Come Break Me Down

Chapter 34

A few months lapsed since our little camping trip and everything returned to normal. Jared had our phone numbers changed and we no longer had any trouble out of Arianna. It was as if she disappeared from the planet, but I remembered being told that she would do this and then reappear when least expected. I knew she was just some mentally ill woman who felt rejected by Jared and wanted to make his life a living hell.

Natalie and I became great friends, hanging out together quite often. Having somebody to talk to who knew what it was like to date a man that was out of town for long periods of time, was great. We had each other when they were off touring.
Shannon invited us over for dinner and we arrived a little early. He opened the door and did a double take, realizing that Jared was now sporting pink hair. "You left him unsupervised, I see."

I frowned stepping inside and walked past him. "Fuck you," Jared said with a laugh as he closed the door. The boys were busy chatting and I followed the delicious smell all the way to the kitchen.

Holding up the bottle of wine I brought, I grinned, "I brought the alcohol!" She turned to glance in my direction. "Hey! I'm so glad you're here. I'm almost done, you wanna pop open that bottle?"

"Sure, it smells so good in here." Just as I went for the corkscrew Shannon walked in and took the bottle out of my hand.
"I got this, wouldn't want you to break a nail or anything. This is a man's job." He said with a laugh.

I rolled my eyes and opened the cabinet to pull out some glasses. "Is that so? Well, you better let Jared do it then."

"She's so funny, isn't she. Hear that, it's the sound of no one caring." He smirked, proud of his instant comeback. He had the bottle open and stepped closer, ready to pour.

I had to respond to his remark with a sarcastic one of my own. "Awwww,
Shannon, it's hilarious watching you try to fit your entire vocabulary into one sentence." This was our normal relationship and I knew he enjoyed it as much as I did.

Natalie laughed as she gathered up some plates and utensils. "Dinner is ready, why don't you guys go ahead and sit, Shannon and I will bring everything out."

I handed Jared a glass of wine and we left the kitchen. Nat and Shannon joined us with the food. The conversation around the table was about our personalities. It was silly things, like how we behaved together when nobody was around. It moved on to our relationships and where they were headed. The subject of marriage was brought up and Shannon joked with Jared about getting married. "I don't plan to ever get married." Jared said, catching me by surprise. This struck a serious nerve with me.

"Am I wasting my time, Jared?" I couldn't help the way I felt. We had been together for a few years and one would think that we were building toward something. You don't just love someone and not want to commit to that person.

He giggled, "Come on Ava. You know that I love you. After everything we have been through, you still question that? Why do you need a piece of paper to say it? That's all it is, a piece of paper, you know."

Glancing over at Natalie, I sighed. "Am I crazy? Isn't that what most couples who are in love do?" I glared at him, feeling anger come over me. "It's not just a piece of paper, how can you say that?" What started out playful, slowly turned into something else.

"Yeah, well, I don't need that to remind me who I love and if that's not good enough, I'm sorry." He and I argued back and forth and then the room went silent. I watched Natalie's eyes shoot from him and back over to me.

"That's it, end of discussion? I don't get a say in what happens?" I asked, feeling an ache in my chest from the coldness of his response. It just seemed that he didn't care about my feelings.

"You can say whatever you want, I'm telling you that I love you and it pisses me off that my telling you this isn't good enough."

"Who wants more wine? I know I do." Shannon stood up and I knew by the look on his face, he was trying to stop a fight before it got really bad.

I wanted to cry as rage shot through my body. Shannon returned with another bottle. "I think we should change the subject. I have an idea, let's watch the movie now."

Natalie chimed in, "Why don't you go put it on, babe. Ava and I will clear the table while you boys go do that. Hey, Ava, that reminds me, do you think you can go shopping with me tomorrow? You remember me telling you about my brother's wedding?"

Nodding, I cleared my throat, watching Jared get up and follow Shannon.
"Well, I need to get a dress for that and would like you to help me pick one out tomorrow." Nat tried to lighten the mood, but the damage was already done. I helped her clear the table while the boys went out back.

I stood there next to her, leaning against the countertop and drinking another glass of wine while she loaded the dishwasher. Jared and I didn't stay for the movie and the drive home was silent. It was fine with me, since I didn't have anymore to say to him now that I knew how he really felt.