Point of Retreat

me. “She thinks you’re a jerk. She said you were an asshole, a dickhead, a bas-”
     
    “A bastard. I know, I get it. What else did she say?”
     
    “She didn’t tell me why she was mad at you…but she’s really mad at you. I don’t know what you did, but she’s at her house right now cleaning like a psycho! When she opened the door, she had hundreds of index cards all over the living room floor. It looked like recipes or something.”
     
    “Oh god, she’s alphabetizing,” I say. This is worse than I thought. “Kiersten, she won’t answer the door if I go over there. Will you knock so she’ll open the door? I really need to talk to her.”
     
    Kiersten presses her lips together as she thinks about my question. “You’re asking me to trick her? To basically lie to her?”
     
    I shrug my shoulders and nod.
     
    “Let me get my coat.”
     
    I stand up and Sherry comes from the kitchen and holds out her hand. I hold open my palm and she puts something in it and folds my fingers over it. “If it doesn’t go the way you’re hoping, take these with some water. You look like shit.”
     
    She can see the hesitation in my face and she smiles. “Don’t worry, I made them. They’re completely legal.”
     
    ***
     
    I don’t really have a plan of attack. I’m hiding against the wall in front of Lake's house when Kiersten knocks. My heart is beating so fast, I feel like I’m about to commit a robbery or something. I take a deep breath when I hear the door open. Kiersten steps aside and I brush past her and slip inside Lake’s house faster than she can realize what happened.
     
    “Get out, Will,” she says as she holds the door open and points outside.
     
    “I’m not leaving until you talk to me,” I say. I back further into the living room.
     
    “Get out! Get out, get out, get out!”
     
    I do what any sane male would do in this situation; I run down the hallway and lock myself in her bedroom. I realize I still don’t have a plan. I don’t know how I can talk to her if I’m locked up in her bedroom. But at least she can’t kick me out of her house now. I’ll stay here all day if I have to.
     
    I hear the front door slam and within seconds she’s standing outside the bedroom door. I wait for her to say something or to yell at me, but she doesn’t. I watch the shadow of her feet disappear as she walks away.
     
    What now? If I open the door, she’ll just try to kick me out again. Why didn’t I formulate a better plan? I’m an idiot. I’m a freaking idiot! Think, Will. Think.
     
    I see the shadow of her feet reappear and she pauses in front of her bedroom door again.
     
    “Will? Open the door. I’ll talk to you.”
     
    She doesn’t sound angry. My idiotic plan actually worked? I unlock the door to her bedroom and as soon as I open it all the way, I’m completely drenched in water. She just threw water on me! She threw an entire pitcher of water in my face!
     
    “Oh,” she says. “You look a little wet, Will. You better go home and change before you get sick.” She calmly turns and walks away.
     
    I’m an idiot, and she’s not ready to give in. I make the walk of shame down her hallway, out the front door and across the street to my house. It’s freezing. She didn’t even bother warming the water before she threw it at me. I take off my clothes and get in the shower. A hot shower this time.
     
    ***
     
    The shower didn’t help at all. I feel like complete crap. Five cups of coffee and no sleep on an empty stomach doesn’t make for a great start to the day. It’s almost two o’clock in the afternoon. If I wasn’t such an idiot, I wonder what Lake and I would be doing right now? Who am I kidding? I know what we’d be doing right now. My reflection on our turn of events over the past twenty-four hours causes my head to hurt. I pick my pants up off the bedroom floor and reach inside the pocket, pulling out whatever it is that Sherry gave me. I walk to the kitchen and down the medicine with an entire glass of water before going to the couch.
     
    ***
     
    It’s dark when I wake up. I don’t even remember lying down. I sit up on the couch and spot a note on the coffee table. I reach over and snatch it up and begin to read it. My heart sinks when I realize it’s not from Lake.
     
    Will,
     
    I was going to warn you not to drive after you take the medicine…but I see you already took it. So, never mind.
     
    ~Sherry
     
    P.S. I had a talk with Layken