Perfect Storm

Chapter 3

I couldn't take it anymore. I had enough of Laken with her syrupy sweet, utterly fake voice. The way she draped herself  all over Ryan like a cheap suit, as if she were staking her claim annoyed me even more. To compensate for my discomfort, I was downing drinks as fast as Ross could get them for me. Finally, Ryan had spotted someone he just had to speak to, almost as if he were as uncomfortable as I was, so he walked off, taking his girlfriend with him, and she didn't hesitate to throw me a self satisfied smirk over her shoulder.

Ugh. Laken Woods. I'd like to drag her out by her fake hair and throw her in some lake in the woods. I muttered under my breath.

"Did someone wake up this morning and choose violence?" Ross chuckled.

Shit. I didn't realize I had said that out loud.

"I have to use the ladies room." I said, ignoring his comment. I needed some space and to cool myself down.

I stood at the sink in the ladies room, mopping the sweat off my brow while fanning myself with my other hand. Heat rushed through me. I felt so flushed, it was stifling. I'm not sure if it was just overly warm in here to compensate for the cold outside. Maybe it was the alcohol, or worst case scenario, my hormones were out of whack and I would need to adjust my meds again.

I patted some cold water on my face, effectively messing up my makeup. I don't know why I even bothered with it anyway. It's not like I'm trying to impress anyone.

"I really hope you didn't come back into town thinking that you are going to get Ryan back." The sound of someone coming up behind me sent a chill through my just moments ago overheated body. I looked up, seeing in the mirror Laken standing behind me. The previous honey tone of her voice was now laced with venom, as she looked me up and down, mist likely sizing up her competition and knowing she had the upper hand. How was it even fair that she looked absolutely flawless, while I was sweating my ass off in the dead of winter?

"I'm the one who broke up with Ryan, so no, I'm not trying to get him back. I came back because this is my home now. My friends and my job are here. It has absolutely nothing to do with Ryan." I replied, somehow managing to keep calm, my voice surprisingly steady.

"Are you sure you are not regretting that choice to break up with him? Like who the hell breaks up with Ryan Blaney?" She laughed, and it literally made my skin crawl.

Yes.

"No." I replied adamantly, shaking my head. "Not that it's any of your business, but I've moved on." Lies, lies, lies. All lies.

"Well, just to make it crystal clear, Ryan has also moved on, with me, so I hope for your sake you remember that." There was an edge to her voice that caught me off guard and really made me mad. As if I could forget Ryan moved on when she was standing right behind me, seemingly holding the upper hand. And I was giving it to her by letting her talk to my back. Something else struck me odd. She almost seemed worried. Why else would she confront me in the ladies room?

"Are you that threatened by me?" I asked, finally turning around to see nothing but pure hatred in her piercing green eyes.

"Honey, I'm not threatened by anyone." She tossed her raven hair back flippantly, all the while smirking at me. So maybe I was wrong. "Ryan is with me now. He's mine, and I'm just making absolute certain that you know that and you don't even attempt to come between us."

Wow this girl was a real piece of work. I had wanted nothing more than for Ryan to be happy, but Laken was not at all what I expected. On the surface, she was perfect, I immediately thought that Ryan had made a major upgrade. Now, after meeting her, I was left scratching my head. Was Ryan really that shallow that he was with Laken simply because she was hot? That certainly wasn't the Ryan I knew. Had he changed that much, or had Laken manipulated him into thinking she was an actually nice person? I was going to go with the latter.

I smoothed my hair back and looked her directly in the eye. "One day Ryan is gonna realize just how fake you are."

"Fake...me?" She laughed, an evil laugh if I'm being honest. "You have no room to talk about being fake." She pointed to my chest, and I could feel my face heat up again.

Something snapped in me. I wanted nothing more than to slap the self satisfied smirk off her perfect face, but I didn't. I was better than that despite my earlier mutterings of choosing violence. "You're damn right they're fake. The real ones tried to kill me so just get over yourself." I snapped, realizing I may have said too much.

"Excuse me. What did you just say?"

"Never mind. It doesn't matter, so don't even worry about it. I'm not here to get Ryan back. He's all yours honey."

I managed to hold my head up high as I made my exit from the ladies room, however, all I wanted to do was run out of there and get away as fast and as far as I could, and in my haste, ran smack into Ryan. The last, well, second to last person I wanted to see.

"Are you okay Bree?" He asked, helping me get steady on my feet. So I was back to being Bree again? Was that actually concern showing in his ocean blue eyes?

"Have you seen Ross?" I asked, ignoring his question.

"Yeah. He's over there talking to Daniel." Ryan pointed to the back of the room. "Bree...I..."

"Thanks Ry." I cut him off and made a beeline to Ross.

"Bree, what's wrong?" Ross asked me, taking my arm and stepping away from Daniel.

"I'm ready to go. Can you take me home please, or I'll just call an Uber. I have to get out of here."My words tumbled out in an anxious and slightly slurred rush.

"No. I'll take you home. Just let me grab our coats and tell Justin we're leaving."

**********

"Alright Bree, spill. What just happened?" Ross asked, once we had gotten into his truck and we're on the way back to my house.

"She's awful. The absolute worst." I may have whined a little, at least hearing myself, it sounded like I was whining.

"I swear I have never seen anyone get under your skin so bad in such a short time. This is not at all like you Bree. I think it's just the fact that she's with Ryan that is bothering you so much."

"No it's not. She's two faced, fake and just...mean." Okay, that last part was definitely a whine.

"I knew you were going to end up regretting breaking up with Ryan." He sighed.

"I never said I didn't regret it Ross. I've always had regrets, but that doesn't mean it wasn't the right thing to do." I snapped.

"Then fix it." He snapped back.

"No, and I really wish you would get off my ass about that Ross Lee." I yelled.

"I'm only on your ass because I care about you Aubree Caroline." He hollered, but then immediately followed up his outburst with a smile. He was impossible to get mad at.

The rest of the drive was spent in silence, because I was pouting. I was still feeling the effects from the alcohol, and frankly nothing was worse than being drunk and pissy.

We had finally arrived at my house, and I realized I didn't want to be alone. I felt so needy, so I invited Ross in. As soon as we sat down, I burst into tears. Maybe my hormones were out of whack and needed to be adjusted.

Just like the best friend that he's always been, Ross wrapped his arms around me and let me ugly cry on his shoulder, my tears soaking into his shirt while he rubbed my back soothingly.

Several minutes later, my sobs turned to soft whimpers then sniffles. I finally pulled away, trying to take a deep breath.

"Feel better now?" He asked softly.

I shook my head no. Then...I have no idea why I did it...drunk, emotional, needy. Who knows, but I kissed him.