She just wagged her finger at me. “Not until you eat.Thenwe can get intoxicated.”
I frowned and took a bite as she watched me eat. “Fine.”
I worked on my pizza for a few minutes as the other two got settled. By the time I’d finished my slice, Ayako had gotten in bed with me, and Juanpa was in a chair next to the bed.
He leaned in, his handsome face serious. “So give us the details, because the eight-word text you sent out last night was pretty vague.”
After I’d hung up with my mom, I texted the guys and Ayako to let them know what happened. I didn’t have the energy to explain, so I’d just sent them a super cryptic message.
I broke up with T. Will call tomorrow.
Then shut off my phone before any of them could respond.
“I need wine first.” Ayako passed me the glass she brought me from the kitchen, and I started to speak when Juanpa held up a hand while he pulled his phone out of his pocket.
“Wait, let me FaceTime P and Nesto. They told me to call them when we came over.” He talked while tapping on the screen. “They almost drove down here today while you were still MIA. We were too scared of you to show up unannounced after you asked us not to, but it was discussed.”
I chuckled helplessly at Juanpa’s attempt to make me laugh. “You’re not funny.”
“I’m not trying to be, you scared us.” I still felt like shit, but it was good to have my friends with me right now.
A few seconds later, I heard Patrice’s voice come over the speaker. “How’s it going?” Juanpa just shook his head and moved his chair so Ayako and I could see the screen. Nesto, Jude, and Patrice were all sitting on a couch with worried looks on their faces.
Nesto leaned forward, so he was staring right at me. His brows furrowed. “How we doing, brother?”
I lifted a shoulder in response. “Not great, but at least I don’t feel like my heart got ripped out of my chest like I did yesterday.”
Patrice leaned in, too, but Nesto spoke again before he got a chance. “Do you need us to come down? Just say the word and we’re there.” Both Jude and Patrice nodded furiously at Nesto’s offer. “You were here to hold me down when shit got real last year with Jude.” He turned his head then and smiled at his blond lover, who stared up at him with such tenderness, it made my heart ache.
“You don’t have to that, but thanks for the offer.” After a second, Nesto turned back to look at me.
“I know things seem completely fucked up now, but I know they’ll work out, Camilo. He just got mad extra on you, but you can come back from that.” He gave me a cheeky smile then. “Just like the rest of us, he had to learn the hard way to take your grumpy ass seriously when you ask for something.”
I closed my eyes, feeling the tears starting to well up. There was too much happening in the feelings department. I took another gulp of wine and handed the glass to Ayako, so I could make a time-out sign with my hands.
“You motherfuckers need to stop it with this lovefest. I’m already a fucking wreck, so please keep your shit together for a minute, so I can tell you what happened.”
After about two seconds of everyone trying to hold it in, Nesto and Juanpa busted up and for the first time in the last twenty-four hours, I felt like maybe things would be okay. When we all stopped laughing, I took my glass back from Ayako and started talking.
“I love him, there’s no doubt and I’m certain he loves me. The issue is he broke my trust. And I’m scared if I let him get away with this now, I’ll be having to overlook overbearing and, frankly, disrespectful shit forever. The worst part is I know I’ll get back together with him if he shows up, even if he does nothing to make amends.”
Ayako put her arm around my shoulder after my grim prediction. “Hon, you said he asked you for time in his message and that he said he would show you he understood where he’d gone wrong. Maybe he’s thinking of a way of repairing things. He knows where you live and he hasn’t come around yet.” I got another squeeze of the shoulder and nods all around. “He’s a good guy. Clearly he’s not perfect and is a little too reliant on his bank account to do his work for him, but he loves you and he makes you happy.”
I sipped my wine, thinking about what she said. “Maybe. I hope so. Because I know if we just get back together without fixing this, it will be the beginning of the end. I won’t be able to live with myself if I just take him back, after what he pulled.”
They all gave me matching sympathetic faces, but didn’t offer any more platitudes. Clearly there was no quick, easy fix for where things had gone wrong for Tom and me. “Thanks for coming to sit vigil with me,” I said to Ayako, then waved at the screen. “And for offering to drive down.”
Ayako shook her head at me like I was being ridiculous. “Nothing died, babe.”
Juanpa, Nesto, P, and Jude gave their own enthusiastic nods, then J spoke. “We’ll be here with you until the bitter end, unlessyou start playing that band with those dudes who sound like whiny cats. You know I can’t go there with you, pa.”
Fucking Juan Pablo had to make me laugh again. “Shut up, MCR don’t sound like whiny cats, and don’t even front like you don’t have Helena in one of your Spotify playlists. I know what you get up to.”
He just ignored me and stood up.
“I’m getting more wine.”
Jude balked at Juanpa’s derision. “I like My Chemical Romance.”
