I sighed and reached for my glass again. Definitely not drunk enough yet.
Chili chirped at me, evidently displeased that I’d stopped petting him. I switched my glass to my other hand and resumed giving him pets, though my heart wasn’t in it now. This was how it was going to be for a while, wasn’t it? All roads led back to Selena. Everything I did, thought, or felt would be filtered through the lens of what I’d had, what I didn’t have anymore, and what might’ve been.
My phone pinged. I groaned. God. What now?
To my surprise, it was a message from Selena’s maid of honor.
Madeline
Hey, I just wanted to check up on you.
I took another sip of Jack, then put the glass aside.
I’m hanging in there.
I paused, gnawing my lip and wondering if I wanted to torture myself before I finally added:
How is Selena doing?
Don’t know. Don’t care.
I stared at the text. Madeline and Selena had been best friends since elementary school. It was difficult to imagine a rift between them, even over something like this.
She started typing before I did, so I waited.
She did you dirty. She swore she was done being that kind of person. Ugh. If I’d known, I would’ve told you. I swear.
Yet another person who’d known her longer than me mentioning that this had been a thing before. I kind of wanted to be pissed that no one had told me she had a history of cheating, but I was too hollowed out for anger right now. And besides, people changed. I wasn’t the person I’d been back in my younger days, and I hoped no one expected my friends and family to warn every potential partner because I’d been an immature asshole back then.
But once a cheater, always a cheater, right?
Not necessarily. My ex-boyfriend had cheated on a guy in college, then realized what a huge mistake it was. He’d lost an incredible relationship because of it, and even now in our mid-thirties, I didn’t think he’d ever fully gotten over that. He was a man who would chew glass before he even thought about cheating again.
Selena, though—apparently cheating wasn’t a new thing for her. And apparently she’d lied to her best friend and her parents when she’d sworn she’d never do it again.
I wonder what else she lied about.
Ugh. That wasn’t a train of thought I needed to be on tonight. Fuck that.
I reread Madeline’s message, then wrote her back.
It’s on her, not you. Sorry it’s fucked things up between you and her.
Good riddance at this point. Are you going to be okay?
Eventually.
Do you need anything?
I’ll be okay. Thanks, though.
Okay but reach out if you need something. We’re all here for you.
I didn’t know who “we” entailed in that context, but I let her know I appreciated it. Then I put my phone aside, topped off my drink, and stared up at the sky again.
Chili evidently didn’t appreciate me focusing elsewhere, and he hopped up into my lap. His claws poked through my sweats as he kneaded on my legs.
“Buddy.” I popped one of his claws out of the fabric. “I’ll pet you, but could you not?”
