Episode 13: A Night Out

Things had settled a bit since Joel blew out Dustin. Although you could not pay the two to get them in the same room together. On a few occasions it actually happened and it was absolutely miserable for everyone. Both of them refused to give any ground. I could understand that on Joel’s behalf, but I still do not see where Dustin gets off being so self righteous. He is completely in the wrong.

Unfortunately, he did not feel that way. Every time we were out and Joel was not coming or had not gotten there yet, all he did was talk about his disdain for Joel and his actions. Sometimes I wonder what it is like to be someone who is completely detached from reality. Then, I am very thankful that I am not like Dustin.

It was Friday night and Ron was at work. Joel had invited me to go with him, Katie, John, Tiffany, Lauren, and Brian to the movies, but I declined. That feeling that hit me the night that Joel and Dustin got into it was still lingering. It was hard to be around Joel and Katie when they were together. I do not know what the deal is. Maybe I am jealous.

So there I sat, in my apartment alone with a bottle of wine, watching some movies.

Stacy sat on her couched, curled up in a blanket. All that was exposed was her head and her hand, which held a glass of wine. She was staring intently at her television. She had just finished her first movie and got up to pop some popcorn for the second at nine fifteen when her cell phone rang.

“Hey, Lauren,” said Stacy, putting her phone to her ear.

“Hey girl,” said Lauren. “Why didn’t you come to the movie?” Stacy hesitated and before she could say anything, Lauren said, “It’s because of Joel and Katie right?”

“Yeah,” answered Stacy. “Hey wait a minute, aren’t you with Brian?”

“Yeah,” replied Lauren. “You should know by now that I tell him everything. He won’t say anything.”

“Fair enough,” said Stacy.

“Girl, you were right,” said Lauren. “Joel is wearing off on you. You just said ‘fair enough’ again.”

“Darnit!” said Stacy. “I made the mistake of saying it in front of him and I never thought I would hear the end of it. I told him that it wasn’t going to happen.”

“Awww, you are so cute!” said Lauren semi-excitedly.

“What do you mean?” asked Stacy.

“When you talk about Joel, you just have a completely different-oh, what’s the word I’m trying to think of-aura, I guess. Even the tone of your voice is different,” explained Lauren. “It is so cute! You two have to get together.”

If only...

“Yeah, well I am with Ron and he is with Katie,” said Stacy.

“About that,” said Lauren curiously. “Have you decided what you are going to do?”

“No, not yet,” answered Stacy.

“Well give it time. It will come to you,” said Lauren. “But if you do feel that strongly about Joel, then it isn’t really fair, you know?”

“Yeah, I know,” said Stacy, starting to get lost in her thoughts. “It is just complicated.”

“Do you want to go out?” asked Lauren. “We were going to go home, but you seem like you need to get out of your apartment.”

“I was just going to stay in, but you are right,” said Stacy. “I need to get out.”

“Ok we will pick you up in about fifteen minutes,” said Lauren.

The truth is, I do need to get out of this apartment. I need to go out with my friends so I can have fun and just forget about everything. The longer I sit here, the more I will torture myself about Joel.

When Lauren and Brian arrived, Stacy was waiting downstairs. She was eager to have a carefree night. The three of them decided on Stratler’s, having no idea that Joel, Katie, John, and Tiffany had also chose to go there.

“Thanks guys,” said Stacy, sitting in the backseat of Brian’s mustang.

“Anytime,” said Brian, looking at Stacy through his rearview mirror.

Upon coming down the street that passed right in front of Stratler’s, Brian saw Joel’s Charger in front of them. It was heading away from the bar.

“That’s Joel’s car,” said Brian.

“It is, isn’t it?” asked Lauren rhetorically.

“They are heading home early,” said Brian.

“That’s not like them,” said Lauren. “I wonder if something happened.”

As we came to find out at a later time, Joel and Katie had an argument and that she had stormed out on him. I feel bad when I think about it because I felt relieved that they had left. One of the things that I was trying not to think about on this evening was the way I had felt recently when I saw the two of them together. Little did I know, those feelings would soon be nothing more than a distant memory after what was about to happen.

Stacy, Lauren, and Brian entered Stratler’s and elected to sit at a table rather than a booth. They were forced to wait a few minutes before the waitress came over to greet them. The three of them ordered drinks, Brian a beer and the two girls ordered martinis. Brian was hungry, so he put in an order for cheese fries.

The three of them received their drinks and sat there talking about nothing important at all, which is the way Stacy wanted it. Knowing that this trip was solely to get Stacy’s mind off of her troubles, Lauren and Brian also veered away from any potential topics that would lead her mind back to those thoughts.

After drinking three martinis, the girls took a trip to the restroom, leaving Brian alone with his cheese fries. While eating, Brian looked around at the other patrons, just checking out his surroundings. Shortly after, the front door opened and in walked three men and four girls. One of the men was Ron.

When Ron saw Brian, he looked as if he were a deer caught in the stream of headlights. His eyes widened as his face slowly became pale. He turned and said something to one of his friends and left them standing at the door as he started toward Brian. Unaware that Ron told Stacy that he was working, Brian assumed the Ron had come to join them.

“Hey Ron.” said Brian. “The girls are in the bathroom. They should be out in a minute or so.”

“Brian, this isn’t how it looks,” said Ron.

“What do you mean?” asked Brian.

“Well, uh,” said Ron, before pausing. “Stacy thinks that I am working.”

“Oh,” said Brian, putting the pieces together.

“Yeah,” said Ron, running his hand through his hair. “I gotta get out of here, but you can’t tell Stacy I was here.”

“Do what now?” asked Brian.

“We are guys, Brian,” said Ron arrogantly. “We have to stick together.”

“Um, okay,” said Brian, not sure what to think about this new side of Ron that he had never seen before.

“I’m serious, Brian,” said Ron sternly.

“Whatever you say, Ron,” said Brian, “but it doesn’t look like I will have to keep your secret after all.”

Ron then turned around to see Stacy and Lauren standing behind him. Stacy was looking at him with a confused look on her face. “Ron?” she asked. “I thought you had to work?”

“Well, I,” said Ron, not sure what to say. His awkward pause was then followed by a long silence.

“So you lied?” asked Stacy.

Ron sighed and hung his head. He looked like a boy who was being scolded in school. “I’m sorry, baby.”

“Save it, Ron,” said Stacy angrily. She then turned and ran out of Stratler’s.

Lauren glared at Ron, then turned and followed Stacy. Ron took a deep breath and let it escape his lips as he hung his head once again. He then turned toward Brian. He left a wad of cash on the table that would cover the bill and tip. He then started toward the door, thus walking toward Ron.

“That sucks,” said Brian as he walked past Ron.

Ron was angered by the comment, but he did not respond to Brian in any way. Instead, he stood there staring out of Stratler’s front window in the direction that Stacy had gone.

And just like that, my carefree evening was ruined. I was so angry at that point that I did not even know what to do. Now that I think about it, I don’t know why I didn’t just break-up with him right then and there like any sane human being would have done. The truth is, I knew that I was in a toxic relationship, but why could I not just end it? Am I that big of a mess?