Page 36 of An Uphill Battle

“Kelly James, soon to be Matheson. I’m not sure why you think she’s his, but I can guaran-damn-tee you,she’smine.”

I snort. I don’t mean to, I really don’t, and even though I’m mostly sober after my showdown with Drake, I’m blaming the alcohol for my next words. “Then your woman’s awhore.”

“That’s it. Get out,” Brent roars as he reaches across me and flings my door open. “Get the fuckout.”

“You’re just gonna leave me here?” I yell athim.

“I’m not goin’ anywhere until your friend’s here, but you can wait out there. Go.Now.”

I do as he says, realizing that somewhere between the bar and here, I managed to lose my clutch, with my I.D. and keys.Talk about a cherry on top.Propping myself against my front door, I settle in to wait for whoever is on theirway.

My red dress, while killer, does absolutely nothing to keep me warm while waiting. The cool November wind whips around me, and I hunch my shoulders, trying to huddle around myself. I keep my eyes locked on my shiny heels, but my mind is a whirlwind, trying to process everything that’s happened. If Kelly is with Brent, maybe I did jump to conclusions about her and Drake. Maybe I should’ve listened to what he had to say instead of justassuming.

Or maybe Kelly really is a whore, playing us all. Maybe Drake doesn’t care that he’s with his employee’s fiancée, and maybe Brent’s as dumb as a box of rocks. At this point, there are more maybes than anything else, and I’m way too tired and cold to make sense of much of anything. If only my mind would stop racing and presenting me with one outrageous possibility afteranother.

The one thing I know for sure is that tomorrow is gonna hurt—in more ways thanone.

* * *

I’m notsure how long I’ve been sitting here, on the little bench in front of my apartment, freezing my tail off. Long enough that my cheeks are rosy and my nose is runny, and my toes are tingling. So, it’s no surprise that I just about jump for joy when I see Magnolia’s little beat-up Honda jump the curb as she turns into my parkinglot.

I watch her with an almost morbid fascination as she tries to park, backing out and straightening no less than four times. Someone needs to give that girl driving lessons, stat, which is a strange thing to say, given that she’s twenty-five yearsold.

Once she’s successfully parked, and by successfully, I mean mostly in the lines, she hops out and dashes over to me with her arms wrapped tightly around herself. “S–sorry I took so long. I had to go get your key from Seraphine. Hope you don’t mind that I came. Her dad is in a b–bad way.” Her words come out in one jumbled mass, save for her slightstutter.

“Not at all. Let’s just go inside,” I tell her as we make our way to my door. Brent waits until we’re inside before pulling away. That’s the thing about Southern boys—they’re gentlemen even when they’reassholes.

After locking the door, I throw myself back onto my couch. “Ugh, what a fluster-cluck!” I mutter into myhands.

Softly, Magnolia claims the seat next to me. “I don’t wanna pry, but is everythingokay?”

I laugh a humorless laugh. “No, notreally.”

“Well, I may not know much in the way of relationships and love, other than what not to do, but I’m a good listener. I mean, if–if you wanna talk, thatis.”

I take my time replying, studying her as I gather my words. I scan her, taking in her shampoo commercial-worthy hair, her sad blue eyes, and the way she always pulls her shoulders in as if she’s trying to minimize the space she takes up. There’s so much we don’t know about Magnolia, and I guess in turn, so much she doesn’t know about all of us, which I guess is what makes unloading my problems on her so easy. She doesn’t have any preconceived notions or opinions. She’s a blank canvas for me to spill my storyon.

“I’m in love with Drake, like I want his last name and little farmer babies, but I messed it all up. Like I mess everythingup.”

“I’m sure that’s not true,” Magnolia whispers, and I shake myhead.

“It’s very true. Drake and I... we have a history together. I’ve known him since I was thirteen, and I’ve loved him just as long. Growing up, he was always there for me, ya know? And I never thought he felt the same way, and then one day, he called me beautiful, and hope—that silly bitch—started growing in my heart. I thought maybe, just maybe, he could feel the same way, yaknow?

“But every time we took a step forward, we took two back. Anytime I was single, he was taken, and anytime he was single, I wasn’t. I convinced myself that it was just bad timing, nothing more. Right before he left for college, I decided to make my move, and let’s just say it blew up in my face. In the worstway.”

“How? Wh–what happened?” Magnoliaasks.

“I got all dressed up, in my best red dress.” Another laugh, devoid of humor, passes my lips. Apparently, red dresses, me, and Drake don’t go together. “And I showed up at a party I knew he’d be at. Long story short, we made out, and his girlfriend—well, a girl he claims he was ‘talking’ to—walked in. I didn’tknow.”

“Oh. That’s not so bad though, if they really were just talking, right?” Her voice is so calm and soothing that I keep right on spilling myguts.

“Yes and no. It’s—ugh. I don’t know my dad. I knowofhim, but I’ve never methim.”

“I’m sosorry—”

I hold up a hand to stop her. “Don’t be. He’s a dirty-dog of a man. Met my mom when she was young and filled her head with stories of the future they could have together. Whisked her away for long, exotic weekends. Always took her on extravagant dates, but he never took her to his house, yaknow?

“I don’t know how she never found that odd, but whatever. Anyway, four months into their relationship, Mom turns up pregnant with me, and as the story goes, he flipped. Told her to get an abortion—that he couldn’t have an illegitimate child destroying hisfamily.”

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