AllFreeNovel
Share Us
SADIE
Tuesday morning, Ward and I stood in silence next to each other on the train on our way to work. Pulling the lapels of my raincoat tighter, I tried to fight off the chill seeping into my bones. The weather the last few days matched my mood: dreary. It started raining Sunday with no sign of letting up anytime soon.
I used to love the hustle and bustle of living in New York. When I first got here everything seemed bright and exciting. Now, everything about the city felt grimy and inconvenient and anonymous. As if to drive my point home, a man in a suit and trench coat got on at our current stop and stood so close to me his pelvis rubbed up against my hip. He stared down at his phone, pretending he wasn’t grinding his junk on me.
I hadn’t missed gross dudes on the subway, that was for sure.
I’d gone to my appointment last night. It would be a few days before I got my results back. After agonizing over it all day yesterday, I’d come to my decision in the early morning hours before dawn. I shuffled over to the other side of Ward, dreading what I needed to tell him. I knew he’d support me, but the fear of closing this chapter of my life was a living, breathing thing, pulsing in my stomach. We were getting close to our stop though, and I needed to warn him before we actually got to the office. God only knew how things were going to go down at HypeKey today when I confronted Eirin.
I cleared my throat. “I’m going to quit today.”
“Finally.” He rolled his eyes and pocketed his phone, giving me his full attention. “I was starting to wonder if you were ever going to get there.”
I gave him a playful punch. “You’re supposed to be sad that your work wife is leaving you.”
“Sadie, of course I’ll miss you.” He cupped a hand on my shoulder. “But come on, our job is ridiculous. I do this for shits and giggles to kill time while Mike is at work. And because I love celebrity gossip. But honestly, Eirin went too far this time. My plan was to stick around until you came to terms with what you really want and then quit once you did too.”
I let out a disbelieving laugh. “And what if I didn’t come around?”
He gave me a sardonic look. “I think we both know I can be quite persuasive when I need to be.”
A reluctant smile tipped up the sides of my mouth. “Thank you for the tough love the other night.” I bumped my shoulder into his.
Ward was right. I had been using this job as an excuse to keep from putting down roots anywhere. It was time to let go of this crutch and move on to something new. Also, Eirin had crossed a major line this time, and I wasn’t going to be the kind of person who stuck around after something like that.
“You’re welcome, and I’m glad you came around. You had me worried you were never going to speak to me again.”
I’d kept to myself all day yesterday and had been silent as we got ready and headed into work this morning. Deep in thought about my plan. “I’m going to go back to Kelly Bay and explain things to him.” Saying the words out loud was both terrifying and liberating.
“That’s my girl. When are you leaving?”
“I don’t know. I need to save up for a plane ticket. Which might take a minute since I’m about to quit my job.” I laughed. “This is insane.”
“I got you covered, baby girl.” He whipped out his phone. “Oof, how far is it from Detroit to Kelly Bay?”
“Like a four-hour drive? I don’t know. I was kind of delirious by the time I got past Detroit on my drive in, and I sobbed the whole time on the drive back.”
“Okay. So we probably don’t want you getting in at eleven p.m. tonight. It’s looking like we’re going to have to do tomorrow morning.”
“You can’t buy my plane ticket.”
“I can, and I am. And I’m getting you a rental car to drive from Detroit.” He tapped away on his phone. “Reserved.”
“Ward!”
“Sadie!”
Our stare-down lasted all of five seconds.
“You know I love a grand gesture and I’ve always wanted to play fairy godmother.” He raised a brow at me, daring me to contradict him.
“You’re ridiculous.” I swiped the tears gathering at the corner of my eyes.
“You love it. Besides, this will give us time to plan the perfect outfit for when you see him again.”
“Yeah? What outfit says, ‘I love you but also, I’m a coward, and I’m sorry I ran away’?”
“Your red sequined minidress and a pair of fuck-me heels.”
I rolled my eyes. “You think that dress is the answer to everything.”
“You wear that dress and he’s not going to care about what words are coming out of your mouth.”
The train pulled into our stop. “Come on. This is us. Come watch me flush my job down the toilet so I can try to start fresh with a man who probably doesn’t even want me.”
“Such a poet and an optimist.” He laughed. “Anyone ever tell you that you should have been a writer?”
