Summer of '07

Last Resort

Chapter 21

April 2019

~ELIJAH~

She's cheating on me. I fucking know it. Every time I see them together, I see the way she looks at him. I know that look. She used to look at me that way when we first got married but not anymore. It's as if she's falling out of love with me... in favor of her fucking co-worker. Her "business partner," she calls him. One night I followed her when she told me she had a business meeting to attend to, and I saw her meet up at a restaurant with just him, no one else. I stayed for a while, expecting more people to come to her so-called business meeting, but no one came. It was just her and him for the whole first hour. After that I left... I couldn't bear to watch those two anymore. The way they interacted with each other reminded me of our relationship when it was at its peak. It hasn't been that way for quite some time... and we haven't even been married for two full years yet. This July is supposed to be our second anniversary... who knows if we'll even make it that long.

I don't understand why. Or where it all went wrong. What did I do to push her away? We were happy for four and a half years... after that, it seems like it all went to shit. It doesn't matter, I guess... if she's cheating, she's cheating... it doesn't fucking matter why.

I approach her when she returns from her little "business meeting," and I confront her with her lies. She of course denies everything and has the audacity to turn things around on me for following her and distrusting her. It's funny because according to Travis, she's been checking my messages. Not to mention the fact that she can't sleep whenever I'm not there... as if she doesn't trust me, as if she thinks that I would cheat on her. She's distrustful of me and yet I can't be distrustful of her? What a hypocrite! I can't take it anymore. I just give up on trying to get her to admit the truth, as she continues to say that it was a complete misunderstanding. I know what I saw and I know a cheater when I see one. I storm off from my own house and to be honest, I don't even know where I'm going. I just have to get away from the likes of her.

About a couple of hours later, I find myself drinking away my sorrows. I'm in a crusty little pub in San Francisco, far away from Michelle and her deceptiveness. I can't believe I let myself be married to a cheating whore. How could she do this? How could I not see this coming? She hasn't been acting the same since our first anniversary. Was one year all she could take of being married to me? Seriously? I just can't believe this. I told Travis months ago that I was worried about my marriage and I guess I wasn't wrong to be concerned. My suspicions were right...

Thinking about that has suddenly gotten me thinking about Travis again. I haven't seen him nor have I really heard from him since February when we went to Baker Beach. I want to call him and tell him what just happened, but... I don't know. Maybe I should just leave him alone. It's not like back in the old days when we were besties. I can't just call him whenever. He's got a life of his own and he doesn't need to know my problems. Not to mention the fact that I can't keep leading him on. The fact that he still has feelings for me after all these years completely blows my mind. After what I did, I couldn't see him ever wanting anything to do with me ever again. I was shocked and yet so... happy when I saw his follow request on Instagram. Never thought I'd live to see the day that Travis and I became friends again.

I try to forget about him for a little while. I don't want to bother him with my troubles. But I need someone to talk to. I need someone to drive me out of this goddamn pub too because I'm in no position to be driving with all the whiskey I've had tonight. It's so tempting to call the only person I can trust but I dread the idea of being a burden to him. I also don't have a place to stay for the night because I can't go home. I suppose a hotel will have to do for the night or at least until I figure shit out.

I text one of my friends who lives in San Francisco to see if he can drive me out of here but as I wait for him to respond, I'm tempted once again to text Travis. Maybe he'll want to hangout again. It's after five, so I would assume that he'd be out of work by now. It'd be a great way to get my mind off of what happened tonight. I mean, I could hangout with another friend but... then again, I haven't seen Travis in a while. I know that hanging out with Travis would probably be a bad idea given the fact that he still has feelings for me and it would be wrong to unintentionally lead him on. It's all just so...

Ah, fuck it! I shoot him the same message I sent to my other friend and patiently wait for his response as my heart pounds inside my chest in anticipation of what he will say. If he says no, well then, fuck.

A couple of minutes later, I finally get a text back and see that it's from my other friend and I don't yet open it, waiting for Travis's response before I answer. Only seconds afterwards, Travis finally replies. Fuck yes! I tell my other friend that I've found another solution and I patiently wait for him to come pick me up.

It amazes me how fast he arrives, but then again, Daly City is pretty close so that's pretty cool. I leave my car on the side of the street as I get into Travis's car. I guess he'll have to drive me back to get it whenever I sober up, but honestly, that's the least of my concerns.

"Looks like I'm driving you around this time," he says, with a smirk on his face.

"Looks like it."

"So, what happened?"

"Michelle, she... she's cheating..." I say through a shaky voice.

"Really? Are you sure?" What, does he not believe me?

"Yes, I'm sure. How am I not gonna be sure?"

"How did you find out?"

"I saw her... having a dinner with another man. What married woman has dinner with another man? For what? It didn't make any sense. She said she was going to a business meeting. Like I was gonna believe that."

"Why wouldn't you believe it? Did she previously give you a reason not to believe her?"

"I told you before... I just knew that something was off about her. I wasn't wrong, was I?"

"Guess not... so what are you gonna do now?"

"I don't know. I guess, go to a hotel until I figure out what to do. All I know is, I'm not going back there tonight. She fuckin' pissed me off."

"You don't have to go to a hotel. You can stay at my place... if you want," he says to me, though I can't say I'm surprised he offered that.

"You think that's a good idea?"

"Why wouldn't it be?"

I hesitate for a moment. At this point, it doesn't really matter, I suppose. What harm can it possibly do? "You're right. Let's go."