10. Emily
emily
B en texted he was bringing the furniture and asked me to unlock the door so he and Jason could bring it inside.
I rush through the apartment to make sure that the guys have enough space to bring the furniture in.
I spent the better part of the weekend unpacking my things and trying to make the space feel like a home.
Unfortunately, there are boxes and random crap strewn about everywhere.
When Ben and Jason finally show up, I’m a sweaty mess. I open the front door for them as they unload the truck they borrowed. As I wave to Ben and Jason in greeting, I feel my phone vibrate.
I pull out my phone to see that I have a text from Logan telling me he’s on the way to the apartment with the dresser that I couldn’t fit in my truck.
Of course, Logan just expects me to be here waiting for him.
Unfortunately for him, I have to head out for my hair appointment shortly, and I’m not missing it just because Logan dropped by unannounced.
I leave him on read and tuck my phone into the side pocket of my leggings.
Ben and Jason have the couch balanced between them, and they slowly make their way to the front door. I make eye contact with Ben, and we smile at each other in greeting.
“Morning, roomie,” Ben says to me as he makes his way past me.
“Oh, hey, roomie,” I say back to him. My voice comes out a little too breathy to me.
I follow them up the stairs to the apartment so they can deposit the couch in its rightful place in the living room.
“Are you guys good without me? I have to leave in a minute for my hair appointment.” Ben nods at me. I let him know Logan is dropping by with my dresser while I’m out. His gaze scours my face at the news. I’m not sure what he sees, but after a moment, he nods tersely.
“Just tell Logan to leave it in the dining room until I can make space for it in my bedroom,” I instruct as I head out to leave.
“You got it, boss,” Ben replies as I walk out the door.
I turn around and give him a wave, and he gives me a sarcastic salute. I ignore the way my stomach does a nervous flip-flop at his playful gesture.
I ’m sitting at the salon where Maria, my hairdresser and best friend, is in the process of coloring my hair when I feel my phone vibrate with a text message.
We went bold and added some blonde and caramel highlights to my otherwise naturally dark hair.
I’ve tried to go blonde once, and it didn’t go well with my caramel complexion.
Plus, I found I didn’t have more fun as a blonde than I did as a brunette.
I look at my phone and find a notification that Logan has sent me a few messages.
“I met your roommate.”
“You didn’t tell me your new roommate was a guy.”
“Are you seriously living with another dude already?”
“WTF, Emily.”
“How much do you really know about that guy?”
“Answer me.”
I frown as I read his messages. I guess I never told him about my new living arrangements, but since he had been acting like an emotionless robot ever since he broke things off with me, I assumed he didn’t care or needed to know.
He can’t be… jealous about it, can he? I mean, I guess it’s a possibility, and it makes me feel a little sense of relief to know that if he is jealous, then that means he didn’t completely stop caring for me.
“I guess you met Ben.” I hit send and then put my phone away. Although, technically, he knows Ben from past house parties, they’ve only exchanged pleasantries, so it’s not like Ben is a complete stranger to him.
Looking up, I make eye contact with Maria in the mirror.
I’ve already told her the entire story, so she’s up to date with my life.
I first met Maria at the gym, and she has been there since the start.
She’s seen our relationship develop from a crush into a relationship.
She’s witnessing it falling apart now, too.
“That was Logan. He just met my roommate.”
Maria just nods and hums. She continues to wrap my hair in foil before meeting my eyes in the mirror.
“I need to tell you something.” Her serious tone makes me sit up straighter in her chair.
“What? What is it?” My heart is pounding in anticipation of her words.
“Logan called me on New Year’s.” She speaks slowly, giving me time to process what she said.
“He called you? Why?” Since we all became friends at the same time, their conversations weren't an unusual occurrence.
“He told me that he broke up with you and wanted me to know so that I could help you…” Her voice trails off, and she raises a brow at me.
“Help me? Help me with what?” My voice comes out louder than I intended, echoing through the otherwise empty studio.
“He wanted to see if I could help you move out of his place.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“No, and let me tell you, I was not happy with how he handled things. And I let him know.”
The thought of Maria chewing Logan out made me cringe, but it was comforting to have an ally. I guess that means I got Maria in the divorce.
“Logan is a douchebag,” Maria says with finality.
“Yeah, he fucking sucks.”
I agree as I slump back into my chair. I’m reeling from Logan’s betrayal. Before I could tell our friends, he’d already started figuring out how to get rid of me.
I know Maria has an opinion about my new living arrangements, but she’s keeping those thoughts to herself for now. She doesn’t know Ben, but she seemed genuinely shocked when I told her I was moving in with a boy.
I’m out of the salon in a couple of hours. My hair is lighter and brighter. I feel better already.
Getting in my car, I see a missed call from Logan and a text from Ben on my phone. I open up Ben’s message first.
“Hey, don’t know if you already have plans for dinner, but I’m gonna order a pizza for delivery in case you’re hungry.”
Well, that was thoughtful of him.
“I love pizza. Thank you, I appreciate it!” I type out the response and send it to him.
I turn on the car and call Logan back, though I regret it instantly. The dial tone rings loudly through the Bluetooth connection in my car. A sickening dread grips me as I hope he won’t answer. Unfortunately, the phone call’s loud connection rings filled my car.
“Emily, seriously. What the fuck? You’re living with a guy? You don’t even know him!”
I’m taken aback by the aggressive tone since he’s never been this angry when we were together.
“It’s not like I had much of a choice…” I say before he cuts me off.
“Are you kidding me right now? You should have told me you couldn’t find a roommate. I would have given you more time if I had known you needed it! You never told me anything! You didn’t need to move in with a stranger!” he yells.
I’m speechless and not sure how to respond to him. How was I supposed to tell him when he shut me out and was practically kicking me out the door? But now, because he finds out my roommate is a guy, he suddenly cares about me?
“Are you… Are you serious right now, Logan? Did you forget you tried to kick me out not even twenty-four hours after you broke up with me?”
“I did not kick you out…” Logan groans, and I can picture him rubbing the back of his neck in agitation.
“Or that I saw you were googling how to evict someone when you left your laptop open?”
“Listen, Emily, I’m sorry. You weren’t supposed to see that…”
“Or, how about the fact that you called Maria before I could tell her to see if she’d take me in like a stray animal?
” I’m fuming; a roaring sound fills my ears, and a bitter taste fills my mouth as the pent-up anger pours out of me.
The nerve of him! Pretending to be the victim when his treachery had been unfolding right before my eyes this whole time.
I hear him let out a big sigh.
“I’m just… I’m just worried about you,” Logan offers meekly.
“Well, you don’t need to worry about me. I’m fine.”
“You know I still care about you…”
“Do I?” I ask sarcastically.
“Of course I do. You’ve been my best friend for years…”
I tune him out as tears fall. I’ve been waiting weeks for him to show some emotions about our breakup and he chooses now to tell me.
“Yeah, well, you’ve been a shitty friend lately,” I say spitefully.
“I know, babe… I mean… it’s just…” He takes a deep breath. “I’m gonna get going. If you need anything…”
I hang up the phone without saying goodbye.
Fuck Logan. He didn’t deserve another second of my time.