“Yeah.” She nodded her head, and I patted her on the back. I sort of knew how she was feeling. I still felt like a part of me was missing, and I’m pretty sure Nick would have that piece forever. At least Ben and Remy seemed to be going strong, but I had thought things between Nick and I had been pretty perfect, too.
Ben had spoiled Remy while he was here. He ended up extending his stay, saying he wanted to be here for me, and while he was, he ended up spending most of his time with Remy. I was completely okay with that though, they both deserved the happiness that you could see radiating off of them whenever they were together.
“Listen, Al.” She sat up and gripped my shoulders, her gaze steadily holding mine. “There’s something I need to talk to you about. Please, don’t hate me.”
I scrunched up my nose at her. “Remy, I could never hate you.”
“You might after this,” she whispered. “I’m moving in with Ben, Ally. We talked about where things were going with our relationship, and we decided we didn’t want to do things apart from each other.”
“Oh,” I answered simply.
“So, that means I’m moving back to Indiana. I’ve already put my notice in at the hospital, and sent my resume in to the one that Leah works at. She says they’ve been hiring recently, and it helps that I have her as a reference.”
I processed everything she had just told me. It seemed like everything was happening so quickly, but I was happy for Remy and Ben, they were so great together. “You’re quiet. I’m sorry to throw this at you all at once. So, what do you think you’re going to do?”
I shrugged my shoulders, looking down to pick at my nail polish.
“You could always come back to Indiana with me, nothing’s really holding you here. You can really work from anywhere...” She trailed off when I looked up, clearing my throat.
“I don’t know, Remy. I need some time to think about it. I like it here, but you’re right, there really is nothing keeping me here.” I knew she meant Nick. I think she figured I was waiting for him to come back around or something, but I really wasn’t. I knew we were over. There was no ‘us’ anymore, and there never would be.
My parents already tried on multiple occasions to get me to move home, right along with Leah. I think that they had been plotting together. But, something was telling me to stay. It just felt like home. I’m not sure if it still would without Remy, though. I had a lot to think about.
“I’m happy for you.” I wrapped her in a hug before standing up. “I can’t believe Ben didn’t tell me though.” I pouted my lips at her and she threw a pillow at me before I shut the door.
My phone beeped just as I stepped back into my room, and I rolled my eyes when I saw it was a text from Danny. I’m pretty sure he called and texted me more than Leah, it was a little strange. He designated me as his new best friend, because apparently Nick hadn’t been up for the job lately. I had waved him off when he tried to go into detail, threatening the loss of my friendship, which cut him off immediately.
Danny: Meet up at Clammy’s?
Me: Sure, why not? See ya in 10.
I flicked off the light as I stepped out into the hallway, and yelled bye to Remy. I felt like I could definitely use a drink after Remy dropped her news on me. I needed to figure out exactly what I was going to do, and I needed to do it quick. Remy mentioned something the other day about her lease being up soon on the apartment, so maybe I could set up some sort of month to month arrangement.
I wasn’t sure how I would handle being here alone, though. Sure, I had Danny, but I’m guessing once Nick came back into the picture, he would probably end up dropping my ass. They had been friends for forever.
“Yo, Ally-Cat, over here,” Danny yelled from a corner table as soon as I swung the front door open. I nodded at him as I took my seat, and quickly snatched up the margarita that he already had waiting for me.
“Ah, that is exactly what I needed,” I said, after taking a long sip. He smirked as he pushed a basket of fries toward me and I grabbed a couple.
“Bad day or something?” He flicked his eyes toward the waitress, who brought him a fresh beer, and he gave her a big wink. The cockiness that rolled off of him was nauseating at times.
“I guess so.” I shrugged my shoulders as I opened up a menu even though I knew the whole thing by heart. “Remy’s moving back to Indiana. Now, I need to figure out what I’m going to do.”
“What?” His mouth gaped open. “You mean you’re thinking about leaving me?” His voice got whiny as he pointed a finger at me. “Not allowed to happen, sorry.”
“Don’t be such a girl.” I threw a fry at him, and he opened his mouth, catching it easily.
“Seriously.” He crossed his arms over his chest, and leaned into the table. “You can’t leave, not yet. He needs you, Al, even if he doesn’t know it.”