Chapter 3 3.

I couldn't believe my eyes or my ears. The infamous Anna was standing at my door. The girl didn't look a day over nineteen. I'd imagine Anna to be so many things, and none of them came close to the spectacle standing before me.

Anna had apparently just gotten out of the shower. Her dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail, her tinted face scrubbed clean, no trace of makeup detectable. Big, round, doe eyes with the longest set of eyelashes that I had ever seen stared back at me.

"Hello, Is Daniel here?" Even her voice sounded young and I couldn't help but cringe.

I opened my mouth to answer her, but the words wouldn't come out. All I could think about was how Anna could have an orgasm and I couldn't.

Lucky bitch.

She was not only strikingly pretty, but she now had a man who could make her come during sex. Life didn't get any better than that, did it?

Well, just maybe, because Anna was most probably a model or something in show business, or her father was rich and she hadn't worked a day in her life.

I heard Daniel approaching behind me, but I couldn't take my eyes off of Anna, who was dressed in a white sheer top and a flared polka dot skirt. She didn't have much going on curve wise, but she definitely had an America's-next-top-model face and legs as long as a giraffe's.

Daniel showed up at the door, his wide shoulders pushing me aside so he could talk to Anna. "Give me a minute, Anna. I need to grab my suitcase," he said, before disappearing into the bedroom again.

"How do you know Daniel?" I finally asked after I found my voice.

"We met at the gym. Are you his sister? He said he lived with his younger sister." Anna's large eyes bounced back and forth between me and whatever Daniel was doing in the background.

"He said that?" That bastard. That rat-ass bastard. His sister? Really? I laughed at the thought. "I was actually his girlfriend up until five days ago."

I did my best to make it sound like I didn't give a fuck. When in fact I wanted to jump this girl and pull out all of her hair and maybe, just maybe scratch her eyeballs out too.

"No way," Anna said, her already large eyes bulging out of their sockets. "No way," she repeated. The poor girl looked like she was about to pass out or vomit. She could empty her guts if she so wished, but not on this porch. I took a lot of pride in the little apartment I'd gotten together with Daniel.

"Yup, he played us both." I kept my voice neutral as if none of this fazed me.

"You knew about me? Omg! I feel horrible. I seriously had no idea."

Just then, Daniel came out into the hall dragging his suitcase behind him. "What's going on?" A guilty look scurried across his face and was gone a second later. "Don't believe anything she's telling you, Anna. I will explain everything later." He then turned to me and said, "I left the keys on the table."

"What's with the suitcase?" Anna asked, pointing at the luggage standing at Daniel's feet. Her voice sounded shrill, panicked.

"I need a place to crash, just for a few days," he said.

For a minute Anna looked uncertain. "I'm not sure that's a good idea."

"Come on, Anna. Don't be like that," Daniel said, reaching out to touch Anna on her shoulders. She shrugged him off and shook her head vehemently.

I smirked and quietly closed the door, locking it in the process. I leaned my head against the smooth wood and sighed. Daniel and Anna were still discussing outside, their voices coming in and out like a radio station going bad. He was begging her to give him a chance and telling her that she didn't know the real Daniel. "I will not mess this up, Anna. I love you. Our relationship was over long before I met you, believe me."

But I knew the real Daniel. The one who was too lazy to take initiative about anything in his life. The one who could watch TV for hours on end. A cheating bastard. But he was also the same man who had helped me through my mom's alcohol problem and verbal abuse. He was gentle and kind, even in the way he made love. He was boring. Predictable. At the same time, a total romantic.

"But you lied to me, said she was your sister. I can't trust you," Anna said, her voice fading as they walked further away from the door.

I waited for them to disappear before going back outside to retrieve the spare key I had hidden in a fake rock in the case that one of us had lost the key to the apartment. I had to find a new hiding spot for it.

Once back inside a feeling of weariness came over me and I choked up trying to hold back tears. My legs gave up on me and the next thing I knew I was sitting on the floor sobbing like a spoiled toddler whose parents refused to buy her chocolate at Walmart.

I didn't want to cry for him. It was stupid, but the tears wouldn't stop.

I needed a drink. Something strong, but of course we didn't have any at the apartment. My mom was an alcoholic so I avoided drinking at any cost. But not tonight.

Getting up, I grabbed the car keys hanging next to the door in the small entry space. Three minutes later, dressed in a dark grey hoody and jeans, I fired up the engine of my most prized possession; my yellow Volkswagen Beetle.

While cruising into traffic, I thought of calling my best friend, Eva, but decided against it. I'd rather drown my sorrows on my own. I was not interested in hearing Eva's version of "I knew there was something sleazy about Daniel all along." Besides, we were having brunch tomorrow, so I would hear all about it then.

Good music and some wine. That's all I was interested in right now. I turned on the radio and the low, sultry voice of Toni Braxton singing 'unbreak my heart' came wafting out the speakers.

"No, no, I don't need this shit right now," I muttered.

I flipped the station and the music there wasn't any better. Why was everyone so damn heartbroken? Finally, I settled on a station playing Meghan Trainors 'I'm All About That Bass'. Now, that was more like it.

It started to rain and a fine sheet of water eventually coated the streets of downtown New Orleans. I loved this city. The vibes were beyond magical, almost surreal.

The laid back atmosphere brought out the creative side of me, and the strove of other youngsters like myself, all chasing the same dream, made it possible for me to believe in my art. Currently I was working on a series of paintings called 'blood red tears' for my next exhibition. At least I still had that to be excited about.

After driving around aimlessly for fifteen minutes I decided to settle for a bar where I was certain I would not come across any acquaintances or fellow painters.

Even though it was a Tuesday night, the streets were crawling with rowdy teenagers, tourists, desperate men, and the occasional stripper. I even spotted a few drug dealers here and there. Not that I knew anything about drugs, but Daniel used to smoke an occasional blunt now and again.

Patrick's Bar Vin was a quiet bar located just a few steps away from the corner of Bourbon Street. I entered the courtyard and made a beeline straight to the bar.

I was normally a white wine kind of girl, but instead I ordered an entire bottle of a random red wine off the very diverse menu. Red wine seemed more fitting for this occasion. The bloody metallic taste always reminded me of heartbreak.

Lifting the glass to my lips, I took my first sip. Mm mm, this was some good shit. The kind my mother used to get drunk on.

I looked around the cozy bar, taking in the charming, brown interior, the group of couches off to my left, and the lonely man sitting at a table for two next to a pair of giant windows. Something about this bar screamed class. The decor was very grown-up, dark and sexy.

How ironic, up until tonight I'd never really thought of myself as an adult. I was twenty-six, but in a lot of ways I still felt like a child.

I'd never really truly been on my own. I'd stayed at home through college and studied fine arts at Columbia University. Rent in New York was just ridiculous, and living at home with my mother had been hell, but I suffered through it.

When I was twenty-two I met Daniel at a cancer fundraiser. I'd gone there to support Addison, whose mom was then fighting breast cancer at the time. Daniel was there because his grandpa had prostate cancer. And ever since, Drake and I had been inseparable.

Fuck, don't think of him. No more Daniel from now on.