AllFreeNovel
Share Us
God, I miss her. It’s been a full week since I’ve talked to Leighton. Seven full days and it’s the longest we’ve ever gone without speaking. Well, it’s the longest she’s gone without speaking to me. I’ve texted her and called her and left her voicemails. Sent her emails to her school email and her personal Gmail. I’ve left messages with Skyler and Peyton and sent her flowers and pizza and Georgetown Cupcake that I’m pretty sure her roommates ate before she even saw them. I sent her balloons because even though they don’t necessarily say I’m sorry, she loves them and they make her happy, and I’ve been praying that it would make her smile, if only for a moment.
A smile, I would have caused.
I’m sitting on my couch, holding a bottle of whiskey under my arm when Pat comes in.
“You been here all day?” It’s a Saturday, and I have no plans to leave this couch in the immediate future. I managed to go to all my classes and practice and go through the motions of my life, all while feeling the absence of Leigh on my heart and in my mind and in my soul. I feel her like a phantom limb every time I move, so deeply that my body physically aches for her.
“Yep,” I tell him as I unscrew the cap and take another long swig.
“You want to go out?” I shoot him a look and raise an eyebrow at him before turning the channel to SportsCenter. “Want me to see if the girls are going out?”
“I doubt it. It’s been social media silence from the three of them all week and it’s driving me crazy. Skyler posted her freaking Starbucks latte yesterday and I about fell off my chair when my phone chirped with the alert.”
“You have all three of them set up with alerts?” He shoots me an incredulous look.
“Sure do.” I put up a hand. “Save it. I want to see her, and if the only way I can is through their eyes, then so be it.”
“Why not just show up at her house?” He shrugs.
“She asked for space.”
“So?”
“So, I should respect that. She doesn’t want me to fight for her. Not now. She doesn’t know what she wants.”
“She wants you, E. Anyone can see that.”
“Maybe not with all my fucking baggage.” I sigh.
He doesn’t say anything before kicking his shoes off and pulling out his phone. “You want pizza?”
I’m lying on the couch, staring at the television as I round hour seven of FRIENDS. Or maybe hour eight? I pull the blanket up around my neck and take a deep breath, trying to will the pain, the nausea, the sadness away. I try to turn my brain off to focus on my favorite show when the door swings open and Skyler walks in. Peyton is on the adjacent loveseat, watching alongside, though I think she’s fallen asleep. When Skyler turns on the light and I wince at the burst of illumination just as Peyton whines.
“Why are you guys sitting in the pitch black?”
“It’s not. I have a candle lit.” I point at our only source of light other than the TV that smells like April rain and spring and happier times.
“Turn it off, I was napping!” Peyton demands.
“It’s six-thirty. Peyton, don’t you think we should go out?”
“Ugh, Leighton and I decided to have a lazy weekend.” She says as she snuggles further into her blanket.
“Exactly,” I say from my place on the couch. “Go hang with Aidan.”
“Oh, what? I’m not invited? That’s bullshit.” She plops on the sofa next to me and pulls her jacket off. “I just came from hanging out with Aidan. I figured we’d do something tonight.”
“Well, this is what I plan on doing,” I say as I point at the television.
“Everett leave any more gifts today?” She looks at Peyton and then around the room to see if he’d sent anything else. I have at least three dozen assorted flowers around the room that I don’t have the heart to throw away…but I also don’t have the stomach to keep them in my room either. All his gifts do is remind me that we aren’t speaking. That he’s left a huge hole in my chest that I’ve spent a week trying to fill.
Speaking of which.
“Are there any more cupcakes?” I look up and Skyler and Peyton share a look. “Did you guys eat the rest?”
“I’ll order you more!” Skyler says, opening up her phone and frantically pressing some buttons, probably because she assumes I’m pissed that she and Peyton tore into my treats that Everett sent.
“Don’t bring that shit in here. I had to work out another hour every day this week thanks to those little fuckers.”
