I Left It In Ohio

I hope you enjoy my first story! Any constructive criticism is welcome!
 

I Left It In Ohio

 

Chapter 1: Basking in the Glow of the Computer Screen

 
         Kara Waters sat fiddling with her half eaten, over dressed, chicken salad. She stared blankly at her date as he incessantly babbled about his dull sales job. This guy, or Bob as he was named, was five years older than Kara, whom had just turned 23. He had wire rimmed glasses, a piece of his meal jammed in his bottom teeth, and a section of hair that was going the complete opposite way as the rest of his horrendous comb over. She kept fighting the urge to spit in her hand, dive across the table, and mess up whatever hairstyle he was trying to concoct.
         She had met Bob the other week while waiting for the elevator in her apartment building. He had been walking his dog, and was not adorned in the awful glasses and comb over that he had so wrongfully worn tonight. When he came to the door Kara had almost burst into laughter but refrained from it, figuring it probably would not be the best first impression to give her date. She did not know why she had said yes to his invitation but she had not been on a date since…well since her last relationship, which ended not so well 5 months previous. Another problem was that she was semi-new to New York City and knew not a single person except her neighbor whom she had spoken to a few times.
         The past five months were probably the hardest Kara had ever experienced. She had a knack for spontaneity, and decided one day to end her two year relationship with the man she thought should would marry, grab her belongings, and move herself to New York to chase a dream she had had since she was a child. She wanted to pursue an art career and knew she would regret it if she did not try. Breaking it off with Matt was the hardest thing she had ever done. She was so in love with him but figured if she did not do something with her life she would go nuts. Matt had not seen it coming the day she sat him down on small couch in her two room apartment. Before she even spoke, her mind fist fought with her heart over whether or not she was making the right decision. She could barely look him in the eyes because tears were sitting on the brims of her lower eyelids, waiting to jump. Finally, with all the courage she could muster, she blurt out the words she had thought about over and over, and they sounded awful.

"Matt, I'm leaving Ohio."

          She remembered his expression. It was a mixture of confusion and shock. Once a few tears fell she caught her composure and began to explain what she had been thinking, and how she hoped he would understand. She wanted to flee from Ohio and try to pursue an art career in New York. Matt could not even fathom what she was saying. At first he thought she was joking, and then he thought she would ask him to come, and then his heart broke with every word that fell from her mouth.

"I don't think we should see each other anymore." We're the words that tore the last bit of his heart apart. Kara didn't even think for a second that his reaction was going to be the way that it was. She had never seen it before but she noticed tears welling in his eyes. He didn't say anything until she was done explaining herself, and she asked him what he was thinking. Matt was an extremely considerate and caring person but he had never been so angry in his life. He yelled at her for being selfish and not even thinking about what they had for the past two years. He was angry at her for not even talking to him about what she was feeling. His heart had just been stomped on by the girl he could have spent the rest of his life with. Kara and Matt left on bad terms because both of them thought they were right but knew the other had somewhat of a legit story. Stubborness was one thing they both had in common. Kara cried the rest of the night and even cried herself to sleep. As for Matt, he sat on his couch, a beer in one hand, and a small jewelry box that he had been carrying around in the other. He flipped it open and glanced at the small stone, sighed heavily, shut the little black box, and forcefully placed it on his coffee table.
         For the first three months she was happy and felt free but she missed Matt terribly. There were nights she would lie wide awake in bed and imagine life back in Ohio.
         Matt was a mess for the next 3 weeks. Not only did his girlfriend just leave him selfishly but he had been planning ways to ask her to marry him, and was planning on doing it within the next couple months. He even had just purchased the perfect ring, that now sat idly on the coffee table. The apartment he owned with his best friend Josh became his moping grounds until his roommate became fed up and took him to the local bar. As month five rolled around, Matt was repairing but deep down, no matter how much he despised her, he knew he was still in love with her.
         As for Kara, she had a few pieces of her art sold at local art galleries but nothing big. And she felt as if nothing big would come along besides the front desk job she had received at the Maurice Delavue Gallery. Everyday, after work, Kara would come back to her tiny apartment and sit in the glow of her computer screen. She would chat online with some of her close friends and occasionally glance at her buddy list to see if Matt was on. Now Kara was not a person to make stupid decisions but everyday she began to think that this one time, she did.
 
         After her god-awful date Kara sat on her bed and opened her laptop. It was her daily ritual, get home, grab whatever food she had, and chat on her computer. Sometimes she waltzed into the art studio section of her apartment, or the corner she kept her easel in, and would paint a picture but none of the paintings felt right to her and she could not create one that she felt was worthy of someone viewing.
         She felt very odd after the date she had just experienced and the awkward way Bob had tried to come in for a food-stuck-in-teeth- kiss. She felt somewhat bad about not telling him that he had food in his teeth, but it was the only decently amusing part of the date. As she sat thinking about telling her friend Casey about the date, a window popped up on her screen.
 
SteelrsFN06: hey
 
She sat staring at the instant message. Her heart was thumping. She hadn’t talked to Matt for almost 2 weeks.
 
KarBare: hi
SteelrsFN06: how are you?
KarBare: eh, I’ve seen better days. How are you?
SteelrsFN06: I’m ok. How’s the job and art coming?
KarBare: The art is kind of slow and the job pays the rent. What’s new?
SteelrsFN06: Nothing. I’ve been sick for the past week. So I’m just trying to get better.
KarBare: Oh, what’s been wrong?
SteelrsFN06: Stomach flu. I’ve lost about ten pounds.
KarBare: I’m sorry are you feeling better?
SteelrsFN06: Yeah, I’m better. I guess.
KarBare: I’m glad you’re better. How’s everybody?
SteelrsFN06: Everyone is doing well. They miss you…especially Casey. She’s been dating all these tools and has been trying to talk to me about them. lol
KarBare: wow I feel bad for you. So how is everything with you?
SteelrsFN06: um, I don’t know. I’ve been a lot better. Have you found any guys out there?
 
She felt her heart twinge a little.
 
KarBare: No. Have you found any girls?
SteelrsFN06: Eh, here and there.
KarBare: Oh. Did you date any?
SteelrsFN06: One or two dates. That’s about all.
KarBare: So nothing really worked?
SteelrsFN06: No not really.
 
There were a couple minutes of silence between the computers.
 
KarBare: You should bring some people and visit.
SteelrsFN06: I don’t know. That would probably be fun. I know our friends would like to see you. I’ll run it by them and let you know. I have a lot to do but others might come.
KarBare: Do you have a lot to do or do you just not want to come?
SteelrsFN06: Both.
 
Kara felt like she took a blow to the stomach. Her breath caught in her throat as she felt her cheeks get hot.
 
KarBare: You should give it a try Matt. Try something new it couldn’t hurt. Besides if everyone comes I would like to see you.
SteelrsFN06: yeah I almost believe that.
KarBare: Oh, stop. You know I would.
SteelrsFN06: Do I? I mean you had no problem leaving.
KarBare: I really don’t want to do this right now. Matt you know it was hard for me. It still is but you know I how felt and still feel. I needed to do something with my life.
SteelrsFN06: Are you doing something?
KarBare: Slowly. Will you please think about coming if the others do?
SteelrsFN06: Yeah. I gtg. I’ll call you or have someone call you about it. Bye.
KarBare: Ok. Bye.
 
         As soon as they both signed off, they both sulked in their beds. Well, Matt did man sulking and Kara started crying. She also started feeling that loneliness creeping into the dark pits of her stomach. Instead of letting the feeling eat at her she decided to call her good friend Casey. She grabbed her cell phone from her bedside table and shifted through her different numbers until she saw the one she was looking for.
 
“Hello.” The all too familiar voice said as Casey answered.

“Case! I really need to talk to you!” Kara exclaimed as her emotions began bubbling inside.

“Kara? Kara what’s wrong?” Her concerned friend asked.

“So many things. First off, do you think I made a mistake by moving?”

“Well no I mean you have to take some chances right. Why are you thinking about coming back?” She heard her friend’s voice elevate as she asked the question.

“Not yet I’m not. I’m not going to give up that quickly.”

“Then what is the problem?”

“I just talked to Matt.” She stated firmly.

“Oh, and what was said?”

“You know if I come back now everyone will think I made the biggest mistake of my life and wasted my time.”

“Kara, what did Matt say?” Her friend changed the subject back.

“Well just that he wouldn’t want to visit me if you guys came down.” She felt her voice quiver in her throat.

“When are we going to see you?”

“Whenever you guys want to but you have to get Matt to come.”

“We can’t make him come Kara. Maybe he shouldn’t especially if you’re trying to get over him. He is not doing that well Kar.”

“What do you mean?”

“He mopes around all day. He gets drunk on the weekends like he did before you guys started dating. He hasn’t dated anybody. He tried but he came back like an hour later with a pissed date. He tries to be happy for us and when he is around us but we all know he’s hurting. You can see it in his eyes and in his body language. Josh can’t stand it anymore he has tried and made some progress in helping him out. But Kara you really hurt him, I know you don’t want to hear that but from a friend of Matt’s and a friend of yours maybe you do need to hear that.”

Kara felt hot tears start cascading down her face.

“I…I know I did.” She said through sobs. “B…but Case, I needed this. I needed to see if I could make it like this and I just hoped you guys would support me.”

“We do Kara and if you want us to visit we will.”

“Y…you will?” She felt her mood perk up.

“Yeah. I’ll check with everyone and their work schedules and I’ll let you know.”

“Ok great Case. You guys are welcome anytime.” She sniffled.

“Will you take care of yourself there? And please think about Matt. I’ll talk him into coming and maybe you can get him to feel better about you, and not hate you as much as he pretends to.”

“Yes to everything you just asked me.” She said, trying to disregard the fact that she was just told her ex hates her.

“Ok good I’ll give you a call sometime this week and tell you the plans alright?”

“Ok Case, thanks for talking to me.”

“Anytime. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Bye.”
 
         Kara hung the phone up and laid back on her bed. Sighing, she closed her eyes and let the breeze from her fan caress her skin. She began to think back of when she and Matt had first gotten together. He had had the biggest crush on her and she never wanted to date him. When she found out that he had feelings for her she sighed and tried to either avoid the situation or figure out ways to tell him she didn’t feel the same. He was a friend to her and a nice guy but not her type.
         It all happened when she went with one of her girlfriends to the most boring poker party she had ever attended. She was the only person to grab a beer and start drinking to wash away the boredom. She remembered sitting at the island in the middle of the kitchen of their apartment when Matt called and asked what she was doing. Kara hesitated but told him she would come hang out. The night ended up being a lot of fun, and Kara saw a different side to Matt…a side that she saw herself starting to like. They also shared their first kiss that night, a kiss right before Matt asked her to stay the night, which she did. Kara was not the type to have sex or even stay on the first night and she held onto that standard when she contemplated what she was getting herself into. Matt was a complete gentleman and did not try anything she didn’t want him to. The next day, when she woke up next to him, she was happy. A week later, they were dating.
         Kara’s cell phone rang, causing her to be lunged back into reality.

“Hello.”

“Hey.” Her heart skipped a beat when she heard his voice.

“What’s up?” She asked, confused as to why he was calling if he was so angry at her.
 
 

Chapter 2: Arbor Mist and Roseanne

 
 
“We’ve decided to come up next week and stay for a week if that’s convenient for you.” He said blandly.

“Next week is fine.” She was nervous. Why was she nervous?

“Ok we’ll call you when we leave.”

“Who’s all coming?”

“Josh, Melissa, Casey, J, Brian and me.”

“Awesome, so you decided to come?”

“Yeah.”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

“I know that. I’m coming since everyone wants me to.”

“Well I’m glad you’re…you guys are coming.”

“Well have a good weekend and we’ll see you sometime on Monday.” He cut off the conversation shortly.

“Ok, thanks Matt, bye.”

“Bye.”

         She stuck her cell phone on its charger, and glanced over at the tiny alarm clock sitting on her bedside stand. It was almost 1 in the morning but Kara was not tired so she got out of her bed and opted for the half bottle of Arbor Mist that was sitting idly in her fridge. Why she was drinking, she did not know. She dumped the entire half bottle into her big Mason jar mug, sat on her couch, and turned on Nick at Nite, the only decent television on after midnight. Kara watched Roseanne until the glass was gone and her eyes could barely stay open.


         A couple hours later Kara was startled by a noise outside her window, and found that she had fallen asleep on her couch with the television still on. Her bed was calling so she crawled into it and slept until early afternoon.

         The weekend was extremely boring for Kara. She watched television, made herself dinner and worked out on Saturday. Sunday she spent cleaning up the place for her guests, and calming her nerves that were going haywire on her. She had also called her boss, whom was one of the nicest people alive, and asked him if she could take her vacation week to spend with some friends, and he accepted. Sunday night was spent tossing and turning in bed, thinking about how she would act when Matt came walking through the door. She was not sure she would be able to handle the hurricane of emotions that were going to swell inside of every inch of her body. The smorgasbord of emotions she would be feeling would consist of nervousness, happiness, sadness, being scared, and guiltiness. Yeah, she was definitely going to have to come up with a plan to harness half of those. Finally, sleep took over and she snoozed through the night.

         Monday came all too quickly and she was awoken by the tune jingling from her cell phone.

“Hello.” She answered groggily.

“Kara, we're about there and we were wondering exactly what street your apartment building was on?” Casey’s voice came back at her from the phone.

“Oh, um, its 23rd St. There is a Starbucks on the right hand side.”

“Alright we got it I think. We’re passing 18th St. Should we call back when we get there?”

“Just stay on the line with me, you’ll be here in about 2 minutes.”

“Ok.”

“Did everyone end up coming?”

“Yeah but they are all angry they had to get up early.”

“Well tell them they can go back to sleep when they come up.”

“It’s 11:30. They can stay up.” She said annoyed.

“Well we both know 11:30 is early for Matt and J.” She felt a giggle escape her lips.

“Yeah they are both out cold. It took about 20 minutes to pry Matt out of bed.”

“That does not surprise me at all.” She laughed.

“Ok I am about to turn onto 23rd St.”

“Alright go straight until you see the brick apartment building next to the little dress store and the bakery, and turn right onto the street next to it. There is parking back there, just park anywhere.”

“Ok I’m pulling into a spot.”

“Ok come to the door and I’ll buzz you guys in. I’m on the 4th floor and number 421. I’ll see you in a few!” She scurried into the bathroom and threw her glasses on her face, snarled a bit at the way she looked, and swished a round of mouthwash in her mouth for some quick freshening.
         Soon there was a buzz at her door, and she quickly moved over toward the door, her heart beating out of her chest. Her friends were there but the only thing she could think about was Matt being back around her, coming into her apartment. She looked like hell. And there was the knock. She braced herself, took a deep breath through her nose and opened the door to find a blue eyed, blonde staring straight at her.
 
 

Chapter 3: Plan of Attack

 
 
         “Case!” She flung her arms around her friend who was wearing her usual black zip hoodie, jeans and black flip flops. Her friend’s hair was white, blonde and cut just to her chin. She had milky white skin, thick cheeks from a bit too much imbibing, and wire rimmed glasses. Next in was Marissa. Marissa was probably the sweetest person Kara knew. She would do anything for you. Being a bit on the heavy side, Marissa was never very into herself and sometimes had some insecurity issues but other than that she was fun to be around.
         The boys came in next. Josh, whom was Marissa’s boyfriend, came loudly in. He was one of those guys who was loud no matter where he was. He liked to be the center of attention, and absolutely adored making fun of Matt. He especially liked to use sexual innuendos, preferably homosexual ones…towards Matt. It was weird. J stepped in after Josh and grabbed Kara in a hug.
         “I miss you Kara!” He said, making her feel better about this whole situation. J was the token black guy in their group of friends. He was very laid back and cool with everything, and he always knew what to say to Kara to make her feel better. After J, in walked Matt. The look on his face was hard to read and he looked different. Kara remembered that he had been sick and lost weight. Matt was a taller guy, standing at about 6’1. When Kara was dating him, he had gained some weight from partying, especially in the belly area. He had a small beer gut the last time Kara saw him but now it was practically gone. His face was skinnier and he was a bit paler. Matt had very light brown hair, eyes that were sometimes green and sometimes an amber color that Kara loved, and scruffy facial hair. He also had the cutest smile and it did not help that he had one of the cutest noses she had ever seen.
         They locked eyes and Kara felt her heart sink into her stomach. This was going to be harder than she thought but not just for her, for the both of them.

“Hi.” She said meekly.

“Hey.” He responded nonchalantly.
         Kara felt her feet begin to move themselves, and she felt her body taking actions that her mind played no part in. Her arms extended themselves toward the figure looming in the doorway and wrapped around him in a hug. Kara didn’t know what to expect but was relieved when he squeezed back. As the spaces between their bodies closed, Kara’s nose was met with an all too familiar scent. It was Old Spice soap and detergent mixed with a hint of whatever cologne he was wearing at the time. She took in a deep breath of the scent she used to love and was pretty sure she still did. At the same time, Matt was breathing in her coconut smelling shampoo. A smile crept on her lips as they released each other. She had missed that.
         She settled them in and showed them the tiny spare room where she had haphazardly thrown some of her mistake paintings, as she called them. There was a futon in the spare room that dropped into a bed, a couch in her living room area, her bed, and of course the floor. Marissa and Josh claimed the futon while Matt claimed the couch. Casey decided to stay in Kara’s bed with her while J either slept on the floor or fought Matt for the couch. Kara was a little overwhelmed because she had no idea what to do for entertainment so she flipped on the television.

“So Kara what’s it like living in the big city?” J asked acting very interested.

“Yeah, there has to be some good clubs.” Casey chimed in.

“Well I haven’t really been out to any good clubs. I’ve been to a few good restaurants and shopped a few times. Maybe we can find some good clubs because then I will actually have somewhere to go on the weekends.”

“Wow, Kar, when did you turn into such a loser?” Casey joked, throwing a pillow at her.

“I never thought the day would come when I was a loser. I’ve gone out with some of my co-workers a few times but they are either gay or married. So they aren’t always into going out. I’ve been to my share of gay clubs. Talk about a crazy experience.” She laughed.

“We should go to one so Matt can find a date.” Josh joked, as Matt glared at him. Usually Matt would throw a witty come back in his face but he was angry and nervous, mixed in with still having feelings for Kara and trying not to. He was a mess and regretted coming when he stepped into the door and they hugged.

“I have beer if anyone wants one.” Kara said motioning to the fridge.

“I’ll take one. We should go out drinking tonight; I have gotten drunk since Saturday.” Matt replied.

Kara remained silent and glanced over at Casey who lightly shook her head just enough for Kara noticed.

“Matt I don’t think you need to drink honestly.” Casey told her friend who had not cracked a smile.

“What does it matter to you? You aren’t my mom.” He snarled.

“I am your friend and you get drunk almost every other night. Do you want a liver at 35?”

“I don’t drink that much.” He folded his arms across his chest and set his beer on Kara’s small coffee table.

“Matt, you were puking for an hour in the bathroom on Saturday night, and the last Saturday. I’d say that is not very healthy.” She said matter-of-factly.

         Matt remained silent, he knew she was right but she wasn’t going through the pain like he was. He figured it was not the best way to attempt to solve his problems, and did not do it as much as he did when they first broke up. Matt truly did not know that losing her would throw him into such a whirlwind. He knew he would be completely devastated but what really made him depressed was that she broke up with him and still was fully in love with him. It killed him not to be with someone he loved and that loved him back. Honestly, he thought it was completely stupid- if you love someone you should be with them. It didn't help that Matt was classified as a hopeless romantic.

“Well do you guys want to order some takeout or go grab a bite to eat?” Kara asked, finally coming up with a suggestion for something to do.

         Everybody was hungry so they walked to the nearest deli that Kara had told them she really enjoyed. They all ordered and sat on the tiny round tables that were strung along the outside of the medium sized, brick building. Kara was still feeling a little awkward because Matt was looking completely miserable the entire time, and it hurt knowing that she made someone go from totally happy to depressed. She didn’t even know she had the ability to do that.
         The six of them caught up on the current happenings of each other’s lives. Marissa had just become a registered nurse at a hospital in North Canton, OH. Josh was starting as a substitute at a local high school and hoping to become one of the algebra professors. J was hired at Dell as one of the computer technicians. Casey was still a D.J. at Rock 107 where she had been working for the past two years. Matt was still performing strong in his human resources position and hoping for a promotion pretty soon. Everyone seemed to be successful in what they were trying to achieve, which made Kara feel like crap. She had sold 2 paintings in five months, and didn’t have much inspiration anymore it seemed.

“So Kar, are New York people stuck up?” Casey asked.

“It depends where you go I guess. If you stick around, like, my area people aren’t too stuck up but if you head down to the expensive shops and what not, people become anal.” Kara replied, looking out past everyone at the long street where cars seemed smashed against each other just for a parking meter.

“How are the people you work with?” Marissa quietly asked.

“They are mostly pretty cool. Definitely an extremely diverse bunch of people,” she laughed, “it’s very possible I am the only straight, white female.”

Everyone chuckled as they finished their meals. As they continued chatting, Matt stood to throw his trash away and came back over near the table.

“I’m going to take a walk around. I’ll be back or meet everyone back at Kara’s.”

“Josh, follow him.” Casey whispered glaring at her friend. Josh sighed and stood to catch up to his distraught buddy. He was not happy with his friend.

“Matt, wait man.” Josh called out to Matt. Matt glanced backward and seized his pace a little.

“What’s up Josh?” Matt asked calmly.

“We are going to get something straight right now. First, I am not being your keeper through this whole trip, its stupid. Second, you need to quit being so down on this whole situation. I know it’s hard but have fun and make her feel like shit for breaking up with you. She knows she hurt you and I think the only way for you to get her thinking is to have fun, be yourself. She’s a girl; she’ll be worried as to why you aren’t moping around like a senseless idiot. If you keep doing this, no offense man, but you’re are going to make my trip shitty because I am going to get yelled at every other second to cheer you up or to watch how much you drink. You’re 23 man, not 18.” He breathed in a sigh of relief as Matt remained silent for a second.

“What if I try to win her back?” His eyes lit up.

“No man, you have got to play her. When we go out, hit on some girls. I know it will drive her nuts.”

“Yeah, because I usually hit on girls.” He laughed.

“Do you want her back?” Josh said, acting serious all of a sudden.

“Well yeah, as long as she isn’t going to run again because she isn’t happy.”

“Matt do you still love her?” Matt swallowed hard and looked at his feet.

“ Uh...yeah...yeah man I’m pretty sure I do.” He said quietly, still looking at his shoes. “Will you help me?” Matt asked.

“As much as I can without getting in trouble with the woman.” He smirked.

“Fair enough.” Matt replied.

The two of them walked together as they concocted a plan of attack against Kara. Even though Josh was Kara’s friend, he was sick of them being miserable and stupid. It was time to do something about it.

         Night time fell quickly, as the group of friends made their way to a local bar that Kara had been to once or twice. It was called O’Malley’s Pub, dimly lit, and the perfect place for Josh and Matt to put their plan into action. As they sat together at one of the tables in a dark corner, Josh pointed to a petite blonde sitting at the bar. Matt looked him in the eye and was wondering how Josh possibly thought he had even an ounce of enough suaveness to even talk to her.

“Josh, that girl wouldn’t even look at me.” Matt said as he threw back the last drop of his Bud Light.

“Buy her a drink.” He insisted as Matt shook his head. “I’ll buy you an Iron City if you buy that girl a drink.”

“Can I buy it for her without her knowing and then just give it to her and walk away?”

“That might be good because then she may want to talk to you. Try it.”

         Matt casually made his way to the bar hoping nobody saw how nervous he actually was. He hadn’t bought a girl a drink in quite some time. He asked the bartender for two Bud Lights because he noticed that’s what she had been drinking while they were scoping her out. The bartender handed him the chilly bottles of beer and Matt, as nonchalantly as he could, placed the beer next to the empty bottle that sat in front of the blonde. Before she could say anything he began to walk away. Then he heard…

“You aren’t even going to talk to me?” She asked as Matt whipped his head around in complete shock.

“You just looked like you needed another one.” He said back, and then smacked himself for sounding skeezy.

“I did.” She smiled. “Thanks.”

“Yeah, anytime.” Matt smiled back. This attractive female was talking to him. He was surprised.

“I’m Amanda.” She reached her hand out.

“Matt.” They shook hands. “Why are you sitting by yourself?” He asked.

“I’m actually waiting for my friend to get here. For some reason twenty minutes turned into 45.” She smiled.

“Well if she doesn’t get here soon you’re welcome to join us.” He pointed toward the group of people sitting nearby and caught Kara’s eye. They both reverted their gaze quickly. Kara had a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach because the guy she still wanted to be with was showing interest in another girl. She finished her beer quickly and grabbed Josh’s arm.

“Hey do you want to play some pool?” He sensed the discomfort in her voice and congratulated himself on a plan well executed. Josh was going to make it hurt more.

“Yeah, I’ll play but I want to see if Matt talks to that girl a little longer. I’m glad he is talking to someone of the opposite sex, and she’s pretty cute.” Josh felt a little bad but he was going to drastic measures here to make his friend realize how stupid she was being.

“Nevermind.” She grumbled. “Casey do you want to come play pool with me?”
Casey sensed that Kara was having plenty of trouble. They needed to talk.
Before Casey could say anything, Kara grabbed her arm and lead her toward the door.

“Casey, we’re going to fight fire with fire.” Her voice was heated with revenge.

“What?” Her surprised friend stammered as she took her to the bathroom.

“Matt is up there hitting on some girl and I think its just to piss me off because Josh knew about it. I think they’re doing something.”

“That’s ridiculous Kara. Along with this entire situation.” She folded her arms across her chest and scoffed at her steaming friend.

“You know Josh would concoct something like that and don’t even pretend not to. They’re playing dirty.”

“Yeah but why sink to that level?”

“Well do you think sitting back and not caring would be enough?”

“Knowing Matt, if you sit back and do nothing about he’ll eventually stop.”

“But what if he really likes this girl?”

“She looks a little skanky for Matt’s taste.” The girl’s agreed on that and decided to play it cool.

“I bet it would totally throw Josh off if you told Matt to invite his friend over.”
Kara deviously laughed.

“I hate when Josh tries to mess with things. It always ends up bad.” Casey told her friend.
 
 

Chapter 4: Fighting Fire with Fire...

 
 
         As soon as they walked out of the bathroom, Kara made her way to the bar to grab a few more drinks. Even though she was all about turning their little game around on them, she was pissed and whenever she got pissed, she got drunk. She decided that she was going to play along with Matt and bought herself, Matt, and the promiscuously dressed girl he was with a shot. As soon as she set it down in front of them she could almost feel the tension in the air. She had made Matt completely uncomfortable.

“Hi, I’m Kara, and I thought in honor of such a wonderful evening we should have a shot.” She handed Amanda one and Matt the other.

“What should we cheer to?” Amanda asked, numb to the awkward tension that was dancing about in the air.

“To finding a good man.” She looked Matt straight in the eye and saw a bit of hurt in them.

“Sounds good.” Amanda smiled. They downed the shot and slammed them on the table.
 
 
 
Sorry for not clarifying...this is not the ending. THE REST IS COMING SOON!!!{/}