I was so excited about him coming home I hardly slept a wink. I got up with the birds and was in the kitchen having coffee even before his mom woke up. I couldn’t sit still even though it was going to be a while before his plane landed.

These few days without him have been eye opening. I missed him so much it was like a physical ache. But I made a breakthrough those two nights I spent in our bed alone.

I’ve finally let go of my fear enough to let myself truly feel and trust in his feelings for me. Everything he does, everything he says, makes me feel like this is the real thing, that I’ve been lucky enough to find that one in a million. He’s nothing like my dad, who I now know is weak.

Seeing him with his new wife, the way he acted, has opened my eyes to who he really is, and I can’t imagine Max being that kind of man. It’s an entirely different thing seeing your dad as a man and not the father figure he’s always been.

I feel sure that I can one day get over the hurt he caused me and because of that I can now see Max for the man that he is. His strength instead of making me wary, only enhances mine. And the fact that my life has changed so much for the better since knowing him doesn’t hurt.

Because of him my life no longer sucks and my future doesn’t look so grim. And he did it all without asking anything in return. I feel safe in accepting him as he is. To not look behind every word he says for a different meaning.

I still have moments of panic when I think that I’m not deserving and it will all come crashing down when I least expect it. But those times he’s always there to bring me out of my funk.

He’s attentive, loving, kind and so much more than I ever thought he could be, being the man he once was. And above all my heart loves him and that’s enough for me.

My phone pinged with an incoming message. I snatched it up thinking it was him calling to tell me he was on his way, but it wasn’t his special ring.

I didn’t recognize the caller and thought it was a wrong number until I read the words. I sat frozen for a few seconds not believing what I was looking at.

My mind went to some surreal place where it refused to accept. It was too much of a coincidence that I was just this minute thinking about how good my life was now, for this to be real.

I heard footsteps enter the room behind me, but didn’t look up. I wouldn’t have been able to see through the tears anyway. How could life change so drastically from one minute to the next?

“Annabelle, what’s the matter honey?” I passed the phone to his mother as my gorge rose. How stupid can I be? How could I let myself fall for this? My heart hurt so much it was hard to breathe.

“Sweetie, there must be an explanation, don’t jump to conclusions. Let’s call Max and ask him about this.” I wanted to yell at her that he was her son so of course she’d say that, but the words got lodged in my throat.

My limbs felt heavy and my body hurt like I’d been punched in the chest. I felt even more bereft now than I had when my life fell apart the first time. Because this time all my hopes had been dashed.

He’d made me believe in him. Had this all been some sick joke? But he’d gone to such lengths. Who does that? Is it a male thing? Are all men just wired that way?

All those thoughts and more ran through my head in a matter of minutes as I tried to make sense of what was going on. Why does my life keep imploding like this? Am I cursed? Am I destined to be alone? To be constantly hurt by the people I trust?

I don’t know how long I sat there, but the room kept filling up with people. Sherrie and her mom were there. I only knew that because she put the baby in my lap.

Travis kept calling my name but I couldn’t even answer him. I saw our life being turned upside down again and anger finally took over from the pain. I should’ve known better than to let my brother get tangled up in this. I got up from the chair and headed to the bedroom to pack.

“What are you doing? Where are you going?” My brother followed behind me. “I don’t know, but I can’t stay here.” I couldn’t think about how my life was going to change, how everything that I’d been looking forward to had come to an end with one photo.

Sherrie came into the room and sent Travis out. “Babe, you need to calm down. There must be an explanation, I know Max and this is not his style.”

“You saw the same picture I did. He had some woman all over him last night.”

“I know that’s what it looks like, but there could be a million reasons for that. Did you even look at his face? Did he look like he was having a good time? Wait until he gets back and talk this thing through. I just called Tony and they’re almost here.”

She talked, I packed. It wasn’t much because I wasn’t taking any of the things he’d bought me only what I’d brought with me. It’s a good thing I hadn’t followed his advice and thrown out all my stuff.

“Now I don’t have a damn coat. And I gave up my studio.” I dropped down on the bed when my legs went weak. What am I going to do about the school? I’d had so many plans for the future, and now this.

I looked at my phone again, but the picture hadn’t changed. It was still a photo of Max sitting at some bar with some chick draped all over him. I couldn’t bring myself to look at it too long and closed it up again.

His mom blocked me from going out the door, my brother pleaded with me to wait and talk to him and Sherrie took my bags and hid them somewhere.

I didn’t scream like I wanted to, I had gone ice cold inside. I was strung so tight I knew that if I released what was inside me I’d end up in a padded cell somewhere.

And just when I was at my breaking point, he walked through the door. “You lying son of bitch.” I threw the phone, hitting him in the face before taking off down the hallway.

Now that he was here all that I’d been holding inside wanted to break free, but I couldn’t even face him. I felt like such a failure. Obviously something was wrong with me that first my dad and now him, the only man I’d ever given my heart to, had betrayed me.

I locked the door and threw myself across the bed when I looked down from the window and realized it was too far a drop for me to make a jump for it.

I wanted to go back out there and rip him a new one. I wanted to scratch his face and hit him until the pain in my chest went away. But I knew that wouldn’t change anything.

He’d still be the asshole who’d pretended to want me, to not want to leave me, when he knew he was going to be with someone else this weekend.

I ran to the bathroom and threw up the few sips of coffee I’d drank and rested my head on the cool marble floor until my world stopped spinning. I made my way back to the bed and curled into a ball, wishing the day would come to an end.

“What the hell, what’s that about?” I looked around at the three women and one teenage boy who were gathered in front of my door.

“You fucked up bro.”

“Sherrie, language.”

“Not now mama. Max what did you do?”

“Uh, somebody wanna tell me what the hell is going on?”

“Look at the phone.” Sherrie’s words made no sense and I didn’t like the look on Travis’ face, it was the same look he had when his dad was here.

I did as she asked and looked at the phone not understanding what the hell I was looking at until the night before came back to me. “What? This is some chick who asked me for an autograph, how did you get this?”

“Someone sent it to Annabelle, read the caption.” I looked at the words that made no sense. They implied that I was about to go up to my room with this chick, whoever she was.

I walked down the hallway to our room and she’d locked the door. “Anna open the door.” I jiggled the lock and called out to her again. “Annabelle.” Still no answer.

The situation was finally registering. Someone had set me up. I remember the girl asking me for an autograph, remember her slipping and falling, her arms landing around my neck to keep herself up.

I must admit it looked suspicious as hell, but she should know better by now. “Get away from the door Anna.” I kept my voice nice and even because I could imagine what she was thinking. With her past it may be asking too much for her to overlook something like this.

And even though I was starting to get pissed off that she believed this shit of me, I had to keep a cool head. I kicked in the door and she made a run for the bathroom.

“Stop right there, what the hell are you thinking?” I grabbed her around the middle and took her back over to the bed and dropped her. She bounded back up, still not talking to me, but looking mad as hell.

“Let me out of here, I have nothing to say to you. Is this why you had to go to Miami?”

“Anna, I didn’t sleep with her, I don’t even know her. She came to the club and asked for an autograph…”

“You’re lying, I don’t believe you. I’ll never believe anything you say again. I should never have trusted you, I should’ve followed my mind and stayed as far away from you as possible.” She was screaming by the time she finished.

She headed for the door and I grabbed her again, telling myself not to put hands on her. “You’re not going any fucking where.” How the fuck can I get her to understand if she won’t even listen to what I have to say?

She was understandably pissed, but as the one at the wrong end of this shit I wasn’t far behind. I tried explaining again but she actually covered her ears and screamed.

This is the shit I was trying to avoid. I’d made the choice to change my whole life around so that she never had to go through this shit, but here we are. I guess the last few weeks meant nothing to her, and that shit just pisses me off.

After the lengths I’d gone to this is the thanks I get. She wouldn’t even give me a fucking chance. I brought myself all the way down the way I’d learned to-to control my anger. Now I was pissed, the kind of cold pissed that don’t give a fuck.

“You want to know what I was doing this weekend? This is what I was doing.” I’d wracked my brain trying to figure out how to give her this ring, coming up with different ideas. But this scenario wasn’t one of them.

I took the box from my pocket and threw it at her, that’s how mad I was. “I got my boys together for one last night of partying, and no, fucking some random chick wasn’t part of the plan.”

“I thought since you have trust issues that once I put my ring on your finger I won’t ever give you reason to doubt me, but I guess I was wrong. I’m not your father, and I’m no longer interested in spending the rest of my life paying for his shit.”

I left the room, headed I don’t know where. “Where are you going son?” Mom tried to stop me at the door. “Get out of the way momma I gotta get out of here.” I opened the door and walked out with all of them calling me back.

“Travis, I didn’t do this shit.” I felt like I owed him at least that much.

“I know, just give her some time.”

“I’m all out. Do me a favor, get Tony over here, make sure she doesn’t leave, she has nowhere to go.”

I left before I went back in there and did something stupid, like beg her. That shit’s not about to happen. If it was that easy for her to throw us away, then fuck this shit. Life was easier when I didn’t give a damn.

I ran down to the garage, got into my ride and peeled out headed nowhere in particular. I was trying to outrun my thoughts but that shit wasn’t working, and I was too mad to stop and think.

I slowed down when I hit New Jersey and kept going. It was another three hours to the shore but I didn’t care, no one would be around this time of year and that’s just what I needed.

The farther away I got the worst I felt, but I ignored that shit too. She wasn’t deserving of all that I’d done and tried to do. Anyone who could overlook all the good and cling to the bad that easily was never going to change.

I knew it was my anger talking. That when I told myself I didn’t care what she did I was only lying to myself, but I wasn’t ready to be an adult about this shit.

My phone had been going off every ten minutes, but I ignored it, throwing the shit in the passenger seat next to me. I don’t want to hear shit. I know one thing, I’m never going to put myself through this shit again. Not for her, not for anyone.

So why do I feel like hell? Like my heart was bleeding out in my chest? “How the fuck could you do this Anna?” I’d been so happy, so excited about giving her-her ring, the look on her face, the whole wedding planning thing.

I practically had our life together planned out and it was all going to be good. Nowhere in there was my woman throwing a damn phone in my face and accusing me of some shit that I never even thought of doing. I’ve never had to deal with this cheating shit because it has never been an issue.

The one time I was being true she had to pull this shit. I’d given up who I was for her, for us, had put myself out there and she still doesn’t trust me.

I realized that I was more hurt than angry. That while I’d been building castles in the sky she was

just waiting for me to fuck up so she could pull this shit. I wasn’t in the mood to see shit from her side because none of that mattered.

She should’ve trusted me, or at the very least given me a chance to explain that shit. And who the fuck is this female? Where had she come from, why now?

All the years I played the field shit like this never happened, so why now? It’s as if someone had deliberately set out to fuck with me, and her. They’d fucking hurt her. I felt that shit in my gut. “Dammit Anna.”

I almost turned back when I remembered her face, when rationality tried to rear its ugly head. Thanks to mom I always do this thing where I put myself in someone else’s shoes, and I have to admit that if I’d seen a picture like that of her with someone else I might’ve jumped to the wrong conclusion too.

But that doesn’t answer the fact that I’d spent the last few months showing this girl my heart in a way I never have with anyone else. And I know for a fact I would’ve at least given her a chance to explain her side before going upside her head.

I really needed a drink, but could hear Tony’s annoying ass telling me that’s the last thing I need right now. Speak of the devil. His ringtone rang out in the car and all I could think is it took him long enough. Meddling fuck!

“So where we going?”

“The fuck you mean where we going?”

“Check your rearview.”

“This mother… where did you come from?”

“Well, I was still on your block when aunt Sophie called and said some shit was up, by the time I turned around I saw you in the demon car zooming down Central Park South and I’ve been behind you ever since. Is this how you drive, you don’t look behind you? Pull over.”

I looked out my window and saw nowhere to pull over. “Where the fuck to, the woods?”

“Up ahead is a rest stop.” Five minutes later I pulled into the empty parking lot wondering what the hell I was doing here. She ran me out my own fucking house.

Now this one is slamming out of the car like he’s mad. “What the fuck are you doing bruh? Is this how you plan on handling shit? You gonna run away and pout like a fifteen year old girl?”

“There isn’t going to be a next time, I’m done.”

“Don’t be an ass, we got work to do.”

“What’re you talking about?”

“Sherrie sent me the pic, I traced the number and guess who, it’s Arlene, well actually she used her kid’s phone.”

“The girl in the photo is a paid escort. Arlene hired her, she didn’t know what she was doing. Only that she was supposed to get close to you. Someone else in the crowd took the picture, they didn’t have anything to do with it either.”

“When did you do all this?”

“While I was following you for the last three and a half hours. Now let’s go back.”

“I’m not ready to go back.”

“Too bad, grow a dick and stop acting like a bitch on the fucking rag. And you threw the fucking ring at her? If we didn’t have this shit to deal with I’d kick your ass myself.”

“How is this my fault? After everything I’ve done this is how she treats me?”

“All of what asshole? You’re only doing what a man is supposed to do. It’s been four hours, long enough for you to get over being pissy. And if not, too bad. You love her, this is part of that love shit, now let’s go. We haven’t spent this much time in Jersey since our teens at Wildwood. I think there might still be open warrants and shit.”

“You go, I’ll catch up with you later.” I’m not ready to see her or to hear any of her bullshit excuses. And no matter what he says, I have gone above and beyond for her and I deserve better. Shit, I do sound like I drank bitch juice.

“Fine, what do you have planned?”

“Well, for starters, Sherrie knows that Arlene was behind this as well. She doesn’t know where she lives, at least she didn’t know three hours ago, but we both know she has resources and once she finds out…”

I was heading for my car on the run. “Why the fuck didn’t you say something?” I drove out of the lot with him on my ass. Where is this day going? When is my life going to get back to normal?

It took us two and a half hours to get back to the city because there wasn’t a cop in sight. I damn near broke down the door, suddenly afraid of what could’ve happened to her while I was gone.

I was ready to apologize, to do whatever it took to get her to forgive me for some shit that I didn’t do. Yep, this is my life now, those chickens are roosting like a motherfucker.

“Where is she?” Mom, aunt Jess, Travis and the baby were in the kitchen when I came back from checking our room.

“Oh you’re back. The girls left like half an hour ago, said they’d be right back.”

‘Travis, didn’t I tell you not to let your sister go anywhere?”

“I figured since she’s with Sherrie she should be okay.” Oh you poor fool.

“Let’s go.” I grabbed Tony and headed back for the door. “One guess where they went.” He was already calling Sherrie, but we both knew she wasn’t going to answer. She never does when she’s up to no good.

I’ve never been to Arlene’s house, but Tony put the

address in the GPS when we got downstairs. “Westchester, fuck that’s like an hour away.”

“Call Anna’s phone, maybe we’re not too late.”

She wasn’t answering so I left a message. Meanwhile, how could she not answer my call after all the shit that has happened?

My life, what has happened to it? One minute I’m bawling my eyes out, reflecting on my life and where I as going from here. And the next I’m in a car with Sherrie on my way to as she put it, ‘put the beat down on a bitch’.

“So you’re telling me that this woman was behind all this stuff? But why?”

“Long story short, she worked for Max, she wanted the dick, he wasn’t interested and she lost her damn mind.”

“Who is this person? Who does stuff like this?”

“Welcome to New York. Besides, my brother is fine, this isn’t the first time some chick got into her

feels over him and I had to go take care of her ass.”

“But why didn’t he tell me all this was going on?”

“My guess, he was being a ‘man’ protecting the little woman. If you told him half the shit you told me about your life, he’d think he has to stand in front of you. It’s cool in small doses, but sometimes us girls have to handle shit. Besides he’s not going to hit a woman, that’s where we come in.”

“Wait, we’re really going to hit her?”

“Damn straight, some of these bitches don’t learn unless they get a fist in the face. I know you said you can’t fight, so I’ll hold her down and you stomp her ass in.”

“This isn’t really how I handle things, maybe we should turn back.”

“Fuck that, aren’t you mad?”

“Well yeah but, I’m just glad Max isn’t cheating on me. Oh he’s going to be so mad at me.”

My life has become a rollercoaster. I think I’ve gone through every emotion there is in the last few hours. But the fact that I felt whole once again, now that I was assured that he really hadn’t done this, says it all.

If he can find it in him to forgive me I’ll never make the same stupid mistake again.

“How mad do you think he’s going to be?”

“The fuck you care? You’re his girl, it comes with the territory. And if he gives you any shit after not warning you about that psychotic bitch I’ll kick his ass.”

“If that doesn’t work I know this trick with ice and my tongue. Works on Trevor’s ass every time.” Trust her to make me laugh when I least feel like it.

She’s not what I would’ve imagined my best friend to be. Brash, out spoken and ready to fight at the drop of a hat. But I’ll take her brand of real any day.

When I think of the way the women had rallied around me I feel like crying. He’d given me a family, one that I could count on. One that accepted my brother and I no question, because of him and who they know him to be.

Why had I forgotten all of that in the blink of an eye? When I look back at how I reacted I feel sick. I’d acted like a child, leading with emotion instead of a level head. He was right, I was looking at him through the same eyes that I see my dad through. I guess I still have some issues to work through.

My phone rang and I almost broke my hand trying to get it out of my bag. “Don’t answer that.” She actually snatched my phone and threw it in the backseat.

“That was Max.”

“So? You can call him when we’re done, we’re here.” I started to have heart palpitations as we pulled into the driveway of a moderately nice home in what looked like a very quiet neighborhood.

“I’ll do the talking, you just follow my lead.” A middle age man answered the door before we rang the bell with a big welcoming smile. “Hello, are you ladies lost?”

“Uh no, is Arlene here?”

“Well sure, do you girls work with her?”

“No, because she doesn’t have a job. She got fired for trying to screw the boss.”

Oh damn, I felt like I was trapped in the middle of one of those real housewives shows. “Now bring her out here.” The poor man looked like he thought someone was going to jump out of the bushes with a camera.

“I think you might have the wrong house.”

“Didn’t I ask you for that bitch by name?”

“I think I might have to call the police.”

“You do that, and let her explain how she set her

nephew Ray up to rape my friend.”

“What? You know Ray? I don’t…what is going on?” Just then a woman who I vaguely remember seeing at the club once or twice came to the door tying a bathrobe around her.

“Alvin who’s at the…door?” She took one look at us and lost the color from her face. I was ready to turn around and leave ever since he mentioned calling the police, but Sherrie had other ideas.

I’ve never seen anyone act the way she does in real life. She reached through the open doorway and pulled the woman out by her robe. “Did you think you were gonna get away with all this shit? Who do you think you are fucking with my brother and his girl you old hag?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Alvin call the police.”

“Go ahead and call them, then we’ll tell them about you sending someone to rape her, and then they can have a nice chat with Bambi the hooker who you hired to fuck with my brother.”

“Arlene, what is she talking about, did you do these things? And what’s this about you not having a job? Where do you go everyday when you leave here?”

“Not now Alvin. Look, I don’t know who you are…”

“But I know you.” I’d finally found my voice. I guess I was having trouble putting all the pieces together because she looked like everybody’s idea of a soccer mom.

She didn’t look like the Tiffanys of the world, or my idea of what a home wrecking skank should look like. “Why did you do this?”

“Sis, this is not how this shit is done. We’re not here to bake cookies with this bitch.”

“I know, I know, but you know what. Now that I know what’s been going on she’s not that important. And she’s certainly not worth you going to jail, think of little Audrey.”

“Well damn, you coulda reminded me of that shit before we drove all the way up here. You’re one lucky bitch. You do one more thing to mess with my family and next time I’m coming alone, without my conscience here.”

She shoved Arlene who fell into the doorpost. We started to walk away and I was feeling good about the fact that we’d settled things without bloodshed or sirens.

“Arlene, what the hell is going on? What did she mean you were trying to sleep with your boss?”

“They’re obviously high on something Alvin, I’ve never seen either of them in my life. You know how those people are…”

I made it back to the door on wings and smacked her in the face. “Who the fuck are you calling those people? That woman has more integrity in her little finger than you do in your whole damn body you scheming bitch. You almost got me arrested.”

I turned my attention to her husband who looked like he was about to pass out. “Did you know she came all the way into the city to follow me around a store and drop something in my bag to make it look like I was stealing?”

“Do you want to know where she goes every day when she pretends to be going to work? She stakes out our apartment like the stalking bitch that she is. And she sent that asshole to the restaurant to put his hand up my skirt, and then to the apartment to attack me.”

As I said the words I realized how fucking insane they were. How had Max kept all this away from me? What lengths he must’ve gone to-to keep me in the dark and protected from all this bullshit. Because he knew I already had more on my plate than I could handle.

“Let’s go Sherrie. Sir, I suggest if you don’t want to raise your children alone that you keep her away from me and my man. And by the way, she used your son’s phone to send racy pictures of an escort she paid to set up my boyfriend.”

By now both kids had joined them at the door so I took it down a notch. Now that I was here I was mad as hell, but I still didn’t want to handle things with my fists.

I think I almost didn’t believe that anyone could be behind this mess. Until I saw her face and saw the truth of Sherrie’s words, I might’ve always doubted. “Thanks Sherrie, I needed that.”

“Yeah well you shoulda let me beat that bitch to a pulp. Damn it must me Audrey’s feeding time, my tits are leaking.” For some reason that made us both laugh like crazy as we sped away.