reputation | a doah story

Look What You Made Me Do

"But I got smarter, I got harder in the nick of time. Honey, I rose up from the dead, I do it all the time." - 'Look What You Made Me Do' by Taylor Swift

Dixie didn't get a call from Griffin until 3:30 pm. She didn't wake up until noon after her long night, but those three and a half hours were agonizing. She was grateful for the distraction of reliving the night she had with her new friend Noah in her mind. After sleeping it off she had convinced herself that it was a mixture of the alcohol and anger at Griffin that fueled her butterflies last night.

"Hey babe –." he groaned into the phone when she picked it up. "Where the fuck have you been Griffin?" she quickly cut him off, the anger she had built up all weekend bubbling to the surface. "Chill dude, I'm in Vegas, what did you want me to do? Check in every hour with my teenage girlfriend? I would've if it meant I didn't have to get cheating accusations hurled at me in hindsight." He snarled back at her, misplacing her anger with something far more sinister.

Hot tears stung Dixie's eyes. "Huh?" was the only thing she could choke out; she was so taken aback by his cruel words. She wasn't accusing him of anything; it hadn't even crossed her mind that he could be cheating. She just wanted to be a priority in his life and not shut out when something more enjoyable came along.

"I- I'm not accusing you of anything Griffin, don't put words in my mouth," she paused to catch the cry forming in her throat, "You just make me feel unwanted and like I'm your second option or a burden when you go ghost on me. I just wanted you to take 10 minutes to say hi and catch up. That's all."

"That's not how you made it seem calling me fifty times yesterday." He hissed back. "How is that not what it seems like Griffin? You didn't even pick up so how could you know what I was so desperately trying to call you about. You wouldn't even care if it had been an emergency." She snapped back, sick of the role of the fool he was making her play on his tilted stage. Why could he never accept responsibility for anything? "Was it an emergency?" he shot back; she could feel his eyes roll through the phone.

"No," she answered, worried where the little game he was playing was going, "but that's not the –." He cut her off, "I thought you were cooler than this Dix, I didn't think I'd ever have to worry about a girl like you getting mad about my Vegas trip."

Dixie gulped; she didn't even know how the argument had ended up twisted around to her at this point. Did he really just take her insecurities and curve them to make this whole situation her fault? She thought about how she wasn't innocent in calling him a million times. Then the guilt of flirting with Noah washed over her. Why did it feel like he had taken her keys to her argument and locked her out?

"I- I'm sorry?" she choked out, not sure if she really meant it. She was unsure how the gun had ended up in her hand; three minutes ago this argument was hers to win. Now she just wanted the mind games and victimizing to stop. He was on his way back anyways and talking to her now, that was good enough for her. Maybe they could talk about it in person when he was less hungover. 

"It's ok babe, listen my head hurts and we're about to board the plane. Want to hang out tomorrow afternoon? Your place?" he said his voice softening knowing that he had pulled off his perfect crime and successfully deflected the problem. "Yeah I'd like that." She replied defeated. "K, I'll text you when I land. Love ya." He said back. "Love you too." she said, unsure if he even heard it before he hung up the phone.

She buried her head into her pillow and audibly screamed in frustration. Her phone dinged and she quickly scooped it up, hoping it was the loving Griffin she once knew sending her a kind text after reflecting on their argument. Instead it was from a number she didn't know. She opened the message, a small smile crossing her lips as she read it, her frustrations with Griffin briefly disappearing from her mind.