Page 17 of Trial and Error

She walks over and sits down beside me. Mom places her hand on my knee and pats it twice. “I’m so happy to hear you’ve finally found someone, sweetheart. Since Oscar and Isobel announced their engagement and that they’re expecting again, I’ve been worried about you. I don’t want you to be all by yourself in this apartment, but now that you’ve found someone, I feel relieved and happy to know you’re not going to be alone.”

She begins to get a plan in place, and I find myself sweating. She can’t meet a fiancée I don’t have. How the fuck am I supposed to tell her my so-called fiancée is just some random girl I met at Oscar’s event and we aren’t really engaged?

“Mom, will you just⁠—”

Mom waves her hand. “Not now, sweetie. I’m thinking.”

She already thinks I’ve been hiding it from her, and telling her I don’t have a fiancée will only sound like a lie. I watch as she rambles on about god knows what, but I can’t hear her over the sound of my blood pumping in my ears.

“Elias, are you listening?” she snaps, waving her hand in my face. “I asked what her name is.”

I open and close my mouth to tell her and let her disappointment in me resurface, but the happy look on her face stops me.

Fuck it, what’s one more dinner with a fake fiancée?

I take a deep breath and say, “Bridget.”

She beams at me. “What a beautiful name,” Mom comments and then claps her hands together. “Elias and Bridget,” she says to herself. “Your names sound so good together, don’t you think?”

There’s a knot wedged deep in the back of my throat, but I put on a tight smile and nod. “Yeah, real good.”

bridget

It’s official.

I need to get laid, and fast—or slow. I’m not really concerned how, all I know is that my right hand has been working overtime since the weekend and the poor girl needs a break.

Imani thought it would be funny to have a wrist-support delivered to my apartment, but joke’s on her because the thing has been a lifesaver.

I haven’t seen much of her since she’s preoccupied with Adam. Not that I mind, though, because I’m glad she’s happy, and from the couple of times I met Adam, it’s painstakingly obvious she makes him happy, too. After her recent ex-boyfriend, she deserves nothing more than to be worshipped, and Adam does exactly that.

“Wait, wait…” Imani tears me away from my thoughts. “So he just pulled you into his side and pretended to be your fiancé?”

I hum as I look up at my ceiling from where I sprawl across my bed. I’ve been here for the past forty minutes, wearing nothing but a cropped camisole and a pair of panties. “Yeah, it was crazy.” I laugh. “Tom looked like he wanted to murder us. It was funny.”

Imani laughs along. She’s always disliked him, even when we were together. “I bet. He always liked to have one up on you.”

I used the hate the way Imani would moan or complain about him in any type of way, but it wasn’t until after the breakup that I understood what she was saying. He really was a nasty piece of work.

“Anyway, Bids, I’ve got to go,” Imani says into the receiver. “Adam and I are taking the kids out for dinner. Have fun on your date with Malik tonight, by the way. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.”

I love the way Imani has taken Adam’s children, Zoe and Lucas, under her wing, and I’m so glad they’ve been so accepting of her. I gloss over the way she casually brings up my date with Malik right at the end of our call, like she’s hasn’t just had twenty minutes to bring it up.

“Malik told you?” I ask as I sit upright on my bed.

She laughs. “Of course he did! That man has been waiting for this day for years, Bids. I can’t believe you held out on me!”

I sigh—I miss my best friend. “I’ll tell you all about it on Tuesday. We’re still on for dinner, right?”

Imani is humming in response, but I can hear the kids in the background and it seems like they’re trying to get her attention. “Yes, babe, absolutely. See you then!”

She hangs up before I can say goodbye.

A tired and sad sigh passes through my lips as I lie in my silent apartment. It’s never usually this quiet. There’s always someone here with me, whether it’s my sister or Imani, but I’m rarely alone. I lift my head from my pillow just as my phone dings and I look down to see a message from Malik waiting for me.

Malik

I’ll be there in twenty. I can’t wait to see you.