On The Way Out

Chapter 2

By the time I get home I've finally stopped crying, so I look a little better. I even got Chinese food on the way home to surprise Bryan because I know it's his favorite and I thought it might soften the blow when I tell him the news about my job. I know he won't be happy, but I hope he at least listens to what I have to say instead of blowing a gasket in front of me, which he tends to do frequently.When I put my key in the door and walk inside, all I hear is silence for a few moments, until I hear a sound coming from the bedroom. It could just be Bryan watching porn, which he tends to do every so often, but as I get closer, the sounds seem like they are louder than they would be coming from a screen. Bryan would never cheat on me, I tell myself, but as I stop just in front of the bedroom door, I hear a voice say. "Babe, what was that?"

Before I can stop myself, I slam the door open and gasp as I see a naked Bryan lying underneath his very naked secretary, Katie. I stand there with my mouth hanging open, not really registering anything that was happening in front of me at the moment until Bryan finally notices me and pushes Katie off of him as he stumbles to get his pants on and hobbles off the bed.

"You lied to me." I say, my voice starting to shake. "How could you do that?"

"Look Molly. This isn't what it looks like, I can explain-"

"That's what they all say. Don't even bother." I interrupt. "I specifically asked you if there was anything going on and you lied to my face. So I'm not going to listen to anything you have to say. I'm done with you." I say, and to add to the drama, I rip my wedding ring off my finger and chuck it at him, much to his surprise.

What has come over me? I don't think I've ever acted like this in my life, but I can't stop. I grab my suitcase from the closet, and grab everything I own from the apartment, which isn't much, and throw everything in at lightning speed, knocking stuff over and breaking it in the process. Bryan rubs his forehead as he watches me, saying. "Molly you don't have to do this. You're acting crazy."

I scoff. "I'm acting crazy? I could be a lot worse. I just found out that the guy I've been dating for 4 years is sleeping with someone else. What kind of a scumbag are you to do that? And with your secretary too? What is wrong with you?" I look at him to see that I've rendered him speechless. Good. That's the way it should be.

As I stand in the doorway I say one last thing before I leave. "I hope you have a nice life Bryan. I hope you and your skanky secretary have a nice life together, even though, let's face it, you're going to cheat on her too. I hope I never see you again." I say, as I slam the door, and don't look back.

Walking outside, my mind is spinning as I come to grips with the events that unfolded in front of me just now. I can't believe that Bryan would actually cheat on me. He's the one who's always accusing me of looking at other guys when we go out, and even though he always did it in a joking fashion, I could never tell if there was more to it, which obviously there was. Besides the fact that I just found out that Bryan was cheating on me, I can't believe I just told him off like that and stormed off either. It seemed like something I would see in a movie, and not something that I would ever do in real life. I have no idea what came over me. But even though I was proud of myself for doing that, I suddenly came to the realization that I had no idea what I was going to do now. Or where I was going to go, for that matter.

My sister Cassie lives in upstate New York and currently has 3 little kids, so that was out of the question. And my best friend Nicole was married to Bryan's best friend, so I figured that probably wouldn't be the best place to go right now. Instead, I decided to call my other close friend from high school, Julie. When I call her, she answers in her usually bubbly voice. "Hey babe!! What's up?" She says, and when I explain the situation to her she says. "What a piece of- oh my god I'm so sorry Mol. But of course you can stay here! It will be like when we had sleepovers in high school. Pat was supposed to come over tonight, but I'll tell him he can't anymore. We NEED to discuss this. I'm just running out to the store right now, do you need anything?" 

I tell her I don't and then say. "Thank you so much Julie. You really don't have to do this though."

She scoffs at me. "No I'm doing it because I want to. What are friends for if they don't help each other through the bad times? I'll see you at 5." She says and hangs up and that is that.

When Julie comes home, she orders take-out for us and we have a long talk about everything that has happened in ours lives as we watch re-runs of The Real Housewives together. She tells that her and Pat have been getting more serious lately, and she's thinking he could propose soon. I tell her I'm really happy for her and she hugs me. "Everything will work out for you too, Mol, I promise." She says, even though I'm not sure if I believe her. I stay at Julie's house for the next few weeks or so, until one day, she comes home after work, and says that her and Pat are going out to eat for dinner. She doesn't come home that night, and when she comes in the next morning, she has tears in her eyes and she's sporting one of the biggest diamonds I've ever seen.  She tells me all about how Pat rented out the whole restaurant so it was just them and hired a band to serenade her, and then got down on one knee. 

"Oh it was so romantic, Molly." She says. "I wish you would've been there." I nod, even though I'm glad I wasn't.

Unfortunately, I also know what's coming next. "Also, Molly, he asked me to move in with him. And I would say you could come with us but it's just so new and I wouldn't want you to feel weird. I mean if you don't mind-" 

"No, I completely understand. I can go to my mom's or something. I'll be fine, don't worry about me." I say. 

She gives me a sad smile. "Okay, but if you ever need anything, please call me. Me and Pat just want you to know you're always welcome. I know your mom can drive you crazy, so if you need to get away, please come over."

I tell her I will, as I pack up my stuff, and get ready to leave yet another apartment. I then take out my phone and dial a number I haven't dialed in a while and brace myself for what's coming next.