Because of My Best Friend

3. The Guys

*AIDAN POV

“That conniving little b***h!!!”

Another piece of clothing suddenly gets thrown out of the closet.  So far, he’s only destroyed the closet and the lamp sitting on the dresser, thanks to a high heel.  I’m sitting back on the bed with a bottle of beer, trying to watch the latest episode of Dr. Phil, but this jackass keeps screaming during the important parts.

“And look at all these,” my best friend whines.  I turn my head to see that he’s covered in Olivia’s underwear.  “All these lacey garments!  For what?!  For w*****g around?!  Disgusting!”   He starts ripping all the underwear, although, I know he’s getting a good visual on what she looks like with them on.  Woman did have a killer body.

I divert my attention back to the TV, sigh, and take another long sip.  It’s been almost an hour since he found out the truth.  He definitely went through the first two stages of grief- shock and denial.  Now, he’s been running on anger, destroying or throwing out all her items.  He runs into the bathroom, shouting/mumbling while I’m trying to figure out why the drug addict teen won’t stop bullying her caring mother.

“I bet she shaves her w***e legs with these disgusting razors!!” he animates by throwing them back into the bathroom.  Where, I don’t know.  Just making a damn mess.  “And look what I found!  Condoms!  She was planning on bringing her sluts here with her!!!”

I turn to look at him with a bored expression.  “Those are mine, Tanner.  Put ‘em back.”

He looks to the box of condoms and shrugs his shoulders, throwing them behind him, and jumping next to me in the bed.  “How the hell are you so calm about all of this?  Five years Aidan!  Five whole f*****g years and she cheats on you!!  How the hell are you not spazzing out?”

I turn to him with a smirk on my face.  “For what?  I have you to do all that.”

“Bastard… I’m getting a beer, want another?”

“Sure.”

He gets up and literally stomps out of the room.  “And for god sakes man, turn off Dr. Phil!!”

I laugh, switching channels, then lean back with my head against the bedpost, closing my eyes and sinking into reality.  Five years.  She didn’t even seem to be guilty about it.  Came straight forward and told me she’s been seeing someone for the past three months.  She’s the one who threw it all away.  I would probably be more pissed if she was still sleeping with me while with him, but truth is, we haven’t had s*x in almost five months.  Things weren’t perfect with us, but we just failed to move forward. 

Then I let Tanner know.  My best friend since middle school.  He was rooting for us to end up together in the beginning.  He is a true romantic though, and thinks cheating is an unforgivable crime.  Must be why he’s taking it harder than I am.  Of course, not a lot of people sees what goes one behind closed doors.  On the outside, we looked like the perfect couple.  If we were in high school, we would be the top contenders from prom king and queen.  We looked good together, but we weren’t a match, and I think I’m okay with that?  I've just been pretty numb about it all.

“I say we go to her apartment building and print pictures of her and her ‘lover’, calling her out on her adulterous behavior!”  He takes a deep swig of his beer as if he’s seriously contemplating it.

“We’re not in 8th grade anymore dude…”

He looks at me shocked.  “How dare you bring that up!  Tracey tore my heart out when she held hands with that stupid jock!”

I roll my eyes reliving that memory.  Him with his dusty blonde mop head with nerdy glass and skinny body, taping up pictures that he spent hours drawing….. yes drawing.. of his then ‘girlfriend’ kissing another.  Honestly, it was the worst stick figures anyone had ever seen, and most of the student body didn’t know what they hell they were looking at.  He’s a real psycho this one.

We sit and watch some rerun of a comedy show from the 90’s- Tanner laughing at all the old jokes everyone’s heard a hundred times, but hey, good show nonetheless.   “She coming by to get her stuff?”

I laugh internally, looking around at all the damage he’s done.  “Dunno.  I haven’t said much anything since she told me two days ago… over text.”

“b***h,” he mumbles out.  I just chuckle to myself as I open a new beer up.  Yes, she is a b***h for telling me all this information in one giant text.  It was right before I went on a lunch break at work, and I had to reread it several times to see if I was just imagining things.  I only tried to call her once, right after I received it, but it went straight to voicemail.  And then I came to work as if nothing happened.  I don’t know if I’m in a shell shocked state, but I’ve just been carrying on as if I’ve been single all these years.  Hell, we didn’t even live together, just had a few things at my house, and vice versa.

Tanner sits up in a jerk reaction, almost scaring me out of my thoughts.  He has that look on his face- the one that I don’t like… one that says trouble.  His hands are in the air at his side, one holding on to a beer bottle, then other in an ‘ok’ sign.  I don’t bother asking him anymore, because it would be useless.  Whenever he gets his brain cells together, he’ll tell me his ‘master plan’.

“Dude…. I just thought of a master plan.”

Told ya.

He turns to me slowly, and any normal person would be freaked out by his face, but to me, it’s just his way.  “Put all of her s**t in a box and leave it at the front door.  Let’s leave right now, and go on a four day weekend- bar hopping, getting shitfaced, hopefully getting you laid…. What do you say?”

“I’d say you’re losing it.”

He finishes his beer and tosses it on the ground.  I raise an eyebrow and he immediately picks it up.  We’re not at the frat house any more.  “Dude come on… when’s the last time you and me had fun together?  Like legit fun?”  I look up pretending I’m thinking when I know in fact it’s been a couple of years since we've had one of our 'brotherly excursions'.  “Exactly!!  Come on bro.  At least for me.  I haven’t been laid in a few months because I’ve been working so much.  Please Aiden, please!!!”

I don’t want to break it to him that it isn’t because of him working too much that he hasn’t gotten laid.  His strong personality sometimes scares women off.  He’s an honest to good guy…. Just…. Extreme.

But at this point, the man is literally on his knees, hands in a prayer pose, begging me.  I roll my eyes as I get up to toss away the trash.  “Fine, but you can pack all her s**t, since you’re the one who threw it all around in the first place.”  I turn to face him and he looks almost too excited.  “But make it a three day.  I have a meeting tomorrow that I have to go to.  We can leave the next morning.”  I walk into the kitchen smiling to myself, just knowing the man is doing the fist raise behind my back.  I guess a little fun won’t hurt anyone.