Chapter 60
Chapter Sixty
Audrey
Every weekend there was a new girl on Alexei’s arm. They were seen at pizza places, hot dog corner carts, Central Park (I’d learned to stay away on my lunch breaks from now on), and even swanky restaurants. I threw myself into my work, it was all that mattered because when I was done, I knew I couldn’t stay in the city that reminded me so much of him. He was a plague and the only way I could rid myself was if I left.
I was sitting cross-legged on my bed, eating a pint of ice cream, watching I Love Lucy re-runs when Carina kicked my bedroom door open holding a big cardboard box. I put the spoon in the small container and set it on my nightstand.
“What's that?”
She threw it down onto my bed with a thud. I peeked under the closed flap and inched away slowly. It was my things from Alexei’s place. She grimaced.
“He called Ace and told him that someone would need to come get your things because he couldn’t keep them at his place anymore. I assume it’s because he has guests and doesn’t want to explain anything, but ya know.” She shrugged.
“Ace went to get them?”
That’s when she grinned. “Oh no, I volunteered happily.”
Here was my psychotic best friend in the flesh. I’d almost forgotten about the time she set her ex-boyfriend’s backseat on fire because he’d cheated on her in it. The truck was never salvageable, she wasn’t caught, and she’d made a name for herself.
“Why?” I didn’t know if I wanted to ask.
She held up a finger. “So I could steal his toilet paper.”
“And?”
“Replace his toothpaste with diaper cream.”
I tried my hardest not to laugh. “Keep going.”
“I hid all of his left shoes.”
“Uh-huh,” I motioned for her to continue.
“I cut the belt loops on his pants.”
A grin slowly stretched across my face as she kept going.
“I turned his hot water heater off.”
“You’re an absolute evil genius.” I laughed then. “How did you even find it?”
“Oh, I’m not done!” She sang and didn’t answer my question, she was too proud of all of her hard work. “I colored in the IR sensor on his TV with a sharpie and then decided it wasn’t good enough and came back with some black tape.”
“You were there for a long time.” I couldn’t help it, I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her tightly to me. “Where was he?”
“I don’t know, he thought Ace was going so he left a key.” She pulled away from me. “You know that evil-looking map on his wall?”
Uh oh. The one with all of the establishments he owned. I didn’t want to know.
I desperately wanted to know.
She smiled like I imagined a master mind would. “I pulled them all out.”
This time I did laugh, I laughed so hard I couldn’t help it. When tears streamed down my face and I was doubled over from laughing so hard, the pain came back even worse right through my chest as if I’d been struck.
The tears were no longer of how entertaining my best friend was but instead, how hurt I still felt. Every article on his new date, every night out on the town… it made it feel as fresh as the day he’d dumped me and then took someone else out in my place. Carina wrapped her arms around me and held me while I fell apart again. I hated how weak I was, I hated how weak he made me feel, and I hated that he could move on like I was nothing but I was just stuck sitting here hurting.
“It wouldn’t hurt for you to download those dating apps again,” Carina suggested.
I sighed. “I don’t think I’m ready.”
“Well, I’ll be here the entire way until you’re better again.”