The Mishap

Chapter Sixteen

Hiding in the dark with Case is quickly becoming one of my favorite things to do… if only there weren't so many people present. At any moment, Brandi is supposed to be walking through that door for her surprise party. We've been planning this party in secret ever since we ran into Ellen on our date night.
"You're sure she was coming right home after work?" I ask Case in a whisper.
"Yes, she promised me." Case rubs my back as if he wants to ease my nerves or ease his need to touch me. I'd probably say the latter. We're on our knees hiding behind the couch as the thought of an unwanted guest comes back to mind."I can't believe April had the audacity to show." It comes out in nearly a low growl.
"No kidding. Something is seriously wrong with that chick." Case retorts.
I turn my head and see April and her girlfriend locking lips, neither caring if they ruin Brandi's surprise.
Apparently, I'm not the only one who gets turned on just by being in the dark.My eyes fly back to the door when I hear the gentle scraping of a key being turned. A hush falls over the room, and as soon the lights flicker on, I'm on my feet shouting "SURPRISE!" with everyone else. Brandi's decked out to the nines in her new dress from Christmas, her hair and makeup precise as she squeals, her jaw dropped as she jumps in place. I glance over to Case.
"You told her, didn't you?" 
He scratches the back of his head nervously."She may have figured it out when I told her she couldn't go out for drinks after work today." I roll my eyes knowing that is so my bestfriend.
"Of course she did." 
"Sorry, baby. I'll make it up to you." 
"Promise?" 
Case smirks at me and the intense urge to kiss him stabs my heart, but Brandi bounds up at that moment, thank God, a bright smile on her face.
"You guys are the absolute best! I am SO surprised." She over exaggerates. Case rolls his eyes with a sigh.
"Cut the act, Brand. She knows." 
"He tried to keep it a secret, honestly he did." Brandi says to me looking surprisingly guilty for getting the secret out of her brother.
"It's okay, he's promised to make it up to me." I smile his way and he winks at me."That was a sex reference wasn't it? I swear to sweet and tiny baby Jesus, I will throw up in your favorite pair of shoes if y'all keep talking like that." 
"Talking like what?" April cuts into our conversation.
"Okay, we officially need to put a bell on you, cause holy shit can you not stay out of a conversation." Case
grumbles.
"Awww, and I thought this party would be the perfect place to let bygones be bygones." April replies, smugly.
"I mean, I obviously traded up when it comes to girlfriends, Brandi has little Liz here, and Case you have… well, no one, but we can't all be happy. I'm sure your hand is great company." 
Fury rages in my chest, but before I can ruin everything, Brandi slides her small hand into mine. 
"Liza may be tiny, but what she lacks in size, she makes up for in stamina. Something I seem to recall you having issues with, right April?" 
"Oh, please. Who needs stamina when I could get you off the second my tongue touched your musty pussy?" 
"Someone who gives a shit about their partner and multiple orgasms, April." 
My cheeks are aflame and Case's jaw is angrily set, his molars grinding against each other. "I bet you and Liza don't have a tenth of the chemistry that you and I had, but you keep lying to yourself." Brandi lets out a small growl of frustration and yanks my body against hers, claiming my mouth with all the fury that resides in her. I gasp in surprise and Brandi's tongue infiltrates my mouth and she moans for added emphasis. Even as her hands roam, my body has gone into full shock and all I can do is lightly rest my hands on her hips, as she makes love to my mouth. 
A guy somewhere in the living room shouts out a "Whoop! Get it, hot lesbians!" and it breaks through Brandi's revenge-filled brain. She draws me into a hug and whispers in my ear…
"I'm so sorry, I just got so angry. I'll stay at my parents house sometime this week to make it up to you and my brother." But when she draws away, April is nowhere to be found…

And neither is Case.

                   …..
"There you are, I've been looking everywhere for you." Case is sitting on his bed in the dark, his head hung low. 
"I went for a brief walk and then I've just been here." I plop on the bed next to him and put my hand on his neck, gently massaging his muscles, but he flinches away from me. "Case?" 
"I can't do this anymore, Liza." 
My pulse begins to accelerate as I hope that he isn't saying what I think he is "Do what?" 
"Pretending like I'm not in love with you in front of our friends and family. Pretending like I'm not the one fucking you. Pretending like you're not mine." Case’s face is full of anguish and all I want to do is kiss him to ease his pain.
"It's only for a little while longer." 
He snaps his neck to me his eyes screaming of frustration and he raises his voice."And then what? You and Brandi stage a breakup and then have everyone judging us when they find out that we're together? Have everyone thinking I've forced Brandi to have her ex as her sister-in…" Case doesn’t finish the sentence and the love sick part of me tingles at the fact that he sees us getting married in the future. Or at least he did until now.
"Forget it." He removes himself from the bed and begins pacing the floor.
"I can't imagine how hard this is for you, Case." Tears threaten to spill from my eyes.
"No, you really can't." 
I clear my throat trying to will the threatening tears to subside.
"But your sister is one of the most important people in my life, and I can't just… humiliate her like that." 
His head snaps toward me again.
"So you would rather see me struggle?" 
"No! Of course not!" 
"Because I am struggling, Liza. I just had to watch my sister make out with my girlfriend because you had to lie for the first time in your life." 
"I'm sorry…" My voice comes out small.
"Me too." 
I stand abruptly,easing my way to Case."I'll tell Brandi that we have to stop lying. We'll come clean to our families and tell them we're really the ones in love. They'll be just as happy, and—" 
Case stops in front of me only then do I realize that his eyes are glistening."It's too late, Lizard. There's no coming back from that display in the living room." "Please. Don't do this." I plead.
This can't be over when it feels like it just started.
"There's nothing else to do." 
He stands, his shoulders still hunched forward as if the weight of this moment is crushing him. "I'm going to go stay with my parents tonight. I'll clean up in the morning. Tell Brandi I'm sorry." 
"No!" I race after him, slamming into his back and wrapping my arms around him. My tears flow endlessly, staining the back of his shirt. "I love you. Please…" 
Case's body shivers, his muscles tense. Very slowly, he removes his arms around his middle, and then turns to face me. My heart breaks to see tears of his own sliding down his chiseled face. "I love you too. But I also love myself and I know I don't deserve to be treated like this." Case kisses my forehead and a sob wrenches from my chest. "Goodbye, Lizard." 
Case grabs the doorknob and turns it. There, on the other side is April, a triumphant look on her face. "I knew it." 
"Fuck." Case says, wiping a hand down his face.I scrub the tears off my face as April's eyes seesaw between us. With a raised eyebrow she turns to go back to the living room. 
"No, wait!" I yell.
She doesn't and Case and I run after her. April detours through the kitchen, grabbing a glass of wine, before going to her girlfriend's side. Case and I stand shoulder to shoulder. "Maybe she won't do anything." I look at Case, but he just stares at his toes, unseeing. 
But my optimism was misplaced as usual, as April bangs her girlfriend's used fork against the side of the wine glass."Can I have everyone's attention, please?" The room quiets down and I'm frozen in place, fear keeping my heart from beating. Brandi wanders over, a furrow between her brows.
"What's going on?" 
"I'm so so sorry, Brand." I answer because I know this is about to be bad.
"For what?" A confused Brandi asks.
"She knows." Brandi tries to move towards April, but it's too late and there are too many people in the way.
"As many of you know, Brandi and I used to date. We didn't end on the best of terms, my heart found love everywhere, but I ultimately thought that Brandi and I had come to an understanding. Besides, she has Liza now… or wait… that's not actually true, is it?" 
Brandi glances away, her chin quivering."Imagine my surprise when I find out that Brandi, always happy and perky Brandi, made her best friend lie for her. Imagine being SO PATHETIC, you have to share your brother's girlfriend to make yourself feel better." 
April's audience murmurs. Some look confused, others side eye the three of us, their judgment palpable. Tears start to stream down Brandi's face, but she stands tall, her hands clenching the full skirt of her dress.One of Brandi's closer friends tries to get April to leave, but is quickly stopped by April's own little posse. "I'm not quite done yet. Let me finish. It's a free country afterall...Now where was I?" She taps a finger on her chin in faux thought. "Oh. Right." April turns toward Brandi with a smug look on her face."I knew you were beneath me, Brandi, after all it's why I upgraded, but I didn't know it was THIS bad." She turns her smug face my way."Tell me, Liza. How many times do you have to suck Case's dick to get the nasty taste of Brandi off your tongue." 
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Case yells sounding more pissed off than I've ever seen him.Everyone goes completely still, even April, after Case's voice roars through the small apartment. 
"Get the fuck out. All of you." 
"We–" April tries to get out but it easy to tell that even she is a bit frightened.
"I SAID GET THE FUCK OUT!" 
Everyone grabs whatever belongings they brought, scrambling to be the first out of the apartment by whatever means necessary. Even April and Ellen scurry, their fear of Case's explosion evident in their eyes. When almost everyone is gone, Brandi collapses to the ground, her chest heaving as she sobs. Case sits next to her, gently drawing her shaking body into his arms.
"What can I do?" 
"You've done enough." Case mutters while looking at his sister rocking her back and forth in his arms..
"But–" 
"Get out, Liza. We're done here." 
The hazel-green eyes that have always held such warmth for me ever since we were kids are ice cold.
I have been dismissed.

And it's clear I'm never welcome back.