Love Me Forever

The Fight

Chapter 4

“Claire, I did something entirely wrong; I shouldn’t have told Ralph about your past. But the guy loves you, Claire. "I’m so sorry” Now Sheila was apologizing for not keeping her mouth shut. But I had already forgotten about that. All I wanted to talk about now was my trip to Paris “You don’t have to be sorry; it helped my relationship with Ralph.” I continued “but I won’t forgive you ever again if you ever lash out my secret to anyone” I didn’t want to sound lenient with her right now, it was best she knew I disapproved her actions. “I promise not to do that again. I’ll feel hurt if you did that to me” “It’s ok,” I replied. “Now, let’s talk about my trip to Paris,” Audrey and Sheila shouted with excitement. “Can we come too?” they asked with such enthusiasm. We had so many good times touring around different places but didn't get the time to go see Paris together.“It’s just my boss and me going on the trip,” I replied. “Ok, maybe someday we could all go together and tour Paris,” Audrey commented. She was an excellent dancer, having studied art in college. Her parents doted on her like she was a baby. They supported her in whatever career she chose. Sometimes I envied her. “When are you leaving for Paris?” Sheila asked. “I’ll be leaving in a week.” one thought came to mind after I said that; I thought of Ralph. I hadn’t seen him since he left in the early hours of the morning. Maybe I should call.

“You should call Ralph and tell him about your trip before he comes questioning me,” like she knew my innermost thoughts. Sheila had always supported our relationship; maybe she only wanted her best friend and older brother to end up together. I’ll leave my relationship with Ralph to fate. Fate had its way of bringing people together. Sheila and Ralph were close family friends with the Madison family. We met about 18 years ago when Mama and Papa took me out on a summer afternoon to the park. I saw her crying and shouting at some group of girls who bullied her because of her French accent when she talked. I went and defended her and gave her a lollipop to soothe her; she stopped crying immediately, and we became friends. Papa got to know her parents and invited them over for lunch. They discussed business and politics since Sheila’s dad was a lawyer. Eventually, we became pretty close and did everything together, even wearing the same outfit. Sheila was a blond with brown eyes. And I was a brunette with green eyes. We made a pair, and everyone envied our glamorous appearance. Audrey joined the duo in the 8th grade, and we hardly quarreled except when it came to Jake. They all thought he was no match for me and that he was a bookie with an attitude as he never gave any attention to the girls at Memorial High. I was walking through the hallway at school when I saw Jake; he was walking with his friend Brandon and made eye contact with me as he entered his class. He was a senior, and I thought he would never be interested in a girl who wore too much makeup for her age. Maybe he was interested in a bookie like himself, I thought. So I joined the mathletes, hoping that he would notice me since I dressed for the occasion with no makeup and pulled my hair up. He only came up to me the first day I joined and said hi; I responded by asking him about some equations I couldn’t understand. He answered all my questions correctly and explained each equation step to me. From the first day we engaged in a conversation, it was clear that we were a match made in heaven. He could almost read my mind. I was drawn towards him like a magnet. He later told me when we became close that he loved me just like I was when he saw me on his first day at Memorial High. “I promise I’ll come back for you, love” Those were his last words as he boarded the plane with his dad behind him. He never called or visited for the past six years. All I had of him now were memories I tried hard to forget. “We should get going now; I have a job, you know” Sheila was always the disciplined one; she never did anything wrong or wild. Now, after one glass of tequila, she was ready to leave. “We all have jobs tomorrow too; the night is still young; let's go to La Viva Club just 5 minutes drive from here.”

I suggested I didn’t want to be alone, and I was tired of making more mistakes. I’d rather be celibate for now if that’s what it takes to keep my p***y chaste. “Call Ralph, Claire; he misses you. He’s hurt; you’re not fighting for him enough. He wants you to show some interest in your relationship. Do call him.” Now Audrey was going to scold me? She should be worried about Dave, who cheats on her with every girl he can spank hard. She refused his request to obey him and punish her when he deemed fit. That was his turn-on. What a pervert

I shouldn’t judge, after all, she wasn’t responsible for his s****l nature. But now, her tone suggested she would jump at any opportunity to be with Ralph right now. “I’ll call him; I just need some space right now” “Space for what, to go f**k other guys?” I got furious with Audrey for saying that, and we quarreled and exchanged hurting words that I wished I had never spoken. Sheila tried to calm the situation, but I didn’t want a truce; I wanted her out of my life for good. I hated her right now, not because of Ralph, but because she said I couldn’t see or think clearly because I was still in love with Jake. Sheila thought she had me all figured out, and that hurt. She said sorry after saying that, but I told her to go to hell, and I never wanted to see her face again. “Audrey, she doesn’t mean that, please let’s solve this” Now everyone was looking at us at the restaurant. And Audrey walked out with Sheila running after her as though she cared about her more. I felt betrayed by my best friends, but I felt awful right now to have lashed out those words at her, even about her D&C procedure. I wanted to hurt her feelings the way she hurt mine, although now I was so sorry. “Audrey, Wait” I looked for Audrey and Sheila outside of the restaurant, but they were far gone with the car. I guess they were both angry; Sheila would never forgive me now, especially after I told her that all I got going with her brother was the s*x, and my feelings for him were not even close to love.