Distraught, she called Mia back.
“Hey, babes,” Mia said on the other line, “I’m so sorry.”
“Thanks.” There was an awkward pause. Mia was one of her favorite people in the world, but she wasn’t the best with emotional stuff.
“I’m glad to hear you’re alive. Looks like you haven’t left your house since yesterday.”
Cierra laughed, knowing her friend watched her smartphone’s location like a perverted hobby. “I just need some time alone. What’s up?”
“Just checking in on you,” Mia said in a singsong voice, attempting to mask her tone of concern. “Have you talked to your family yet?”
“No, I can’t even think about that right now. But don’t worry, I’m not planning on jumping off a cliff or anything. I’m just clueless and having a quarter-life crisis and seriously re-thinking all my major life decisions.”
“Ah, well, if that’s the case, then I guess I’ll just let you get back to it.”
They both laughed a little, which felt good.
“Thanks for checking up on me. I appreciate it.”
“No problem. I thought that maybe we could have a girls’ night and watch movies, or go to a spa, or we could go out?”
“I’ll let you know. Maybe later this week.”
“Okay, well, text me. Okay? I love you. I know it’s hard right now.”
“Love you, too.”
“Are you alright? Do you need anything?”
“Nah, I’m fine. Really.”
“Alright. I’ll let you go then. Bye, hun.”
Cierra clicked off her phone and drifted off to sleep again. Taking a shower or eating a full meal was something she’d have to do eventually, but for now, the best she could do to keep from going crazy was retreat into subconscious bliss. A new job. A new apartment. A new existence. It could all wait until tomorrow.
Mia showed up two days later with wine, flowers, and pad thai.
“I’m here. Deal with it,” she said with a flip of her hair at the doorway. She embraced her friend in a warm hug. “Oh, honey, we need to get you into the shower. Respectfully.” At this, Cierra sniffed her own shirt. “Also, I’m so sorry, honey. Harry is a fucking idiot.”
“Hello to you, too, Mia.”
Even though they came from completely different backgrounds, the two women had been inseparable since their first year of college. Mia hadn’t held a job for more than two months since graduation; you didn’t need to when your bank account dwarfed the CEO’s of whatever company you worked for. Her family’s source of wealth was murky, something to do with international trade and bespoke goods; Cierra was happy toremain willfully ignorant. Mia was tall, with lanky, toned arms and legs and dark brown hair, the color of espresso, which was in stark contrast to her fair porcelain skin and round, baby-blue eyes. She always kept curtain bangs, framing her doll-like face like a modern Snow White.
By five o’clock, following three episodes ofToo Hot to Handleand two bottles of wine, both women were lying on the couch, restless. Cierra had saved about twenty jobs she was going to apply for but knew that realistically she’d need to visit each restaurant in person for them to even notice her. The thought alone made her feet hurt. She knew people would also be curious about why she had quit. Nobody quit Terra. Cierra had ascended to senior chef at one of the most prestigious restaurants in New York in under three years, which was virtually unheard of. The next step would have been sous chef, which was Cierra’s dream when she first started. But cleaning a kitchen until late into the evening, having zero creative control, and always being hidden and next in line . . . it was far more demoralizing than Cierra could ever have imagined.
Maybe that’s why she had finally snapped the other night.
Cierra’s old job had made her feel trapped, like she had dug a hole too far down and learned that this was as good as it got. She was so burned out that she didn’t even cook for herself anymore. She hadn’t tried a new recipe for months. When she had first started out, she remembered trying a new recipe almost every week.
“Hello, Earth to Cee-air-ahh,” Mia said, waving her hand in Cierra’s face.
“Ah, sorry, was just zoning out there.”
“Did you even hear what I said?”
“Uh, no. What’s up?”
“I said, if I watch one more episode, I’m gonna end up getting eyelash extensions and bleaching my hair.”
