LAURA
“No one dies from a broken heart.”
That was my best friend’s attempt at reassuring me that I was, in fact, not going to die from this pain I felt.
I doubted it, but I mustered a small smile at her and went back to what I’d been doing for the past hour-staring at the blank wall. I wasn’t sure why I’d even bothered to ask her when I knew the answer was a big fat yes.
I firmly believed that I could very well die from the sheer amount of pain I was feeling. Everything on the inside of my body hurt.
Every. Single. Thing.
Hell, even breathing hurt. And for the first time in forever, I think I finally understood my mother and why she used.
There was little I wouldn’t do to stop feeling like this.
Balery sighed, placing the food tray she was carrying on the bedside table before sliding onto the bed, right next to me. “You have to eat something.”
“I will,” I told her.
“Now,” she ordered. “You haven’t eaten anything all day.”
Rolling onto my back, I exhaled at the ceiling, regretting that I’d told her that Alex and I hadn’t had the chance to eat because his fiancee had been waiting for us at his doorstep.
I winced.
The mere thought of him was followed closely by a wave of such intense pain, I had to breathe through my mouth to ease it.
Jesus. What the hell was this?
It was torture.
Balery sighed again and shifted closer, placing her back to the headboard and my head on her thighs. Slowly, she ran her fingers through the strands of my hair, massaging my scalp. “This whole thing still doesn’t make sense to me,” she murmured. “Alex loves you.”
I would have snorted if I could. “Obviously, he doesn’t.”
“He loves you, Laura. You can’t convince me otherwise.”
“Well, guess what? He said the same thing too and after what happened today, I know for a fact that he does not. If he did, then he wouldn’t have used me.” I lifted my head from her thighs. “He was engaged the entire time, the lying cheating asshole, and he must have considered me very dumb and oblivious because how could he have expected to not get caught?”
Balery’s lips turned down at the sides and it was obvious she was just as clueless because she didn’t make a move to say anything.
“I should have just said no when he made a move on me in the elevator that night,” I said more to myself than to Balery. “Maybe then I’d have never given into my traitorous body’s demands in Miami. How could-” I froze, turning to Balery. “Wait.”
“What?” she asked.
“How come none of the guys know that their friend is engaged?” I voiced out. “Except they do know and chose to say nothing while he was using me?”
Her eyes widened as she considered the possibility too. Then she shook her head even as she looked unsure. “I doubt they knew. They wouldn’t sit around and watch Alex do something like this without saying anything.”
“Balery, they’re his friends. There’s no way in hell his friends don’t know that he’s engaged.”
The lines of her shoulder were tense, her eyes holding a bit of trepidation. “I don’t know, Laura…”
“Well, let’s confirm.” I suggested. “Call Jack right now and ask him.” She turned to me in surprise, eyes searching my expression to check whether I was being serious or not. I was. I was serious as a heart attack right now. “Go on. Do it.”
“Okay,” she murmured as she reached for her phone, dialing her husband and putting it on speaker phone. It rang twice before he answered.
“Sweetheart,” he said by way of greeting.
I could literally see the warmth wash over Balery at the sound of his voice and I couldn’t stop the hollow pang I felt in my chest even if I’d tried. I swallowed hard, looking away.
At least one of us was happy. One was better than zero, after all.
“Hey darling, how’s it going at work?”
“Great. You never call me in the middle of the day except it’s an emergency. What’s wrong?”
Balery shifted on the bed, her eyes finding mine. “Look, I’ve got to ask you something.” She paused. “Did you know Alex is engaged?”
Silence.
For four whole seconds, there was nothing but silence on the other end of the line. And that was all the answer I needed.
“Jack?” Balery asked hesitantly, unease seeping into her expression.
He sighed. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. It’s so inconsequential that we tend to forget about it-”
Physically unable to handle hearing any more, I mustered up what was left of my strength and pushed up off the bed, searching for my phone and my purse. I hadn’t even realized she’d ended the call until she touched my shoulder.
“What are you doing?” Her voice was soft, apprehensive. Like she was scared to talk to me.
“I’m leaving.”
There. I found my purse.
She hurried to stand in front of me. “I swear I didn’t know about this. You know I would never keep something like this away from you.”
Sighing, I turned to her. “I know you wouldn’t, Balery, and it’s not about you,” I confessed. “I just don’t think I’d be able to look your husband in the face knowing that he was in on Alex’s deception the entire time.”
Tears filled my best friend’s eyes. “I’m so sorry, Laura. This doesn’t make sense-I don’t know why he would…” Her hair swished around her face as she shook her head. “I still feel like there’s an explanation for all of this.”
I made an attempt to give her a weak smile but no matter how hard I tried, it didn’t form. So I shrugged instead. “There’s none.”
She could do nothing but watch as I booked a ride and waited for the car to get here. She crushed me in a long hug before I got in, and I saw the regret swimming in her eyes as I left. She didn’t want me to go, but she also knew that there was no point convincing me to stay when I’d already made up my mind.
“I don’t like that you’re leaving like this,” she whispered.
Tears filled my eyes but I didn’t let them fall because I was going to be unlocking another level of pathetic by crying in the back of a taxi, so I swallowed them down.
“I love you,” I told her.
“I love you too. Please be safe,” she said right before the car started moving.
Resting my head on the seat, I let my lids fall shut.
I couldn’t go home right now. I was too broken. Too raw. So I decided to go somewhere I usually wouldn’t go unless I absolutely needed to.
My mother’s house.