flickering overhead. To the right was the bar,
long enough for twenty-five bar stools. The wall directly behind
the bar housed mirrors and shelves and shelves of liquor. Directly
above the bar was a flagged banner that promoted Corona Beer in
bright yellow and blue. Along the front wall, next to the main
entrance, were six high-top tables that had three or four seats. To
the left was a row of booths up against the wall. On the walls
throughout the bar, were mirrors that advertised different beers
and liquors. The mirrors looked as if they were from the late
eighties or early nineties.

I scanned the dance floor and spotted
Hillary immediately. She was wearing a dark pair of jeans, with a
form fitted white t-shirt and black boots that came up to her
knees. She had pin straight platinum blonde hair with streaks of
black underneath and her hair hung down to the middle of her back.
We met at Danny’s and hit it off immediately because we both had
the same sarcastic sense of humor. She has been a regular since I
started working there. We hung out a lot at the bar and often got
asked if we were sisters. We would always laugh because we just
didn’t see it.

She saw me walk in and started waving.
I knew she wanted me to join her on the dance floor. I motioned to
her that I was hitting the bar first. She gave me a concerned look
and left the dance floor immediately heading my way. We reached the
bar at the same time.

“
Are you ok, sweetie?”
Hillary asked with a worried look on her face.

“
Yeah, I am fine. I’ve had
a rough day. Nothing a few shots of tequila won’t cure,” I sighed
as I plopped myself into a bar stool.

Hillary threw her hand up to grab
Danny’s attention. “Hey what does two beautiful ladies need to do
to get a drink around here?”

Danny turned around and shot us a
smile.

Hillary yelled down to him, “Two shots
of tequila!” She turned to me and saw the sullen look on my face.
“Danny! You better make it four shots!”

“
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Keep
your pants on down there,” Danny yelled back, jokingly.

From across the bar I saw Nicole
enter. She was about five feet six inches tall, with medium length
straight blonde hair. She had the bluest eyes I’d have ever seen.
She wore skin tight jeans and a low cut black tank top with
stiletto heels. Every guy in the place turned his head as she
walked by, but she didn’t notice any of them. She came up behind me
and gave me a huge bear hug. She’s one of the only people I will
let hug me. I have an issue with personal space and don’t give hugs
freely.

“
Oh honey, are you ok?”
She asked.

“
I’m fine. I had a little
freak out in the car on the way home, but I am fine now. I just
need some tequila in my system to make the pain go
away.”

“
Are you sure you want to
do that? You know that you and tequila don’t mix well,” she said
with a concern in her voice.

“
That is why you are here
silly, to keep me in line,” I laughed nudging my shoulder into her
lightly.

“
Yeah, well. . . I’ve seen
you and tequila. Even I can’t control you.”

“
Danny! Make that six
shots,” Hillary hollered.

While Hillary waited for our shots,
Nicole pulled me into the ladies’ room and grilled me on what had
happened at the wedding. I told her everything that happened from
the moment I realized Garrett was there. The entire day had really
thrown me for a loop. Seeing Garrett at the wedding with her. Him
dancing with her but staring at me and then chasing after me. Iwas
confused by his actions, and I really needed a drink. I just wanted
to forget this day ever happened.

Hillary was waiting for us with the
shots. She already had one in her hand for me by the time I reached
the bar. “Here you go, Sweetie. It really looks like you could use
this.”

I took the shot glass from her. “Oh,
you have no idea,” I said smiling. I glanced over at Nicole and she
was shaking her head in disapproval.

About twenty minutes and five shots
later the tequila was flowing through my veins. Tequila was always
my drink of choice as it was strong and got me drunk quickly. I had
been using it as a Band-Aid to mend my broken heart for
years.

Hillary, Nicole and I eventually ended
up on the dance floor. We were laughing and having a great time
like we didn't have a care in the world. There were a ton of
college students in the bar, and I spotted a group of football
players watching us dance. I took Hillary’s hand and started
dancing seductively with her. She noticed the football players too
and started playing along. She was moving her body up and down mine
and grabbed my ass as they began shouting and giving us “cat
calls.”