Emancipating Andie

“Hey,” he said, his smile dropping as soon as the door was fully open.

Shit.

He righted his expression a beat too late, smiling again. “Colin. Good to see you, man.”

He knew Andie hadn’t mentioned anything about their relationship to Colin. They had only spoken twice since their break up, and both were very formal conversations, mostly just about returning each other’s belongings. Regardless, he wasn’t exactly sure how he was supposed to play this.

“You busy?” Colin asked.

Shit shit shit.

“Uh,” Chase said awkwardly, ru

“I’ve been better.”

Stupid fucking question, Chase thought.

“Yeah, I heard. Tyler told me,” he said.

Colin stood there, his expression unreadable. He didn’t look sad, or pissed, or confused, or hurt. He just…stood there.

There had never been a more awkward silence.

Fuck it, he thought. He had to say something. Invite him in. Anything. He could text Andie, tell her to stall.

“You want a beer or something?” Chase said, taking a step back into the apartment.

“No. I can’t stay. I was just in the neighborhood.”

Another silence, made more awkward by the fact that Chase didn’t believe him for a second.

“I went to Andie’s to get some of my stuff today,” Colin said, and Chase shifted, rubbing the back of his neck. He had no idea what he was supposed to say to that. He was totally unprepared for this, and he should have known better.

“I figured it would be better if I went when she wasn’t home,” Colin added.

Chase exhaled slowly. “I’m sorry, man.”

Colin laughed then, a dry, humorless laugh as he tilted his head to the side. “Why do people always tell you they’re sorry when something bad happens to you? I mean, it’s not like you did anything, right? So what are you sorry for?”

Chase kept his expression smooth, his eyes on his friend.

“Anyway,” Colin continued. “I was at her place, and I found this.”

For the first time, Chase realized he held something in his hands, and he looked down just as Colin unrolled it and held it up.

It was the shirt Andie had fallen asleep in the night they first made love. The one he let her take home because she said it was the most comfortable shirt she’d ever worn. The one she looked so adorable in. His old, worn-in soccer shirt.

With McGuire emblazoned across the back.

He looked up and met Colin’s eyes.

The next thing he knew, a blinding pain seared across the left side of his face as his back slammed against the fridge, the loud thud followed by the sound of breaking glass as a few of the bottles he had above it crashed to the floor.

He straightened up immediately, his fists clenched at his sides and his body poised to spring, but he made no move to retaliate.

“Oh come on, McGuire,” Colin shouted. “Don’t start trying to be a good friend now! Take your fucking shot!”

Chase’s eye was throbbing, a pounding ache that he knew would feel ten times worse once the adrenalin wasn’t coursing through his veins. His muscles were so tense they were shaking, his fists tightly clenched at his sides, ready to defend himself if Colin came at him again.

But he couldn’t bring himself to hit him. He had no right.

Colin laughed angrily, shaking his head. “So let me get this straight. You can swoop in on my girlfriend when I ask you to look out for her, but you’re above taking a swing at me? What kind of fucked up logic is that? Take your shot!” he yelled, his voice shaking with rage.

“Colin,” Chase said, his voice measured. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this.”

“Oh, and just how was it supposed to be? Were you supposed to keep fucking her behind my back? Well I’m sorry your shit got blown up Chase, really I am. My heart bleeds for you!”

Chase shook his head. “It wasn’t like that. Look, I know you don’t want to hear this now, but nothing ever happened between us when you two were together.”

“Fuck you!” he interrupted, taking a quick step toward him. “Do you think the order of operations makes a difference to me? You selfish prick! You float through life, doing whatever the hell suits you, no responsibility, no concern for anyone but yourself. And I’ve always known that about you. I just never thought you’d screw me over. I loved her, Chase! Do you love her? Or are you just going to keep her around for as long as she entertains you?”

Chase stared at him, saying nothing. There was no way to answer that question without making this worse.

“You worthless piece of shit. Your father was right about you.”

A rush of heat flooded Chase’s body as pain stung his chest, rivaling the pain of his eye, and he took a small step toward Colin.

He didn’t know how much longer he could contain himself after that.

“You need to leave,” Chase said, his voice tinged with the anger he felt welling in his stomach.

Colin shook out his hand, looking at Chase with disgust. “When you fuck this up, when you break her heart, I hope you can live with yourself.” He tossed the shirt in Chase’s face before he turned and left, slamming the door behind him.

Chase stood there, his breathing labored and his body trembling as he stared at the door; after a stu

“Fuck!” he shouted before he dropped his head back and covered his face with his hands.

Chase wasn’t sure how much time had passed. He was lying on the couch holding a frozen pizza to his left eye, and he didn’t have it in him to lift his head and check the clock. His entire body ached, and he rolled his neck and flexed his free hand, trying to get the tension out of his muscles.

Colin’s voice kept playing over and over in his mind, telling Chase his father had been right about him. He couldn’t stop hearing it, and with every passing second, his body coiled tighter.

The hammering behind his eye was relentless, and Chase pressed the pizza more firmly against it, grunting roughly as the oversensitive swelling ached in protest.

He’d been trying to stifle the anger that had been churning in the pit of his stomach ever since Colin stormed out of his apartment, but the effort was exhausting. He couldn’t figure out what infuriated him more: the fact that Colin had said those words to him in the first place, or Chase’s realization that there was actually validity behind them.

He could just picture his father’s face, the condescending sigh as he shook his head and asked him what kind of man would do what Chase had done.

Chase felt his jaw lock as his muscles tensed again, amplifying the throbbing in his left eye.

He heard the sound of someone approaching his door, the rustling of bags combined with the clicking of heels, and he exhaled a curse. If he had been thinking rationally, he would have called her and postponed this. He was in no mood to speak to anyone right now, let alone enjoy a romantic di

“Hey,” he heard her say, followed by the sound of crunching glass. “Oh, damn it. Chase? Why is there broken glass all over your floor?”

There was a beat of silence before he heard the grocery bags drop. “Oh my God! What happened to you?” she cried, her voice full of panic as she hurried toward him. She sat on the edge of the couch, reaching over to take the pizza off his eye, and her hand flew to her mouth as her eyes went wide.