Her words weren’t helping Kim feel any better. ‘So what’s all this talk about me being scared?’
‘I’m saying it because there comes a time when you need to decide if what you want from life is more important than the trappings you’d forfeit for that freedom. Does having everything handed to you beat the ability to make your own choices? If it does, then go to England, Kim. Make Spencer what’s-his-name fall head over heels for you. Get married, have two point five children, smile for the Christmas card photos and make your parents happy, while you – Kim Weston – are dying inside.’
She could see the exact image in her mind as Natasha described it and it made her nauseous.
‘Or,’ her friend continued, ‘take a bold step. Do something crazy and different and unexpected, and see where it takes you.’
‘Like what?’
‘I don’t know. Something no one would see coming, not even you. This may be your last chance, Kim. Take it. Before you commit your life to misery, take a chance that maybe there is something more out there for you. Maybe getting the life you want isn’t so scary. I’ll help you.’
‘How?’
‘I don’t know. It depends on what you want to do.’
‘I don’t know what that is either,’ Kim answered with exasperation. ‘I just want to escape from all this.’
Natasha’s eyes lit up. ‘They why the hell don’t you?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I mean, why don’t you escape? Here in New York your folks’ shadow is always looming over you. Why don’t you go somewhere they can’t influence you?’
The prospect was intriguing. ‘Like where?’
A smile spread across her friend’s tanned features and Kim’s stomach began to knot. Was she really considering this? Yes, she was.
‘Come on, let’s head back to my place and sober you up a little first,’ she stated as she took Kim by the hand and went to hail a taxi. ‘Party Girl Kim is done.’
Chapter 4
Natasha had her own Midtown apartment in the heart of everything. She was lucky, she got to live on her own but her parents still paid for it, so she had all of the freedom without the worry of bills and rent.
Kim often envied Natasha’s situation, and she told her that. They’d been friends since middle school and had few secrets between them, but the distance in their lives was widening the older they got.
Tash couldn’t understand what Kim went through, no matter how much she tried. She always had ideas to save her and simple solutions to whatever problem Kim faced, but it was easy to find an out when your feelings weren’t in the mix, and your heart wasn’t being torn by the choices you faced.
It was easy to rip a bandage off when you didn’t have to feel the pain of the removal or bleed once it was done.
Now, the pair settled onto the couch as Natasha turned on her Dell and typed in her password. Kim nipped to the bathroom, pulled her blonde curls back in a scrunchie she had in her bag, and went to splash her face with water.
She wasn’t that drunk; the act back at the bar was mostly borne out of despair, and more than that, Natasha’s suggestion had sobered her up and got her thinking.
‘So what are we doing?’ she asked, coming back into the living room.
‘We,’ her friend answered as she pulled up a search engine, ‘are going to find you the perfect escape, Kim Weston. So what are you feeling? Someplace down south maybe? I hear Miami is fun.’
‘Too humid in summer,’ Kim answered.
‘California?’
‘We go there all the time.’
‘Hawaii then?’ Natasha suggested as she turned to her. ‘You could surf or climb a volcano.’
Kim didn’t share her enthusiasm. ‘How about someplace I haven’t been? Somewhere new?’
‘OK, so why don’t we let Google decide?’ Natasha suggested with a laugh.
