Page 95 of My Ex's Best Friend

"I'm also moving," Ellie says. "I want to be closer to Kendal. The distance between us is killing me."

"Oh, my god, Ellie, that's amazing."

"Well, it was about time," Ellie says. "And considering Los Angeles's soaring real estate prices, it only makes sense."

"You know, I almost forgot how fun it is to be with you people," Tammy says, kissing me on my cheek. She gets up and walks a little unsteadily toward her room.

Both of my friends are more than a little tipsy.

I laugh. "Me too."

Tammy walks past my laptop and stops. "Hey, your laptop keeps blinking."

"Yeah, it's been doing that for a few days. It refuses to shut down."

"Let me take a look," Tammy says.

"Tammy, you don't have to do that," I say, panicking when I remember the last thing I was doing when I left it.

But it's too late.

Tammy frowns as she scrolls through the screen for a couple of seconds before turning to me. "You're quitting?"

I don’t reply. My stomach feels queasy, and it’s a miracle that I don’t throw up right there and there.

"Surprise," I say.

"Why are you quitting? I thought you loved the job," she says.

Ellie who had disappeared into the room comes out. "What's going on?"

"Kiera is quitting her job," she says.

"Why?" she says. "I thought you loved the restoration projects. You were so excited about the museum collaboration."

I look at their hopeful faces, and I cannot bear it anymore. I burst into tears as I slowly slide down to the ground.

Tammy and Ellie rush toward me.

“Kiera, what’s wrong?”

My eyes blur as I continue to bawl my eyes out. This is the first time I’ve let myself out like this ever since I first found out the truth about Jake.

My friends let me cry myself out. Tammy rubs my back while Ellie goes away and returns with a bottle of water and some tissues. The tears eventually ease, and I wipe them away with the back of my hand.

“I just couldn’t do it anymore.”

“It’s okay if the job got too overwhelming. And maybe working with Jake wasn’t the best idea,” Tammy says.

I start bawling again.

“Oh, my God, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to bring it up. It’s okay to find a new job overwhelming.”

I shake my head. "That’s not why I was, and I still am, quitting. It’s because I'm pregnant."

There’s a pause. Both my best friends gawk at me, their mouths hanging open and for a few moments, no one says anything.

"What?" Ellie says. "Oh, my God, Kiera. That's huge." Both lean in for a hug, and in that moment, I’m grateful for their presence.

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