1
"Craig, I don't want to do this anymore. I can't do this anymore." Manny was barely managing to hold back tears when she realized Craig wasn't even looking at her.
He slowly met her gaze and after a long pause, he finally spat out, "YOU can't do this anymore? What do want from me, Manny? I can't be everything you need, you're so fucking desperate for my attention all the time."
Manny's eyes glazed over with rage as his words sank in. "Well, I can't be everyone you want, I can't be Ashley or Ellie, I'm just me. And ya know what I want from you? All I've ever wanted from you? I want just me to be good enough for once. That's it, that's all I've ever needed from you."
Craig hung his head before raising it to say the words that would be the final step in breaking Manny's heart once and for all. "Maybe just you aren't good enough. Maybe I need more than that, more than you."
Despite the pain crushing her from the inside out, Manny managed to grit out her final say about the whole debacle that had been her relationship with Craig. "Maybe. You're right, maybe neither of us was ever enough for each other. But that's all you ever needed to say to end it, Craig. You didn't have to drag me through the mud over and over and over again trying to prove to yourself you loved me. You didn't have to make me 'so fucking desperate' for your attention or your love."
Craig looked at her in disbelief before saying, "I made you this way? Are you fucking kidding me? You're gonna blame me for you basically stalking me for most of the past, what, four, five years?"
"Believe what you want to, Craig, justify leading me on by saying I stalked you. If that's what it takes for you to be able to sleep at night, fine. But remember that after today, I'm no longer your scapegoat to blame for every mistake you make. You're finally going to have to be responsible for every screw-up yourself. And I'm not gonna be around to pick up the pieces, call Ellie or Ashley for that. I'm done with you and your never-ending drama. I don't need it and I don't want it ever again."
And she walked away from the boy she thought she'd love forever. She didn't look back.
2
Peter stared at the empty bottle on the bed beside him wondering why he'd never invested in any liquor stocks. At the rate he was going he was likely to personally supply the entire college fund of at least one grateful employee of Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey. His mom storming angrily into his bedroom without knocking brought him out of his reverie and rudely jolted him back into reality.
"GET UP! Peter, this is the last straw. If you think you're going to live in this house while carrying on with this behavior, you're sadly mistaken, young man. Do you have any idea how ridiculous you're acting?"
Peter scoffed and gave his mother a sarcastic snort before snidely answering, "Yes, Mother, I am aware that my personal anguish is quite ridiculous to you. Not only because it annoys you, but also because it ruins this charade of a happy family you've got going with your 'stern yet caring' principal routine."
"Cut the crap, Peter. I know this breakup with Emma has been hard on you and that my enforcing the rules around here puts a cramp in your style, but that's life. Things happen and you deal with them, the good and the bad. So pull yourself together and get out of bed."
Peter sloppily pulled himself out of bed and raised his hand in a mock salute, swaying slightly. "Ma'am, yes, ma'am!"
Rolling her eyes, his mother tersely replied, "Very funny. I mean it, Peter, get your act together SOON. I believe the 'or else' is understood."
Peter nodded his agreement as she began to leave the room. At the door she turned and looking back said, "And Peter? If I see you with alcohol again, I'll kick your ass all the way to Tennessee to give ol' Jack back his whiskey then kick it right back here for juvenile hall. Is THAT understood?"
Swallowing audibly, Peter nodded and quickly assured his mother he wouldn't be drinking again anytime soon. "Yes, Mom. It's understood."
His mother turned to leave for the second time before Peter completely surprised her.
"And Mom?"
Turning she looked back at him. Her face held obvious confusion as she said, "Yes, Peter?"
"Thank you."
She smiled and her shoulders sagged a little with relief as she walked out of the room thinking that that had gone far too well for belief.
3
They found each other in the park after their respective fights, a strange coincidence if nothing else. She was sitting in the swing set when he walked up with his hands in his pockets looking defensive. She alternated between looking lost and mad at the world.
Her voice dripped acid as she began interrogating him. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"This is a public park, isn't it? Did I miss the sign that said 'Wannabe Porn Stars Only?'?"
The refreshed anger made her eyes darken as she responded with, "Oh, the great Peter Stone, you're fucking hilarious. If I'm a wannabe porn star, then you're an amateur porn director, now really, which one's more pathetic?"
"I think you already know the answer to that, Manny. You are the epitome of pathetic, chasing after Craig like a fucking lapdog."
The lapdog comment stung, but there was truth to it so she simply responded, "Not anymore."
Not understanding her, he said, "Excuse me?"
"I SAID 'NOT ANYMORE!'"
Peter couldn't believe his ears. "You mean he finally decided to let you down easy? I'd never think he had it in him."
"He didn't. I ended it. I finally realized how toxic Craig is to me. I've let him control my feelings for too long, let him take advantage of my love. We're over."
As he looked at her, he finally saw how small she looked just sitting there on the swing. He could hear the misery in her voice and he couldn't help but feel sorry for her. "Can't say I'm not glad to hear it."
Confused, she dropped her icy demeanor momentarily to ask him, "What are you talking about?"
Sitting in the swing next to her, he shrugged, keeping his hands in his pockets the entire time, "There's always been something about you, Manny. Through everything I've done to you, I've never wanted you to be unhappy."
"You've got a great way of showing it, that's for sure," Manny quipped sarcastically before looking away as she began to pump her legs slowly propelling herself forward and back on the swing.
She slowed to a stop and turned to find Peter staring at her. She wasn't prepared for what he said next. "I'm truly sorry for everything that's happened between us, Manny, before Emma, after Emma, everything. At first I was just pissed that you wouldn't give me the time of day. What the fuck is so special about Craig Manning anyway, I ask you? Then with Emma, I just wanted to make it work so badly, but you knew I'd never be enough for her because I could never be Sean. I should have listened to you when you said I didn't deserve her."
Now Manny was the one who couldn't believe her ears. All she could get out at first was "Wow."
She found her words quickly enough. Sighing, she said, "I know you're sorry. It's taken me a long time to admit to myself that I wasn't entirely blameless in the whole situation with the video. I just wanted to escape reality that night. You and your camera with the help of quite a bit of alcohol helped me achieve that goal. I wanted to feel wanted and beautiful and…"
Peter looked up from the ground when her voice trailed off and asked, "And what?"
She gazed into his eyes once again, saying, "Special. I wanted to feel special for as long as I could any way I could."
Never breaking eye-contact, Peter stood up and went to kneel in front of Manny's swing. "You are the most special, extraordinary, brilliant person I have ever met. You don't need Craig or me or anyone else to make you feel that."
"Does that 'more special' than anyone you've ever met include Emma, too?"
He gave her a mischievous grin as he said, "Of course. Everyone else including Emma fade into the background around you."
She chuckled slightly before quirking one eyebrow and saying, "You're laying it on pretty thick, aren't you?"
He stood up quickly at hearing her words and shoved his hands into his pockets defensively once more. "You sure know how to ruin a moment, don't you, Manny?"
"What moment are you talking about? The one where I'm supposed to believe the guy that taped me topless or perhaps the one where I'm supposed to trust my best friend's drunken ex-boyfriend?"
Bowing his head, he grumbled loudly, "How the hell would you know if I'm drunk or not?"
She rolled her eyes before standing up from the swing and walking over to stand in front of him forcing him to meet her eyes which were roughly five inches below his own. "First of all, one look at you could tell a saint you're on the sauce. Second, you reek of it. Don't you bathe before going out in public?"
"Only if I'm going to see someone worth impressing and that doesn't include someone who uses the expression 'on the sauce,'" he responded smartly with an easy smirk.
"This coming from the guy that just told me I was the 'most special, extraordinary, brilliant person' he had ever met. Nice consistency, Stone." She punched him lightly on the arm to emphasize her point.
Not having anything clever to say in response, Peter simply shrugged and said, "Good point. You've got me. I'm a drunk, though at the moment I happen to be previously drunk. You're sobering me up nicely. You're right, I'm pathetic. Thanks for making this piece of shit day sooo much better, Manny."
He turned to walk out of the park, but Manny stopped him in his tracks by saying, "God, Peter, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you feel worse than you're already clearly feeling. Geez, you look how I feel, I didn't want to kick a man while he's down."
Peter rolled his eyes as he let out a small laugh and sarcastically said, "Thanks for that sentiment, Manny. You're so kind."
Exasperated and emotionally drained, Manny threw her hands in the air and yelled at him with everything she had, "I GIVE UP! I don't get you, I don't get Craig, hell, I don't even get Emma anymore, she's so wrapped up with Sean and tired of hearing about my drama, we've hardly spoken in the last few months. I can't think anymore. I'm just tired of…everything."
Peter saw her shoulders sag unbelievably low and decided to try something he knew he shouldn't. He quickly but tentatively placed his arms around the small girl and pulled her into him, hoping she'd return the gesture.
He wasn't disappointed. Initially, Manny wasn't sure how to react to this sudden act of compassion from someone who she thought she could never stop hating long enough to have a meaningful conversation with. In a few moments, though, she realized how good it felt in Peter's arms. He was taller than her and the top of her head fit perfectly under his chin as he pulled her closer once he realized she wasn't going to bludgeon him for touching her.
A few minutes later Manny decided to speak. "This feels good." Peter had tensed up at the first sound of her voice, but she grasped his slim frame tighter against her to assure him she didn't want to break the contact between them.
Peter rested his chin on her head and closed his eyes as he sighed in contentment. "Yes it does."
Hearing him agree with her, she pushed the nervousness in her mind away and clung to the hope she could now find slowly re-emerging in her heart. She sighed, holding on to the least likely person for dear life. She closed her eyes softly, finally able to let them rest.