Chapter Two
Several loud knocks on the front door had me rolling over on the couch. Pulling the blanket up under my chin, I let my body sink back into the couch, hoping whoever was at the door would leave if I just ignored them.
Just as I could feel sleep tugging me back under, another succession of knocks had me sitting up and outwardly groaning.
As I was about to stand up, Ivy’s bedroom door opened, and she walked out. Tying her robe around her waist, she pointed at me. “You better lay back down, sweet pea. I got this.” Chuckling, I wrapped my blanket back around my shoulders and curled up on the couch. Ivy’s slippers padded on the kitchen tile as the stranger at the front door started knocking again. The back of the couch faced the front door, so I wasn’t able to see who it was when she opened up.
“What do you want?” Ivy was not using her customer service voice, so it was someone she knew. Curiosity was about to get the better of me when a voice I recognized spoke.
“Ivy, I know she’s here. She doesn’t have anywhere else to go. Let me talk to her.” Matt…
“You have some nerve showing up here, demanding to talk to my best friend after everything you did.” Ivy was the kind of person who was calm and collected, even when she was mad. Her emotions didn’t always show, but right now, I could hear the fight in her next words. “I suggest you wait until Gwen is ready to listen to your bullshit.”
“This is ridiculous! Let me talk to my fiancé.” Fuck, the ring. Looking down at my hand, annoyance washed over me at the sight of my engagement ring still prominently sitting on my finger.
The sounds of struggles grabbed my attention, and I jumped off the couch to face the door. Matt was trying to push it open while keeping a foot between it and the frame so Ivy couldn’t close it. She may look tiny, but Ivy was surprisingly strong, and I’ve seen her take down men twice her size in her self-defense classes.
“God damn it, just let me in!” Matt yelled, and I flinched, even though I was across the room with a door and my best friend in between us.
Hesitantly, I rounded the couch and headed toward the kitchen. As I neared, Matt seemed to have gotten the leverage he needed to push himself inside. Ivy stumbled backwards and the door swung wide open, hitting the back of a chair.
Standing in the middle of the kitchen, I took in the scene in front of me. Ivy had righted herself and was standing with her arms crossed in front of her chest, staring at Matt as if daring him to take one more step into her apartment. Matt was just inside the doorway, shooting daggers at Ivy while trying to catch his breath from the struggle and holding a bouquet of flowers that looked like they had seen better days. It was a mix of different colored roses, and I could feel the headache already forming from the smell.
I cleared my throat, making my presence known, and Matt turned to face me. “Matt, what are you doing here?” My voice came out more confident than I felt. I walked toward Ivy, knowing her presence would make me feel stronger. Matt extended the roses toward me, as if expecting me to take them. I started to politely decline them when Ivy beat me to the punch.
“Gwen’s allergic to roses, asshole,” she scoffed before walking forward, ripping the bouquet out of his hand and throwing them over his shoulder through the open door. They landed with a soft thud in the hallway.
“Gwen, I’m trying here. Just come home. We’ll figure this out, we always do.” I could hear the frustration in his voice, and there was a part of me that wanted to go with him so that all of this could be over. Another piece of me, though, wanted to call him out for the way he had treated me. Ultimately, the tears won, leaving warm trails of moisture as they fell from my eyes.
“I don’t want to go home with you, Matt,” I whispered. “I need some time.” The confidence from moments before was now gone as I wiped away the tears with the back of my hand.
“Come on, Gwen. I already said I was sorry. What else do you want from me?” He was angry now, the tone of his words alone caused panic to surge through my body. Matt took a step toward me with his arm outstretched, and I stumbled back into the kitchen, shaking my head. Ivy pushed forward and planted herself between us.
“She said she didn’t want to go home with you. That means you need to leave now.” Matt looked between the two of us as if shocked by the rejection. The confusion on his face warped into rage, the only warning I had before he lunged forward, stepping around Ivy and attempting to grab my arm.
Ivy latched onto his forearm right before his fingers wrapped around my wrist, and she forced herself in front of him. I backed further into the kitchen, stopping when my back pressed into the counter. Using his own momentum, Ivy flipped Matt over her shoulder and slammed him onto his back.
Matt groaned in pain as Ivy squatted down next to him, getting close enough so that she didn’t have to speak above a whisper. “You have exactly five seconds to leave with your tiny ass dick still attached to your body. Otherwise, the only way you’ll ever get fucked again is by another dude.” Damn, it was scary when she did that. “I’m a strong believer in fuck around and find out, Matthew. What’s it gonna be?”
I watched from a distance as Matt stood and made his way to the open door, mumbling under his breath as he stepped over the roses, “This isn’t over yet.” Ivy walked toward the door, shutting it as he walked out of sight. I sank to my knees on the kitchen floor, no longer able to keep in the tears. Ivy sat with me, gathering me up in a hug and letting me work through every emotion that had begun overflowing.
After what felt like an eternity of us sitting on the floor, I laid down on my back with my eyes closed, letting the coldness of the floor help to center me. Ivy laid down beside me and grabbed my hand in hers.
“I’m sorry, Ivy.” My voice was a whisper; I didn’t trust myself not to get choked up and start crying again.
“Sweet pea, you gotta stop apologizing for things outside of your control.”
“I know, I know. How about thank you, though? If it weren’t for you…”
“I’m gonna stop you right there. We aren’t going down that road, okay?” She sat up, my hand still in hers, urging me up, too. Meeting her gaze, I noticed the concerned expression and worry in her eyes. “You’re not going back to him. I’m not letting you this time. I’ll help you find a new job, a new apartment, whatever I gotta do.”
“Ivy, I can’t ask you to do that…” I muttered.
“You’re not asking, I’m offering,” she said, effectively shutting me down. “I don’t want to lose my best friend. Not when I know I could have done something to prevent it.” Sadness coated her eyes, her bottom lip quivering slightly as she spoke. Sighing, I nodded my head. She was right, after all. If I go back to Matt, the cycle starts all over again. This was my chance to be free, to find out who I wanted to be.
“Sweet pea, are you sure you’re okay? I can reschedule this meeting,” Ivy called over her shoulder while she gathered her things. We had spent most of the day after Matt’s departure being potatoes on the couch until Ivy’s boss had called asking if she could come in.
“I’ll be fine, I promise. I’m gonna make myself some coffee, then update my resume so I can start applying for new jobs.” I held up the pod of coffee, being playful by giving it a little shake, so Ivy knew I was okay. She chuckled at my move before throwing her bag over her shoulder.
“Alright, then. I’ll be back in a few hours. If I were you, I’d throw a shower on your to-do list, too. You’re looking like a hot mess, babe!” she yelled over her shoulder, heading out the front door. I started a cup of coffee, then headed to the bathroom, freezing in front of the mirror as I took in the sight before me. Since last night, I’ve had my hair up in a messy bun on top of my head. It was no longer the cute messy kind, but the kind that screams, “I can’t remember the last time I washed my hair.”
Taking down my bun, I ran a brush through my hair before putting it back up. I loved my wavy dirty blonde hair, something I got from my grandma, because it paired with my blue eyes perfectly. Groaning, I made my way out of the bathroom, deciding it was time for that cup of coffee. I followed the smell of my freshly brewed cup to the kitchen.
Pulling out the creamer that Ivy buys especially for me, I turned my black coffee into a beautiful light brown color before I took a large sip. I let the warmth flow through me and did a mental happy dance when the flavor was perfect. Matt had always criticized my love of creamer. You shouldn’t be drinking coffee if you have to add creamer. I shook his words from my mind, not wanting to dwell on him. Feeling way more energized, I decided it was time to start taking on the world. Grabbing my bag, I dug out my dead phone, plugging it in on the kitchen island before turning on my laptop. I carried it and my coffee to the kitchen table, diving into updating my resume and finding possible jobs.
Sometime later, I realized my mug was empty, and I had been staring at my computer for over an hour. As I made my way back toward the coffeemaker, I turned my phone on, letting it go through the startup sequence while I started brewing a second cup of coffee. After it finished turning on, the vibrating was constant. I wanted to completely ignore it, but decided against it. Picking up my phone, I started slowly going through the overwhelming number of notifications. There were several missed calls from Mrs. Watson, as well as several texts telling me I needed to return her calls. Not going to happen…
Then I got to the texts from Matt. I sat my mug down on the counter, the coffee threatening to make a second appearance.
Matt: Baby, please call me. I just want to talk.
Matt: She didn’t mean anything to me.
Matt: Gwen, this is getting ridiculous. Just call me.
Matt: I know you’re at Ivy’s, you don’t have anywhere else to go. Don’t make me come down there.
Matt: Gwen, this is ridiculous. Just fucking come home.
Matt: I’m going to let you throw your little tantrum tonight, but if you aren’t home by the morning, I’m coming to get you.
Matt: Since you’re still ignoring me, I guess I have to come get your ungrateful ass.
Those were just from when I left last night. Presumably, if I listened to the voicemails that followed his visit this morning, they would all be along the same line. Hands shaking, I put my phone down next to my mug, deciding I needed something a little stronger. Grabbing Ivy’s trusty bottle of tequila from the liquor cabinet, I poured myself a shot. Letting the liquor flood my senses, I put the bottle back and decided it was time to take that shower. Hopefully, after the shower, I would have a better idea of what I should do about Matt.
I wanted to scream out my frustrations. Everything was happening too fast. Instead of letting the anxiety win, I turned on the shower, letting the water warm up while I queued some of my favorite angry songs. I had never understood people who took showers without music. Even in college, I had a portable speaker so I could jam out. Something about the hot water paired with a good playlist could make even the worst days better.
The mix of water and music worked its magic. By the time I got out of the shower, the water had started running cold. Wiping the fog away from the mirror, I scrunched my hair to keep the curls decent as I sang along to Charlie Daniels Band. I was a country girl at heart, growing up in a small town in Pennsylvania before heading off to Pittsburgh for college, so there were still a few things here and there that brought me back to my roots.
Just as I finished my impromptu karaoke session, I heard the front door open and close. Assuming Ivy had gotten home, I wrapped my towel around me before popping my head out of the bathroom. “Hey, Ivy, what are your thoughts on pasta for dinner?” My stomach had started growling while I was in the shower, and all I could think about was spaghetti and meatballs from the family-owned Italian place down the road. Hearing a chair scrap from the kitchen, I stepped out of the bathroom, thinking maybe she hadn’t heard me. Walking down the small hall, I called out to Ivy again. “Ivy, wanna go to—” I froze in my tracks. Matt was standing by the front door, turning the deadbolt. “Matthew, what the hell?”
He turned toward me, and I could feel his eyes roam up and down my body. Suddenly, I became very self-conscious, the tiny towel no longer covering enough as I attempted to wrap it around my body tighter. He smiled, the kind that made your skin crawl, and I took a step backwards, hoping maybe I could make it to the bedroom. As I turned to run, his hand on my upper arm gripped me tight enough to leave a bruise, and he pulled me toward him until my back slammed against his chest. “Now, now, Gwen. There’s no reason we can’t have a little fun before I take you home.”