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Chapter Three
TARA
ASHLEY POKED HER FRIEND ON the arm as she nudged her. “Tara, girl, you gotta stop obsessing. Stalking your ex isn’t going to help you move on.”
“But… but… why’s he so damn happy anyway? What the hell does she have that I don’t?”
“Um… let’s see… a life?” Ashley grabbed her sweater off the back of her chair and chucked it across the room, landing it on her couch cushion.
“I just don’t understand.” Tara took a sip of her coffee and let out a long sigh. “He told me he was fine with my lifestyle when I first started. He thought it was a great career, working for myself. What changed? Why’d he choose this slut over me?”
She pointed to a picture of Rowan’s new girlfriend, wearing a summer dress and flashing a pearly white smile that could blind anyone who wasn’t careful.
Rowan didn’t care much for social media… which was why Tara struggled for weeks trying to find out what he was up to. It wasn’t until one of her fans, no less obsessive than her, sent her a link to Faith Auburn’s page did she discover that he’d been shacking it up with some woman in Boston ever since she moved out.
“He didn’t even have the balls to tell me he was leaving New York. How dare he?!” she had said when she found out, though, no one seemed to side with her, only a few of her followers.
“Could be because she’s not as obsessed with her image and social media,” Ashley responded. She glared over Tara’s shoulder, looking at the same picture she was. “I mean, look at her. She barely posts once a week, and she has no problem walking out without a face covered in makeup. She’s just an average girl. Didn’t you tell me it’s what Rowan always wanted?”
Tara gave her a deadly glare. “Whose side are you on anyway?”
“Whoa, whoa, don’t come after me! I didn’t break your heart.” Ashley threw her arms in the air and stepped back. “All I’m saying is, maybe if you step away from social media once in a while, you won’t run into this problem again. Believe it or not, not everyone is as obsessed with the Internet as you are.”
“Ashley! Stop! You’re supposed to be supporting me! Not judging me! You’re supposed to be my friend!”
“Alright, fine, fine. I’m sorry. But it’s really hard supporting someone who spends fifteen hours a day stalking their ex. Why don’t you start with putting the phone down?”
She reached over and tried to grab Tara’s phone from her hands, but she had to learn the hard way that that just wasn’t going to happen.
“Back off!” Tara hissed at her friend and pushed back her chair. She stood up, fingers still swiping through Faith’s photos, and sat herself down on the couch, eyes never leaving the screen. “Besides, I haven’t streamed in weeks. I’ve lost thousands of followers who expect me to be there for them, and here I am chasing after some man I don’t even like anymore, and my life is nothing but a big, FAT MESS!”
She threw her phone down, grabbed a throw pillow, and smothered her face under it. “I had everything! A rich husband. Fans, fucking fans! And the life I’ve always wanted. And now, look at me! I’m a loser, a dried-up hack sleeping on my best friend’s couch, and I’ll forever be alone. Forever!”
Ashley stood up from her chair and walked over to the couch to console her friend. She placed her mug on the coffee table in front of her and rested a hand on Tara’s leg.
“No, honey, you’re not a loser. You’re just going through a rough patch right now. You’ve been so consumed by the Internet that you feel lost without it, and lost without a man dangling off your arm. But trust me, it’ll get better. I promise.”
Tara shifted the pillow from her face. “You sure?”
Ashley nodded. “But first, you need to take a serious shower and change your clothes.”
Getting up on her feet, Tara walked over to the small mirror hanging by the front door. Her friend was right. The stained sweatpants, smeared makeup, and tangled hair weren’t doing anyone any favors. She brushed a strand of her blonde hair away from her mouth, tugging at it gently to release it from the crusted lipstick still decorating her lips.
“Yeah, maybe you’re right. Maybe I did let myself go.”
“Of course, I’m right! And after you clean yourself up, we’re getting you in some guy’s bed. Forget about Rowan. Fuck the memories away, and when you wake up again, you’ll be back to your old self.”
Tara gave her a skeptical look, one eyebrow raised much higher than the other. “I don’t know… Ash. I’ve done those dating sites before I married Rowan, and nothing but trouble ever came out of th—”
“No, no, no! It’s different!” Ashley ran over to the kitchen counter and grabbed her phone. “It’s new. A coworker was talking about it during lunch the other day. It’s purely for hookups. No strings attached. You literally meet up, bang it out, and you’ll never have to see each other again… unless you want to, of course.”
“I don’t know… what if someone doesn’t play by the rules? I’m really not in the mood for another crazy ex.”
“Trust me, Tara, nothing bad will happen. It’s all for fun. Everyone on the app knows it. It’s a win-win!” She winked. “Besides, I may have tested out the waters a couple times.”
“You?!” Tara exclaimed. “I thought you had such a huge crush on Mark that no one could ever replace him!”
A blush washed over Ashley’s face as she turned her eyes slightly away. “And no one ever can. Doesn’t mean I have to be celibate while waiting around for him to notice me. Ah, Mark…” She propped her chin onto the palm of her hand, and her elbow onto one arm of the couch. “How can I ever replace those sexy brown eyes and that chiseled chin?” Her face blanked, and her voice fell silent as her thoughts drifted elsewhere.
