Page 109 of Mad Rivals
“Oh, shit. Why? Hang on, I’ll grab a flight out there to kick his ass,” she says, andthisis why I called her. The solidarity.
I gasp for a breath, and I manage to find one. I gulp in some air, and then I say, “He’s on his way to Chicago.”
“Then I’m on my way to Los Angeles. Where are my shoes? Where’s my fucking suitcase?” she says to herself as she starts gathering her things to toss them into a suitcase.
I’d tell her not to, but the truth is, I need her here. I don’t bother to put up a protest she’ll ignore anyway.
“I’ll book you a flight,” I say instead. I wander over to my laptop to look up flights. “Tell me something good while you pack.”
“Work is going really well. I’m living with Lainie from marketing, and we’re having fun.” She lowers her voice. “Not as much fun as I had with you, though.”
It prompts a small chuckle from me. “How are things with Lance?”
“You don’t want to hear about Lance,” she says.
“That good?”
“Better.”
“I’m happy you’re happy, Clem.”
“I know you are. And that’s why I love you. Even when you’re down in the dumps, you’re still cheering me on. And vice versa. Did you find me a flight yet?”
“I did.” I book it on the spot and give her the details.
“I’ll be there in a few hours, and then we can get wasted and numb this bullshit, okay?” she says.
“Deal,” I say, and we hang up.
I spend the next few hours crying, lamenting, and wondering if my ex and my best friend are crossing paths in the sky as he heads to Chicago and she heads to Los Angeles.
It’s late, and I’m dozing on my couch by the time there’s a knock at my door. I feel a surge of relief that my best friend is here. It feels like I’m not alone, and while the pain from losing Madden is still incredibly fresh and deeply dark, Clem manages to bring brightness wherever she goes.
“I missed you so much,” I say, hugging her tightly.
“Back at you, babe,” she says. “So what happened?”
And then I spill everything.
Well...almosteverything.
I leave out the bit about the casinos, which really is the underlying cause of why he broke it off. I realize it’s pretty hard to explain why he ended things out of the blue without that piece of the puzzle, so I blame a lot of it on the events from today.
“He must’ve realized how hard it is to compete with each other in a business setting, and that’s why he did it.” That’s what I tell her, anyway.
Because I wasn’t lying to him when I said I wouldn’t tell anyone his family’s secrets. Even though he just broke my heart, he can still trust me—whether or not he deserves that privilege.
“I’m so sorry, Kenny. What can I do?” she asks.
I shake my head. “Nothing. You’re here, and that’s all I need.”
It’s a lie. All I need is Madden, but I can’t have him.
She reaches over and grabs my hand. “Do you think this is permanent? Or do you think it’s a blip and he’ll realize what he lost and come crawling back?”
“The better question is whether I’ll take him back when he does.” I press my lips together, and they’re big words from someone who’s fairly certain she would take him back in less than the space of a single heartbeat.
We spend the next day getting massages and pedicures and watching our favorite movies while vegging out on the couch with popcorn and Twizzlers, and then she has to fly back home since she can’t miss too many days of work. Girl time with Clem was exactly what I needed, though. And now, I guess it’s time to start focusing forward.
