Chapter Twelve Zola
Chapter Twelve
Zola
Zola let herself enjoy getting ready that evening, mulling over the day’s events as she stood beneath the luxurious spray of her walk-in shower.
She picked out a cute baby-pink strappy dress and paired it with white Converse.
Her makeup was minimal and her braids sat effortlessly, the pink beads at the ends adding a bright splash of colour.
She walked past the other girls’ rooms, who were still both getting ready, then flopped down on the couch.
Remorse weighed down on her as she replayed in her head the earlier conversation about Curtis.
Although she knew it was the truth, she still felt riddled with guilt admitting out loud that their relationship was more platonic than anything else nowadays.
She pulled out her phone to FaceTime Curtis. He answered, then placed the phone on the coffee table. She was staring at the ceiling of their living room.
‘S’up?’ he said, gunshots in the background echoing down the line.
‘Hey, I’m just checking in,’ Zola replied, already regretting the call. He seemed so uninterested to hear from her.
‘Cool. How is it?’ Curtis asked, distracted entirely. She could hear the frantic tapping of the PlayStation handset. Could he not even pause his game for five minutes?
‘Curtis, I have news. Can you please stop that fucking game?’ she snapped. ‘I haven’t spoken to you all day.’
He sighed a little at the inconvenience, then picked up the phone. Zola saw his face finally. His beard was growing in, bushier than she liked. He had his hood up, and he was rubbing at his face.
‘What’s up?’ his deep voice asked.
‘I had my meeting today,’ she began.
‘Uh-huh . . .’
‘And it went really well.’ She smiled happily, feeling proud to share her news. She had been working so hard on software and code before she left, researching the best ways to develop The Dicktionary Club for Flirtify.
‘That’s good, babe,’ he replied, letting out a large yawn. ‘Hey, have you seen my gym bag? I can’t find it anywhere.’
‘No, I haven’t, Curtis. Did you listen to anything I just said?’
‘Yeah, you got the deal?’ he said, like it must have been the easiest thing in the world to do.
‘Yeah, and they’ve asked us to stay out here and work on the new app design. They want me and the girls to be part of it all – the design, the testing, the PR – and they want our faces to launch it all over America.’ Zola grinned widely. ‘We’re just waiting on the contracts getting delivered.’
‘Cool. That’s cool.’
She wondered if he was in any way interested in a word she’d said, but carried on regardless, keen to share her news. ‘This place is so great, Curtis. You have to see the apartment we’re living in, the view and—’
‘When you home, Zo?’ He cut her off, completely indifferent.
‘Ehh . . . Well, that I’m not sure about, they were talking like eight weeks or so.’ She felt her nerves fill her stomach as she waited for his reaction.
‘Eight? And you realise that I’m not moving out there, yeah?’ He sounded pissed.
Zola screwed up her face. ‘What? I never asked you . . .’
‘But that’s what you do, Zo! You get this big opportunity and need to move, and I have to pack up and come too. That’s what happened before, and look, I’m still sitting in Glasgow and now you’re in New York!’
‘What are you even talking about? You followed me to Glasgow because you wanted to.’
Curtis sighed, shaking his head. ‘I ain’t following you to New York. I’m saying that now.’
Zola laughed, confused. ‘Do you know, I was wondering what you’d say. I was thinking it would be something muggy, but I hoped that maybe, just maybe, I’d get a “well done for landing the deal, Zola. I’m so proud of you,” but obviously not.’
‘I can’t keep up with your deals and pitches, woman,’ he snapped back. ‘Every day you’re working on something else. How am I meant to know what you need congratulating for?’
‘Maybe you can’t keep up because you’re not fucking interested, Curtis!
’ she replied, feeling her voice echo through the apartment.
‘And for the record, I don’t want you to come live out here, and for fuck’s sake, if you’re so unhappy in Glasgow, then just go home, Curtis.
Don’t hold the way your life has turned out against me. ’
Curtis was shaking his head, slightly off camera. ‘Whatever, Zola. I got to run,’ he said.
‘Seriously?’
‘Seriously, I’m busy.’ Curtis placed the phone back on the coffee table and the view of the ceiling returned.
‘Yeah, keep on building your criminal underworld online, you fucking sad act of a man!’
‘Sweet!’ he sniggered.
The ceiling disappeared: he’d ended the call.
Zola glared at her phone. Her blood was boiling. How dare he hang up on her? The man lacked class, that was for sure.
‘Are we ready to go?’ Katy shouted out from her bedroom.
Zola flicked back her braids, suddenly needing to gently dab the tears sneaking out from the sides of her eyes. She stood up, clearing her throat.
‘I’m ready when you are, babe!’