Page 34 of The Rebound
“I’d love to. I just can’tgetanywhere else. Because the layoffs were global, there are thousands of us vying for the same positions and I don’t have the family connections or family money to help me in the meantime. Coming back here was my only real option. At least that’s what it felt like.”
“I don’t get it,” Beth says. “What about your fiancé? Can’t you stay with them? Or did they lose their job too?”
We both glance down at the ring on my finger. I keep forgetting I’m wearing it.
I just want to help.
“I don’t have a fiancé.”
A look of horror crosses her face. “Did they die?”
“No,” I say, choking on my wine. “No, he broke it off.”
Beth’s forehead crumples. “Oh my God, Abby, I’m so sorry.”
“I shouldn’t even be wearing this. I don’t usually. I didn’t tell my family when it happened. I couldn’t eventhinkabout telling them and then just when I was beginning to get back to normal everything happened at work and I couldn’t hide that from them because the news was everywhere and it’s bad enough losing your job, but the thought of everyone knowing about Tyler on top of that was too—”
“I get it,” Beth interrupts. She reaches across the table to grab my hand, stopping me mid-breakdown. Something in my chest loosens as she squeezes my fingers and I take a large gulp from my glass.
“It’s hard telling people when things go wrong,” she says. “Even if none of what happened is your fault. You know that, right?”
“Sure.” I can tell she doesn’t believe me but I give her a weak smile until she lets me go. “Sorry to problem-vomit all over of you.”
“Do you want to talk about him? Tyler?”
“No.”Yes.
Beth turns serious, seeing right through me. “We’re going to need another round.”
And that’s exactly what we get.
“So he’s just like ‘move back in with me’?” she asks with the exact amount of skepticism I needed her to react with. A fresh bottle sits between us, despite my reminders that I don’t have any money.
“He said he’ll be away on business.”
“Still.”
“I know.”
“That’s weird.”
“Iknow. Right? Thank you.”
“You think he feels bad?”
“I don’t know. And I don’t want to figure it out. It’s too messy.”
“Do you think he’s still in love with you?”
“No,” I say. “Maybe. I don’t know. But that doesn’t matter because I’m not in love with him.”
“Not even a little bit?”
I shake my head, ignoring how my vision is starting to swim at the edges. “I can’t be. Because of my principles.”
“I completely agree.”
“Plus we’d drifted apart,” I insist, pouring more wine into my glass. “All of last year. Even before we got engaged. In fact, I think he proposed because he knew it too. Like he was trying to bring us back together.”
