Hot Tub Traitor

I sit in the restaurant. I am dumbfounded by the fact that my ex is sitting across the table from me. At a family event. I hadn’t even introduced him to half of the people in the room. Oh and, we had dated for a year. I look at my father feeling sad, angry, and betrayed. A look of genuine concern flickers across his face as he looks at me.

I lean in close “what is he doing here?” I hiss. My initial shock has begun to wear off and I can feel anger building inside me. My fathers’ eyes flick to the bastard across the table from me. “He is one of Autumn’s friends. Is it a problem that he’s here?” I have never told my dad the story the truth. It’s odd that he would show up here so soon after the truth had come out. I will never forget the moment that they had told me what a monster he was. It was a normal day, and we were all sitting around like we did almost every day.

It was then a statement popped out of Tracy’s mouth. “Remember your ex-Garett he was such an ass hole. Right Tony.” Tony took a deep breath her eyes stabbing daggers into Tracy’s core. Looking back and forth between the two I rocked back on my heels. “Let’s not talk about it.” Her tone is brisk and really cutting into me. “Well now, you have to tell me,” Tony looks again at Tracy like she is going to kick her ass.

I stand looking between the two of them as an awkward silence falls between us. “Come on its already out there,” Tony takes another deep breath. “Well, you remember the night when you guys came over to hot tub and you fell asleep early?” I nod my head in conformation. My mom had been weird that night. “Well, when he and I were alone in the hot tub because everyone had come inside, he looked at me very seriously and was like “you know we could have sex right now and no one would know”. I laughed thinking it was a joke and he was said to me “no I’m serious.”

“What!” I burst in at this point my whole world shaking. I thought we had ended on amicable terms, but I guess I was naive. “Why did no one ever tell me this?” I stare at Tony letting my eyes beg her to tell me the truth even though I wasn’t sure that I wanted to know the truth. “We wanted to, but I came in and talked to mom about it,” I nod my head knowing where this was going, “she freaked out and confronted him.” With my hunch confirmed my head goes back to bobbing. “ Then they were waking you up and he was saying you were leaving, and everyone was fighting, and you were insisting that you wanted to go home.” I could confirm this part. I had been carried out to my car in a very inebriated state. “By the time you left, even with mom trying to pry your ass out of the car, no one was sure what the hell was going on.” I remember that car ride home nodding on and off asking him questions. Trying to find out what had happened. He had said it was just a big misunderstanding. “By the next morning I wasn’t sure if I was right or not,” the anger that was boiling under the surface burst inside me.

I smash back to reality with the swing of the bathroom door. Alone she pins me to the wall with a look. “What’s wrong?” her voice is filled with acceptance. She is one of the only things that can crack me when I have balled something up inside my soul. “It’s a long story. But he tried to sleep with Tony when we were together” her eyebrows climb up her face in a way she has. It is almost anger and disbelief all in one look, but her mouth is stuck on anger and her eyebrows well past surprised.

With a nod she goes into a stall. “Well, we only have to get through this.” I feel her matter-of-fact tone soothing my shattered pieces. “Your dad doesn’t know right.” I confirm the fact with her quickly. “Well, we shouldn’t tell him now.” I can’t help but agree with that statement. If my dad found out, we might get kicked out of the restaurant. “Just talk to me so you won’t have to talk to him at all.” Relief rushes through my body. I wouldn’t have had to communicate with him.

We sat talking with little interruption the cake obviously, singing, with a few conversations sprinkled in. We ate and that was our cue. We said our goodbyes making a quick exit stage right. I was elated as we floated along. I had made a clean get away. I had not let his presence dampen my ti… “Is this how it’s really going to be?” fire nothing but fire. Spinning viciously, I take three steps and find myself nose to chest with the perverted ass hole who had tried to sleep with my underaged sister.

Grandma’s whisper of “don’t” gets lost somewhere between my ears and my brain in the haze of memories washing through fire. “What?” I can feel my eyes doing the squinty thing I do before there is an all-out explosion. “You haven’t said anything to me,” is he serious right now. “I didn’t think we had anything to talk about. How about you?” I will literally murder this man if I stay in this conversation. “Well, how’s it going?” my brain is trying to process why I even turned around. “I heard you’re single,” did my nostrils just flare, that is not good, “and have a good job,” is he insinuating that I am more desirable now? “And that’s a nice new car.” The fuse is lit and now it’s time to throw down. “We could talk about the story that Tony told me about the two of you and a hot tub.” The words are out like electric green vomit.

I can tell that it’s coming. He winds up his face in that half frowning thing with his teeth showing that always told me he was evading my questions. His mumbling response sets off a match. “Just what I thought.” I need to get to the car. I can feel tears welling up in my eyes as slam the door letting it fall into place like dirt over a grave.