The Road Trip

Chapter 14 - And the Drama Continues

Chapter 14

And the Drama Continues

The awkward silence that had settled over the car was starting to make me feel uncomfortable. Holden had been beyond pissed at me and I had gotten more than an ear full of yelling - hints why I had squished myself in the back, leaving him to sit up front and drive all by himself.

Okay, I got why he was mad, but he didn't have to scream and shout at me in the middle of Six Flags. Talk about embarrassing.

Trent hadn't said a word to me since earlier, either. He was sitting in front of me, with Luke, staring straight ahead. I had my legs stretched across the back of the van, attempting to look out the window, but I couldn't take my eyes off of the back of Trent's head. What the heck had gotten into him lately? Had the old Trent, who I had once been friends with, come back?

But then again, the old Trent didn't kiss me.

Sighing, I clutched the necklace that hung around my neck, the one Holden had given me just a few days ago. Did he even really mean it? Because he sure wasn't acting like he loved me. And yeah, okay, it was a b***h move to ditch him, but he didn't need to be a jerk. I wasn't a baby; he didn't need to treat me like I was. All of a sudden, my head was filled with doubts about my relationship. His personality had taken a complete 180 since we got to six flags.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, so I pulled it out slowly.

Unknown Number: Hey, Addison, this is Alexandria. Um, your mom gave me your number, and I know this is weird, but can I call you? We need to talk.

I wrinkled my nose at the text. I had made it perfectly clear that I never wanted to speak with her again, why did we need to talk now?

Me: I have nothing to say to you, actually.

Alexandria: Look, I know you must hate me right now, but I think this is really important. You'll probably hate me after this, but you are still one of the best friends I’ve ever had. I still love you, and I feel like I have to tell you this or else I'll feel guilty the rest of my life…

I scoffed slightly. I already hated her, and she should already feel guilty for the rest of her life. The things she had done were unforgivable, no matter how many times she apologized. Before I could reply, my phone buzzed four times in a row.

Alexandria: Don't hate me, I'll leave you alone now. If you want to talk, call me.

Under the text, there were three pictures. My gut immediately dropped, and my mouth went dry. I could tell who they were without enlarging them, I just didn't want to believe it. With a shaky breath, I clicked on the first one. It took a second to load, but then it popped up bigger, and I wanted to throw up.

Alexandria was in it, with her long black hair, white smile, and green eyes. She looked the same as I when I had known her, only a little older. Sitting next to her, with his cheek pressed against hers, was Holden. There was no denying it. He looked exactly the same as the person driving the car. I couldn't breathe; he had known Alexandria was alive?!

I slid my finger across the screen, and a new picture popped up. In this one Alexandra's eyes were closed, and her mouth was open like she was laughing. Holden had his lips pressed against her cheek. My chest felt like it was wrapped in a corset. Why would he be kissing her cheek?

I really didn't want to look at the next picture, but I had to. With my eyes squeezed closed, I swiped the screen. Slowly, I opened my eyes, the picture right under my nose.

My heart was beating a million times a minute, and my vision spun. With a gasp, I realized I had been holding my breath. Glancing up, I made sure no one realized what a panic I was in. No one was looking at me. Good.

Forcefully, I snapped my eyes back to the phone screen. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.

No, I wouldn’t believe it. The picture was photoshopped. She was just trying to get me. There was no way in hell Holden would kiss Alexandria, no way.

In the picture, it was clear that he had his tongue in her mouth. I’m not sure who took the picture because from the looks of it they were both going at it pretty hard.

I knew Holden would never cheat on me, ever, and yet here was the proof sitting right in front of me. Alexandria was back in town and she decided she wanted my boyfriend, so she edited some photos together. That was the only explanation I could think of that didn’t want to make me puke all over the infuriating back of Trent’s head. I should've known from the beginning that she was a b***h.

I couldn’t believe she had once been my best friend.

"Hey, Addie," Trent said, waving a hand in front of my face. I squeaked, pressing the phone to my chest. Dear Lord, please tell me he didn't see that. “Are you okay?"

I blinked, hoping the tears building up in my eyes were unnoticeable. "Yeah," I said meekly, my voice cracking slightly. Great. He rose an eyebrow but didn't comment and got out of the car. It was then I noticed we were parked at a gas station and everyone had vacated the vehicle. I angrily threw the phone at the front seat, putting my head in my hands. My hands had started shaking from the mix of anger and fear I was feeling.

The photo is fake,I told myself, it has to be.

Then why did I have this undeniable, gut-wrenching feeling in my stomach?

Holden was leaning on the side of the car pumping gas. The boys had gone inside the convenience store. When I exited the van, I walked up to my boyfriend hesitantly, stopping in front of him. His blue eyes looked me up and down curiously, and I bit my lip.

"I'm really sorry," I squeaked, "I shouldn't have left you alone." I played with my fingers, staring at the ground. Even though I wanted to confront him about the pictures, I couldn’t force the words from my mouth. If I accused him of cheating, I wasn’t sure we could come back from that. Not based on the way he had been acting.

"I'm sorry too," He finally sighed after a long silence. “I was just disappointed that it wasn’t just me and you, but that doesn't mean I have to be a douche about it. From now on I promise I’ll try my best to make the best out of it.” I smiled slightly, finally looking up at him. He wrapped his arms around me and pecked me on the lips, making my heart race.

Even though my brain was spinning like hell, he still had a dizzying effect on me.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and rested my head on his chest, fighting a yawn. It had been a long, stressful day, and at that moment all I wanted was to curl up next to him. The confrontation could wait until tomorrow. “Tired?” he asked, laughing. My head vibrated as his deep chuckle reverberated through his chest.

I nodded sleepily, fighting to keep my eyes open. As he rubbed up and down my back, I tensed. Is this how he treated Alexandria? Did he say the same things to her, hold her the same way, kiss her like he kissed me?

No, I couldn’t go there. At least not yet.

"Well, the campsite is about twenty minutes away, so you'll get to sleep soon." He said, placing a kiss on my head. I smiled wider, pulling back from his embrace.

"Sounds good, let me pee first and we can get going." He laughed, rolling his eyes.

"Okay," then he walked around the car to pay for the gas. The second he was gone my fake smile dropped from my face, and I ducked back into the van. With my phone burning in my hand, I sprinted around the building, phone already ringing.

There are always two sides to a story, and I wanted the w***e’s side before I accused my previously loyal boyfriend.

Alexandria answered on the third ring. “I’m sorry,” was the first thing she said, gulping. Just the sound of her voice brought back memories, and I felt like I had been hit by a ton of bricks. Closing my eyes, I leaned against the metal building.

“How do I know they’re real?” I deadpanned, attempting to keep all emotion from my voice. It didn’t work; my voice cracked on the last word as a tear slid down my cheek. Goddamit, I thought, clenching my teeth.

“Addison, why, after all of the pain I’ve put you through, would I fake these pictures just to add on to it? What would be the point?”

“To break me and Holden up,” I explained my worst fear, raking a hand through my hair. The wind had picked up considerably and was whipping it in every direction. “I don’t know, maybe you want him for yourself.”

“I have Josh,” she said quietly, and for a moment I thought she was crying.

Just for a moment, though. Then I remembered that demons can’t express emotion.

“So why would you send me proof that you cheated on him?” I questioned, pacing back and forth. An old man glanced at me as he walked by, probably curious about the tears that were now streaming freely down my face. “Now I can destroy your relationship.”

“He already knows. It was a few months ago when Josh and I were in a bad place; he had been gone for a week and I felt all alone. I turned to Holden and he turned to a hooker. After, we talked it out. Sure, things haven’t been the same since we still struggle with trust, but it was tit for tat I guess.”

“I’m not interested in your freaking life story,” I exclaimed, feeling a flare of anger. Did she really think I cared? All I wanted from her was an explanation, and then as far as I was concerned, she could burn in hell. “Josh already told me he doesn’t love you and you two aren’t together, so you can cut the shit.” It was a low blow and I should have felt bad for stooping to her level, but I was shaking too much with anger to even realize what I was saying. “How do you even know Holden?” When we were friends, Holden wasn’t in the picture.

“He’s the little brother of my older brother Max’s friend if that makes sense. You knew Max, he was messed up, always off getting high or whatever. Dylan, Max’s friend, always brought Holden to the parties and stoner pits even though he was years younger. We were friends by association, I guess.”

“Friends by association my ass,” I scoffed, “You’re definitely a lot more than friends in those pictures.”

“It wasn’t the first time we hooked up, Addison,” she growled, clearly getting frustrated. “Before I left, he was basically my secret boyfriend. My mom and dad didn’t want me dating so I didn’t tell anyone, not even you. He was the only one who knew I wasn’t dead, so I had him come out and visit me every once and a while to get a little taste of home. Once Josh and I got together I told him we could only be friends, but when I was crying in Holden’s arms because Josh had just told me he would never love me, he was just there, being his perfect and amazing self, it was hard to keep my hands off. It just happened, neither of us meant to hurt you. I didn’t even know he was dating you until after.”

My chest was actually restricting. I’m pretty sure the world was squeezing me into a tight bubble that would pop any second, and I would cease to exist along with it.

The worst part about all this was that it made sense. Even before Holden and I were together he would disappear for a few days without any explanation. I hadn’t questioned it, of course not, I had trusted him blindly. Clearly, I needed to work on reading people.

“Addison, are you there?”

“I just have one question,” I gulped, wiping my cheeks off. “Are you in love with him?”

“God Addison, no. I never have been.”

With that, I hung up. Sure, she could have been lying, but I had known her for so long I could hear the slight changes in her voice without trying. That was the complete truth, I knew that. Now I just needed the truth from the cheating bastard.

Sniffing, I pulled the door to the convenience store open. Luke was standing at the cash register, paying for his soda, and his eyes locked with mine immediately. His whole facial expression changed as he marched towards me, eyes wide. What’s wrong, he asked, narrowing his eyebrows.

Nothing, I signed back, eyes flickering to Trent who was just making his way out of the bathroom. He couldn’t see me like this, I couldn’t deal with his prying questions at that moment. Nothing I want to talk about here, anyway. With that I ducked my head, practically diving behind an isle of chips. Trent didn’t see me and continued walking towards his brother, who was still staring at me with worried eyes. I shook my head once, hurrying towards the restrooms.

As soon as the door clicked shut behind me, I slid down it, letting my limbs collapse underneath me. I didn’t even care that this bathroom needed a serious scrub - it looked like it belonged in a horror movie, and I’m not even going to mention the smell - I just couldn’t hold myself up anymore.

This trip was supposed to be fun; I was supposed to get out of my head and just enjoy myself. Instead, I was digging myself into a hole. All of a sudden, my world was falling apart, and we hadn’t even left Texas.

How was I supposed to ask Holden about Alexandria? Sure, it was a while back, but that didn’t make it hurt any less. I had to talk to him about it, I didn’t have a choice. If I wanted to have any chance at a healthy relationship we needed to communicate - that’s one of the most important aspects of a successful relationship, so of course, I had to ask him about it.

At least, that’s what I kept telling myself, but somehow, I ended up in the same place; maybe if I left it alone, I could forget about it, and Holden would never have to know Alexandria sent me those pictures.

Deep down inside, I knew I would be slowly killing myself. Every time Holden stepped out the door I would wonder if he was with another girl, not to mention we would be separated for a year while he was off at college. But how was I supposed to just let him go? When we were alone, I felt like the only girl in the world. He treated me right and knew just what to say when I was upset. How was I supposed to find someone else? Guys didn’t look at me the way they did other girls; I didn’t get whistled at and no one was looking at my practically non-existent boobs. Holden was the first boy who had wanted to date me, and as far as I could tell, he was the only one who ever would.

Of course, as I was sitting there all alone, bawling violently, I tried to tell myself that was ridiculous. Someone else could love me. There was potential. But decent guys are hard to find, they’re a dime a dozen, and falling in love with the right person doesn’t come easy.

Then again, Holden wasn’t a decent guy if he cheated on me, which makes him the wrong person.

And yet through all this, all my heart kept telling me was that I loved him too much to let him go.

Lifting my head up, I sniffed. There was a rusty mirror hanging over the grimy, crusted sink, so I pushed myself up and stared at my reflection. You could definitely tell I had been crying; my cheeks were puffy, my eyes were rimmed red, and my mascara was history, creating raccoon eyes that dripped down my face. I cringed internally, tying my hair into a messy bun.

There wasn’t much I could do in regard to the puffiness, but I did scrub all the makeup off and splash my face with cold water. By the time I was done the swelling had gone down a little bit to where you could barely tell I had been crying my eyes out.

Luke would know, though. He always knew when something was wrong, even when there wasn’t clear evidence on my face.

Blowing out a deep breath, I forced myself out of the bathroom. There was a significant line on the other side; one of them muttered ‘finally’ as I walked by, and it took all of my will not to turn around and give her the finger. She didn’t know what I was going through, it wasn’t her fault. Maybe she was having a rough day too.

On my way out, I grabbed a Coke and a bag of Lays. Thankfully I had a crumpled up ten in my wallet, otherwise, I would’ve had to get one of the guys, and I didn’t feel like asking any one of them for help. The cashier, who happened to be an old Mexican woman with a bun tied way too tightly to the top her head, looked me up and down as I paid for my food. I rose my eyebrow at her, and she shrugged, apparently deciding that what she was thinking wasn’t important.

“There you are!” Holden exclaimed as I exited the building, moving from his hunched over position on the side of the car. I wanted to punch him in the face. “I was about to send out a search squad.”

“Sorry, girl issues,” I muttered, crawling into the back of the van. He had held his arms open for a hug, but I had promptly ignored the offer. The thought of standing in his arms - the same arms that had held Alexandria - made me sick.

“Well, alright then,” he muttered, heading around the car to the driver's seat. Trent was fast asleep, mouth hanging open and everything. Luke stared at me, clearly trying to get my attention, but I quickly zoned in on my potato chips. Not that I was eating them, I was too nauseous for that.

That twenty-minute car ride could not go fast enough.