25.
I would be lying if I didn't say his promise to wait for me after work had me on edge, mind and body.
My thoughts constantly drifted towards what he would say and my body shook, the nerves controlling every movement.
Not only was I lost in thought, but my hands spilled nearly every drink I made.
Kyle had enough when I broke my second glass of the night and switched me to cleaning and refill duty.
Normally, I would insist on working the bar but I knew it was probably for the best that I don't.
The night had passed relatively fast. My body was here, yet my mind was elsewhere.
I thought of things I wanted to say and concocted this little speech to plead my case to Mason.
I thought of the possible outcomes of what he would say to them and how he was doing at work, especially without an assistant to take care of the work load.
Everything you could possibly think of, I probably thought of.
The only thing I hadn't thought of was what to do if he didn't show up.
This was exactly the predicament I found myself in as I sat on the curb we once ate on.
I had turned down Kyle's request to drive me home, knowing I'd be meeting Mason after work to talk.
He didn't ask questions or force me to accept like he usually would, which relieved me.
Instead, he told me to call him if ever I need to talk and bid me a good night.
He definitely knew something was wrong. Lately, I had taken more shifts than usual.
I hadn't had much of an appetite, opting for energy drinks or iced coffees when I needed a small boost, which inevitably led me to lose quite a bit of weight.
I think the thing that really alerted him was my mood.
I had surrounded myself in this impenetrable bubble, where I didn't want to speak with anyone.
The goofy, happy Charlotte was replaced with a gloomy, miserable one which definitely was not the most pleasant person to have on a shift.
I was so caught up figuring out what he would say and how I would respond, I never even thought about whether he would show up or not.
I sighed as I looked down towards the time on my phone before releasing one long breath of air as I looked upwards at the night sky.
One thing I really missed from home was the stars.
There was something so grounding about them.
Whenever I was outside, no matter how cold and frigid the Montreal winters were, I would always take a second and admire them.
Here, in New York, you couldn't see any.
With a small frown, one that seemed to mar my features too often lately, I pushed myself off the curb and gathered my bag.
It been over forty-five minutes since we had closed.
Forty-five minutes since I sat down on the cold curb, waiting for him to show up.
The lack of text or call was enough to hint that maybe he had forgotten.
The thought of that being true hurt more than if he had just been late.
I made my way towards the direction of my apartment. My head hung low, as I watched each foot take a step, never budging unless I needed to look for cars passing. The sight of the familiar streets made me nearly sigh in relief. I just wanted to throw myself in my warm bed and loaf.
"Hi," At the person's voice my head snapped up.
Like always, she looked nothing short of perfection.
My gaze trailed over Ophelia as I froze in my stride.
Her curls were loose, perfectly styled and unfrizzy.
Her pajamas looked as though she had ironed them, not a wrinkle in sight.
The tan she acquired from her trip made her skin glow along with her ten thousand skincare products she had on.
Even at three am, she could manage to make me feel like an absolute slob compared to her. "Can we talk?"
I wanted to tell her no. I wanted to tell her how selfish she had been throughout this whole ordeal.
I wasn't in the mood to talk, especially to her, not after tonight.
I was good at holding a grudge but I knew we would eventually have to move on from this.
We'd both have to meet in the middle. This meant talking to her when, really, it was the last thing I wanted to do.
"Sure," I quipped as my face remained its new, impassive expression.
I crossed my arms as I examined her once more.
Turns out, I may have learnt a thing or two from Mason's massive RBF because my own twin sister began squirming as I stared at her.
I said I would talk. It didn't mean I was going to be nice.
Like I said, I was good at holding grudges.
"Well, do you want to go upstairs?" She asked, quietly as she pointed backwards at the building.
"No. Here is just fine."
"Char, come on."
"Say what you came here to say, Ophelia."
She let out a small, pinched sigh. I knew it meant she was getting thin on patience. Well, that was too bad for her as I had reached my limit a while ago.
"I'm pregnant," She wrapped her arms gently around her midsection, looking everywhere except at me.
"Okay, let's go inside," I said, quickly as I realized this was going to go in a completely different direction than what I was expecting. We made our way upstairs, quietly. There was no tension between us. We seemed to be both equally lost in thought as we silently made our way towards the couch.
When Ophelia lived here, we rarely fought. However, when we did, we tended to hash things out on the couch. It was the Peace Couch. Just like those other times, we sat on opposite ends, facing each other.
"When did you find out?" I watched as he encircled her arms around her legs, bringing them closer to her chest. Huh, maybe that healthy glow wasn't only from the vacation, after all.
"Right before leaving for Bali. I wanted to tell you."
"Why didn't you?"
"I was scared. I didn't know if I wanted to keep it or not. If I did, would his father want to be apart of his life? There was, is, just so many factors to think about."
"And?"
"I want to keep the baby. I know it's complicated. I haven't been with Daniel for very long, but I'm ready. I want to do this."
"I'm happy for you." I was. It's all I could do.
For a long time now, Ophelia had been so ahead in the game of life that I didn't even know what it was like to be on her level.
I wasn't thinking of kids and I was no where near being ready to even have that thought.
There were so many things I wanted to do and partake on.
So, even if I couldn't relate to my twin, I was happy for her.
This was a huge thing, and no matter what, I'd always support her.
"I can't do it though," Her eyes became glossy as she stared back at me. "Not without you."