Page 26 of One Room Vacancy
“You just said you’re done with her. Are you seriously talking to her again?” Liam’s irritation slips through the air, pulling me out of my daze as I stare down at my iPhone with a blank expression. I shake my head, both in response and to dislodge whatever adverse effect seeing her name across my screen caused.
“Of course not,” I say before reaching for the controller, but Liam just yanks it out of my reach. “Dude, I’m serious. I haven’t spoken to her.”
“Then why is she texting you?” His concern is palpable, but irritating as hell.
“Why, you jealous?” I try to make light of it with a joking wink, but his scowl only grows.
He stares at me for another beat before letting out a sigh. “Gabe, you can’t keep doing this with her. It’s not healthy.”
“Like I said, I’m not.” I reach over and grab the controller from his grasp. My fingers wrap tightly around the plastic as I try to distract myself from the constant buzzing in front of me, my phone notifying me a second time about the text messages. Sitting innocently on the coffee table, it seems to taunt me with its unread message notifications. My eyes flicker toward it, but I quickly avert my gaze, knowing that if I pick it up, I won’t be able to resist checking the messages.
Liam’s attention is still locked on my phone, as if he expects it to explode at any moment like a ticking time bomb. His expression is a mix of curiosity and concern, and I can feel his silent questions burning into my skin.
“Are you going to read it?” he finally asks, breaking the tense silence between us.
I hesitate, my mind racing with conflicting thoughts and emotions. Part of me doesn’t want to read it, afraid of what it might say or how it might make me feel. But another part of me, a nagging voice deep inside, urges me to pick up my phone and read the message. What if something happened to her? What if she needs me?
It wouldn’t be the first time she ended up in the hospital after a breakup like this. The last time we went through a breakup that lasted this long, she ended up in the hospital. I remember getting a call from her mother, explaining how shehad “accidentally” overdosed on medication. Even though it was an accident, I couldn’t help but wonder if our relationship troubles played a part in her actions.
As much as I try to push away these haunting memories and fears, they continue to linger in the back of my mind, gnawing at me like a persistent itch that can’t be scratched.
Because every time Kara cried or clung or threatened to break if I left, all I could see was my mother—fragile and furious, manipulative in the name of love. Maybe that’s why they were always so close.
“You good, man?” Liam’s tone quickly shifts from accusatory to concerned, and while it makes me exceedingly grateful to have a best friend who cares, I also don’t want to talk about it.
“Yeah, I’m good,” I respond before shifting to grab my phone off the table, taking a deep breath, and opening the text message thread.
Kara
Can we talk?
Please?
We’ve been here before, the pleading part. The part where she attempts to appeal to my concern for her, or just tries to make herself not come off as damaging as she can be. It’s exactly how it went last time. This cycle, this shit with her, it’s been years of it. And while I care about her, want what’s best for her, and don’t want anything bad to happen to her, I am exhausted. Not the kind of exhaustion that one feels after a long day at work, but the kind of bone-deep exhaustion that even sleeping for ten days straight can’t shake you out of.
Despite every instinct in my body pushing me to answer her, just to confirm that she is indeed okay, I block her number, then click my phone screen off and put it on silent.
An odd, triumphant feeling consumes me, and instantly, I am reminded of just how pathetic that is.
After several intense rounds of video games, Liam finally speaks up. His voice breaks the tense silence that has been hanging between us for hours.
“So, how’s living with Sage?” he asks.
I shoot him a look. “You don’t have to ask me that constantly.”
He grins mischievously. “But I can’t help it. I’m still amazed she hasn’t killed you yet.”
I immediately regret telling him about hooking up with Sage. Liam may be my best friend, but he has a habit of bringing up things I’d rather not talk about.
“Me too,” I reply casually, trying to brush off the topic. Just then, I hear the sound of keys jingling in the lock and the doorknob turning. Without even looking toward the door, I can tell it’s Sage. But before she steps inside, Liam jumps up from the couch and shouts out her name with far too much enthusiasm.
“Sage! You’re just in time. We were just talking about you,” Liam announces, flashing a sly grin in my direction. I shoot him a warning glance, but he just winks back at me. Leave it to him to make things weird on purpose.
Sage enters the room, her eyes flickering between the two of us. “Oh really? I hope it was all good things,” she says with a smirk, setting her keys down on the table. The playful nature is something I miss about her, something I don’t see anymore. It used to be like that with us; we used to joke and play around with one another—until I up and ruined everything.
“Of course, always good things,” Liam chimes in before I can respond.
I roll my eyes. Liam can be such a suck-up when he wants to be. But Sage just laughs, her easy demeanor a breath of fresh air until her eyes meet mine and her face instantly falls.
