Page 2 of WASP

Welcome home, Caroline!

I saw these flowers, and they made me think of you and that perfect shade of pink lipstick you love. Too bad you’re such a FUCKING CUNT! I saw everything. FUCK YOU. Fuck that bitch you brought into our bed. And fuck off. We’re done. Please don’t call me.

xoxo,

Annie

A twisted grin curled its way across her lips as her hand moved feverishly across the paper while still maintaining her neat penmanship. Annie’s chest heaved with a mixture of white-hot anger and the absolute pleasure of knowing that she was the one getting the final, and only, words.

With a harder-than-needed final flourish of her hand while signing her name, Annie set the pen down and propped the card up next to the vase. She detached the silver key from her key ring, the one she and Caroline had gone to make together only a few days ago, and set it on the counter.

“Yes! Yes! Fuck me!” came the muffled cries from directly above Annie—her cue to get the fuck out of there.

She hurried to the back door, grabbing her overnight bag, slinging it over her shoulder before exiting.

Outside in the yard, the sounds of Caroline’s impending orgasm followed Annie through the open bedroom window directly above her. Caroline’s pitchy, breathy chant of “Don’t stop. Don’t stop. Don’t stop” filled Annie’s ears, accompanied by that overwhelming feeling of nausea as the sight of Caroline riding someone else’s strap flashed across her eyelids, forever burned into her brain.

“I’m coming!” Caroline’s gasp reached Annie all the way across the yard as she fumbled the latch on the gate, only now realizing that her hands were shaking.

The nausea swelled again, this time consuming her completely as Annie doubled over, spilling the contents of the twenty-two-dollar salad she had for lunch all over the brick pavers. When she finally stopped retching, she straightened herself, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, taking a deep breath. She looked back at the row home one more time before making her way down the alley.

She walked a few blocks back in the direction of the metro station she had come from not even fifteen minutes ago—had it really only been fifteen minutes? Time was funny like that; Annie could have sworn it had been hours, but a quick check of her phone told her otherwise.

“Fuck,” she grumbled under her breath, sliding onto a bench and not even caring that the back of her thighs, already slick with sweat, were now touching the hot metal bench, making the feeling that much worse. “Fuck,” she said again, this time softer as the bigness of what just happened settled over her. “Fuck,” she whispered.

Annie looked around, blinking away hot tears. Nope. There would be no crying in public today. She needed a minute to pull herself together and figure out what came next. She shook out her arms as she stood, straightening her skirt and reaching for her bag once more as she took another deep breath. She could do this.

People break up all the time. You’ll be fine, Annie reassured herself as she ducked into the corner store—the one she and Caroline had a habit of visiting for late-night snacks or to pick up a bottle of cheap champagne for Lazy Girl Brunch. She made her way directly to the drink coolers in search of a Diet Coke, then took a left down the candy aisle, deciding that if there ever was a time for Cow Tales, now was it. Damn, that perfectly chewy, caramel creme deliciousness—comfort candy—was exactly what she needed.

“Do you want to buy a PowerPot ticket?” the college-age kid behind the counter asked her as Annie set down her items. “The jackpot prize is up to something like $75 million.”

Annie scoffed. “Do I look like someone who gambles?”

“Oh, sorry, I literally ask anyone who comes in,” he said apologetically. “It’d be pretty cool to win that much money, right?” he continued, scanning her drink and candy.

Guilt washed over Annie as she realized how snappy she had come off. “I’m sorry,” she said hastily. “I didn’t mean to snap at you like that.” Her shoulders sank as she rested one hand on the counter. “I’ve had a pretty shitty day, but that’s not an excuse.”

The kid waved off her apology, making Annie feel the tiniest bit better. “I recognize you. Baked and Blasted, right?” he said as he put her items into a bag.

Annie blushed furiously, wondering if he had clocked all the times she and Caroline had come into the store stoned and in search of munchies. “Uh⁠—”

“Ice cream. You and that other girl—the pretty brunette—usually come in together. She always gets Banana Panic, and you get Baked and Blasted.”

“Oh,” Annie said, realization setting in. “Yeah, I guess we do usually do that.”

Did.

The word echoed in her mind, reminding her that things with Caroline no longer belonged in the present tense. “Did that,” Annie corrected. “She and I broke up.” The words felt foreign and uncomfortable as they left her mouth.

“Bummer, dude. She was hot.”

Annie couldn’t help laughing because it had been the first thing she had thought about Caroline McHenry the first time she saw her, too. “She is, isn’t she?” She paused, holding back what she really wanted to say before ultimately deciding, what the heck? “She’s currently at our house fucking another woman, thinking I have no idea.”

A nervous, astonished smile pulled at the corner of the kid’s mouth as he handed Annie her bag of items. “That’s fucked. This one’s on me.”

Annie took the bag from him, smiling in appreciation.

“She comes in here most mornings for a breakfast sandwich. Want me to accidentally switch her turkey sausage to full-fat sausage?”