Chapter 24

Chris

I look at the cell phone in my hand and want nothing more than to smash it. It’s Shannon’s phone, and there’s a name on the screen that I’m about to dial: Brian cell.

Shannon made it, like I thought she would. The doctors said they found drugs in her system and gave me some explanation of it all, but I blanked on most of what they were saying. “She’s going to be all right.” That was all that was important.

“Are you her husband?” The doctor had asked me.

“No,” I told him firmly. “Just an old…friend…”

“Well, you should call someone,” they told me. “Parents, boyfriend, husband.”

They gave me Shannon’s phone and I stepped outside. Her favorites had her mom’s cell listed first, so I dialed. It went straight to voicemail three times before I gave up. I left a message, but her mom’s a wreck and that means her phone is probably dead somewhere and it’ll be a day before she gets to it.

Her dad’s number wasn’t even listed, and as much as I don’t want to do it, I know what the right thing to do is. I have to call Brian.

I haven’t heard his voice since Shannon left me for him. He tried to get in touch with me a bunch of times, but I didn’t want to hear it. Whatever his excuse was, his reasoning for fucking my wife, I just couldn’t listen.

There’s nothing he could ever say to make things okay between us, and he’s lucky I didn’t break his face in for what he did to me. All those years of friendship, thrown away in the blink of an eye. Your buddy’s girl is just off limits. Every guy knows that. You turn off any sexual urge you have for her the minute he introduces her as his girlfriend.

I couldn’t fuck my buddy’s girl if she was the hottest chick on the planet with a pussy that dripped gold and beer-flavored nipples. You just don’t do it. That’s the bro-code.

But if there’s one rule in life that’s more important than not fucking your buddy’s girl, it’s this; don’t marry a cheater. Once a cheater – always a cheater. And now Brian’s about to learn that lesson.

I should be relishing this moment. This is the ultimate payback. The asshole fucks my wife and then his wife leaves him and comes running back to me. I should have whipped out my phone, taken a video and texted it to his bitch ass.

But there’s nothing satisfying about this situation at all. I don’t want to talk to Brian. I don’t want to be here. I want to be at home with Janelle, talking to her and letting her know how much I care about her. I want to be fixing things with her and moving on with my fucking life, not dipping my feet back into the slimy waters of my past.

But this has to be done. I take a deep breath and press Brian’s name. It starts to ring. I lift my phone to my ear. Adrenaline shoots through my body like it does before a game or like I’m about to get into a fight. I ball my fist and pace back and forth as it rings. Finally, he picks up.

“Hey, sweetie!” He says with delight. “Where are you?”

I can’t answer immediately. There are about a thousand things I could say in response and for once, I’m at a total loss for words. There’s a long silence before he speaks again.

“Sweetie?”

“Hey, Brian,” I say simply. I know he’ll recognize the voice, and from the silence on the other end of the line, I can tell that he does.

“D-Chris?” He stammers like the pussy that he is. Then the anger comes. “What the fuck are you doing with Janelle’s phone?”

“Hey!” I shout, feeling myself snap. “Shut the fuck up, asshole! I’m standing outside the fucking emergency room where I took your wife after she showed up at my house and almost fucking OD’d on my floor!”

“What!?” He shouts back. “What the Hell are you talking about!?”

“Shannon,” I repeat, my voice a little lower but filled with venom. “She showed up at my fucking house. Drunk out of her mind and telling me that she loved me and was leaving you.”

I can only imagine what Brian is feeling as he hears me say this to him, but I don’t care. Any real consideration I had for this guy has been gone for years. I’m only making this phone call because it’s the right thing to do and someone has to be responsible for Shannon right now.

But Brian doesn’t respond, and after what feels like forever, I finally break the silence.

“Coldstream Hospital,” I tell him. “Get your fucking ass here.”

And I hang up.

How could one conversation even begin to resolve the bullshit that’s gone on between us? At least he knows now. I head back inside and feel Shannon’s phone vibrate in my hand. It’s Brian calling back. I answer and repeat myself.

“Coldstream Hospital, you piece of shit. You know where it is. I’m not answering this phone again.”

I hang up and step back inside. I spot one of Shannon’s nurses and toss the phone to her.

“Her husband’s on the way,” I tell her. “You’ll know him by how big of a douchebag he is.”

Without waiting for a response, I turn my back on her and walk through the sliding doors back into the parking lot. This time I really am turning my back on her. I’ll sell my house and she’ll never be able to find me again. I don’t care what happens between her and Brian. All I know is I won’t be any part of it.

There’s only one person I want in my life now, and I’m going to get her back.