Chapter 7
CORDELIE
"Girl! Did you hear that Sly got mugged leaving the gym last night?" Faye stumbles into the kitchen, looking rumpled and half asleep, as she heads toward the coffee I just brewed.
"What? Oh my God, is he okay?" I question as I put my mug of coffee down, after choking on it with her announcement.
I immediately reach for my phone to call him, only to be frustratingly reminded that I lost it yesterday.
I have a good idea where and why too, but I refuse to let my mind replay that whole mess from the hallway with Noah and Josslyn.
It's bad enough that Faye heard through the cheer grapevine that I attacked Josslyn.
Not that my roommate, who's currently chugging coffee straight from the carafe instead of a mug, seemed to mind.
No, in fact, the psycho bought me a bouquet of pretty flowers, and brought tequila home to celebrate with.
"Ugh, remind me not to have any more coffee today," I groan as I hear her slurp.
I'm not gonna lie, I'm a bit hungover too.
We got really silly last night, taking shots at Noah and Josslyn's demise, and before I knew it, neither of us could stand, so we had to crawl to our beds.
I know I'm going to pay for it today, but now I'm more worried about poor Sly than my aching head.
"Don't be a snob, my mouth is clean, unlike some other whores you used to call friends.
" She groans and steals a piece of my toast, devouring it in one go and speaking with her mouth still full like a classy lady.
"Yeah, Bryan said he has a broken arm, his other hand was shattered, and he's all bruised up, but nothing that won't heal.
The weird thing is that literally nothing was stolen except his phone.
That's so random, who mugs someone for a phone?
Sly didn't even have one of the newer ones on the market. "
"Did Bryan mention if anyone else was hurt? Is Sly in the hospital?" I question, pushing my plate with my remaining breakfast in Faye's direction, and watching with amusement as she blows me a kiss and bites into a piece of crispy bacon.
"Yeah, they discharged him early this morning, apparently. Bryan was taking him back to their apartment. Why, you wanna go over and kiss his boo-boos better?" She grins and wags her eyebrows at me.
"You're too much, I can't even with you!" I throw my paper napkin at her. "He's hurt, he needs our support!" I yell with indignation and embarrassment.
She leans across the counter, smirking. "You know what would for sure make him feel better?
" I shake my head, knowing whatever she's about to say is going to be crude.
"A blow job. Nothing cures pain for a guy like having his cock deep-throated by a girl.
I've done extensive research on this with a few of the football players, believe me, it fucking works. "
I get up and walk away, heading to the shower while she cackles like an unhinged witch behind me. "Girl, don't knock it until you've tried it. It also cures hangovers!"
I'm about to step out of our student apartment when Kristen, the girl at the desk, calls my name to get my attention. "Hey, girl, someone dropped off your phone. Did you lose it?" She holds up my phone, and on the screen is a yellow sticky note with my name, and the words 'lost phone'.
"Oh my God, that's amazing! I was just heading out to get a new one!
" I take the phone from her and check it, but it looks like it's fine and unbroken.
Then it dawns on me, how would someone know this is my phone?
It's not like my name is anywhere on it, and it's password-protected.
"How did they know it was mine? Did they say? "
She waves at someone behind me before giving me her attention, and I watch with humor as her eyebrows furrow.
"No idea, it was just sitting there on the desk with your name on it when I came on duty this morning.
Maybe someone recognized your sticker." She points at my case.
Suspicion instantly fills me. It's possible that she's right, but I don't really know anyone other than Faye who pays that kind of attention to me.
Noah once did; he made you believe you were his whole world once.
"Um, okay, that's possible. Thanks for catching me before I headed out." I grin and turn away, feeling awkward now.
"Hey, did you hear about poor Sly? Like, can you believe some psycho did that to him?
" She questions animatedly as she twirls a strand of her hair.
"Aren't you two seeing each other?" All the oxygen in my chest stalls, and I end up choking and coughing like a weirdo, while she stares at me with bright eyes and expectations.
"We're... we're friends, just friends," I croak out.
Yeah, which kind of friends do you allow to strip you naked and eat your pussy?
"I have to go, I was heading to see him after buying a new phone.
I guess I can skip that and go straight there.
" I wave at her and almost run out of the lobby toward the street, feeling my face flushing.
"Bye! Tell Sly I said hi!" She yells behind me, but I just keep going.
Why am I like this? Why can't I just own my shit?
So what if Sly and I are more than friends?
What's the big deal? He's a grown, single man, and I'm a slightly damaged, grown single woman.
We should be able to have a relationship, or a friendship with benefits, and it should be no one else's business.
I'm almost a block over when I realize that I'm heading the wrong way to Sly's apartment, and I have to turn around.
As I pass a small coffee shop on the corner, I look inside through the large glass window, thinking maybe I should grab him some sweets to cheer him up, but as I do, I catch a glimpse of Josslyn and Noah sitting at one of the small, round tables.
She's in his lap, feeding him bites of something from a plate, and he's smiling at her with his arms wrapped snugly around her waist. My heart slams against my chest, and I feel my hands getting sweaty.
I'm accosted with the sensation that I'm going to hurl what little amount of breakfast I had, and last night's tequila.
I move away and have to brace myself against a lamp post as my head spins.
How could he do that? How could he bring her there? That was always our coffee place, where we spent countless mornings after amazing nights in each other's arms. Did I truly mean nothing to him?
"Have you missed me the way I've missed you, sweet baby girl? Does this heart miss mine?"
Fucking liar.