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Blair’s passively blank expression worried me. Something was boiling underneath the composed exterior. Could it be family problems? To this day, she hadn’t opened up about that newly discovered teenager her father apparently had spawned from one of his pastsecretaries.
We all had different crosses to bear. Though she had her family intact, problems riddled them constantly. Rich or poor, life’s intricate problems affected each one of us differently. As time went on, we learned to pick ourselves up and get out of bed instead of hitting the snooze button. Smile through the troubles and pray we’d overcome this hardship in onepiece.
Reaching out across the matte coffee table, I lightly gave her hand an encouraging squeeze. “I’m here, too. We’re here for you. Whatever it is, we’ll getthroughit.”
Blair smiled, although her eyes evoked another emotion. “You’ve been through a great deal yourself. You’re spent, and I appreciate you more for offering a shoulder to cry on when you’re not feeling thegreatest.”
“That’s what we do. The three of us stick together. Come what may,remember?”
“Come what may,” she quietly responded, thankful for thereminder.
“Sticking to our old adage, on that very same note…” Vivienne sassily murmured as she rummaged through her leather tote and pulled out hercellphone.
Unlocking her device, she then handed it to me. “I have somethingforyou.”
Baffled, I took hold of the phone before cautiously peeking at her. “Is this one of those funny memes you found on Instagramagain?”
Her lightly glossed lips pressed together, pale blue eyes saddened, shaking her head. “No, sweetkins. More like motivation…or an encouraging reality check ofsometype.”
My palms perspired as I dauntingly glanced down at the screen. It was a video with Jared’s face as its thumbnail. After tapping on the phone’s fiberglass protector, Jared St. James came to life beforemyeyes.
It was set in a restaurant. Vivienne sat ten tables away, but she zoomed in on him, anyway. Casually dressed in a light blue dress shirt, he was beaming at the woman before him. With her back facing Vivienne’s sneaky camera, I couldn’t catch a glimpse of her features. He was laughing at something, his eyes dancing, right hand extending to take hold of hers. He then brought it to his lips, kissing it before he brought it back down, resting their hands on the table,entwined.
Then it ended. As didmymood.
I stared at the screen while emotions ran riotwithinme.
He’s happy, I starkly noted throughout thevideo.
“What did you do this time, you idiot!” Blair scowled atVivienne.
Mechanically, I carefully placed the phone down on the coffee table. My hearing dulled. My vision was perfect, and yet, I saw nothing butblackness.
“Don’t be rude!” she snapped back, indignant. “I’m doing her a favor! How can you stand another day of seeing her like everything that’s going on is an out of body experience? She’s like a fucking zombie. She doesn’t go out. Okay, yeah, sure, she works out, but that’s just an excuse so she goes home dead tired. She’s pushed Wyatt out and even us, too. It’s unhealthy. She’s been in denial for so long she doesn’t know anything better. It’s time she lets go. Jared’s in love with that woman. You should’ve seen the way they were with each other. It’s disgusting, and to think my beautiful, loyal best friend’s heartbroken, silently wallowing in her pain. It angers me so much. If it weren’t for my date holding me down last night, I’d have poured my champagne all over that pieceofshit.”
“Fuck, Viv, you have the worst timing in the world. She has a linear algebra test in an hour. It’s not okay. Look at her, for fuck’s sake. She’s barely hanging in there. Jesus, choose your moment to shatter her worldnexttime.”
Mustering courage, I timidly stared at my worried friends. “I’m fine—I mean, I’ll be fine. I’ll ace that test; you both know it.” Directing my eyes towards Vivienne, I granted her a grateful look. “Don’t feel bad. I know you did this for me, and I can only love you more for it. I guess this is the confirmation I needed really…He’s happy. I won’t begrudge anyone their happiness. We all deserve to experience it one way or the other. So, don’t worry about me. I’ve lost my parents. Losing Jared’s not at all surprising. I’m usedtoit.”
My loved ones always left me, so it was best I got used to being alone. This ordeal had taught me to never depend on a man to complete me because I’d be met withdisappointment.
I would get over him someday, and when that day finally happened, I wouldn’t everlookback.
