Page 44 of Sparks
“Hi,” I said, momentarily frozen.
“You good?” the big man asked. “Need anything?”
“Um, no. Thanks. I’m good.” I gave a shaky smile.
“All right then. We’ll watch to make sure you get home safe.”
Holy shit. My whole being filled with a positive glow that made me emotional.
“Okay. Thank you.” I speed-walked until I got to my door, then peered down the street and gave them a wave.
They both nodded before heading back toward the corner they’d been at. They were checking on me. It was unbearably kind, and I felt a rush of warmth despite the frozen temps.
I let myself in quickly. I was proud to realize when I got to the top of the three flights of steps that I wasn’t that out of breath. These stairs kicked my butt into semi-shape.
I let myself in and Holly squealed from the couch, almost overturning a bowl of popcorn.
“My babyyy!” She said through a mouthful, holding out an arm.
“Holly polly!” I dropped my luggage and ran to her, hugging her neck tight. “Let me go change. I feel disgusting.” From the closet I yelled, “Who else is home?”
“I’m here,” Rhea called from the room.
“Hey, boo!” I called back.
Holly said, “Beth just got called in for an overnighter an hour ago. One of the other FAs got the stomach bug.”
“Oh, thank God,” I breathed. “About Beth, not the bug.”
“Rhea told me everything.” I glanced over at Holly’s very unamused face on the couch. She shook her head and shoved a handful of popcorn in, still shaking it, her brown waves popping out of her high messy bun. “And Viola’s in the shower.”
Good thing I peed before leaving the airport. We had one bathroom for all of us. Major downfall of city apartment living.
I snuggled down beside Holly and took a handful of popcorn. She threw part of the blanket over my lap. Rhea came out of the bedroom with one of those freaky Korean masks on that made it look like your face was melting off.
“Scary,” Holly said, and I giggled. Rhea sat on my other side, putting her cold feet against my hips. I pulled the blanket so that it was over all three of us. We watched some trashy reality love-connection, and I wanted so badly to tell them about Shawn, but something held me back. I recognized it immediately as guilt. The gross electric eels were at it again, zapping me from the inside and making me nauseous.
My phone whistled, and I snatched it up. What the??
It was our roommate group chat with an awful picture of me zoning out at the television, resting bitch face in full force, taken three seconds ago while I’d been thinking of Shawn.
On either side, Rhea and Holly burst into laughter, practically falling over.
“Hahaha.” I shook my head haughtily. “Hilarious.”
They really thought so. I couldn’t hold back a smile for long. Damn them.
The bathroom door burst open and we all jumped as Viola came walking out of a steamy cloud, her head wrapped in a towel, wearing a very puffy pink robe. Her lips pursed.
“Who ate my fucking cereal?”
Oh, shit. The three of us froze. And then my guilt surfaced.
“I took a handful, Vio. I’m sorry. I’ll buy you a box on Friday.”
She smacked her lips and gazed down at me like I was an angelic cherub. “No, this was more than a fucking handful. I had half a box and now it’s at a quarter.”
I shook my head. “I only poured a tiny bit into my palm. That’s all I had, I swear.”
