Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
Trina
When I’m out on the street, I call Callie, my best friend. She lives in Chicago, where we grew up. I really miss her, especially at times like this.
“Hey, Trina,” Callie answers. Her cheerful tone annoys me, but it’s only because I’m jealous she has the life I thought I would have. She’s married to a really hot guy who loves her more than anything and they have the most adorable baby girl.
“Hey, do you have a minute?” I ask.
“Yeah, I’m just feeding Addie. What’s up?”
“We can talk later. Maybe when Addie’s asleep.”
“No, hold on. Nash?” she calls out. “Can you finish feeding Addie?”
I hear him talking, but can’t make out what he’s saying. It’s probably something about how he’d love to help out and loves Callie and loves being a husband. Okay, maybe he didn’t say all that, but I know he’s thinking it. Nash loves being married. Why couldn’t Asher be like that? Why is he choosing his job over me?
“Okay, I can talk now,” Callie says. “So what’s going on? You sound upset. Did something happen?”
“I lost my job.”
“Oh, Trina, I’m sorry. Did it happen today?”
“Yeah. And then I came home and told Asher I was going to take some time off to plan our wedding and he said…” I pause, my eyes tearing up.
“Trina? You still there?”
“Yeah, he, um… he said there wasn’t going to be a wedding.”
“What do you mean?”
“The wedding. It’s off.” My voice cracks as I say it. “He dumped me.”
“Wait—he broke up with you? For real? It wasn’t just a fight?”
“It wasn’t a fight. In fact, he was very calm when he told me.” I take a breath, willing myself not to cry. Asher isn’t worth my tears, and I don’t want to look like an idiot, crying on the street.
“I don’t understand,” Callie says. “What happened?”
“He wants to focus on his career.”
“Watch it, lady!” a guy yells as my duffle bag hits his arm. I didn’t do it on purpose. The street is crowded and this stupid bag keeps bumping into people.
“Who was that?” Callie asks.
“Some jerk on the street.” I move off to the side, watching all the guys in suits walking by. I wonder how many of them are stringing girls along, making them think they’ll marry them without any intention of following through. “I’m done with men. I’ve decided they’re all jerks. Well, maybe not Nash, but all the other ones.”
“I’m really sorry,” Callie says. “I can’t believe Asher did that. If he really didn’t want to get married, why did he propose to you?”
“Exactly! Why make me think we were getting married when he never planned to actually go through with it?”
“You don’t think…” Her voice trails off.
“That he’s seeing someone else? I don’t think so. He doesn’t have time. He’s always working.”
“It could be someone he works with.”
“Yeah, I guess,” I say with a sigh. “But if that’s true, then this isn’t about his job. It’s about me. It means he didn’t want to be with me.”
“Then he’s an idiot who doesn’t deserve you,” Callie scoffs.
Her angry tone makes me smile. “I knew you’d make me feel better.”
“I wish I was there so we could go out. And if Nash were there, he’d go punch Asher for doing this to you.”
That also makes me smile. When I first met Nash, we didn’t get along. In fact, he kicked me out of Callie’s house when I went to visit her. But that was a long time ago, and he only did it because he loves her. Now, Nash and I get along great. And he’s perfect for Callie. I never imagined she’d end up with a hot construction worker, but now I can’t imagine her with anyone else.
“So when are you moving out?” Callie asks.
“I already did. Asher didn’t want me living there anymore. He had everything packed when I got home.”
“Are you serious?” Callie asks, her voice rising. “Okay, I officially hate this guy. How could he just kick you out?”
“I know, right? I mean, it’s New York City. It’s not exactly easy to get an apartment here. And it’s expensive. I don’t have money for an apartment.”
“Can you stay with someone?”
“I’m staying with Sara, a friend from school. I should probably call her and let her know I’m heading over there.”
“But then what? After a few nights, where will you go?”
“I don’t know. I’ll have to look for a place. Hey, I should go. I’m standing on the street and my duffle bag keeps hitting people.”
“Okay. Call me when you’re at your friend’s place so I know you’re safe.”
“I will. Bye!” I end the call and race up to the street. “Taxi!”
It slows down, stopping several feet ahead of me. I hurry over to it as a guy jumps in front of me and opens the door.
“Thanks,” I tell him.
But he wasn’t opening the door for me. He’s stealing my cab!
“Hey!” I yell.
He doesn’t even notice me as he gets in the cab and shuts the door.
“Hey!” I bang on the window. “That was mine!”
He ignores me and talks to the driver.
It’s just like I told Callie. Guys are jerks. What happened to chivalry? Men used to lay their coats over a puddle so women wouldn’t get their shoes wet, and now? They kick you out of their apartment and steal your cab!
Another taxi is heading this way and I flag it down.
“Where to?” the driver asks as I get in the cab.
I give him Sara’s address, then give her a call.
“Sara,” I say when she answers. “I’m heading over. Are you home?”
“Yeah. Hey, what’s going on with you and Asher? He said he’s sick, but he didn’t sound like it on the phone.”
“He’s not sick. We broke up.” As I say the words, the emotions I was holding in come bursting out and I start sobbing.
“Oh, Trina, I’m sorry. What do you need? Wine? Ice cream? Tequila?”
“All of it. Whatever you have.” I sniffle and lean up to the driver. “Do you have a tissue?”
He grunts something and shakes his head. He could’ve just said no. But he’s a man, and men are jerks.
“You said you’re on your way?” Sara says.
“Yeah, I’ll be there in like twenty minutes.”
When I arrive at her place, I wonder how we’re both going to fit in such a tiny space. It’s a studio apartment that’s barely big enough for one person. The apartment I just left was a one bedroom with a separate living room and kitchen. It was huge compared to this.
“I know it’s a little cramped,” Sara says as I look around. “But I think we can make it work.”
“Yeah, definitely,” I say, trying to stay positive. But I can’t see staying here for more than a day or two. It’s so small I can’t even turn around without bumping into something. “It’ll be like we’re in school again.”
“I think those rooms were bigger,” she says with a laugh.
Sara and I went to fashion design school here in New York. She lived on my floor, but I didn’t get to know her until we interned together during the summer. I wouldn’t say we’re close friends, but we go out now and then for drinks or to hear music. Asher didn’t like concerts so I’d go with Sara whenever I wanted to see a band.
“Thanks for letting me stay,” I tell her. “I’ll look for a place first thing tomorrow. Hopefully, I’ll find something I can afford.” I sit down on her bed, which is the only place to sit other than a pillow on the floor in front of the TV. “I lost my job today.”
“Today?” Sara says like she can’t believe it. “The same day that—”
“Yeah.” I look over at her. “What are the odds I lose my job and my fiancé on the same day? I should probably go to bed before anything else bad can happen.”
She goes over to her kitchen, which is just a tiny sink next to a mini fridge with a microwave on it, and picks up a bottle of tequila. “Would this help?”
“I’ll take whatever you got.”
She brings the tequila over. “I wish I knew of a job you could apply for, but it seems like all the fashion jobs are going to interns, at least the entry level ones.”
“Yeah, I know. That’s why I was let go. Why pay me to work there when they could get an intern for free?” I sigh. “I should’ve taken that Paris job. I could be there right now, sipping champagne while gazing at the Eiffel Tower. But instead, Rina’s over there, living the life I could’ve had.”
As I open the tequila, Sara brings me a plastic cup. “Sorry, it’s all I have.”
“It’s fine.” I pour the tequila into the cup. “What ever happened to Rina?”
“I’m not sure,” she says, but her nervous tone implies she’s not being truthful.
“Come on, Sara. I know you’re friends with her. Is she still in Paris?”
“Yeah. She, um, met a French guy. They got married last summer.”
“She’s married?” I say, furious at myself for not taking that job. That could’ve been me, living in Paris, married to a French guy. But no. I stayed behind for a guy I thought loved me and wanted to marry me. “She’s only lived there for two years.”
“She met him a little over a year ago. He proposed a few months after they met. They seem really happy.” She smiles, then shuts it down. “I mean, I guess I don’t know. Maybe they’re not.”
“I’m sure they are, and it’s fine. I want her to be happy. I’m just jealous, which I know is wrong but—”
“It’s not wrong. It’s totally understandable after what happened today.” She comes over to me and sits down. “You’ll get past this. It just takes time. You’ll find someone else and forget all about Asher.”
“I’m done dating. I’ve decided guys are jerks, or at least the single ones, but some married guys are also jerks, so it’s pretty much all of them.” I gulp the tequila. “Forget men. My focus needs to be on getting a job and finding an apartment.”
“I might be able to help with the apartment. Jenna, this girl at work, is moving in with her boyfriend and has three months left on her lease. She’s been looking for someone to sublet her place. It’s in Murray Hill and she said the rent’s really cheap.”
“Sounds too good to be true. What’s the catch?”
“Well, it’s not much bigger than this. But you’d get used to it. I never thought I could live in a place this small, but now it feels kind of normal.”
“I guess I could look at it,” I tell her.
“I’ll text her and tell her you’re interested,” Sara says, picking up her phone. “I think there’s a few other people that want to see it.”
“Maybe it’s already gone.”
She shows me her phone. “She just texted back and said it’s available. You want to go see it tonight?”
I really don’t. I’m exhausted and I just drank a lot of tequila. But if I wait, it might be gone.
“Yeah, I’ll go see it,” I tell Sara.
She texts her friend and her phone dings with a reply. “She says to come by now. She’s going out with her boyfriend later.” Sara gets up and grabs her jacket. “Maybe when we’re done, we could get something to eat.”
“Sure,” I say, but I really don’t have money to eat out. Whatever money I have needs to go for rent. I need to find a job, and fast.
“Oh, there’s one little thing I forgot to tell you,” Sara says as we’re walking to the subway. “About the apartment.”
“What is it?”
“The person next door can be kind of loud.”
“How loud? And what kind of noise are we talking about? Music? Yelling? Crying kids?”
“No kids, but definitely music. Jenna said the guy likes to party. But that could be good. Maybe he’d invite you to a party and you could meet a new guy.” She smiles.
“I’m done dating, remember?”
“Yeah, we’ll see how long that lasts.”
I roll my eyes at her and she laughs, which makes me laugh, but only because I’m drunk. If the tequila, along with the wine I had earlier, weren’t flowing through me, I’d be crying instead of laughing. I kind of feel like I could do both. Alcohol messes with my emotions. I can be crying one minute and laughing the next.
“This is it,” Sara says when we get to the apartment building. It’s brick, several stories high, and has a bright blue door. “It looks okay, don’t you think?”
“You’ve never been here?”
“No. I don’t know Jenna that well. I just see her at work.” Sara gets her phone out. “I’ll text her to let her know we’re here.”
“This is legit, right? She wouldn’t scam me?”
“No, she’s really nice. And if she did try to scam you, I know where she works.” Sara laughs. “But really, you have nothing to worry about.”
A girl walks out of the building, smiling when she sees us. “Hey, Sara.”
“Hey.” Sara points to me. “This is my friend Trina, the one who might want the apartment.”
“Nice to meet you.” Jenna smiles at me. She doesn’t seem like a scammer, but after being deceived by Asher, I’ve lost my trust in people. “Let’s go inside and I’ll show you around.”
She takes us into the building and goes down a long hallway, stopping at the very end. I hear music next door, but it’s not as loud as I was expecting.
Jenna opens her door and goes into her apartment.
“I know it’s small,” she says as Sara and I join her in the tiny room. “But I like to think of it as cozy.”
It’s about the same size as Sara’s place and has the same style kitchen with just a sink, microwave, and mini fridge. But it feels even smaller because Jenna has boxes stacked up all over the floor and piles of clothes everywhere.
“Are you taking all this?” Sara asks, glancing at Jenna’s stuff.
“Yeah, everything’s going to Leo’s place. He has a two bedroom.” She smiles. “It’s going to be so nice to have all that space. I can’t wait!”
I remember what that was like. The excitement of moving in with your boyfriend. I was thrilled when Asher asked me to live with him, especially since his apartment was so much bigger than my tiny dorm room. Now I’ll be living in a place even smaller than that, assuming I decide to live here.
But I think I have to. I can’t afford anything else. I don’t have a job.
No boyfriend. No job. Could this day get any worse?