Free Winning Back Ryan by S.L. Siwik

about many of those memories. The picture flashed of us dressing up for Halloween our second year as Bonnie and Clyde- the two of us posed with our backs to each other guns drawn. The picture changed to the trip to his parents’ house when we went fishing in their boat-Brian held up a three foot fish smugly, I held up a seven inch fish and glared at him jealously. The pictures kept flashing- homecoming games, late night diner outings, bar crawls. There were a few pictures with Ryan, Brian, and me from my birthday outings. My arms were around both of them and Ryan glanced sideways at Brian. Sadness filled my heart at the picture. It seemed like a lifetime ago that the picture happened, not just a year ago. A different perspective made just a day feel like a year, though.
                  The door opened, and I turned towards Brian. He had a glass in hand, and his eyes quickly glanced from the photo frame to me.
                  “Here,” he said, holding out the drink. “Drink it.” Without questioning, I did as he asked, drinking the brownish colored liquid. Part of me hoped that it was brandy or bourbon. Nothing beat a little ‘hair of the dog.’  As the drink slid down my throat, the taste, my fuzzy brain recognized, was disgusting. Swallowing, I began coughing. From the corner of my eye, I caught his smirk. “It’s for hang-overs. Disgusting, but effective.” I swallowed the rest, while he folded his arms wearing a black t-shirt and grey basketball shorts, leaning against the wall. 
                  “So, you ready?” he asked.
                  “Yeah, let’s do it. Skinny Annie, here I come!” I still wanted to lose the weight to win back Ryan.
                  He chuckled loudly. “You’re in no condition to go running. We’ll start on Monday. But, I’m forewarning you, you’re going to hate me. But when we’re done, you’re going to love me,” he said. 
                  “Whatever you need to do,” I said, “Just make me skinny.”
    He walked out of the room, and I followed not mentioning the picture frame. I looked at the couch and saw a blanket and pillow.
                  “Brian, you should have put me on the couch. I’m a guest at your place.”
    He shrugged as he walked into the kitchen. I followed, my eyes cringing against the brightness of all the stainless steel appliances; the sunlight bouncing off the metallic finish.
                  “Plug your ears,” he said, and I did as I was told because I saw his hand moving towards the blender.  The loud, grinding noise reverberated through my skull all the way down to my toes. It was extremely unpleasant, and I was positive my brain would explode. He finally stopped, took out two tumblers, and poured the blended concoction into the glasses. Ugh. Not another one of Brian’s health shakes.
                  Whenever Brian started thinking he was getting flabby from too many late night drinking binges, he went on a strange health shake kick. I never asked what was in it. Personally, I didn’t want to know. Brian was one of those freaks who actually had an herb planter in his kitchen. I mean, really, what man had such a thing? I was sure the drink was very healthy- meaning disgusting.
    He handed it to me, and I knew immediately that I was in trouble. Looking into the clear glass, I saw that the color was bright green. As a rule, I stayed away from green drinks unless it was St. Patrick’s Day.
                  “You have to have one of these every morning,” he told me as I still eyed the glass with disdain.
                  I fought the urge to sigh. “Okay, you have to tell me what’s in it.”
    Brian shook his head before taking a sip. I waited for the catch as he swallowed. “You have to come here for your drink every day. That way I know you’re not cheating.”
                  I couldn’t