Tanya Pothier, one of the seniors on her cheer team last year, peeked out from the doorway. Tanya’s dark eyes were a little unfocused, her brown hair mussed and her lips red.
“Oh my god—I’m so sorry,” Laura said, backing away from the door. “Carry on!”
Tanya covered her mouth and hiccupped, stumbling out of the closet. The door swung wider, and Laura’s mouth dropped when her eyes locked on Brian.
“I’m sorry, babe,” he slurred. “I can explain.”
Laura felt like she was going to vomit. She turned to Tanya, who at least had the decency to look embarrassed. “Out. Now,” she said, pointing to the door to the yard.
After Tanya slunk away, Laura focused her rage back on Brian. She grabbed his arm and dragged him into the den, slamming the door behind them.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” she screamed, not even caring who heard.
“Calm down . . .” he mumbled, sitting on the green-and-red-plaid couch. Brian tapped the cushion next to him, inviting her to join him. Was he out of his freaking mind?
She scowled at him and paced around the room instead. The den’s wood-paneled walls were covered with animal mounts, all of which were staring at them. “How could you do this to me, Brian?” It felt like her heart was beating a thousand times a minute. “And at a party with all of our friends? I just cannot believe you.”
He leaned heavily against the couch. “It was an accident.”
“So, you just accidentally went into the pantry and started making out with another girl?” She paused her pacing, her head pounding like she’d been the one drinking all night.
Brian frowned, clearly trying to think through his excuses. “I’m drunk, babe. I didn’t know what I was doin’.”
How many times in her life was Laura going to hear some lame justification for Brian’s bad behavior? All of a sudden she felt exhausted, like she’d been holding up a wall for months and it finally was collapsing around her. She sat down on a worn armchair across from him and knew what she had to do.
“Brian, I can’t do this anymore,” she said.
“No, don’t say that,” he begged. “You’re overreacting. I just messed up.”
Laura took a deep breath and held her shoulders back, looking directly into his glazed eyes. “Brian, this is so much more than an argument about you kissing some girl. I know you’re drunk right now, and maybe you won’t remember any of this tomorrow, but I need to say this.”
He sat back and stared at her.
“Since we’ve been together, everything I’ve done has been for you. Our whole relationship has revolved around what our lives are gonna be like once you go there and when you do that.” She looked down at her hands, clasped tightly in her lap, and spoke the truth she’d been feeling for months. “I don’t feel like you ever encouraged me or even supported me.” Her mind flashed to Vince, who always pushed her to do better.
“That’s so not true,” Brian interrupted.
“Brian, you told me to quit high school!”
“That’s not fair—you wanted to do that,” he said, his face growing red.
Laura bit her lip and looked away from him. “I thought I did . . . but everyone makes mistakes, right?” She pointed in the direction of the kitchen, reminding him why they were arguing in the first place. “This year, going back to school, I realized that what I really need is to focus on my plans, not yours.”
Brian swallowed and lowered his head.
Laura took a deep breath, her stomach clenching. She couldn’t believe what she was about to say—that it had come to this, after everything they’d been through this year—but she knew it was the right decision. “I don’t think that we should be together anymore.”
Brian’s eyes widened as his face went slack with shock. “Oh baby, you don’t mean that,” he slurred. “You love me.” He held out his hands toward her but didn’t move from the couch. “C’mon. I’m gonna make you so happy. It’s what we both wanted.”
Laura stood from the armchair. “Brian, I’ve always loved you. I will probably always have a place in my heart for you. But this is something that I need to do for myself.” She looked him in the eyes. “There will be other girls who will cheer you on. But it’s not going to be me anymore.”
“Stop it,” Brian hissed, leaning forward so suddenly that he almost toppled off the sofa. “Don’t say that. We can get through this, I promise.”
Laura glanced back at Brian. He was now sprawled across the couch, his beer-stained T-shirt straining over his belly. His drunkenness only reminded Laura of all the promises he’d made her over the past year and how few of them he’d actually kept.
“I just don’t think you’re ever gonna change. But the thing is . . . I have.”
As she walked out of the room, Laura fought back tears. Leaving Brian was the scariest thing she’d ever done, and the hardest. But she couldn’t deny that it felt like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She’d spent so long carrying his dreams for him. And now, finally, she had the freedom to find her own.
41
gabrielle
“MAMA, HOW ABOUT this one?” Gabby asked, holding up a beige silk top.
“Oh, that’s nice,” Elaine said. “See, I told you it was worth comin’ all this way. This mall is way better than Geauxchamp’s.”
Gabby laughed. For a forty-five-year-old, her mom had quite the trendy taste. Everything she’d seen at the Toulouse department store was too “old lady” for her style. And that’s why they were twenty miles away at the Lafayette mall, shopping at places like H&M and Forever 21, which Gabby had to admit had some seriously cute work clothes.
“Does this one say ‘Hire me!’ or ‘Take me to the club?’?” Elaine asked, holding up a little black dress.
“Ooh, I like,” Gabby said, giving it the once-over. She walked over to the rack and grabbed a gray blazer. “Pair it with this for the interview,” she said, holding them together. “And take it off when you go dancing,” she said, moving the blazer away.
“My daughter’s a genius,” Elaine said, laughing. “Add it to my pile.”
They collected dozens of skirts, tops, shoes, and belts until finally Gabby reined her mom in. “Why don’t you go try these on?”
“Something’s bound to work, huh?” Elaine sighed and headed into the dressing room.
Gabby sat outside on the plush white leather bench, watching all the people scurry around the store. A tween was rolling her eyes at her dad as he told her the shorts she had picked up were way too short. A couple holding hands perused the lingerie section, shooting each other shy grins. Gabby spent a moment checking out a handsome guy looking at belts in the men’s section . . . and then he turned around.
Oh my god. Tony. Every muscle in her body froze up. She looked away quickly, trying to hide her face and hoping he hadn’t seen her. A few seconds later, she heard a familiar voice right behind her.