Sidewinder

Chapter 23

"He loves you, you know that right?"
"He's got a funny way of showing it Bob." You scoff, taking a sip of your margarita.
"It was a rough time for the pair of you, I'm sure it'll blow over."
"That's no excuse for fucking that Abby bitch."
"Wait, did you say Abby?" Bob asks, leaning forward and setting down his drink.
"Yeah I did." You say. "Do you know her?"
"Unfortunately, yes." He replies, looking rather uncomfortable.
"Robert, tell me."
He sighs deeply before starting: "So Abby was one of Van's high school girlfriends. Head over heels they were for each other. She was one of the popular girls, tall, thin and absolutely gorgeous. You could see why she attracted Van." You raise an eyebrow. "Of course, she was nothing in comparison to you. Anyway, things ended after a while and Van wrote 'Rango' about her.
"Shit." You remark.
"What?"
"I love that song."
"Oh."
"Never mind, proceed."
"At the time she hated the song and thought it was crap, absolutely crushing Van's hopes of getting her back. It wasn't until a week prior to meeting you she called him up, asking to get back together. Practically begging. She'd obviously heard about the upcoming album and that's all she cared about. Fame was always what she dreamed of. Van turned her down and after the other nights incident thought that she'd be the perfect one to get back at you with."
"But that's the thing Bob, nothing happened between me and Larry."
"That's not how Van sees it."
"I know." You say, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it.
"Then tell me what happened." He says, wrapping himself up in the duvet you had brought out onto the porch with you.
"Well I couldn't sleep, thoughts had been whirring around in my mind and I couldn't stop thinking about them."
"What kind of thoughts?" Interrupts Bob.
"It doesn't matter." You snap, taking a drag.
"Okay, okay."
"Anyway, so I got up and found Larry who was in an absolute state over Liv. She wanted to take a break while she gets over the death of my mother." You pause. The thought of her wanted to make you cry. "I comforted him and Van walked in on it, he took it completely the wrong way and stormed out, leaving me worried sick about him."
"He's been stressed." Bob admits, resting his chin on his hand. "But I never thought he'd walk out on you."
"Neither did I." The pair of you sit in silence for awhile, the faint honk of a car horn in the distance.
"Look Mary, I've got to go now, early start in the morning. Call me if you need anything okay?"
"Okay." You reply as he pulls you into a quick hug.
"You're the centre of his universe, don't you ever forget that." And with that, he was gone. Once again you were alone. Liv was away, so all you had was your thoughts.
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Dear Ryan,
We are on this minuscule speck floating in this infinite nothingness and I got to wake up next to you. You're smile and kind words sending shivers down my spine. Now, the other side of the bed is cold and empty, longing for your frame. I am too, longing for the warmth that your body brings. My world feels empty without you here, like an incomplete jigsaw puzzle, waiting for that last piece to be found and put into place. You're my missing piece Ryan, you've been found but it feels like you've been lost again. I hope that someday we can forgive each other and I can feel that warmth again that you bring to me.
Love,
Mary Todd x
Folding up the piece of paper you hide it in your drawers, for safe keeping you guess. You slip under the covers of your bed and close your eyes, a pit of emotions inside you. You slowly begin to drift off before being interrupted by the ringing of your phone. Groaning, you pick it up. Van. You click decline. Immediately he tries to ring again. Decline. Putting your phone on silent you close your eyes and get to sleep at last.