Andy is Trying - Chapter 12

ANDY IS TRYING 

Chapter 12: Andy buries his Head in the Sand

“Seriously, David?”

Those were the last words Rebecca told before slamming the door and leaving the building.

Those would also be the only words I could rely on for days.

I was like paralyzed on the floor, on all fours, unable to speak or to move.

My hole was still warm and wet from David’s massive cock.

He stood up, his dick was still relatively hard and he went to get some alcohol from a cupboard hidden under his desk.

Whisky.

He poured himself a drink.

“Want one, Andy?”

I was too shaken up to answer or react in any way.

I guess drinking something a bit strong would have helped but I was unable to say yes.

I was unable to do anything.

“You know you’ll have to move from the floor at some point or another.”

How was David so calm when I felt like the whole world had just crumbled down around me?!

I had just lost my job.

Fuck.

I loved what I was doing! I even liked working with Rebecca.

The betrayal she must have felt.

Well, of course, the biggest betrayal did not come from me…

I looked at David and I was mortified.

Nothing in this situation was okay.

What about their marriage?

What about their lives and political careers?

What about his son?! How would he react?!

Would Rebecca try to hide the scandal or would she go through a very public divorce?

Was she already talking with her powerful and influential father so he could get her daughter out of this mess?

Did Richard Pallow know about me?

“Andy, come on! Stand up!”

David was no longer using his playful and smooth tone of voice.

Instead, he was harsh and cold.

I did not like that.

I did stand up though.

I had to.

David had already finished his glass.

He picked up and handed me my clothes gently.

“I think you should go.”

Was that it? He was kicking me out like some trash. I was supposed to be satisfied with that?

I was slightly trembling.

He did try to put a comforting hand on my shoulder but I pushed him away.

“Andy, relax. I’ll deal with Rebecca. It’s gonna be fine.”

“Fine?”

There it was, my first word after the apocalypse.

“Maybe that’s the wrong choice of words, but I don’t want you to worry about it, this is my problem.”

“I’m involved too.”

“In some ways, yes, but in some others, no. How we are going to manage the situation with my wife is our problem. Not yours.”

“How can you say that when I work here? For her?! Well, I should say that I used to work here, I guess.”

“This thing going on between us has nothing to do with work. We all know that.”

“You really think I’m gonna keep my job after this?”

“I won’t let her fire you. Don’t worry.”

I pushed him away, harder this time. I hit him on his bare chest to make him step back.

I was mad.

“Andy! Please.”

“You won’t let her fire me? David! You… She’s the boss here! You’re not. She’s the one who makes this place what it is. She works tirelessly for your success, countless hours and you… You’ve done that to her! We’ve done that to her!”

He looked away.

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” I shouted.

“Don’t raise your voice Andy, I’m trying to remain calm. Don’t push me.”

“Calm? Shit. That’s the thing you’re good at. It’s like nothing can faze you, right?!”

“That’s part of my job.”

I got dressed.

“Sure. You’re right though, I should go.”

He was staring at the buildings beyond the bay window. Anything to avoid looking at me.

“I’m sorry, Andy. I… I didn’t know she would come by tonight. That was my mistake.”

I chuckled nervously.

“Well, if this everything you have to say for yourself, you should work on your speech before talking to her. That won’t be it, David.”

“I suppose you have a point.”

I did not know what to say anymore.

I did not know what to do with myself either.

“Bye, David.”

“I don’t regret it. What we did.”

This time, I was the one turning my back on him as he said that.

How could he not regret it? We had destroyed our lives, and not only ours.

I started breaking down in the elevators and once I was out in the streets, I was crying like a maniac.

I had played with fire. For once in my life, I had taken some risks but those had been heavily miscalculated.

Only chaos and suffering were left, for all parties involved.

Helpless and disoriented, I called Cody.

That was the only thing I thought of doing.

He was finishing his shift at the Impero but thankfully, he picked up the phone. I was not sure what he could understand of what I was saying between my sobs.

“Are you hurt? Andy, what’s happening?”

“I’m not hurt… I just… I need someone…”

“Okay. Calm down, roomie. Where are you?”

“I’m at work, well, I’m in front of the building. Outside.”

“I’m right by, I’m leaving the Impero. I’m coming.”

And indeed, less than five minutes later, Cody was coming on his bike.

I was still crying like an idiot on the sidewalk and I was not too sure why. Nobody had died after all.

I think it was a mix of the shock, of the humiliation I felt being caught in this position, of the deep shame I had to live with, - having betrayed a woman who trusted me -, and of fear for the future.

Cody was perfect.

He brought me back home and he did not ask too many questions.

He simply wanted to make sure that I was physically okay and that nobody had attacked me.

I told him what happened once we were back at the apartment.

He was the right person to talk to because he was the only one who knew about David.

Also, he was non-judgmental. A real friend.

“She caught us. Right in the middle of it.”

In other circumstances, and much later in our life, Cody would laugh about it but there, he was smart enough to take it seriously.

“Bad timing… But Andy, David Crown should be the one feeling bad. How did he react?”

“Frankly, he was sort of scary.”

“How so? Was he violent?”

“No… To be honest, I was the one being violent, and angry, and freaking out. Was it not the normal reaction? David was stone-cold. He poured himself a scotch!”

“Politicians are terrifying people. Most of them are dead inside.”

“Yeah… He reacted as if it was just a political twist in his campaign and he immediately regrouped himself. He was thinking about what he was going to tell his wife.”

“And aside from the shock. How was she?”

“I’m not sure. She just left. At least, she didn’t kill us. Oh God, what if she kills him tonight!?”

“Dude, don’t say stuff like that!”

“You’re right, I shouldn’t put this out there. But that sort of thing happens you know?”

“I do, but… Bro, you cannot always think of the worst-case scenario.”

“What do you think I should do? Call her? Apologize? Maybe David’s gonna tell her that I was the one going after him.”

“That’d be a bastard’s move.”

“I wouldn’t mind, seriously. I could even tell her that story if that helps. I can take the blame; I have nothing more to lose, he has a family.”

“Maybe but he also made his own decisions. That being said, if he told you he would handle it, maybe you should simply let him do that.”

“So what? I do nothing?”

“You really think apologizing would do anything?”

“No… Of course, not. For fuck’s sake, I don’t even have David’s personal number.”

“I get it. You want to undo what happened. You want to find a quick fix but there’s no such thing this time around. You just have to live with what you did.”

“Great… That’s what I deserve.”

“It’s gonna be okay though. I know it must feel like the most catastrophic thing in the world but when you’ll be very old and retired, I’m sure you’ll think back and say, at least, I had fun.”

I smiled between my tears.

“That’s a nice way to look at it I guess.”

“The only way buddy, otherwise, you’re gonna drive yourself crazy.”

“Again, when have you become so wise?”

“I’ve always been. You just didn’t know me two months ago!”

“Okay… So, I don’t have to cancel my flight tomorrow?”

“You’re not gonna miss Christmas because of this! Are you crazy?”

Once again, he was right.

I left for Arkansas a few hours later with no news from the Crowns and zero hour of sleep under my belt.

I was still mortified.

It was probably better not hearing from them but at that point, I would have preferred a big fight, being insulted, or even punched in the face, to this nerve-wracking silence.

It was very strange that the worst outcome had happened and still, it was as if nothing had changed.

It was even weirder since coming home for Christmas, I felt like I was landing in a parallel universe.

No work. No politics. No sex. No drama.

The only stress came for my mom as she organized the family dinner and she had to deal with Stephanie, my brother’s unsufferable girlfriend.

I do not want to be too hard on Stephanie as, in small doses, I could tolerate spending time with her.

She had learned from her mistakes and was a bit easier to talk to.

I think Archie had talked to his girlfriend and they were in a better place.

It also meant that my brother was more relaxed and we could play chess or cards without it turning into a fight.

He was not that much interested in my life but that was for the better.

I was cringing anytime my father was mentioning my “fancy new job” or asking me questions about “the republican politician [I was] working for”.

I also cringed and deflected when Stephanie asked if I had a boyfriend.

Could you imagine telling them in the middle of Christmas’ Eve that I was fucking with David Crown, that I had been caught by his wife who also was my direct supervisor, and that I had most likely already been fired?

Not the best look.

I almost mentioned that I was out of job but since it was not official yet, I thought it was better not to dwell on that.

I did not want to be the continuous failure of my family or even worse, having to explain the reason why I would have been let go.

I did not get any formal letter or call but as the days went by, I was certain that I would not go back to work the following Monday.

Cody asked me how I was going and I told him that I was fine and I did not want to talk about the quote-on-quote “situation” anymore.

Ignoring the problems was the best way to solve them… Right?

Poor Laurie, she was texting me while having no clue of what was going on.

That was reassuring though.

If she did not know, it meant that the political campaign had not been shut down yet, that the world of the Crowns had not imploded, and that everyone still had a job.

It was one thing for me to get fired but this story could have consequences on so many people, including one of my best friends, which also put Cody in a tough position as he could not warn Laurie.

Anytime I was thinking too much about this, I was drinking more eggnog.

I just needed a few days to myself, to fully disconnect my brain.

On Christmas’ morning, Darius sent me a sweet message.

“Hey Andy, hoping you’re spending a lovely Christmas with your family. I’ve spent six days in Florida and they’re driving me nuts already. I’m missing Philly! I hope I’ll see you soon! xx”

He had attached a very cute picture of himself wearing a Santa Claus hat.

I should also point out that he happened to be shirtless on the picture…

Looks like Darius wanted to show off a little!

In all fairness, someone with that body should always be flaunting it.

I was even surprised that I had not had gotten the chance to see his muscular bare chest until that point.

Had I missed my shot by not taking his clothes off myself when I had the chance?

Hell, this was what I should have done from the very beginning: ignoring my boss and instead, taking the lead with Darius.

We could have built something together.

I took a selfie when I wrote back to him but I was not happy with it so I ended up sending a single text with no attachment.

“Cute hat! ;) I was very happy when I saw your text (and that picture, damn!) this morning. I wish you a merry Christmas as well. Don’t worry, we’ll both be back in Philly soon enough. We’ll have a drink to celebrate the new year for sure!”

This was the best that I could do for now.

By this point, I was more and more reluctant at the idea of going back to Pennsylvania as I realized that, without a job, I had no concrete reason to be there.

More importantly, I wanted to keep my head in the sand and forget about this State altogether for as long as humanly possible.

I am not sure if it was because I wanted to show some sort of courage that I did take my flight back, or if, on the contrary, it was just another proof that I was a coward as I simply did not want to tell my parents that I had fucked up.

Either way, I did go back on Sunday night, as planned.

I was supposed to go to a party in an industrial loft with Cody, Laurie and her sister to celebrate the new year on Tuesday night but I was also meant to work on Monday 30th.

“I’m not going to the office tomorrow.” I told Cody right away.

“Really?”

“I can’t, my stomach hurt just thinking about going there. I don’t think they needed to call me for it to be clear that I shouldn’t return to work. Let’s avoid everyone the embarrassment and the torture of having this conversation.”

“Officially, they haven’t fired you and Laurie didn’t mention anything weird on her side.”

“It’s because she hasn’t been to the office for more than a week. I think the bombshell is going to drop now.”

“What bombshell?”

“I don’t know, that’s why I’m scared.”

“And what am I supposed to tell Laurie? Last night, she asked me if you were all right. She said you were a bit distant.”

“Fuck… Of course, I am. I don’t want to lie to her so I don’t talk much to her…”

“She really likes you; you know. She’d be on your side!”

“Please, Cody, don’t even mention that! If the Crowns bury the story which I think they will likely be doing, I cannot spread it, to anyone, and especially not to Rebecca’s assistant. I’m sorry that it puts you in an awkward position.”

“That’s okay. I’m just telling her that you’re a weird guy and that explanation is credible enough.”

“Thank you… I guess.”

“So, what’s your plan?”

“I’ll go to bed and I’ll stay there until I can figure what I’m supposed to do with my life.”

“That’s great, but…”

Cody stopped talking, he was checking something on his phone.

He made a weird face.

“What’s happening now?” I asked, concerned.

“Just a second…”

“What? Please, don’t tell me this is more bad news.”

“It’s not.” He kept scrolling on his phone. “It’s really good news actually!”

“Really?”

“Yes!”

He jumped into my arms.

“Thank you, Andy! I’ve got it!”

It took me a few seconds to understand what he was talking about, but then, it hit me.

“The scholarship? You’ve got it?”

“Yes! I don’t have to pay any tuition fee for the final semester and I’ll be able to take the exams in May!”

“Come fucking here, my man! I’m so proud of you.” I kissed his cheek.

It was a little odd but it came from the heart.

Cody had teary eyes.

“I can have my degree in 2025, I don’t have to postpone it and I can finally stop with the freaking deliveries!”

“Yeah! That’s what I’m talking about! That’s the kind of news I want to hear!”

“Man, it’s all thanks to you. I’m sure Crown’s endorsement made a huge difference. Oh, sorry, I bet you don’t want hear me talk about him.”

“Are you kidding? Who cares? I’m happy for you! You deserve this!”

“Let’s freaking celebrate!”

Cody got a champagne bottle which was meant to be popped for New Year’s Eve and we had a party of two at the apartment.

We played karaoke, we sang, we danced, we drank, and we played an intense game of beer pong.

I ended-up black out drunk but I think it was exactly what I needed.

Besides, since I was considering myself jobless, I did not have to worry about getting up for work on the 30th.

Naturally, however, I reached a breaking point with regard to the depths to which I could bury my head in the sand.

Despite not having an alarm set, I slept terribly.

We went to bed at 4 a.m., I fell asleep hours later, and my phone started ringing from 9:30 a.m. and it did not stop.

I did not even dare looking at who was calling until Cody barged into my room like a lunatic at 11 a.m.

He was running, stark naked, with his disheveled hair and his big dick bouncing between his hairy thighs.

I felt like I was being attacked by a bear.

“That’s enough!” He howled. 

It kind of reminded me of the thirst time we met.

“What the hell?”

“Why the fuck do you let that thing ring? Can you not, at the very least, turn it fucking off?!”

“I…”

He did not let me talk.

“I don’t care! It’s not even about your damn phone and your damn annoying Sabrina Carpenter’s song as your ringtone!”

“It’s not annoy…”

Come on, how could he take his anger on Sabrina Carpenter?

“Shut up! Laurie is calling ME now! They’re all worried at work since you didn’t tell anyone you weren’t coming. Apparently, you still have a job, moron! Nobody understands what’s going on and I don’t know what to tell Laurie.”

I tried to slide the covers above my head to ignore him but quite literally, I could no longer escape the situation.

Cody threw away my sheets.

“Hey!”

I was embarrassed, I had slept (or tried to) stark naked.

“Get the fuck up and fix your life, bro. I cannot lie to my girlfriend.”

“Your girlfriend?”

That was new.

“I… I mean…” He puffed. “Don’t tell Laurie that I called her that, we… We haven’t had the conversation yet.”

“Oh! But man, it’s so haaard to lie to Laurie. How could I?”

I made fun of him.

He grabbed my pillow and hit my face with it.

“Get out of bed!”

I probably deserved that.

“Cody! You’re hurting me!”

Since I was still not moving, he jumped inside.

It was pretty similar to the wrestle matches we were playing with my brother growing up. We had also already done that once with Cody on the couch.

Although, it was a much more adult and rated R version since, let me remind you, we were both very much naked.

“Get your dick out of my face!” I yelled.

“You freaking wish you had it all over you, idiot!”

He spanked my ass.

I defended myself by tickling his waist and he ended up pulling on my legs and I fell off my bed.

He fell with me and was on top of me.

“That’s enough! I’m up!”

Cody was panting over me.

Honestly, that was kind of hot; his cock was lying against my stomach and I could swear that it was building up into a nice semi.

“Okay. Sorry, but that needed to be done, Andy.”

“Move away. I’ll go take a shower and… I guess that I have a few calls to make.”

He stood up.

“Yes, please. You stink.”

“I stink? Dude! You’re one to talk, you smell like rotten cheese.”

He sniffed his own armpits and then looked down at his cock.

“I was hammered last night, that’s why I wanted to sleep in this morning, dumbass. You made me drink and now I feel like crap. And because of your stupid phone, I couldn’t sleep.”

“You wanna go to the bathroom first?”

“No, go ahead, please! I need you to call Laurie afterwards, you’ll tell her whatever you want but I don’t wanna be responsible for any of it.”

In the end, neither Cody nor I had time to clean ourselves up.

I went to take a shower but almost exactly as I walked in the bathroom, someone knocked at the front door.

I heard Cody opening and then calling my name.

“It’s someone for you!”

Shit.

Who could it be?

I put a pair of pajama pants on and I got out of the bathroom. I still had sleepy eyes.

Of all people, freaking Rebecca Crown was standing in my  living room.

She was wearing her usual woman’s suit and seemed completely out of place in our environment, especially as the night before had left some traces, there were trashes and empty bottles everywhere.  

Next to her, Cody, who, thank God, had slipped into a pair of shorts before opening the door, looked confused.

I bet he did not expect to see her either.

“I hope I’m not disrupting anything.” She stated.

I was looking like a mess but I suppose it was still better than the last time she had seen me… Naked and getting fucked doggy style by her husband.

“I…”

She did not let me talk.

“White, you’re supposed to be in the office at this hour. I thought I should come by and see why you’re not answering your phone.”

“I…”

“Would you mind putting a shirt on and have a talk? We could go to a coffee shop down the street.”

Cody was standing behind Rebecca and put his thumbs up to show me what I was supposed to do.

I followed his recommendation.

“Of course, Madam.”

“Perfect. I’ll wait for you there.” She then stared at Cody and added: “My apologies, I didn’t expect people to still be half naked and just out of bed at nearly noon.”

“Wh… What?” He muttered, completely disoriented.

“Never mind. See you in a bit, White.”

You could say many things about Rebecca Crown but she was not the type of women you would want to mess with.

She had guts, power, and she was smart.

I realized that this made my own situation even more precarious, but I could not help but admiring this woman.

“I understand why you were so scared to go back to work now!” Cody cleverly summed up.

“She’s pretty confident and straight to the point. I should have anticipated she would come to my place.”

“She’s definitely something.”

I looked for a top to put on.

“If I don’t come back up in a half-hour, you know that I’m dead and you know who killed me.”

“Clearly. I’m not sure I’d testify against her though. She’d destroy me.”

I made a face.

“That’s not helping, Cody.”

“I know, bro. Look, it’s a difficult moment to go through, but when it’ll be done, you’ll feel like a weight has been lifted off your shoulders. I’m sure.”

“I’m not so sure but I need to face this anyway.”

“You go on, champion! I’ll wait for you here.”

I gave my roommate a faint smile as I was changing from my pajama pants to a pair of jeans.

I was fortunate to have Cody in my life.

I took a deep breath.

“Wish me luck!”

“You don’t need it, you’ve got this!”

[The story is exceptionally coming back in two weeks since next Thursday, I will be releasing a (steamy) short story instead!]