I shouldn’t have stooped down to her level, but I couldn’t help myself.
“If you think I care for one second what that man thinks about me, you’re more delusional than I thought.” I turned and refilled my glass. “Goodbye, Rachel. Leave the key.”
I threw back the scotch and kept my back to the room until I finally heard the door slam.
Letting out an exasperated sigh, I shook my head. I had a feeling it wouldn’t be the last time I dealt with her, and I wasn’t looking forward to the aftermath.
Eleven
Emmalynn
I peeled my eyes open at the sound of my phone going off and looked over at the clock.
Ugh. Who the hell is texting me at seven in the morning?
Sitting up, I grabbed at my aching back. I needed to figure out what I was going to do about a place to stay. My body would only be able to handle sleeping on this air mattress for so long. I was used to my Tempur-Pedic, and I’d downgraded tremendously. Reaching over to Mel’s side table, I grabbed my phone and pulled up the text.
Victoria: The Brew. 8?
I smiled. I felt like I hadn’t seen my friends in forever and actually, I hadn’t. I’d been so consumed with school and being stuck inside my own head that I hadn’t made time for anything else. I needed to get my head out of my ass.
Me: Yes. I just got up. I’ll meet you there as soon as I can.
It was a Thursday, so I didn’t have class until eleven. It gave me enough time to meet her before I’d have to go.
I walked out of the bedroom and bumped right into Quinn.
“Oh shit. Sorry, Quinn.” I said as I grabbed onto her shoulder. “I haven’t seen you around lately. How are you?”
“Great.” She smiled. “I’ve been staying with Dan a lot. And actually, I’m only here to get more of my clothes.”
“Oh, wow. I didn’t realize you guys were that serious.”
From what I’d heard, they’d only been dating for three months.
Quinn blushed, something I hadn’t seen her do before. “Well actually, we’ve been talking about moving in together, but I’m not sure if I want to make that move or not. So, we’ll see.” She shrugged as she reached her room and walked inside.
If Quinn did end up moving in with Dan, maybe I could just take over her room and help Mel with the bills. That would help me out so much. But I wouldn’t get my hopes up. Mel and I never talked finances, and I had no idea how much she made or if she could afford to live on her own.
After my shower, I headed into Mel’s room to get dressed. The place was quiet, so I knew everyone had left for the day. I took a few minutes to enjoy it by lying back on Mel’s bed. My days of relaxing were few and far between.
Years ago, I would imagine what my life would be like five years from that day. Would I be a successful lawyer? Would I be married? Would I have kids?
Nothing ever turned out how I pictured it, but I was okay with that, until recently.
I’d made so many plans with Tim. We had our five-year plan—or rather, I had our five-year plan. It’s never easy to go through heartbreak, but I was learning not to make plans anymore. I needed to live day-by-day and not put ideas in my head. No more plans. I’d keep my goals because those were important, but I couldn’t keep making plans for myself. I’d only end up feeling like a failure.
Looking over at the clock, my eyes widened at the time. I needed to get my butt into gear so I could go meet Victoria.
*
I walked into The Brew and sighed in contentment as the smell of fresh-brewed coffee assaulted my senses. I wasn’t able to have a cup before I left the house, so this was a much-needed necessity.
Looking to the right, I scoped out the tables filling with people and smiled as I caught sight of Victoria waving me over.
“Hey.” She smiled up at me as I made it over to the table. “Long time no see,” she stated as she pushed a cup toward me. “I got you the usual.”
“Ah, thank you. I need my fuel for the day.” I picked up the cup and took a sip. It never failed; The Brew was still the best place to get coffee. I didn’t care how many people told me Starbucks was the only place they’d ever go. They could have their overpriced coffee.
“So, what’s been going on with you? How’s school going?”
I took another sip and looked over Victoria. She was dressed in one of her many sexy business suits, her blonde hair pulled back in a small ponytail.
“Wait,” I stopped her as I put my coffee down. “Why are you not at work? It’s past eight.”
She smiled. “I’m out running errands for the boss man. Plus, he wanted me to stop and get him some real coffee since his new secretary didn’t know how to make a decent pot.”
I laughed. “How’s all that going?” I asked, twirling my finger around while pointing it at her.