Brandi

About an hour and a half later, I was struggling.

I hadn't even gotten the tire off yet as my lug nuts were  stuck and I couldn't budge them for shit. I was quickly growing frustrated, tired, and irritable. I just wanted to go home and go to sleep. And since I was on a deserted road, I knew no one would be coming. In fact, no one had come since I had been out here.

I'll probably be stuck here for the night. 

And with that thought, I just gave up and slumped against my car. I was sweaty and achy from all of the pitiful effort I put into trying to change this God forsaken tire.

Maybe I should call Jack, hopefully he would answer. But when I pulled my cell out, there was no service!

"Mierda!" I growled, tucking my phone into my back pocket.

I was officially stuck here. This day was annoying to say the least. But, then, by some miracle a few minutes later, I saw some headlights around the corner. At this point I didn't care who the hell it was, I just wanted to go home.

So, I got up and ventured into the street, waving my hands like a mad man and yelling out, "HELP ME! HELP ME CHANGE MY TIRE!"

The driver blew their horn and stepped on the brakes to avoid hitting me. Now that was over dramatic, they had plenty of time to stop.

The headlights blinded me and I shielded my eyes from the harsh glare. The driver cut on their hazards and stepped out of the car.

"Are you fucking crazy!? I could've hit you!" He boomed

Though it was dark, I could tell this was one huge man. He had to be around 6'1 and I felt dwarfed in his presence with my 5'2 frame.

"S-sorry, my tire blew, I just needed some help. I wasn't trying to scare you. Besides, you had plenty of time to stop anyway."

I may have felt bad, but I was no punk.

"It's hard to see when you have on dark clothing. Jeez, I could've killed you, you know that!?" He yelled, though his tone was a bit softer this time.

I didn't answer him and instead grabbed my left arm nervously. It was a dumb move on my part, but at this point I was desperate.

I heard him sigh and blow breath out of his mouth.

"Did you try to call anyone?" He asked, a little less on edge now.

"Yes, there's no signal."

He took his own phone out of his pocket and confirmed what I had just said.

"I hate these rural roads. What's wrong with your tire, maybe I can help."

"My tire blew."

"You have a spare?"

"Yeah, in the trunk."

"You have a jack and everything else too right?"

"Yes, I just can't get the lug nuts off. They're screwed on pretty tight."

"Hold tight, let me put my jacket in my truck, I'll get them off for you."

As he walked in front of the headlights, I noticed he was wearing a very nice charcoal gray suit with a black tie. I also noticed he had black hair and a muscular frame as the truck's inside light came on when he opened the car door and then shut it.

"I feel bad." I sighed as he walked over to me

"For almost giving me a heart attack? You should."

"No, for you being dressed so nice and about to get dirty."

"Trust me, I've done this before and still looked clean afterwards. Besides, the dinner I was at is over anyway, this just gives me a chance to relax before I get home. Do you have a flashlight?"

"Yeah, I'll go get it."

I went to the trunk of my car to retrieve the flashlight and turned it on so he could see. The light illuminated his face enough for me to notice that he had some very beautiful blue eyes. And he looked familiar too....where had I seen him before?

"What's your name by the way?" He asked me as I put a wisp of my brown curly hair behind my ear.

"Brandi. You?"

"Josh. Nice to meet you. That's a pretty accent you have."

I blushed and was thankful that it was dark.

"T-thank you." I stuttered

Within no time, Josh and I struck up conversation while he worked on the car. Within no time, my tire was fixed and Josh was closing my trunk for me.

"Well, that should do it."

"Thank you so much for helping me."

"I'll send you my bill. Drive safely alright? It was nice meeting you."

And he walked away just like that. I mean, I didn't expect much. I did scare him half to death. But I was secretly hoping he'd ask to see each other again. Maybe I could ask.

... But then again, nah, I had already done enough. I might as well go home.

"Miss?" He asked as I walked towards my drivers side door.

"Yes?"

"If this happens again, make sure not to jump in front of any cars. Wouldn't want anything happening to you."

"I promise. Drive safely, and thank you again." I said embarrassed

My face grew hot as I slammed my door shut and sat there a few seconds berating myself. From what I could tell, Josh was a very handsome man and boy did he look good in a suit. But I was so nervous that the whole time we were talking I kept fidgeting and stuttering like an idiot. He probably thought I had some sort of condition.

Guess it was good I didn't ask for his number after all.

I also noticed that he hadn't pulled off yet. I guess he was waiting for me. So, I started up my own car and put it in gear. But before I could pull off, he knocked on my window.

Confused, I rolled it down.

"Is there something wrong?" I asked

"Yeah, you didn't give me your number."

Even in the dark I could see his beautiful smile. Now there were two ways I could play this: Give him my number and seem desperate as hell, or play it off and not seem interested.

I chose the latter.

"That was on purpose." I smirked

"Oh, so it's like that?"

"Yes. Night Josh,and thanks again," I giggled, starting to pull off.

I raced down the street and towards home. I know I know, maybe I should've gave him my number. But I had a strong feeling I'd be seeing him again anyway. So, I didn't worry about it. Plus there was only enough time for me to shower and then sleep for a couple of hours. Man I was gonna feel this when I woke up at 6 am. 

*****

My alarm blared directly on time. Of course it would, just like it  did every morning. I so wanted to smack the snooze button and just sleep until next year.

But I got out of bed anyway.

Since I had taken a shower only a few hours before, I at least had some time to get me some coffee. I walked into the kitchen and started making coffee.

Surprisingly, I saw Amber padding into the kitchen still in her pajama's.

"Hey B, you look horrible."

"A girl just loves to hear that in the morning."

She giggled and went to the cabinet to grab a glass.

"When did you get home anyway?"

"Four. I had car trouble last night."

"Why didn't you call one of us? I would've gladly left my show to come get you."

"I had no cell service. But I got lucky, this guy came to help me. I was on a deserted road for about three hours.

"Did you catch his name?"

"Yeah, Josh."

"What did he look like?"

"Gorgeous. But I can't place my finger on where I have seen him or have heard that name before."

"So, was he cute?"

"Well obviously! He had the most beautiful blue eyes. But I'll probably never see him again."

"I wouldn't be so sure. With what often happens to our little bunch, fate always intervenes. Now, what really happened at Caine's house the other night?"

It was like she had ESP or something. So far, anything Amber has felt would happen has happened. Maybe she had a point on this one. She was the one that often warned me about Caine and that I should leave him alone.

I hated that she was always right sometimes.

"Well Miss Know It All, I know you already know what happened. But want to hear what you guessed happened."

"My guess? Some other woman was at his house too?"

I nodded stiffly and took the brewing coffee pot from the holder, pouring the bitter liquid into a mug I grabbed from the cabinet.

"How did you know?"

"This is Caine we're talking about. Guys like him always has some girl they make the 'main' and then they have little side pieces to spice things up. I'm guessing he talked about having a relationship with you too right?"

I nodded with a sigh and sat down harshly on one of the kitchen table chairs while I scooped sugar into my mug of coffee.

"I'm such an idiot."

"Honey, don't beat yourself up. You're not the first woman this has happened to, and you certainly won't be the last." 

"It sucks, I really liked him."

"There are much better men in this world, and once you grab one, you'll know that."

"You're right. Well, I better go. Gotta get to the restaurant."

I drug myself up from the table and trudged to my car. I already knew today would be long and tiring, I just hope that it went by quickly.

When I arrived at the restaurant, I found out that because we were understaffed, I had to do waitress duty. So I had to go change into the waitress uniform and grab a notepad from my parents office.

"Oh Mija, did you sleep at all last night?" My mom asked, stroking my hair

"I had car trouble and it took me awhile to get home, but I'm fine momma."

She kissed the side of my head and passed me a note pad.

"Thank you for filling in today, you're the best daughter."

"Don't let Maria and Cecilia hear that, they'll never let me hear the end of it." I smiled warily

"I never understood why you three couldn't get along."

"It's not me that's the problem, it's them. They always have something negative to say or something about me they look their noses down on. Momma I'm so tired of them."

"They're your sisters, I know siblings fight but I know deep down, they love you."

"Doubt it. I better get out there, got customers to see."

I kissed her on the cheek and walked out to the front. Of course when I got out there, I saw my sisters walking into the front door. Great, what else could happen today?

"Oh Brandi, perfect! We want a table in the back." Maria spoke, pushing some of her black hair behind her ear.

I remember when my hair was black. But I had to get rid of it, simply because other people often compared me to my sisters. At least now that it was brown, I could stand out.

"Sure. Follow me." I forced between clenched teeth and a forced smile

They followed behind me to the table in the back as requested and sat down like they were royalty.

"Tell Mami and Papi we're here, we want to see them." Cecilia ordered

"Yeah, and when you're done, bring us the usual and please tell Jonathan to make it snappy!" Maria said

"Anything else?" I asked with a touch of sarcasm

"No dear sister, that is all." Maria said

And then I was shooed off like a pest while Maria pulled out her compact and checked her already perfect makeup.

"Jonathan, order up." I grumbled, passing him the order slip when I got to the kitchen

"Maria and Cecilia?" He asked

I nodded and leaned against the counter.

"I hate serving them. Because to them I am a servant."

"You can't let them get to you B, they know they get under your skin, and giving them the satisfaction that they did, makes it worse. You need to go out there, head held high."

"You're right. All I want to do is dump Maria's salad on her head and Cecilia's Burrito's down her shirt. I hate them both."

Jonathan chuckled and started cutting up vegetables for a dish he was making

"You don't hate them. I know your sisters aren't the best people on the planet, but I know you don't have it in you to hate anyone."

"I wouldn't be so sure."

He dumped the onions into the soup and started chopping tomatoes.

"One day they will get theirs."

"Not soon enough. They have cooking shows, money, and best sellers. And all  have is a beat up Honda Accord that often breaks down and a job that makes my feet hurt."

"You know, you could've had this restaurant by now but you wanted to work up to it."

"Well...yeah. But even if I wanted to do it the right way, that still isn't enough for the likes of them."

"Tell me this: Why do you always want to please them so much? From what you've just told me and have been telling me for a long time, no matter what you do, it never seems to be enough."

"Right."

"So why? Why do you want their approval? As far as I'm concerned, to everyone else you couldn't give a single fuck if they like you or not. That's what I like about you, and as your friend I should tell you that you should treat your sisters exactly like you treat everyone else in this restaurant who always has something to say to you: as irrelevant. Only person you need to prove something to is yourself."

Jonathan was right, if I wasn't good enough for myself, then I definitely wouldn't be for anyone else. In that little pep talk, I straightened my back and rolled my shoulders.

"You're right." I smiled

He teasingly dinged the bell and passed me Maria and Cecilia's orders.

"Order up." He smirked

I grabbed the plates from the counter and Jonathan gave me a wink.

"Go get em girl."

I smiled and walked out towards the dining room, seeing Caine of all people at Maria and Cecilia's table. I was about to round the corner when I heard my name pop up. I thought this would be good, so I stayed behind the wall for a second.

"....I'm sorry if I ran Brandi away but, it was time she knew about us."

"Maria, it's bad enough that I was seeing you behind her back in the first place. You weren't supposed to be at my house that night. We were through remember?"

"Through? Riiiight, so I guess you fucking me against the wall, on your bed, and on your kitchen counter was us being through huh? You can tell yourself all you want about how this was nothing, but you can't lie to me. Face it, you fell for me and wasn't man enough to tell my sister, so I had to do it for you. I bet she doesn't even know it was me."

So it was Maria I had saw at Caine's house after I sped away. Of all the things she has done to me, this had to be one of the lowest.

"I don't want you, I want Brandi."

"Sure Caine, keep lying to yourself. Because if you wanted her, you wouldn't have slept with me. You would've thrown me out the minute I showed up."

Caine said nothing and I fought back rage. I could see the faint tense in his jaw.

I walked out towards the dining room table and placed Maria and Cecilia's food on the table.

"Your food." I said

"Thank you." Maria smiled sweetly

"Brandi, can I talk to you?" Caine asked

"No, I think you've said and done plenty. We're done here. And for the record Maria, you can have him. Hope you like my sloppy seconds."

And then, with the  flick of my hair, I turned on my heels and left. I heard Cecilia snickering behind me and Maria telling Caine to wait as I assumed he was storming out of the restaurant.

Good riddance!