always & forever

Part 9 - Tennessee Whiskey

James's POV

There are times in your life when you feel something is off. Something lurking in the background. Something that is about to change your life either for the better, but probably for the worst. Everything that led up to my birthday should have set my alarm bells off. But it didn't. Because I didn't see the danger. Naïve and blissfully unaware.

The Alders suddenly became friends with my parents, just like they were years ago. Work was going well, but Becky began to show up in my life again. At the grocery story, at the coffee shop, walking down my street.

"Hey stranger! Are you following me?" She accosted me in front of my house one evening when I was on my way to my second job.

"Hi Becky." I merely acknowledged her and did my best to get into my car and drive off.

"Wait! James! You're not even going to chat with me?" She asked incredulously, like we were best friends or something. Ugh, what the hell did she want from me?

"Sorry, I have to go." I called out from the open window of my car, but suddenly, she leaned in and startled me. She held her yappy little dog in her arms, getting dog slobber all over my car door.

"You're always so busy. I don't ever see you anymore. Fine, we're not together but I didn't realize we weren't friends."

We weren't friends before either! We were in a four month relationship where Becky mostly complained about everyone and everything on the planet and I was emotionally unavailable to engage.

"Ever since you started dating her...you're different. You act like you're too good for all of us now. Just like her." Becky spoke shamelessly and I finally landed my eyes on hers, filled with disdain.

"What are you talking about?" I responded annoyed, "No one thinks anyone is better than anyone else, I'm just busy as fuck, I have two jobs, I'm taking dad to the hospital for his heart every other week. It's just life."

"Mmm." She neither confirmed, nor denied anything. "It's your birthday soon. Can I come?"

"Sure, whatever. I have to go though, I'll see you later." I was already pulling out of the driveway while Becky followed me with her eyes, still holding the demon dog in her arms.

"Bye!" She waved, but I responded nothing, pretending not to see her.

What on earth got into her? I wondered why the hell I ever dated her. She was objectively hot, I'll give her that. She was tall and showed off her body in all the right places, had long dark hair and sultry eyes. She was the opposite of Camille.

Camille was a good girl for everyone else but a bad girl for me. Becky was the opposite; she showed everyone the side that should have been reserved only for her lover.

"You sure you can't come, baby? It's just for one evening." I did my best to convince Camille to come to my twenty fifth birthday bash. The May weather was seductively warm and after working two jobs since October, I wanted to see all my friends who I'd neglected all these months.

"I know boo, but I have my last exam at seven in the morning on Monday. I can't risk it. I'll come home right after though, okay?" She approached me with a warm smile, one that I wouldn't be able to forget for years.