“I just want you to know one thing.” He clenched his teeth. “I hate you.”
“No, you don’t. You’re just drunk.”
“And I’ll hate you more when I’m sober.” He closed his eyes and pushed against the floor. “I hate you, and I love her.”
More rustling. More quiet. “She just reminds you of me when I was her age,” she finally whispered.
“She reminds me of everything you’re not, and that’s why I love her.” He took a deep breath. “You’re fucking fired, Andrea. We’re done.”
She scoffed. “Tell me, Mike. Who do you blame for your mistakes?”
He paused, blood pounding in his skull. “All these years I thought…” His chest felt as if a heavy rock was pressed against it. He bent, scrubbing a hand over his face. “You played me. You played me bad. You made me believe it was all my fault, when it wasn’t. Still, I blame no one but myself. For trusting someone like you. Why do you think I haven’t told her how I feel?”
“Well, you’d better keep it that way. Sleep tight, Mickey.”
He frowned into the phone, and the line clicked off.
Scene23
Maggie
The doorbell rang in the haze between dream and reality. Not sure what was happening, I opened one eye, my hand tumbling on the nightstand, looking for my phone. The door chimed again, this time accompanied by angry knocks, as I noticed the time.
4:52 p.m.
I bolted upright, cursing, and staggered to the door.
“You’re still asleep?!” Raoul squeaked.
I squinted at him as he strode inside, followed by a smiling Amanda. “Weren’t you the one who convinced me I should rest ‘cause we were ahead of schedule?”
“But now we’ve lost a whole day over a whim with a certain celebrity.”
“Don’t mind him. He’s just jealous.” Amanda stumbled on the shoe box. “When did you go shopping?”
I shut the door and picked up the box, smiling as I recalled dropping my belongings midway to plunge into Kyle’s arms. “I didn’t.”
“He bought you shoes?” She snatched the box out of my hands and opened it. “Oh my God.”
Raoul wheeled to peer at Mike’s gift. “You are one lucky bitch.”
I cocked a brow as they swooned over a pair of ankle boots. “I’m gonna hit the shower, dickheads.”
“Make it quick. We want the juicy details,” he demanded.
I did make it quick, but not to feed my friends with gossip. I needed to occupy my head with something bigger than yesterday’s decision. Work was the best distraction.
When I reached the working station, Amanda and Raoul’s hammering interrogations fell on me unheard. The what ifs and the maybes jamming my brain were louder than anything. I’d always hated that about myself. The uncertainty that sucked my soul after every decision I finally made.
“Could you just shut up?” I threw my hands in the air. Last night, I was happy, certain, and determined. Today, I was everything but. It was all slipping away and talking about Mike wouldn’t help.
“No way. You had a date with Mike Gennaro. We wanna know everything,” Amanda said.
“Date? What date? I had dinner with my friend. If you want juice, I’ve something better to tell you.” My phone vibrated. Amanda raced to the nightstand before I could move.
“What the fuck?” I glared at Amanda as she peeked at the screen. “Give me my phone now.”
Amanda snickered. “Uh…Raoul, you and I are friends, right?”
