Remy blinked once more before throwing her arms around me, a giggle bubbling up as she buried her nose in my hair. “You aren’t going anywhere, missy. Just give me a sec, it’s not every day one of my best friends randomly shows up on my doorstep, and normally it would take a hurricane to wake me up once my head hits the pillow.”
I breathed a sigh of relief as she wrapped an arm around my shoulder and ushered me into the surprisingly bright apartment, which looked to be decked out in a nautical theme, shutting the door quietly behind us. “I’m so happy you’re here and all, but to what in the hell do I owe this little visit to?” She paused, scrunching up her nose at me as I dragged in a suitcase behind me. “And no offense, but why do you smell like you haven’t bathed in a week?”
After a much-needed shower, and a change of clothes, I knew I couldn’t keep my mouth shut any longer. Remy had been burning holes in my head the whole time that I messed with my hair and makeup, and the poor thing looked ready to pass out, so I couldn’t keep her waiting any more.
She listened intently as I gave her all of the details, reliving them once again, which really was almost harder than the first time. I skipped over the part of how I eventually got myself a rental car. “And so I ended up here. I’m really not ready to head back to Indiana yet, and face all of that. I think I just need a little bit of me time before I have everyone judging me for the mistake that I clearly made. I feel like such a dumbass.”
Remy’s red brows shot up for the first time since I had arrived, clearly indicating that what Teddy had done really hadn’t been that big of a surprise to her, but at least she hadn’t said I told you so, yet. “Al, you know that everyone loves you and just wants you to be happy. I highly doubt Leah, or any of your family, is going to think badly of you. If anything they’ll all want to hunt Teddy down and beat his ass, which really doesn’t sound like too bad of an idea.”
“I know,” I replied quietly, knowing that what she had said was exactly the truth. “I just can’t go back there right now. So, for the moment, I just need to figure out what to do with myself. Maybe I’ll find a job around here for a bit, find a place to stay for a while, and I guess deal with Teddy.”
I wasn’t going to say the “D” word yet, or even think about it, even though I knew it was inevitable. There was no way in hell I was staying married to him, or “working” things out like he had suggested. I wasn’t aware that anything needed to be worked on in the first place until…no, I wasn’t going back to that place right now. It was bad enough that my marriage would be over before I was even 30, no need to dwell on something that was clearly unfixable.
“Ally, you know you’re more than welcome to stay here. In fact, I would actually love it, it gets pretty lonely around here sometimes.” Remy popped up to her knees, looking fully awake for the first time since I had arrived, and I could finally see that usual glitter in her eyes that had been absent. Here I was, going on and on about my problems, and I hadn’t even noticed that something had been a little off with Remy who Leah had always compared to me nonstop, never knowing between the two of us who was the perkier one.
“Rem, I really don’t want you to feel—”
“Stop.” She held up a hand, not letting me go any further, and I really wasn’t going to argue with her, because honestly, I didn’t know where else to go and I didn’t want to be completely alone. “It will be awesome. I already have an extra bedroom all set up, but we can go shopping and add whatever little Ally touches you want.” She must have noticed how hesitant I was because she gave me another reassuring smile, and stood up to give me a hug. “It’ll be fun, I promise. We can have some much-needed girl time, and I’ll be there for you whenever you have a bad day. Please?”
“Okay,” I answered simply, smiling for the first time in what felt like forever, even though it hadn’t really been that long. How long was it going to take me to feel happy again? “But I’m not going to be a bum, I’ll get a job, help out with rent and all that. It will definitely be fun.”
“Don’t worry about a job for a little bit, I think you need time to heal…and to make sure you’re not a big, giant mess that no one will want to hire. I know you like to put on a brave face, but it’s probably going to get worse before it gets any better.” I stewed over Remy’s words as she gave me another hug, and then padded silently down the tiled hallway back to her bedroom to get the sleep I so desperately needed. I could feel how heavy my own eyelids were, but I wasn’t so sure sleep would come to me as quickly as I liked.
Chapter 4
Nick
“Well, look who finally decided to show back up to work.”