Page 84 of Only for Tonight
My phone buzzes and I look down to see Zoey is outside.
“She’s here.” I point to the door and he just nods his head at me, and I stand here not sure if I should go and kiss him goodbye or not.
“Okay.” He moves the phone away from his face. “Text me later to let me know what time you’ll be home. I have a game tonight.”
I nod, wanting to go and kiss him but then stopping myself when he turns away and continues the conversation. I walk out of the house and see Zoey there in her car, waving at me. I smile and blink away the tears, pulling open the door. “Hey.” I try to sound happy, but instead a sob comes out of me. I bury my face in my hands as the tears just pour out of me.
“Oh shit,” she says, “do I have to go in there?” She turns in her seat toward me and all I can do is shake my head. “Fuck.” She pulls away from the house and looks over at me.
“I’m fine,” I assure her, looking around for a Kleenex. I open the glove box and it’s empty, then I open the middle console and see it’s also empty. “How do you have a baby and you don’t have any napkins?”
“Because I have a baby,” she retorts, “I’m cleaning up all kinds of shit all the time. You know how fast I run out of those things. Besides, when I have the baby in the car, I have a diaper bag that holds all that stuff. But since I’m without the baby, the bag is not with me. Therefore—” I laugh and she extends her arm to me. “If you want to, wipe it on my shirt. I’m okay with that also. I’m used to it at this point.”
“I think I’ll be good. Sorry, I didn’t mean to do that.” I use the palm of my hand to dry my cheeks. “It’s just…” I start, not sure what to say actually as she pulls into the parking lot of a restaurant that isn’t far from Jaxon’s.
“Do you want to have this conversation in there or in here?” she asks me and I just look at her.
“I don’t know.” My bottom lip is quivering. “It’s a fucking disaster,” I say and she reaches over and hugs me, making me cry even more.
“It’s going to be okay,” she whispers, as she rubs my back and I want to tell her nothing will ever be okay because that is how it feels. “I promise.”
“I don’t know about that,” I finally admit to her as she lets me go. “I think we broke up two days ago.”
She gasps in shock at me just saying the words. “You think you broke up two days ago,” she repeats the dreaded words I just said, and I have to open the door because I think I’m going to be sick. “Okay, change of plans. We need to get you on a couch and—” She pulls out of the parking lot and starts to connect her call.
“Hey,” the voice fills the car.
“Gabriella, I’m two minutes away from your house and I have Ariella with me,” she states. “We’re coming over.”
“I’m walking to the door as we speak,” she replies. “Come in when you get here.”
“Get tissues,” she suggests, looking at me and smiling, “and maybe a garbage can.”
“Get tissues,” she repeats. “Why the fuck do we need tissues?” she hisses and then stops. “I have a bat and I know people.”
“Okay there, Tonya Harding, we’re pulling in now,” she says. I look at the house and see Gabriella standing outside with her long hair blowing in the wind. She comes down her steps and toward my side of the car and pulls it open. “What did he do?” she asks me and I just shake my head.
“They broke up,” Zoey shares and I shake my head even more.
“I don’t know if we did,” I backpedal. “It’s just?—”
“Okay, let’s get you inside,” Gabriella urges, putting her arm around my shoulders, “and get you a cozy blanket and some tissues.”
We walk inside with me in the middle of the two of them. “I’ll give you a tour after.” She heads straight to the family room. “Do you want something to drink?”
“She’s pregnant,” Zoey shares, “we’re not making her drink.”
“Jesus, Zoey,” Gabriella retorts. “I mean water, juice, maybe some tea?” She shakes her head.
“I could go for some water,” I tell her and she nods her head, then looks at Zoey, who just nods her head.
We walk over to the couch and I kick off my sneakers before curling my feet under me and looking at the two of them sharing a look. “It’s fine,” I assure them, patting my hand on my stomach. “It’ll be fine. It’s all these hormones.” I put my hand on my stomach, something I’ve been doing more and more these days.
Zoey walks over and comes to sit next to me, putting her head on my shoulder while Gabriella comes back in with two bottles of water. “Okay, so what’s going on?”
“I don’t even know what to say,” I start and tell them the whole story about what Tiffany did, which gets shocked gasps from both of them.
Gabriella blinks her eyes two times before she turns her head to the side. “I’m sorry, she did what?”
