What Is Left Unsaid : An Ashley Purdy Love Story

Unexpected Surprises

2002:

Chrissy's POV:

   It's been very quiet in the car on the way home. After what we found out this afternoon, none of us really know what to say right now. The only thing I'm sure of right now is that I need to get home, and talk to my boyfriend. He can't change anything, or make it any better, but I just feel like he's the only one who can help me make sense of things.

    Brian pulls the car up in front of his grandparents house and dashes to the front door. Kelli and I get out of the car and follow him. We reach the door just in time to hear him yelling, "Gone? What the hell do you mean gone?!"

    His grandmother says, "I mean that he left for California about two hours ago. Do you mean to tell me that none of you knew that?"

    When she says this, my legs give out and I end up sliding down the doorframe until I'm sitting on the floor. Bri is standing there like he's frozen in place, with his jaw hanging practically down to his navel.

     "From the look of things, I'd say that they didn't," Brian's grandpa says, as he scoops me off of the floor and carries me to the couch, gently sitting me down. Kelli immediately sits down beside me and wraps her arms around my shoulders, mumbling something I can't quite make out under her breath.

     He then goes to the phone and calls Brian's mom, telling her to bring Brian's brother Rick over immediately. When he hangs up, he says, "When they get here, we'll get to the bottom of this. Those two are thick as thieves, so there's no way he doesn't know something."

     Brian's grandma crouches down in front of me, brushes my hair out of my face, and says, "I'm so sorry, Chrissy. I would've never expected him to do something like this. We were a bit surprised that you weren't here, but we assumed that the two of you had said your goodbyes earlier."

     "No, Gran," Brian interjects. "The reason none of us were here is because my jackass brother gave us tickets for that movie we've been wanting to see. He told me he won them in some contest, but Mr . Green wouldn't let him off work. Was that really true, or was he here?"

     "Everyone was here except the three of you," she tells him .

     A few minutes later, Brian's mom pulls into the driveway and get out of the car. It's obvious by the look on Rick's face that he knows something's up. Then he sees Brian's car, and we can see him mouth, "Oh, shit !" as he walks up the porch steps.

     The second he walks in the door, their grandma says, "So am I to understand that that you concocted some sort of plan to get these kids away from here so your cousin could take off without bothering to tell his girlfriend that he was leaving?"

     He sort of stares at the floor and mumbles something that nobody can quite hear, and his mom snaps, "Richard Nolan! Answer your grandmother! Now!" 

     "Uh, yeah, I did. He sorta asked me to help him out, so .... yeah."

     When he says this, it feels like someone's just reached in and ripped my guts out. I don't really pay much attention to all of the shouting and stuff that's going on, until Rick walks over to me and says, "I'm sorry, Chrissy, but I ...."

     He doesn't get any further, because I launch myself up from the couch and slap him so hard his head snaps back.

     "Don't you ever speak to me again! I thought we were supposed to be friends, but apparently that was as big of a lie as all the bullshit that came out of your cousin's mouth! You're only sorry because you got caught, and if you ever come anywhere near me again, I'll fuck you up so bad your own family won't be able to recognize you!" 

     I wanted to tell him all sorts of other things, but by this time I'm almost hyperventilating, and Kelli and Bri are basically all that's keeping me upright.

     "You kids go on and take her home now." their grandpa says. "One of us will call Mary and Frank and let them know you're on your way."

     As we get ready to walk out, Brian turns to Rick and says, "I can't believe you're both such pathetic jerks! Right now I wish I wasn't related to either of you!"

     We get back into the car, with Brian driving and me and Kelli in the backseat, with my head on her lap. As we pull into my aunt's driveway, I sit up and look at them, and the only thing I can think of to say is, "Okay, guys, what the hell do we do now?"