AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’ll let you both see a mock up. When it’s ready. And not before.”
Bex crossed her arms over her chest. “Fine. So back to earlier discussion, what are you going to do about your living situation? Are you really going to sell the house?”
I was terrified to sell the house, so that was probably the right thing to do. I couldn’t keep doing the same things over and over again and expecting the outcome to be different.
“Yes, I think I am.”
“I could use a roommate,” Bex said. “It’s kind of lonely.”
“Says you with your penthouse view.” Ryan rolled his eyes.
“I don’t think I can afford penthouse rent.”
Bex shrugged. “I’d really just like the company. Daddy’s dime.”
I didn’t know her. This was crazy. Absolutely crazy. But I wouldn’t have to deal with Kieran while he tried to find somewhere new to live, I wouldn’t have to deal with seeing April or whoever else he wanted to bring home in the interim.
It would be a clean break.
“When can I come see it?”
“Now? Come on, Ryan. Drive us,” Bex ordered.
“Bossy much?” He put his things away.
“Oh, you like it. If I wasn’t here to give you a healthy dose of crap, who would?”
“Why would you think dosing fecal matter is healthy?” Ryan curled his lip.
“This is why we don’t date.” She rolled her eyes.
“I thought it was because I never said yes?”
“Whatever.” She waved her hand and I followed her outside to Ryan’s car.
My stomach twisted up in knots. Was I really going to do this? I hadn’t committed to anything. I could still say no.
But I knew I was going to say yes with that certain surety that you have when you see a cop and know he’s going to give you a ticket. You see it coming, but it’s too late to put on the brakes.
Although, I guess that’s not the best analogy because I don’t want to put on the brakes. I want to have an adventure. I want to have a new me. A me who is finally comfortable in her skin.
I’d held on to that house with both hands because I wasn’t really holding on to the house, I was holding on to my mother. It was time to let all of that go. How could I have any adventures, how could I see a new path for my life if I was anchored there?
It was kismet that just as I’d decided I wanted to do this that an opportunity presented itself. There would always be reasons why I shouldn’t do something, so I was going to jump.
Unless of course the whole penthouse thing was a joke and she really lived in a crack alley.
As it turned out, she lived down on the Plaza, and it was indeed a penthouse. While I was looking around the interior, I couldn’t believe my good luck.
“Are you kidding me? You’d just… let me live here?”
“Sure.” She shrugged. “Why not?”
“I…yes.” I nodded. “Yes.”
“Yeah? Great! When do you want to move in?”
“Uh, two weeks?” I could give Kieran a month to find somewhere else to live. And if I was honest with myself, which I’d try to do more of lately, it would be so much easier for my heart to forget him if I didn’t have to see him every day. Or reminders of him.
I guess it was a little scorched earth, but why not? I’d always held so tightly to everything before. I could just let go and it would be so much better for all of us.
My phone buzzed in my bag. It was a text from Rosa: WTF?
Yeah, I guess that about summed it up. I guess April was trying to play the friend break up game I’d already said I wasn’t doing. I didn’t know what to say.
As I was staring at it, she texted again: Stop staring at your phone and call me.
I laughed. “Can you give me a sec? I need to take this.”
“Sure,” Bex said.
I wandered back to the bedroom with the glorious view that was going to be mine. Then I dialed. “Hey.”
“So, what the actual fuck is going on? Kieran is moving in with Gavin of all the fucking people. Really? That’s just… I can’t…April isn’t talking to Gavin or Kieran. Or me.”
“I didn’t want it to be like this.”
“What did she do?”
“Maybe it wasn’t her. Maybe it was me.”
“Whatever. Of course it was her.”
“She slept with Kieran.”
“I thought that was a been there, done that, got the t-shirt kind of thing?”
“Yeah. Well, we’d decided to—” What had we decided? “Things took a different turn between Kieran and I.”
“A wrong turn?”
“Definitely a wrong turn.”
“At least tell me the sex was good.”
