Tori smiled and put her hands on her hips. “Oh, I wouldn’t miss it for the world. What time should I meet you there?”
I glanced at Heather, and she looked hurt as hell. She was holding her stomach, like she was going to be sick again.
“Heather, what time will we be meeting everyone there?” I was hoping to show Victoria that I would be going with Heather while I was wishing to God that Heather knew I wanted to go with her and not Tori.
“Um…they go on at nine, but I think everyone is planning to get there around seven or seven thirty. ”
Victoria turned around and then looked between Heather and me. “Should we drive together or—”
“No. You should probably just meet us there,” I said, looking back at Heather.
As Heather started to walk past us, heading back into the house, I reached out and grabbed her hand. She came to a stop right away, but she never once looked at Victoria or me.
“So, um…listen, I hate to send ya off when you just got here, but we’re fixin’ to leave. Right, Mom?” I glanced over to my mother.
“Yep, we are. Let me show you out, Victoria,” Mom said.
“Okay…well, I guess I’ll see you at your party tomorrow. ” Victoria went to kiss me good-bye.
As I took a step back and away from her, I noticed that Heather was watching my every move.
“Right. Well, see y’all tomorrow. Have a good evening. It was nice seeing you again, Smeather Heather!”
Heather rolled her eyes and jerked her arm away from me. “Yep. You, too,” she said as she started to go into the house.
Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Why the fuck did I remind Victoria about Saturday night?
I thought back to my conversation with Gunner about Lynda. I started pacing back and forth. I was so ready to sleep with Heather, and I’d forgotten all about what happened between Victoria and me.
Just then, I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I turned around to see my father. I wasn’t sure what made me do it, but I walked up and crashed myself into him. When he put his arms around me, I lost it.
“Jesus, Josh. What’s wrong, son?”
“Oh god, Dad. Oh god. I fucked it up with Heather. ” I felt tears running down my face.
My dad pushed me away from him and stared at me. “Josh, I’ve never in my life seen you cry, not even when you broke your leg or arm when you were a kid. What the hell happened?”
I sat down on one of the chairs, and put my head in my hands. “I cheated, Dad. I cheated on the only girl I’ve ever loved in my life. ” I looked up at him.
“Wait a minute, Josh. Slow the hell down. When? Before the accident? Did you remember something?”
I shook my head. “No…no, Dad. It was the first day I woke up in the hospital. It was after you and Mom told me about Heather. Victoria came to take me for a brain scan, and she kissed me in the elevator, but I told her to stop. ”
My dad laughed. “Son, that’s not cheating. ”
“I also let her feel me up for a minute before I pushed her hand away,” I said as I looked away.
“Oh…well…listen to me, Josh. In your mind, you weren’t with Heather. ”
“But from the moment I saw her, I felt something for Heather, Dad. The whole time Victoria was doing it, I was picturing Heather lying on a blanket next to a river. I was thinking about her, Dad. What kind of fucked-up person does that?”
“Josh, stop being so hard on yourself. You were just in a major car accident, and you have memory loss. ”
“That’s no excuse. I have to tell her, Dad,” I said, standing up.
“What?” my dad grabbed my arm. “Josh, why would you hurt her like that?”
When I glanced up, I saw Heather watching us from one of the kitchen windows.