Page 27 of Your Biggest Downfall
“You may regret those words when you see what I picked out,” she shouted from her bedroom.
“Nothing highlighter colored, please.”
There was a pause. “Fine,” she huffed. “I’ll pick something Sharpie colored.”
Ugh. I rolled my eyes and flopped onto the bed, glancing over at the clock again. We needed to leave soon. Although the bar wouldn’t close, I didn’t want Austin to lose interest. Selfishly, I wanted his attention on me again. I wanted to be the one who made him feel better. When I saw him after the game, he looked so down. His words came rushing back to me, how he wanted to escape. Even the way he tried to sidestep me in front of Irislingered in my mind. I desperately wanted to reach out to him, to bridge the growing chasm between us.
I could picture Austin’s easy smile. But after watching him lose the game, seeing the defeat etched on his face during the press conference, that excitement had turned into something bittersweet. I understood how much this game meant to him, how every loss felt like a personal failure. The pain and rawness in his eyes were hard to witness. It made me want to look away. Yet, I forced myself to hold his gaze, to be there for him, to let him know he wasn’t alone in his struggle.
“Found the perfect dress in my reject pile,” Luna shouted.
“Oh, goody. The rejects.”
She huffed out a chuckle.
“I promise. This is your style.” She appeared in the doorframe and held out a simple black spaghetti-strap dress. It was formfitting and had a long V-neck. “Because you have small boobies, you’ll be able to fit in this perfectly.”
I rolled my eyes. “Shut it.” I got up, snatched the dress from her hands, and walked into the bathroom.
It was actually perfectly my style. I slipped it on, and it fit amazingly, hugging every one of my curves. I pulled out a long gold necklace from the cabinet where I kept my jewelry and snaked it onto my chest. It looked like a body chain was almost attached to the dress the way it draped down to my navel.
I swiped on some mascara and left my hair curly because of what Austin had said about it.
“Wow.” I blew out a breath when I saw myself.
I looked good. I felt good. Even with the residing guilt of missing Mami, I needed this.
“Babe, you look?—”
My phone rang with an incoming call.
“Hold on.” I ran over to my bed and grabbed it. I didn’t recognize the number, so answering it, I said, “Nova Thatcher?”
“Nova, where are you?” a woman asked.
The moment the person spoke, I knew who it was. It was Iris—the same voice that constantly bothered me every single day, and now she was calling on my night off.
“What do you mean?” I frantically put her on speakerphone and held up my finger to silence Luna. I checked my calendar on my phone but couldn’t find a scheduled event before I opened the mail app.
“You need to come pick me up,” Iris slurred.
I paused and looked at the phone as if I could see her reaction. Was she drunk?
“Iris? Are you okay?” I asked, and she laughed manically.
“No. Nova, come get me.”
I sighed, and Luna tapped my shoulder. I turned around, and she was shaking her head.
“Do not get her,” Luna whisper-yelled at me.
I shook my head. “Is there anyone else you can call? I am out with the?—”
Luna shook her head again. “No, do not tell her where we are going or who we are going with. She’s going to use it against you.”
Right. Yes. She probably would. Iris was a pretty shitty boss, but when she dismissed me, work was over. This was new, and I’d be remiss if I said I wasn’t slightly a chismosa and wanted to know what she’d gotten herself into.
“Fine,” Iris huffed. “Can you send me a car?” she asked, her voice so soft it made me feel bad for her.
