Tattoos & Unicorns Read online

  “Good.” He smiled, before pecking me on the lips. “Keep that bandage on while you shower, and let me know if you need help with the new one.”

  “I will.” I said, and he kissed my lips once again before pulling away from me.

  “See you soon.”

  “See you soon.”

  He went into the bathroom then, and when I heard the shower switch on I quickly gathered my clothes, and put them on. Once I was dressed I put my phone in my purse, and made my way back to my own room. When I stepped inside, Morgan was sitting on the end of the bed in a towel. Her hair was still wet, and she looked like she was ready to pass out.

  “Morgan?” I asked with caution. “Are you ready to talk now?”

  “I messed up.” She said, laying her head in her hands.

  I sat down beside her, and put my arm around her, and that's when the water works began. I had only seen Morgan Astor cry once, and it wasn't over a boy. It was because she'd lost some big fashion design contest. She didn't let anything get to her, not even her relationship with her dad. So seeing her like this. Sad, and vulnerable... it shook me.

  “Whatever it is, I'm here.”

  “Adam, and I were having such a good time last night. He took me to a party at his friend's place, and we were drinking and dancing. I don't know how I let it happen, but we didn't use protection.”

  I rubbed her back gently. Of all the things she could have told me, this wasn't the worst.

  “It's alright.” I said. “I can run to the pharmacy, and get you a morning after pill.”

  She nodded her head. “I feel like we're back in high school. How many times did you come to my rescue then?”

  “I thought you were on birth control?” I asked.

  “I was, but it made me gain weight. You're the reason I stopped taking it actually.”

  “Me?” I laughed. “Why?”

  “I noticed that you packed on a few pounds, and when weight gain was on the list of side effects I put two, and two together.”

  I should have felt offended. I should have gone off on her, but I didn't. It wasn't worth it. A few weeks ago I probably would have agreed with her. I would have admitted that yes, I'd put on a little weight, and then she would have suggested we go to the gym together. I would have tagged along making myself miserable, all in the name of pleasing her. No more.

  “I'm going to shower now. My things are already packed, so make sure you're ready. We'll stop at a pharmacy on the way to Jersey.”

  “How long's the drive anyway?” She asked, as she stood.

  “You didn't mark in on your map?” I teased.

  “I did. I just... can't find it.”

  I laughed. “Alright, well look it up on google then. I'll be quick.”

  I brought my clothes with me into the bathroom, and was careful to keep my tattoo covered while I showered. When I finished, I used the supplies that Owen had given me and carefully bandaged myself back up again. I tossed on a pair of blue jean shorts and a black tank top, leaving my hair down to air dry. Of course I had to put ten pounds of product in it. When I was finally happy with the way it sat, I gathered all of my toiletries and zipped my bag up.

  Morgan had her bags by the door, and after putting my shoes on I dragged my own over as well. When she opened the door, Owen was already standing outside of his room with his bag slung over his shoulder. His guitar case stood beside him leaned up against the wall, and he shot me a sly wink when our eyes met.

  I blushed, and he stepped around Morgan to reach for the larger of my bags.

  “Thank you.” I smiled, and Morgan stuck out her bottom lip.

  “Must be nice. I have to lug my luggage around all by myself.” She whined.

  I rolled my eyes, using my now free hand to grab the handle of one of her suitcases.

  “Happy now?” I asked.

  “Very.” She smiled, before the three of us made our way to the front desk to check out.

  While Morgan dealt with the clerk, Owen and I lugged the bags out to the truck. It didn't take long for Morgan to join us, and soon we were setting our GPS for Jersey. We had about a three, and a half hour drive which meant we'd get in around lunch time. This time we booked a hotel in advance, so I hoped that the poor manager wouldn't have to endure any wrath from Morgan.

  When I pulled into the pharmacy down the road, Owen gave me a questioning look.

  “Girl stuff.” I said, as I put the truck into park and hopped out.

  Morgan was right. It was like high school all over again. She was always too afraid to come in, so I had to do it for her. I'd probably asked for at least a dozen of these things in my lifetime. Always for her. If I was being completely honest with myself, I hated asking for things like this. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that this kind of pill exists, just not for the reasons that Morgan needs them. If a condom breaks, or God forbid something sinister happens, it's a pretty reliable solution, but just because you're careless?

  After paying for what she needed, I made my way back out to the truck. When I got back behind the driver's seat, the air was heavy. I could feel the tension between us, and I had no idea where it was coming from. Everything was fine a few minutes ago. What could have happened between now, and then?

  I handed Morgan the bag, and she stuffed it haphazardly into her purse.

  “Aren't you going to take that?” I asked, as I started the engine.

  “Pass me your water.”

  Owen cleared his throat from the backseat.

  “Is everything alright?” He asked.

  “Cramps.” Morgan, and I answered in unison.

  I pulled back onto the road, and the silence in the truck was unusual to say the least. I kept glancing at Owen in the rear view mirror, but I couldn't read him. His jaw was set into a hard line, and he was just staring out the window. Even when we stopped for coffee no one's attitudes seemed to change.

  I turned the radio on, and tried to drown out the awkward silence that had filled the space. I sang along to the music on my own, hoping to pull Owen in... nothing. After nearly half an hour, I'd had enough. I pressed the power button on the stereo, and cleared my throat.

  “Will someone please tell me what's going on?” I asked.

  Morgan squirmed in her seat then, and brought her hands up to cover her mouth.

  “I think I'm gonna be sick.” She said, before emptying the contents of her stomach all over the floorboard.

  “Shit!” I said, as I sped up so that I could change lanes.

  There was a rest stop just up ahead, and from the looks of the place it had showers. With any luck I'd be able to get the smell out of the truck before it set in. That was the thing about the morning after pill. It messed with your stomach. I remember the first time Morgan took one she was sick for two days. Vomiting, cramping, diarrhea. Why she kept putting herself through this when she could just use a contraceptive was beyond me.

  I could faintly hear Owen comforting Morgan from the backseat as I pulled into the rest stop, and put the truck into park. I immediately climbed down from my seat, and ran over to Morgan's door. I helped her out, and tossed the floor mat onto the ground.

  “Do you need me to go with you?” I asked, as Morgan started towards the building.

  “Just... bring me something to change into.”

  “I'll be right there.” I assured her.

  Owen came to stand beside me then, and he crinkled his nose in disgust from the smell. I frantically pulled napkins from the glove box, and began to blot up as much as I could from the carpet. I could feel my own stomach churning, and had to turn away for a minute.

  “Why don't you let me handle this? You go and check on Morgan.”

  “No. I couldn't ask you to do that.”

  “You Aren't. Now go.”

  I nodded, and then ran around to the back of the truck to grab some clothes from Morgan's bag. A few minutes later, I was inside the building calling Morgan's name. There were only three stalls that were occupied, which made my sear
ch a little easier, especially when I spotted her bright pink heels underneath one of them.

  I tapped on the door lightly.

  “Are you alright?”

  “Just a little embarrassed.”

  “I brought you some clothes.”

  She stood and opened the door then, taking the items from me.

  “Can you come in here? I can't set the clothes down anywhere.”

  “Sure.” I smiled, before squeezing into the small bathroom stall.

  It was a bit of a struggle, but we managed to get her straightened out. I wrapped her soiled clothing in paper towels, and then pulled her toothbrush and toothpaste from my back pocket. She shook her head, smiling before accepting both and heading towards the sink.

  When the two of us finally emerged from the restroom, Owen was leaning against the side of the truck. The passenger door was still open, and he gave me a slight smile as we approached.

  “Feeling any better?” He asked Morgan.

  “Much.” She lied. “I am tired though. Do you mind if I lay down in the back?”

  “Not at all.” He said, pushing the lever to fold the front seat down.

  The two of us helped her back inside, and then Owen went around back to grab her a blanket. The instant he tucked the soft fabric around her she yawned, and closed her eyes.

  “Thank you.” I said, reaching for his hand. “You didn't have to do any of that.”

  He shrugged his shoulders, and pulled his hand away from mine before climbing into the passenger seat.

  “We should get back on the road.” He said in a cold, and distant tone.

  “OK.” I said with confusion, before walking around the front of the truck to reclaim the driver's seat. “Is something wrong?” I asked, as I fastened my seat-belt.

  “When were you going to tell me that your ex had moved into the same apartment complex as you?”

  I was genuinely taken aback. All the tension in the truck when I returned from the pharmacy made so much sense now. Morgan must have told him, but why? That kind of thing just doesn't come up in conversation. She wouldn't say something just to be vindictive. Would she? She's done it before. Tried to anyway. She's the one who brought Derek up on my first date with Owen.

  “I was going to tell you.” I sighed with defeat.

  “Really? When?” He asked, the anger evident in his voice.

  “I don't know! When we got to Jersey maybe? It didn't seem important.”

  “It didn't seem important? How does the fact that the man you almost married being in the same city, the same complex as you not seem important?”

  “Why does it matter?” I snapped. “You're the one who said we'd go out with a bang! If that's all I am to you, why should it matter who my neighbor is?”

  “It fucking matters, Ronnie!”

  “Why!”

  “Because I have feelings for you!” He said, with exasperation. “Real feelings, and they aren't just going to go away when this little road trip ends.”

  I was stunned. I wasn't expecting any of this. The friendship, the jealousy, the feelings. Owen wasn't the only one to catch feelings. I found myself thinking about him way more than I had any right to. He was always on my mind. The way he smiled, laughed, even the way he smelled. Everything about him was like a drug, and he was my addiction. I knew the second that we started flirting that he was someone I wouldn't be able to forget. How could I be so stupid to think that I could possibly walk away from him?

  “I- I don't know what to say.” I said, trying to keep my focus on the road.

  Morgan sat up in the backseat then, and smacked me right in the back of the head.

  “What the hell is wrong with you Morgan!” I yelled. “I'm driving!”

  “What the hell is wrong with you?” She bit back. “Stop being so afraid!”

  “I'm not afraid!”

  “Prove it!”

  I pulled the truck over hard onto the side of the road, and slammed it into park. I turned to look at Owen, and without an explanation I climbed across the seat and onto his lap. He sat there staring at me with a look of amusement on his face, and the only thing I could think of was kissing it away. So I did. I placed my hands on either side of his face and I kissed him. I kissed him with so much fervor that the other drivers were probably receiving quite the show.

  I could hear Morgan clapping softly from the backseat, and I couldn't help but smile. I felt Owen's hands on my hips, and then he smiled too. My best friend was right. I needed to stop being so damn scared. I wanted to live my life, and that's exactly what Owen inspired me to do. To live. When I finally broke the kiss, I looked down at him.

  “I have feelings for you too.” I whispered.

  “Duh!” Morgan chimed in from the backseat, before laying back down. “Can we get a move on now? I don't feel so hot.”

  Owen and I laughed, and I shook my head before laying my forehead against his.

  “What do you say, Ronnie? Will you be my girl?” He whispered.

  I smiled so wide that it hurt, and I nodded my head enthusiastically before answering.

  “Yes.”

  Morgan groaned, and I reluctantly climbed off my new boyfriend's lap. Even thinking of the word made me smile. A million thoughts were running through my mind. Was I good enough for him? Was it too soon after my break-up with Derek? Could the two of us really make it work once we got to New York? I spent so much of my life second guessing my decisions, but this one somehow felt right.

  As I put the truck back into drive, and pulled out onto the highway the smile was still on my face. Owen reached his hand across the space between us, and I placed mine into his. Even when I was in school, I never understood the way that the girls would fawn over their crushes. I'd watch Morgan with her boyfriends and wonder why it wasn't that way with Derek and I. I chalked it up to our ages. I was sure that as we got older and grew closer things would change, but they didn't.

  When I looked at Owen, my heart raced. My palms got sweaty, and I could feel literal butterflies dancing in my stomach. When he kissed me I felt like my entire body was on fire. A single wink, or flash of his smile, and I was done for. This is what love was supposed to feel like. Love. A word said by so many, but meant by so few. All the years that I'd been saying it to Derek, I realized now that I never truly felt it. Not in the way that I should have.

  The rest of the ride to Jersey was quiet. The radio played, Morgan slept, and Owen held my hand. I had never felt more content with anything in my life, and when we finally made it to our hotel the only thing on my mind was getting my new boyfriend alone.

  I checked us in, while Owen helped Morgan. She was still feeling pretty lousy, so he carried her into our room and laid her down on one of the beds. After he helped me with the luggage, I helped Morgan change into her pajamas, and got her set up with the remote, and her favorite treats. I offered to stay and watch a chick flick with her, but she insisted that I go find my man.

  I was worried about the way she'd react at first, but seeing how happy she was for me was a relief. I had to know though, so I sat down beside her on the bed and asked.

  “Why did you tell Owen about Derek?”

  She shot me a sly wink. “To see if he was jealous.”

  “But, why?”

  “You deserve more than a few hook ups on a road trip. I wanted to see who he really was. Turns out I was right.”

  “About?”

  “I knew on your first date, that he had feelings for you. It's why I flirted so hard. I used some of my best moves. He didn't budge. Not even when I was on his lap.”

  “About that.” I said, giving her the evil eye.

  She rolled hers. “Relax. You don't think I'd actually do something like that, do you?”

  This was it. She was opening the door, and all I had to do was walk through it. To tell her that I thought the worst of her. That every time she batted her lashes, I felt like she was punching me in the gut. I took a deep breath intending on telling her exactly how I felt, an
d then I looked down at her. She was smiling up at me, proud of herself for helping me find love again. I didn't want to fight with her, but I did want her to know how I felt.

  “Honestly?” I started. “I was worried.”

  “I love you like a sister, Ronnie.” She said, with offense.

  “It's just... every time someone shows me any kind of attention... it seems like you need it more.”

  “So now I'm an attention whore?” She asked defensively, before sitting up.

  “That's not what I said.”

  “You didn't have to. Everything I've ever done has been to help you. I thought we were past this? We hashed it out in Virginia already. Why not just leave well enough alone, and move on?”

  “I was just telling you how I felt. Real friends can tell each other anything with no hard feelings.”

  “Anything?” She asked, with an attitude.

  “Anything.” I said, earnestly.

  “Derek came to me six months ago, and tried to sleep with me.”

  I stood, crossing my arms over my chest.

  “Why- why didn't you tell me?” I stammered.

  “I told him off! I made him feel like shit, and then he cried and said it was a mistake. That he was having cold feet before the wedding. He made me promise not to tell you, and I didn't. I didn't tell you because I thought it would break you. I thought you loved him. You want to talk about being honest? Why weren't you?”

  “I've always been honest with you!”

  “Really? You knew in your heart that Derek wasn't the one for you, and yet... you stayed. Why?”

  “We were happy. We were getting ready to start a life together-”

  “No.” She interrupted me. “You were happy with the idea. It was written all over your face. Why do you think I was so against this wedding? I was waiting for you to come to your senses! To tell me to fuck off! To finally stand up for yourself!”

  “Fuck off!” I yelled. “How's that for standing up for myself?”

  Before she could answer, I stomped towards the door and flung it open slamming it in my wake. The sound was enough to send Owen flying out of his room, and I nearly bumped right into him. He caught me by the wrists, and I looked up at him with fresh tears in my eyes.