“Of course, you’ve been here since the ass crack of dawn. Thanks for covering,” he says.
“Any time.” Just then Amanda emerges and he laughs out loud. “You could have told me that she stopped by.”
“She just got here.”
“And now you’re leaving?” he teases me. Nash thinks that there’s something going on with Amanda and I. “That’s convenient.”
“That’s got nothing to do with me leaving. I’ve told you before that we’re just friends.”
“Whatever. Let me know how your mom’s doing,” he says and gets sidetracked by a client. He waves to Amanda as we leave, and I grab my car keys on the way out.
“So you really are leaving?” she asks, pulling her sunglasses down off the top of her head.
“Yeah, I’m starving. I was gonna grab a bite and shower before I go back to the hospital.”
“I’ll come with you; I’m hungry too,” she says.
“Sure, where are you thinking?”
“Virgilios?” she offers and I agree that it’s the perfect place to grab lunch.
“Sure, hop in. I’ll drive.”
“I can drive,” she responds.
“Get your gimpy ass the fuck in the car, Amanda.”
She rolls her eyes at me but listens.
As I back my car out of the parking spot, she doesn’t wait two seconds before she turns in her seat and gives me a very serious look as she blurts out, “I saw Savannah last night.”
“What?” I glance at her in surprise, before putting my eyes back on the road.
“I’m sorry, I know I told you I wouldn’t but…I couldn’t help it. She called and I was bored and all loopy from the pills and—”
“Do you hear yourself right now? Imagine if I went running after Arion every time I was bored. For fuck’s sake, after all of the shit that she put you through, I can’t believe you gave her the time of day.”
“Come on, Nate, it’s not any worse than you fucking that whore who reminds you of Arion.”
I glare at her, I can’t believe she even went there. “This isn’t about me, Amanda.”
“I know. I’m sorry, Nate, but I just can’t say no to her.”
“Why not?” I ask her point blank, so pissed that I’m about to pull my car over so we can get to the bottom of this.
“Because,” she responds, aggravated.
“Because,” I retort back, trying to get why the hell she gave in to such a twat.
“I dated her for three and a half years. We have a past together.”
It pisses me off to hear Amanda defending someone who betrayed her the way this chick did. Their entire relationship was a lie. The rage that so often seems to be just below the surface is suddenly stirred, and I can’t bring myself to say anything else for fear of losing my temper. At this point, I’d almost rather take her back to her car.
“Don’t be like that,” she says.
“I can’t help it.”
“Then talk to me about it. I told you because I’m just as pissed at myself for giving in to her.”
I take several deep calming breaths and try to keep myself in “sure-I-can-be-a-supportive-friend” mode, beating down “enraged-soldier-with-issues” mode with a fucking stick.
“Did you hook up with her?”
“God, NO! Give me a little credit, Nate.”
“Okay, sorry.” We pull up to Virgilios and I opt to valet because of Amanda’s leg and because the kid probably makes just pennies per hour. If I can drop him a few bucks, then it’s worth it. See? Not a total asshole.
We get seated right by the window and both of us take a moment to look over our menus. I look at Amanda – she deserves someone so much better than Savannah. I get that the breakup has been exceptionally hard on her, but every time she seems to be getting past it, she gets sucked in again. And I keep telling her if she’d just come out of the damn closet, then she’d have a hell of an easier time finding someone to be with and wouldn’t feel that Savannah is her only option.
“Wanna split a pie?” she asks me.
“Sure.”
“What do you want on it?”
“I don’t give a fuck, you know that.”
Amanda orders our lunch as I devise a plan to keep Savannah out of her life for good.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asks.
“I’m not looking at you like anything. But I do have a question – can you tell me what it was again that broke you two up?”
She’s on to my game.
“Oh, that’s right. She cheated on you, I totally forgot and with who?”
She shoots daggers at me before answering, “My ex.”
“Listen, I love you, Amanda. You’re my best friend and I’ll do anything for you. That’s why it pisses me off to see you give in to this chick when she’s a good-for-nothing whore.”
“I know; that’s why I told you I needed some perspective. I shouldn’t have even thought about answering her call.”
“Next time she pulls this shit, or tries to, just call me. I don’t give a fuck if you tell her that we’re dating. Whatever it takes. Don’t waste your time again with her, okay?”