Page 11 of Nova

"I'm leaving work. I told my boss I wasn't feeling well. Meet me at my place in ten minutes. Wait! Make that twenty minutes. This calls for the hard stuff, and I'm out."

"I'll see you in twenty," I mutter, my voice sounding small.

"Promise?" London calls out just as I'm about to hang up.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry, babe."

"Thanks for being here, Lon."

"Always," she declares, and we hang up.

Apparently, London thought we needed not only copious amounts of alcohol, but she also called the other half of our squad, Sadie and Ruby. my best friend was right; ex-boyfriend bashing is a lot more fun with Sadie and Ruby joining in.

"Sadie!" London jumps from the sofa where she is sitting next to me. The liquor in the tumbler she's holding sloshes out onto the carpet.

"Doesn't that bitch Avery get her hair done in your salon?"

"Yes," Sadie answers, looking at London with slanted eyes.

Sadie, in fact, owns the salon in question. Not just any salon either. It's the best salon in the city, which is why Avery is a frequent customer.

"I don't do the bitche's hair, though. I do however take her money. That's why Karmen handles all of Avery's appointments. That and I don't trust myself not to do something I'll regret. Like having my scissors 'slip' or 'miss calculating' the amount of developer I put in her bleach."

"Fuck yeah!" London shouts. "That's what I'm talking about."

I reach up and pull on London's arm. "Sit your crazy ass down, Lon. We're not going to make Sadie do any of that. No matter how awesome it would be."

London huffs. "I suppose you're right."

"Karma is a bitch," Ruby adds. "Avery will get hers—Brad too."

The room goes quiet as I pour myself another shot, bringing it to my lips, and down it. I close my eyes, welcoming the burn, and the warm haze that settles over my body, helping me numb the pain of Brad's betrayal.

"You know what hurts more than the cheating?" My friends look at me. "It's the fact that Brad knows how I feel about Avery. How she likes to throw in my face, she's the real daughter. How I will never measure up when it comes to Thomas." I shake my head. "Out of all the women he could cheat with, he had to pick her. This is just another thing for her to rub in my face. Another way for her to prove she is better than me."

"I don't ever want to hear you say some bullshit like that again, do you hear me, Promise?" London gets in my face. "She is not better than you. Avery is nothing but a spoiled, vindictive brat who has been jealous of you her whole life."

I look at my best friend, stunned. "Jealous?"

"That's right, Avery has always been jealous of you. Hell, everyone can see that shit but you."

I look at Sadie and Ruby, who are both nodding in agreement.

"You're a smart, beautiful and successful woman. You are everything that Avery wished she was. People like her will spend their lives being hateful and nasty because it's the only way they know how to make themselves feel good."

"London is right, Promise," Ruby says. "At least you found out Brad wasn't the right man for you instead of something like this happening after you two were married."

"You're right. I mean Brad and I have had some problems lately, but I didn't think they were bad enough for him to cheat. I don't even know if today was the first time. God, what if it's been going on for longer. I'm such a fool." I close my eyes and let out a shuttered breath. "This morning Brad said he knew we were having problems and wanted to work them out. How can he go from wanting to make things work with me to banging Avery on his desk?"

"I'm not saying Brad is not to blame because he sure as fuck is, but I'd bet anything it was Avery who instigated it," London says. "The bitch can't stand to see you happy. She doesn't want Brad. She only used him to hurt you. It's just like that shit she pulled on you in college. That shit show with that guy."

As soon as the words leave London's mouth, I know them to be true. I close my eyes and force myself not to think about the past. But it's not like it matters because the present is pretty damn painful too.

* * *

The next morning,I wake to the sunlight peeking through the curtains in London's bedroom, my head pounding. I hear London snoring next to me, and for a split second, I wonder how I got here. Then it all comes flooding back. Walking into the office, catching Brad and Avery and then me getting piss drunk with the girls yesterday. Stumbling out of bed, I don't worry about waking London, she sleeps like the dead. I slowly make my way across the hall to the bathroom and grimace when I flip the light on and get a glimpse of my reflection in the mirror. "Holy hell," I mutter.

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