Читать книгу The Other Side Of The Lies - Callie Ansar - Страница 7

As we pulled into the same parking spot we left from, I gently rubbed my arms, as the ocean air was a bit chilly that night.

“You cold, Kid?” Ramsey asked.

“A little,” I said.

Ramsey rummaged through the crap in his back seat and pulled out a white hooded sweatshirt with Middle Woods written in red letters.

“Here, put this on,” he said as he handed it to me.

As I put the shirt over my head, I could feel his scent being draped all over me, and for a second, the euphoria of it made me dizzy. While I was doing that, he also pulled a blanket from the back seat and said, “We can sit on this on the beach.”

When I got out of the car, I realized that I had forgotten about the sweatshirt I had tied around my waist. Being a little embarrassed, and not wanting to give up the intoxicating scent of his sweatshirt, I quickly untied mine from my waist and threw it in the backseat of the Jeep as Ramsey walked around the car.

Alcohol in hand, we walked side by side up to the boardwalk where Lauri and Danny sat, waiting for us.

“You’re late,” Danny said clearly unhappy.

“Relax Danny,” Ramsey answered him.

“Come on, let’s go,” Lauri said as he locked her arm into mine. We headed towards the bonfire with the guys following right behind us. Spotting her friends, Lauri led us to them. We found an empty spot near them and I helped Ramsey lay down his blanket. I took off my shoes and plopped myself onto the blanket. Ramsey sat behind me, placing my body in between his open legs. He handed me a wine cooler before wrapping both of his arms around me and gently squeezing. He gently placed a trail of kisses on my neck, sending my body into a frenzy.

“Are you warm enough?” he asked, squeezing a little tighter.

“I’m perfect,” I answered, and I was. Sitting there, wrapped in this mans arms, I couldn’t be happier.

I had never been to a bonfire before and was glad that Lauri insisted that I come with her. The fire itself was a moderate size, nothing crazy. But around the fire sat about 75 people, drinking, talking, laughing and getting to know each other. Everyone was mingling and blanket hopping, except for us. People gravitated to Ramsey, so we just sat there in the same position, as people came and left throughout the night. We even met some people from Queens, just like me, but I didn’t know them.

Once the guys started talking sports, Ramsey brought up the fact that the last game he played, he pitched a no hitter. The guys from Queens were impressed by Ramsey’s baseball stats, but they were more into basketball. When they asked me where I went to high school and I told them, “Holy Family,” they immediately asked if I knew David Taylor.

I think my heart stopped beating for a second and I could feel the blood draining from my face. Lauri, who had already finished her four wine coolers, answered them by saying, “He’s her ex, and he’s a prick.”

“Well, I don’t know anything about that,” one of them answered, “but he sure can play ball.”

Then the other one chimed in with, “You got that right. Where is he going to school in the fall? Is he playing ball?”

I was still silent and motionless. My head was spinning with every word they uttered about David. I was in another friggen state and had to meet people who wanted to talk about my ex boyfriend. I could feel my face paling when Ramsey let go of me and stood up.

“Guys, they aren’t together anymore. I don’t think the lady wants to talk about that asshole, so let’s just drop it,” Ramsey said to them, standing a little closer than he probably should have.

“Yo, back off bro,” one of them said, shoving Ramsey’s shoulders.

Ramsey fumbled backwards, but stood his ground. He put his hands in the air, as if surrendering. “No need to get physical, guys. I just think this conversation is done. Why don’t you get out of here,” Ramsey commanded nicely.

“Getting really defensive over someone else’s sloppy seconds, huh. She must really be worth it,” the taller one said as he snickered and his friend gave him a high five.

Before I could blink my eyes, Ramsey’s fist was attached to the guys face. I watched as he fell to the ground and his friend charged Ramsey. I couldn’t believe that this was happening. All of a sudden Billy and a few other upstaters pulled the guy off of Ramsey and started wailing on the two shit talkers from Queens. I thought I was going to throw up.

Before I knew it, the fight was being broken up by some guys from Pennsylvania that we had met earlier. Bodies were being shoved off of the beach, as Ramsey stumbled back to me.

He had blood dripping from his mouth and I immediately lifted my shirt to wipe it off.

“Oh my God, what can I do? What do you need?” I nervously asked.

“I’m gonna need you to wash the blood off of my favorite shirt, Kid,” he said as he laughed.

He was laughing. Laughing, when I felt like crying.

He continued, “I’m gonna run back to the room and clean up quick. Stay here with Lauri and Danny and I’ll be right back.”

It was the first time Ramsey had voluntarily left my side since we met earlier in the day. I couldn’t help but think that he needed a break from me to clear his head. I could only hope that he didn’t blame me for what had happened.

“Ok,” I said as he got up and walked toward the boardwalk. I saw Billy and a couple others intercept him on the sand. I watched them all walk together until they disappeared.

Once back in room 133, Ramsey headed straight to the bathroom to clean the blood off of his face. When he was finished, he found Billy and the boys smoking out of his bong.

“Want a hit?” Billy asked Ramsey when he saw him.

“Nah, I need something a little stronger right now,” Ramsey said as he walked over to his duffle bag and pulled something out. “Anyone up for some blow?” he asked as he held the baggie that he had purchased from Danny earlier, up in the air for all to see.

Smiles spread across the room as the boys from upstate took turns inhaling the euphoric powder.

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“What the hell just happened here?” Lauri asked.

“Um, I have no idea, Lau,” I said lighting a cigarette. “I mean I came down here to get my mind off of David, and when I finally do, I meet people who want to talk about him like he’s a damn celebrity or something. And then Ramseys fighting them? How did that even happen? I feel terrible.”

“Don’t feel bad, Karen. Nothing that happened here is your fault. I mean Ramsey isn’t my favorite person, but he did the right thing. I would have punched that asshole in the face too,” Danny said. “I’ve seen these guys fight before and believe me, this was nothing. Nobody got hurt, everyone walked away. No big deal. Don’t think twice about it,” he said, handing me another wine cooler.

After taking a swig I said, “Really?”

“Really, Karen. Don’t worry about it,” Lauri said as she sat down beside me, wrapping her arms around my neck. “Besides what just happened, are you having fun?”

“I’m having a great time, Lau,” I said, half smiling. “I think I’m gonna take a walk and put my feet in the water. I’ll be right back,” I said.

“Don’t go too far, Karen,” Danny said.

“I won’t, dad. I won’t go out of your eyesight,” I sassed.

Handing Lauri my drink, I got up and started walking toward the ocean.

The beach was one of my favorite places to be, especially at night. The full moon was low in the sky and the light it reflected on the dark water was breathtaking. Once I got to the shore, I sat down. I brought my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms around my legs. I rocked back and forth as tears began to stream down my face. The sound of the waves crashing into the shore was normally a sound that would soothe me, but at this moment, I couldn’t help but cry.

I cried for everything. I cried because of the immense hurt I still felt over what David had done to me. I cried because I knew that that incident had changed me forever and I would never be able to trust again. I cried because I wasn’t good enough for him and I’d never get the confidence back to be good enough for anybody. I cried because the only thing that made me smile in the last four weeks was sitting in his room, cleaning blood off of his face because of me. I cried because I was broken and I’d never be whole again.

I sat there and hugged myself for what seemed to be forever, constantly wiping my tears with the blood stained sleeves of Ramsey’s sweatshirt. After a while, when I finally calmed down, I just sat there and closed my eyes. I listened and let the sound of the waves take me away.

“Mind if I sit down?” Ramsey asked and my eyes flew open at the sound of his voice. “You’re not breaking promises again are you?” he asked.

I shook my head no, but my red and puffy face said the opposite.

“Karen, why are you crying?” he asked, chuckling.

I just continued to shake my head. He pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and handed me one. Once I put it in my mouth, he lit it for me, and then did the same for himself. Exhaling, he asked, “What is this about, Karen? David?”

“It’s just everything, Ramsey. My life has been an emotional roller coaster for the past month, and just when I start to feel grounded again, everything turns upside down.”

“How?” he asked.

“Well, for starters, that guy insinuating that I’m a whore. I’m not, Ramsey. I’m really not, not even close.”

“Karen, that guy was making fun of me, not you. Nobody thinks you’re a whore. And that fight was about me, not you, so you shouldn’t feel bad about that either,” he said.

“How can I not feel bad? If he hadn’t brought David up, that fight would have never happened,” I answered.

“And nobody got hurt in the fight, so it’s not a big deal, Karen. So just stop, ok,” he pleaded.

“I’ll try,” I said, wiping another tear from my eye.

“Good. So listen, I hate to bring this up now, but since you’re already upset, why don’t you tell me what exactly happened with David. I mean, Lauri told me that he cheated, but what exactly happened? I’d like to know what this guy did to you that you are constantly crying over him.”

I let out a deep breath and extinguished my cigarette in the sand. “I’m gonna need a fresh smoke for this one,” I said, grabbing for his pack of cigarettes that were lying next to him. I popped another cigarette in my mouth and right on cue, Ramsey had the lighter waiting for me.

“Ok, here goes,” I said as I started my story. “David and I started going out our junior year. He was a popular jock and I was a cheerleader, so we got together. You know, that’s how it works. We were inseparable, always together and spent every moment we could together. It was a great relationship, we never even really fought. He was my first for mostly everything and he taught me so much,” I said blushing, because I was referring to sex.

“When senior year came, we were homecoming king and queen. Basically, David and I were the stereotypical popular high school couple. When it came time to talk colleges, I wanted to go away. He got a scholarship to an amazing college with a fantastic basketball team in Queens, so he was staying home. I would have tried the long distance thing, but he pleaded with me not to leave him. He said he wouldn’t be able to get up in the morning knowing I was so many miles away.” I took another drag of my cigarette before I continued. “I loved him. I did. So, I applied to the school he is going to and I got in. They even offered me some money because I have good grades. David said it was fate, so I accepted the scholarship.

Just like all of you guys come down here every year prom weekend, my school goes to Cancun every year. Most of the senior class goes. David and I had been going out for so long, and our parents knew we were sleeping with each other, so they let us share a room in Mexico. We were so excited, ya know. We thought we were adults,” I told him with a hint of a chuckle.

“So, we head off to Mexico. I’ve never been too confident in myself, but Ramsey, I’ve never been so insecure in my life. Our hotel was crawling with teenagers, ninety five percent of them being absolutely gorgeous. We pretty much hung out with our classmates, but David is one of the most sociable people I know, and will carry on a conversation with just about anyone.

One day when we were by the pool, I was lying out and he was at the swim up bar, talking to everyone as usual. I noticed that there was a gorgeous blonde with big boobs standing behind him, with her arm on his shoulder. I didn’t think much of it because I mean David’s gorgeous, a lot of women try to touch him. But I kept on watching. He didn’t even try to move her arm away,” I said, shaking my head as I remembered the day.

“Some of my friends were getting their belly buttons pierced on the beach and asked if I wanted to go get it done. Trying to be spontaneous I guess, I agreed. I walked over to where I thought David could hear me and screamed that I’d be back in about a half hour. Once David acknowledged me, the blonde took her hands off of him. So, I walked away and got my belly pierced by some guy on the beach.

When we got back to the pool area, David wasn’t there. I asked his friends where he was and they said he went up to the room to lie down. I assumed he had too much to drink and too much sun. I couldn’t wait to show him my new accessory. David always said that my belly was his favorite part of my body, so that made me even more excited to show him.

When I got off the elevator and walked toward our room, I could hear loud music and didn’t realize it was coming from my room until I got to the door. I slid the card key in and opened the door. And there they were, David and the blonde, on my bed.

She was bent over on her hands and knees and he was behind her. He had one hand on her waist and the other on her big ass boob. It was a scene straight out of a porno. The image is burned in my brain. He must have been concentrating really hard because he didn’t even know that I walked into the room. She, on the other hand, did.”

“Holy shit. That sucks,” Ramsey said.

“I know, right. So she started screaming, “Get the fuck out of here,” and I just stood there, watching. Once she started shouting, David obviously looked to see what she was screaming at, and once he made eye contact with me, what was going on actually hit me, and I fainted, like a loser.

When I came to, he was standing over me, slapping my face, crying. He was friggen crying saying, “Karen, oh God, I’m so sorry Karen. Please, Karen, please.” It took me a minute, but I eventually stood up and looked around the room, searching for Ms. Big Boobs. He told me that she left as soon as I hit the floor. I just stood there for a minute, still stunned, before I asked him why.

You know what his response was? He said when he was at the pool bar that afternoon talking with all of those people, they were having a conversation about sex, and she was talking about all of the sexual stuff she likes to do. He said that he got aroused the second the words came out of her mouth. He said it was partly my fault that he acted on it because there were some things that I wasn’t willing to try. He said that between all of the alcohol he had that day, and her tempting words he couldn’t help himself. He admitted that I’m the only girl that he had been with while we were a couple for the last year and a half, but once he got to Mexico and saw all of those exotic, beautiful, big breasted women, he couldn’t resist the temptation. He told me that every time we had sex while in Mexico, he was fantasizing about other women.

That’s when I lost it. I started throwing things, I broke the television in the room and I even broke the mirror. I went crazy. Security came up to our room because someone called about the disturbance.

I stayed with my friends that night and thankfully we were scheduled to go home the next day. Unfortunately, I had to endure a four hour plane ride with him. I switched my seat with someone, but he still kept coming over and begging for my forgiveness. I don’t even know why he kept apologizing because I don’t even think he regretted what he did.

When I got home, I don’t know if my parents were angrier at David, my belly ring, or the damages bill they got from the hotel.

I had to see him at school when we got back. He wrote me this crazy letter about how he was drunk and high when he had sex with that girl. He knows how much I hate drugs and said that’s why he left that part out originally. He said that she had some ecstasy on her and they did it before they got into it. He said that he didn’t mean a word he said about wanting to be with other women, that he only wanted me and that he’ll always only want me.

I tried to ignore him as best I could, avoiding his phone calls and avoiding him at school. My friend Matthew had to threaten him to stop calling my job. My father also gave him a piece of his mind one time when he got him on the phone. He still beeps me once in a while, and I thought of changing my number, but it’s just so inconvenient since everyone already has this number. I don’t mind when he beeps me, though. It just reminds me that I can’t trust anyone. And every time I look down at this fucking ring in my belly button, I want to rip it out because it’s the reason my heart is absolutely crushed,” I said as I slightly lifted up to look at that damn ring.

“My schools prom was this weekend too. Of course we were supposed to go together, but my parents thought it would be better if I spent the weekend upstate. When Lauri told me that she was coming down here, I thought it would be great for me to get away. When I saw everyone arriving Friday night in their tuxes and prom dresses, I flew right into another depression. That’s why I was sitting by that pay phone when you found me this morning. I couldn’t stop thinking of David and I felt like I needed to talk to him. I don’t even know if he went to the damn prom. So, that’s my story,” I finished as I shrugged my shoulders.

“Well, that’s some story. I mean, Lauri told me that you boyfriend cheated, but she didn’t tell me that you actually watched him cheat. That must have been horrible,” Ramsey said.

“It was. Every time I see him, that’s all I see, him and that girl. And now, it’s not even like I have college to look forward to because we are going to the same school. I’m so stupid. I wish I was going away, but I can’t change that now.” To my surprise, I wasn’t crying anymore. It actually felt good to get this out.

“No, but you can suck it up for a semester and transfer out. Why don’t you come with me to Pennsylvania?” Ramsey joked. “Nicole wanted me to stay home with her too, but I told that bitch to kiss my ass.”

I laughed. “Nicole. That’s another thing that I’m totally embarrassed about. It’s just that, when I saw her she reminded me so much of that girl in Mexico, and everything she said to me reiterated the situation with David. I’m surprised I didn’t faint,” I said with a chuckle. “I’m sorry I acted like that in front of your friends. I hope you’re not embarrassed.”

“Embarrassed? God Karen, I feel terrible,” Ramsey said placing his hand over his heart. “Nicole is just a bitch, plain and simple. Don’t take anything she said seriously. I know she said that I’d never like a girl like you, but the fact is I prefer a girl like you. Yes, Nicole is sexy when you look at her, but that is literally all Nicole has going for her. You, on the other hand, you are amazing, Karen. You are beautiful, even when you’re crying. You are smart, and funny and totally sexy. I can actually have a conversation with you and when you laugh, I just want to grab you and kiss you. I’ve been with my fair share of girls, but when I’m with you, I don’t know, something happens to me.”

I looked at him and said, “Some weird connection, right?”

“Exactly. How’d you know?” he asked.

“Because I feel it too. It’s like I’ve known you forever, I feel totally comfortable with you, and when we kiss…”

He cut me off, “It’s like the most perfect moment in the world.”

Now, looking into each other’s eyes, Ramsey put his hand around the back of my head and pulled my mouth to his. It wasn’t a hot, sensual kiss like the moment we shared in the pool. This was a gentle and loving kiss and I became lost in the moment. Between the sounds of the waves crashing against the ocean, Ramseys intoxicating scent, and the electricity that sparked between us, this was the most amazing kiss I had ever had.

“Geeze, you two should get a room,” Lauri said as she approached us.

Pulling his mouth away from mine, Ramsey said, “Hey Lauri. What’s up?”

“We’re kind of bored. Me and Danny are gonna call it a night.”

“Really?” I asked. “What time is it?”

Ramsey looked at his watch and said, “It’s only 11:00.”

“Well, you guys have been down here forever and everyone else kind of disappeared. We’re just gonna go back to the room and hang out, maybe smoke. Do you guys want to come?” Lauri asked.

“No thanks,” Ramsey answered for us, giving her no further explanation as to why we wouldn’t be joining them.

“Uh, ok. Ka, you have a key, right?” she asked.

“Yes, and don’t wait up,” I said with a giggle.

“Well you crazy kids have fun,” she said and then turned and walked away.

“So what are we going to do?” I asked Ramsey, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, as much as I would love to sit here and kiss you all night, I am loving just talking to you and getting to know you. I want to know more about you,” he said. “Is that ok with you?”

“Sure, yes,” I answered. “Should we stay here or go somewhere else?”

“Let me go grab my blanket and we can stay here, unless you’re cold,” he said.

“I’m good, thanks,” I told him. With that, he got up and walked back toward the bonfire. I kept my eyes on the vast ocean in his absence. The moon was still glistening on the water and it was beautiful to look at. I smiled thinking about my happiness in that moment.

Ramsey came back a few minutes later with his blanket and some loose beers that he said he bummed off of a few bonfire stragglers. I stood up and helped him lay the blanket out. We sat down, side by side, and clinked our beer bottles together while saying, “Cheers”.

“So, tell me more about yourself, Kid,” Ramsey said.