Chapter Fifteen

             Mike waited for the deputy to give Thomas back his personal items. Running on lack of sleep and anger he currently felt toward his friend, Mike tried hard to keep himself in check while they were in the police station. Once the deputy said Thomas was free to go, the two men walked quickly out of the building.

            As they made their way to the car, Mike to the time to silently observe Thomas in an attempt to gauge his demeanor. Thomas seemed none the worse for wear save the bruising around his eye and swollen cheek. Maybe he remembered to duck more often this time so he wouldn’t get quite the ass whooping Aaron had given him twenty years ago, Mike thought to himself as they got into the car. Once buckled into the passenger seat, Thomas turned to Mike to thank him.

                        “Hey, thanks for bailing me out,” Thomas said, “but why didn’t you come last night?”

            Mike looked sideways at Thomas as they made their way back to his apartment.

                        “I felt like you needed some cooling off time,” Mike said.

                        “I didn’t start the fight.” Thomas said defensively.

                        “Yeah you did.”

                        “No, I didn’t,” Thomas explained. “Aaron came at me.”

                        “The only reason Aaron came at you is because, like everyone else, he’s trying to figure out what the hell you’re doing here.” Mike told him.

                        “Why does it matter to everyone why I came back?” Thomas asked.

            Mike slowed to a stop at a red light. He turned in his seat and faced the man he once considered to be his best friend.

                        “Stop playing dumb, Thomas,” Mike released the brake and continued toward his apartment. “You know you ripped Jen apart leaving her the way you did. The few friends you guys shared had a hard time accepting you as her boyfriend way before you did that to her, but once your arrogant ass pulled that stunt, I gotta tell you buddy, I didn’t even like you for awhile after that.”

                        “Why is everybody stuck in the past?” Thomas let out a sigh. “People move on, mistakes or not, in their lives. Why keep harping on what happened? We were college sweethearts, sure, but not all college sweethearts get married.” Mike pulled his car into his assigned parking space in the complex. “And why the hell is not okay that I chose to figure out my life before proposing to any woman and making them my wife?”

            Thomas got of out of the car, slamming the door behind him. Mike tried not to get on him for doing that. As they made their way up to his apartment, Mike tried once more to get through to his friend.

                        “It’s because of the way you did it man.” Mike said. “If you had no intentions of making Jen your wife, you should have never let the relationship get as heavy as it did. Everyone expected it, not just Jen.”

            Mike put the key in the door and unlocked it. When they got inside, Mike continued.

                        “As for that crack about figuring out your future…I get that. It’s just a shame you didn’t realize you had a great future walking beside you that whole time.” Mike went into the kitchen to make them some brunch. “No, you were Mr. Know It All and instead of keeping one of the best things you had going for you by your side while you figured out your future, you tossed her to the curb like she had meant nothing to you the entire time.”

            Mike cracked some eggs and put them in a pan to fry. He turned to Thomas who was slumped up against the opposite corner with one leg crossed in front of the other and his arms folded across his chest. Mike shrugged his shoulders at him.

                        “You were a man with a plan,” he said. “Tell how did that work out for you? You’ve been divorced how many years now?”