"What did you say?" I asked Zak, with my eyes as wide as a deer in bright headlights. Zak released an ironic chuckle, as he shook his head. "Zak, what did you say?"
"Oh, come on, Addy. The guy is totally in love with you. It's very obvious." Zak said. He left the bedroom, and of course, I quickly followed close behind.
"Billy is not in love with me. Where would you even get an idea like that? Did he tell you?"
"He didn't have to tell me, Addy. Anyone with a fucking brain can see that he's head over boots for you." Zak walked into his office and sat down in front of his computer. He still had piles of orders and work to get done, but due to the circumstances, I wasn't about to leave him alone. I had to get to the bottom of this.
"You're crazy."
"Come on, Addy. Wake up. The guy shakes every time he sees you. The way he is so concerned in everything you do. They way he jumps at the chance to help you."
"He's a good guy and he's a friend."
"Alright, whatever you say."
"You're talking about this quite calmly for being a man who supposedly loved me." I smirked, as Zak spun his office chair towards me.
"We broke up. Shit happens. That doesn't mean I don't want to be your friend still, and as your friend, I'm telling you to talk to Billy."
"There's nothing to talk about because you're dead wrong. Billy doesn't have feelings for me."
"Do you have feelings for Billy?" Zak asked, as he narrowed his curious brow. The smirk marked across his face made me feel even more uncomfortable. I could feel the heat in my body rising, but I remained quiet, as I really didn't have an answer.
"I think it's cool that we can still be close friends after breaking up literally ten minutes ago." I smiled, as I walked out of his office.
"Addy, wait." Zak yelled, as he rushed towards me. I turned to face him and knew by the expression on his face that he was up to something. "Billy is having a bon fire tonight."
"I was just at his house. Why didn't he say something?"
"Because you were probably too busy crying over me." Zak smiled confidently like he used to.
"Don't give yourself so much credit."
"We're going." Zak said, as he sat back down at his desk.
"To the bon fire?"
"Yes."
"Together?"
"Yes."
"As just friends?"
"Yes." Zak laughed at my endless amount of questions.
"Won't that be weird?"
"No, unless you think that he really does have feelings for you." Zak winked. I rolled my eyes, as I shuffled out. Honestly, I didn't know how to feel about Billy, but as I swam lap after lap in the pool, my mind was carried away by thoughts. It wasn't just Billy. When I was around him, I shook too. I jumped at chances to help him, or talk to him. Every time I had a problem, I ran to him. I confided in him more than I did my own boyfriend.
Suddenly, my head popped out of the water. I gasped, as I tried to catch my breath and I coughed up the water that filled my mouth. "Holy shit. I love Billy." I gasped.
"Told ya." Zak said. Having no idea he was even sitting at the edge of the pool, I jumped back, startled by his voice. I whipped my hand through the cool water and splashed a handful onto Zak's face. He laughed and fell back to the concrete. "What the hell was that for?"
"How can you be so calm about this?" I yelled, as I pulled myself out of the pool. "We just broke up and he's one of your best friends! It doesn't make you the slightest upset to find this out?"
"We are better off as friends. I know that now. You need to be with someone who makes you truly happy, and we both know that's Billy, Addy."
"I don't even know if I want another boyfriend right now. We just split up and even though we didn't have the best relationship, we were together for a long time." Zak sat beside me under the shady umbrella at the table.
"If you really love him, you owe it to yourself to be with him."
"It wouldn't be weird for you?"
"I want you both to be happy." Zak smiled. In that moment, I was in a state of disbelief. Zak was being nicer to me now than he was the entire time we were a couple. Maybe, we really were better as friends.
"You're amazing."
"Oh, stop it." Zak laughed.
"No, I mean it. Whenever you do find that woman you want to be with, she'll be the luckiest girl on the plant." Zak stood and firmly kissed my forehead.
My heart pounded about a mile a second, as Zak and I pulled into Billy's driveway. The cars were already lined up, telling us that Jay, Aaron, and Bacon were already out back. We arrived a little late, so the sun had already set. The loud rock music filled the neighborhood and soared in my ears, as I stepped out of the car. I felt as though my feet were stapled to the ground beneath me. I couldn't seem to take another step forward. Zak, holding on to Gracie's leash, approached me from behind and gently rubbed my back. "So, what did you decide?" He asked.
"I'm going to tell him." I confessed. Zak smiled, and gave me a friendly, but somewhat rough pat on the back. Which, wasn't exactly the gesture I needed to calm my nerves.
As I was still preparing myself for my awkward encounter, Billy and the guys were sitting out back. The fire in the pit was growing taller and it cracked and popped, as the wood burned. The pile of empty beer bottles lay scattered on the lawn and showed that Billy already had way too much to drink. As I rounded the corner, with Zak and Gracie by my side, Billy looked up at me with the biggest smile on his face. Which, would've made me happy, if it wasn't for his stumbling and slurred words. I knew this night wasn't going to go as I had planned. "Hey, guys!!" Billy yelled, as he stumbled towards us. Zak had to catch him before he fell to the grass.
"Hey, bro. You drunk?" Zak asked, as he put all his strength into holding Billy up.
"Oh, just a tad intoxicated." Aaron said, with a chuckle.
"Billy?" I asked, concerned. Billy finally lifted off of Zak and made his way closer to me. He wrapped his shaking arm around my shoulders and gave me a cheesy smile. "Since when do you drink like this?"
"I just wanted to have some fun."
"You can have fun without being an obnoxious drunk." I growled.
"Jesus Christ, Addy, I'm a grown man. I can have a few fucking drinks if I want. If you don't like it you can leave." Billy scoffed and walked into his kitchen. Zak quickly followed, as Aaron walked to me.
"Don't mind him, Addy. He's going through some..." Aaron bit his bottom lip, as he searched for the right words to say, without giving Billy's secret away. "...um, personal shit."
"Is that personal shit about me?" I asked, as I crossed my arms underneath my chest. Aaron's eyes widened at my ballsy move.
"Wait, do you know?"
"Kind of, but I wanted to hear it from him. That's why I'm here. I wanted to talk about whatever is going on."
"What about Zak?"
"We broke up. We decided we were better as just friends." Aaron let of a slight laugh of relief, and to be honest, I was a little taken by his reaction.
"Oh, thank god." Aaron sighed.
"Is that funny to you?"
"No, but honestly, I knew it was bound to happen." I watched, as Aaron wore that goofy smirk of his.
"Thanks, dude. Way to keep the faith." I slapped his chest and walked over to an empty seat around the fire. Bacon, who was sitting beside me, continuously lifted his brows and I saw the shadows dancing in the light of the fire.
"So, you're going to talk to Billy?" Bacon asked, as Jay leaned in and Aaron took the seat on the other side of me. All three sets of wide eyes were on me, as they waited for an answer.
"Well, I was going to, but now..."
"Hey, he will sober up. Don't give up on him yet." Jay urged.
"Why are you all so excited about this?"
"Because Billy loves you, dude." Bacon said. "And no way in hell would he ever find another girl as hot as you." Bacon laughed, but quickly stopped as Jay slapped his arm.
Meanwhile, Zak was still knocking on Billy's bathroom door, which was tightly locked. Billy sat on the cold tile floor, legs wrapped around the toilet, trying to breathe through the nausea coming over him. "You alright, bro?" Zak asked from the hallway.
"I'm fine."
"Hey, just puke. It'll make you feel better."
"Nothing can make me feel better." Billy whispered. Suddenly, Aaron joined Zak in the hallway.
"Hey, let me talk to him." Aaron urged. Zak agreed and left them alone. "Billy, Addy needs to talk to you."
"I can't be around both of them." Billy cried. Aaron could still hear the intoxication of his tone, as he continued to slur his words and get tongue twisted.
"They broke up." Aaron said. Billy tried his hardest to swiftly lift his head, but unfortunately, the booze was making it hard to move at all. He still managed to find the strength to stand from the tile and open the door. Aaron smiled, as he saw me walking up the stairs towards them. When Billy saw me, I thought he was going to fall right back down. I couldn't tell if that was a good reaction, or not.
"Hi." I smiled.
"Hi." Billy replied. "You wanted to talk to me?"
"Yes, Id like that." Billy reached for my hand and lead me into his bedroom. Aaron winked at me, as we walked by, but a sharp slap to his gut wiped that smile off his face.
As we entered his bedroom, I was quite shocked by the mess. When I lived here, I always knew Billy as being a very tidy person, so this was very out of the ordinary. I could only imagine the kind of pain he was feeling, to cause this much filth. His dirty clothes lay scattered over the bed, and floor, and Billy rushed to clear the bed to allow me to sit down. "Billy, what's going on with you?"
"Just not enough time to clean I guess."
"It's not just about the mess." I said. The tension between us became as thick as clouds, and I let the silence continue until I found my courage to confront him. "Billy, do you have feelings for me?"
"Yes." Billy answered, without any hint of hesitation, or doubt.
"For how long?" I asked, as Billy let out a quiet laugh. "What?"
"Do you remember when Zak and I picked you up at your cousins apartment?" I nodded. "We went to that restaurant and had lunch and Zak was going to drop you off at the airport. I couldn't let that happen. I didn't understand why at the time, but something inside me was telling me that I couldn't let you go. I think I fell for you the first time I saw you."
"Why did you push me to go with Zak? Why didn't you tell me the truth?" I asked, as a single tear rolled down my cheek.
"I knew I wasn't good enough for you. Look at you. You're gorgeous. Any man would kill for a girl like you, and competing with a man like Zak? Are you kidding? Look at me!" Billy yelled, as he slapped his hands against his chest.
"There's nothing wrong with you, Billy."
"Stop. I don't need your pity."
"I'm not trying to pity you..."
"There's no chance that I will ever end up with a woman like you, so I gave up. That time I kissed you on the RV...I wanted to see if you wanted me back, but you laughed! You laughed at me. You looked at me like I was crazy!"
"You laughed too! Back then I was so involved in Zak's shit, I didn't open my eyes to what was really going on."
"And what's really going on, Addy? What the hell did you want to tell me?" Billy shrugged, as he sat at the edge of his bed. I was growing increasingly nervous, as his stern eyes stared into mine. I had never seen Billy so intoxicated and I didn't like it.
"Maybe, I'll wait for another night." I said, as I stood from the bed and made my way towards the door. Billy rushed after me and firmly grasped my arm. "Ow, Billy..."
"Please, tell me." Billy urged, as he inched closer. Cornering me into the wall. His grip was still tight around my wrist. The fear I felt was overwhelming, as I never seen Billy act this way.
"Billy, let go of me."
"Just please tell me."
"You're drunk..."
"I'm not drunk!" Billy yelled, before he wrapped his fingers under my chin and pressed his lips against mine. I moaned, but not in the way he was hoping for. I used all my strength to push him off me, and as he came back for more, I felt the sting in my palm, as my hand slapped his cheek. Billy paused, and kept his eyes on the floor. I cried, as I watched the redness in his cheek emerge. "I'm sorry..."
"I came here to tell you that I love you, but obviously, you're just like the rest of them! You only want one thing!"
"Addy, that's not..."
"Shut up! I don't want to hear anymore sweet talk. Maybe, you should get sober, and find me when you grow the fuck up!" The mirror on his wall rattled, as I slammed the bedroom door behind me. I ran out the front door, and the guys, who had moved the party inside, sat up as I rushed past. Billy ran down the stairs, but he stopped as he heard the engine of Zak's car roar.
"Did she just steal my car?" Zak asked.
"God damnit!" Billy yelled.
"Bro, what happened?"
"I just lost the love of my life, that's what happened..."
YOU ARE READING
On The Edge Of Falling
FanfictionThe Prequel to 'I Left My Heart In Vegas' 🖤 Addilyn Reilly is a shattered woman when she is suddenly fired from her job. After many years of doing the same thing, a unique opportunity falls in her lap and she finds herself falling for her new stric...
