From Bad To Better

Mike refused to tell me anything about his relationship with Eric. He wouldn’t say if he was thinking about leaving, nor would he tell me what was going on with them. The only things Mike said to me while I tried to get him to talk about Eric’s fears were: “Eric shouldn’t have said anything to you about us” and “It’s none of your business Anna.”

Ok, I knew it really wasn’t any of my business, call me nosey if you want but I was really just trying to help. I thought that if he was able to talk to me about what he was feeling – a third party who wouldn’t judge him too harshly – then maybe he would be able to talk to Eric honestly and maybe relieve his fears.

“Just drop it,” he had snapped before he disappeared through the sliding glass and joined his brothers on the balcony.

I felt like I was sitting on the couch for hours as I waited, hoping that they would come in so we could all head out and have some fun. It was only about thirty minutes though. I believe it felt longer because I wasn’t sure if one or all of them were mad at me.

I’d be mad at you, I thought as I sat there. You did fight with Jordan, scare the crap out of Nick and push Mike when he didn’t want to discuss Eric.

I only wanted to help, I tried to reason but I knew it didn’t matter. I was being that person again, the one who needs to try to fix everyone’s life, even when they didn’t want it.

Screw it! I jumped off the couch. I didn’t even get a step in before the balcony door slid open again and the guys stumbled into the room. “Hey,” I said cautiously just in case one of them was upset.

Mike and Jordan walked right pass me without even blinking. Nick, on the other hand, started to walk pass but hesitated right in front of me. “We are going to Red’s,” he said softly. “Get your stuff and come on.”

“Thanks,” I gave him a grateful smile before quickly grabbing my jacket and following him out of the apartment.

It became painfully obvious on the elevator ride down to the lobby of Mike’s apartment building that neither Mike nor Jordan really cared for me to be going along with them. Not that they said it, in fact, they didn’t direct anything in my direction – no words, no looks, nothing.

Red’s is an amusement center located in the largest mall in the city. It offers an amazing games’ room with every arcade game you could image. It had air hockey tables, pool tables, bowling lanes and a stage area were they’ve had many talented groups perform. It also offered a place for you to eat.

I don’t get to go to Red’s very often since I didn’t get to the city that much. I’ve been there only a couple times before and it was something I was really looking forward too, even though they weren’t talking to me. I figured that they would be alright once we got into Red’s and started to play some games or something.

Boy was I wrong!

I didn’t think that they could hold a grudge when happiness was around every corner but they did. And I was left feeling like the annoying little sister that they had to bring along with them or they would get in trouble with the parents.

Most of the time there, I was sitting down or standing on the sidelines while they had all the fun. If I even tried to join them, or suggest something to do next, they would walk away from me or simply ignore me.

I felt like crap. I wanted to find a corner to run to and cry. I’ve never been treated that way by them, ever.

We had been at Red’s for a couple hours; the guys were setting up to get ready to do some bowling. They were joking and laughing, having the time of their life and I was miserable. I wanted to leave but I knew they wouldn’t care.

It took a while but I caught Nick’s eye and he managed to free himself from the other two long enough to come over to see how I was doing.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized for the thousandth time since we got to Red’s, he wasn’t ignoring me like the other two were, he was trying to talk to me and to get them to include me but they wouldn’t go for it. “I don’t know what’s wrong with them.”

“It’s ok,” I was trying so hard not to cry. “I think I’m just going to…” I trailed off as I motioned towards the exit with my hand. “I don’t want to ruin their fun, so I’ll just catch a bus back to his apartment and wait there.”

Nick tried to convince me to stay but finally he gave in, “Ok,” he gave me a hug. “I’m sorry they are acting like this.” He asked me if I knew which bus to take and if I had money.

“I’ll figure it out,” I gave a small shrug. “I’ll see you later. Have fun.” I turned to walk away when Nick stopped me.

“You can’t get in,” he said. “You don’t have a key. I’ll ask Mike for his.”

“No,” I gripped his arm. “Don’t worry about me, by the time I get back there, it should be close to 5:30 and Eric would be there.”

“Are you sure? I could ask him.”

“I’m sure,” I smiled, a forced one.

The wait for the bus wasn’t that long as I thought it would be, it arrived ten minutes after I got to the bus terminal behind the mall. The ride to Mike’s took about 45 minutes; I had to change busses at one point and almost got on the wrong one.

By the time I got to Mike’s door, I was tired and cranky, I just wanted to sit down and feel sorry for myself.

“Eric please be home,” I begged quietly as I knocked on the door. It was 5:50.

The seconds ticked by, there was no answer.

“No!” I cried and knocked again. “Please, please, please, please, please,” I closed my eyes and wished really hard.

And the door opened.

“YES!” I exclaimed, throwing my arms around Eric’s neck. “Thank you so much.”

He chuckled as he looked down at me. “Thanks for what?”

“For being home,” I told him as he stood back to let me in. “I wasn’t looking forward to spending God knows how long sitting in the hallway waiting for someone to come home.”

“Why would you wait?” He glanced around the empty hallway before turning his frowning face back to me. “Where are Mike and the guys?”

“At Red’s,” I sighed. “They are ignoring me because I ticked them off, I didn’t feel welcomed so I told Nick I was leaving and hopping on a bus to come back here.”

“They did…” Eric shook his head, looking very upset. “I can’t believe they would do that to you!”

I shrugged, “I guess I deserved it.”

“No, you didn’t. There isn’t any reason for either one of them to ignore you, no matter what. Especially Mike! I don’t know how many times he has told me that you were like his sister and he would do anything to protect you.”

“Eric it’s –”

“Come on,” he grabbed my hand. “We aren’t about to sit around here and let them have all the fun.” He tugged me back to the door.

“I’m not going back there,” I told him.

“I’m not asking you too.”

I frowned, “Then where are we going?”

Eric smiled at me as he held the door open for me. “Anna,” he crooked his arm in my direction. “It looks like we’ve been dumped by Mike and the guys tonight; would you do me the honor of being my dinner date?”

“Eric…” I hesitated.

“Would it help you to make up your mind if I told you that you would be the first woman I’ve taken out for any kind of date, ever?”

“Really?” He nodded. “Well then,” I slipped my hand onto his arm. “Who am I to turn down a once in a lifetime invitation? Lead the way.”