"What are you doing now?"
"Right now? Sitting in a Dunkin' Donuts parking lot with no plan and nowhere to go. I've got to get tickets back to England, but there are some loose ends I should tie up here first."
"You're quitting?"
"I don't want to, but I'm out of time and luck. I was treading on thin ice before this, and now I don't see how I'll ever rebound. It's like a permanent red card."
"It's not looking good for you, man. Why don't you come up here and crash with me for a few days? At least give you a quiet place to get things sorted out."
Kenley's generosity shocks me. "Why? Won't Janssen be upset? Harboring a fugitive, and all?"
"Nah, we're friends. It's not business. But also, he was looking forward to having you on the roster again. I'm sure he's disappointed at this turn of events."
Disappointed is the understatement of the year.
Everything I've worked my whole life for, plus more, is gone with the publication of one stupid article.
Disappointed? No. Devastated is more like it.
Chapter 43: Ophelia
I know the knocking on the door isn't Xavier. He's not coming back. Yet I'm still disappointed to open my front door to see Marley standing there.
I mean, she told me she was coming over, even though I'd told her not to. I'd also told my mom not to come, and also that I never wanted to speak to anyone in my family ever again.
I'm sure I don't actually mean it, but for right now, I need some hard and fast boundaries, since my family—and their guests—see nothing wrong with complete and total violations of my privacy.
Maybe I'd let Aiden in, but he's back in Vermont, so it's not like he's going to hang out here and cheer me up.
My mother actually tried to defend Carolina's niece's date by saying if I didn't want the details of my life public, then I wouldn't have been on ClikClak in the first place, and I certainly wouldn't have written about them in a book.
I guess she doesn't understand what fiction is.
Sundance looks at me with the judgment only a cat can. He really doesn't care that my life has imploded. He's still harboring resentment that I left him alone for the weekend.
Wanker.
The word makes me think of Xavier, and my heart breaks all over again. I can't believe I lost him so quickly. I can't believe my foolishness cost him everything.
I can't believe I was so stupid.
This certainly takes the cake in the "dumb things I've done" column. Mic drop, I'll never top this.
From here on out, I will be a hermit and only compute numbers all day, every day. It's hard to get into trouble or ruin someone's life doing that.
"Ophelia June Finnegan, I have no words."
I turn away, also bereft of words, and faceplant on my couch. Landing on my nose hurts, but at least it's physical pain, rather than the emotional pain that's been ripping me apart for two days.
"I screwed up." I finally manage.
Marley plops in my armchair, scrolling away on her phone. "Yes, you did, girl. You most certainly did."
I lift my head. "What's the world saying?"
She laughs nervously. "You don't want to know."
I sit up. "You know what makes me the most angry about this? My family. They rag on me endlessly about being impulsive and silly and frivolous, but then they take something and blow it so out of proportion, and then it causes real damage. I mean, all Owen had to do was tell his nieces to rein it in. Put a stop to it.”
