Chapter 4
Chapter four
Audrey
"One moment, I'm coming!" I yell out, my voice echoing through the apartment. The pounding on the door ceases, but the pounding inside my head does not.
Cradling the back of my neck with my palm, I squint against the bright sunshine pouring through the living room bay window.
I attempt to roll my neck out, but it's still stiff as hell, along with the rest of my body.
That's what happens when you fall asleep intoxicated, face down on top of the bed. I’m too old for this.
As soon as I swing the front door open, Penny's jaw drops. Casting my eyes to the black and white checkered stone floor, I extend my arm out, inviting her inside.
"I know. Don't say anything," I warn as I head into the equally bright kitchen. Penny's hot on my trail, looking exceedingly fresher than me.
"I got here as soon as I could. I’ve been worried sick. How are you holding up, honey?"
Penny came straight from the airport to my place, even though I told her not to. I knew she wouldn't listen to me though, and I'm kind of grateful she didn't.
"How was San Diego?” I ignore her question, opening the glass front cabinets and grabbing two matching coffee mugs. “The wedding looked beautiful. Was that Balboa Park?" Penny is a wedding photographer, and her work takes her everywhere.
"Oh, the drama was endless. The mother-in-law was truly unhinged, and I promise to fill you in later but do not ignore my question.”
I bite my lip, casting my eyes away from Penny.
“After your cryptic text last night, I moved my flight from 10 a.m. to 6 a.m. for you, so we are going to talk about what the hell went down." She plants herself on a barstool at the long kitchen island, props her chin on her elbows, and stares at me with the intensity of a stalking jungle cat.
Without answering, I shrug, grab my water bottle from the counter, and chug it all.
"Holy shit, how hungover are you?"
"I don't know…however hungover you get after drinking an entire bottle of Dom Perignon." I winced, moving to place the mugs under the hot espresso spout. I swear I still smell champagne, like it’s oozing from my pores.
"Okay…then let's start at the beginning." Penny’s face is tight, her words slow and deliberate.
After I finish making our cappuccinos, which feels like it takes an ungodly amount of time, Penny follows me into the living room, and we sink deep into my linen sofa.
I get in one sip of the delicious frothy espresso before reality hits me like a ton of bricks and tears sting the back of my eyes.
I hate crying in front of people. I already met my quota for the year by crying in front of a stranger last night.
But I remind myself Penny has seen me at my worst. She was my roommate all four years at the University of North Carolina, after all.
I pull my legs up under myself and clear my throat. “Okay, I’m only going to relive this once and only once. Because I will have to rehash every demoralizing detail for my mother sooner rather than later.”
“I won’t make you repeat it, I promise.” Penny holds up her hand like a Scout's honor and I muster up a tiny laugh.
“Jackson accidentally dialed me last night. During sex—”
“Wait, wait, wait! What do you mean—” Penny jumps straight up off the sofa, nearly splashing espresso on her shirt. Squeezing my eyes shut, I hold up my hand but she is enraged. “I’m going to kill him, Audrey. I will literally get rid of his body. Okay?”
“That’s a lovely offer but please don’t.” I scrunch my nose at her, and she throws her hands in surrender, sitting back down and smoothing her blond ponytail around her shoulder.
“Okay, go on. I’m sorry.” Penny grabs a velvet pillow and places it on her lap, like it’s a giant stress ball. But first, I reach for the remote on the coffee table, and point it toward the window, lowering the shades a bit. Hangovers and morning sunshine do not mix.
Deep breath.
“I’m just going to start. I heard everything…their names...I can't go into detail. It was awful. It was the worst twenty seconds of my life,” I mumble quietly, a pit forming in my stomach just talking about it.
“I’m in complete shock…I’m so sorry. Do you know who it was?”
I nod reluctantly. “Yeah, it’s Kelsey.” This time, Penny slams her mug on the walnut coffee table and jumps up, red creeping up her neck.
“Kelsey? The Kelsey who works directly under him?” Her nostrils flare as I nod slowly. “The girl who came to your housewarming party with her annoying attorney boyfriend?”
“That’s the one.”
“How freaking cliche of the bastard. He is screwing his coworker? May as well get a tattoo that says ‘stereotypical douchebag’ across his forehead!” Penny paces my living room, looking like she wants to smash something.
I drop my face into my palms and inhale slowly, before lifting slightly to look at my fuming best friend.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this…but in all honesty, I’m not even mad at him anymore.” I carefully choose my words as Penny balls her fists, her eyes widening. “Perhaps it’s because deep down, I'm not surprised.”
She nods, still pacing in front of the fireplace.
“How did the phone call end…did you call him back?”
Tears sting my eyes as Penny rushes to my side, wrapping her arms around my hunched shoulders.
“At first, he denied it, but after less than two minutes of me begging him to be honest, he was. He said he was sorry, and without even prodding, he admitted it’s been going on for six months.
” I rub my hands down my legs again and again.
“He sighed after telling me, like it was a weight lifted off his fucking shoulders.” Penny’s brown eyes grow wide in horror as she waits for me to continue.
“I calmly told him it’s over, and all he said was I’m so sorry but that was it.
” Snot ran down my face as I wiped my nose across my robe sleeve like a child.
Tears run down both our faces now, as Penny empathizes with me.
“We exchanged a few texts right before I passed out, but he barely had anything to say to me.”
I shake my head, leaning on my best friend's shoulder.
“The worst thing is he didn’t even fight for me. I wouldn’t have gone back, but am I not worth fighting for?” Lifting my head to look at Penny, she takes my face in her palms, forcing me to look at her.
“You are worth so much more than he could ever give you.”
“I just don’t understand. We’ve been planning a life together since we were twenty-one.
Five whole years. And he threw it all away.
” A shrill chuckle escapes my hoarse throat as my shoulders hunched further.
“The wedding is planned. The renovations on the house he insisted we buy are only weeks from being complete.” My chest constricts as I rattle off the failures heavy on my heart.
“I feel like he ripped the rug out from under me, and everything is crashing down. All the plans we had…all the plans he made for us.” Glancing down at my empty ring finger, I ball my hand into a fist. “All I know is the engagement ring sitting on my nightstand represents the end of everything, not the beginning.”
Penny squeezes her arms around me tighter, handing me a tissue from her purse.
“And now, I have to call everyone and explain to them the engagement party is off, the wedding is off…that I fell for a no-good cheat, and I have to...” My voice trails off as she grabs my hands, bringing my spiraling thoughts to a halt.
“Audrey, listen to me. You are allowed to feel all the things you feel. Hell, I want you to be madder than you are but that’s a different topic. Jackson screwed up everything. But life is not over. Just imagine if you didn’t find out about his true identity until it was too late.”
“Yeah…no, I know you’re right.”
“And stop worrying about everyone. I'll help you get the message out and cancel things. Jackson Tippins doesn’t need protection. He did this. And you are a newly single woman, who will now be free on October twenty-first.”
Groaning, I comb my fingers through my greasy hair.
“Promise me, on October twenty-first, we will have an anti-wedding celebration. Get drunk and carve pumpkins or something.”
Penny laughs and nods.
“I could never survive without you. Seriously. Can we just be single, and buy a beach house, and shun men forever?” I add and she hugs me.
“Of course, babe.”
“I don’t know how I’m going to get through this week, Pen. I have to call my parents…and deal with Jackson face-to-face eventually.” I look around my home, my heart ticking up with every racing realization. “Oh my god, I cannot live here with him.”
The last thing I was planning on doing this week was picking up the pieces of my suddenly shattered life.
My best friend pulls out her phone, typing furiously, a stern look on her face.
“One step at a time, Aud. First things first. Let’s get brunch.
Afterwards, you’ll call your parents, and I will contact the wedding planner.
Everything will be okay. One day at a time.
” She squeezes my leg. “And you can move in with me, okay? I insist. It will be like college all over again.”
“As much as I love you, I know you like your space. I can find a place.”
She grips my shoulders, forcing me to face her.
“I insist. You can stay with me as long as you need. I’ll help you find the cutest bachelorette pad ever when you’re ready, no rush.
” She hands me another tissue, and I dab my puffy eyes.
“I’m shooting a wedding almost every weekend this summer anyway, so you’ll practically have the place to yourself. ”
I swallow the lump in my throat as I muster up a weak smile.
“Thank you. I’d be so lost without you.”
“What are girlfriends for, if not for picking up the mess men leave behind?”