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Something to help ease my troubled mind.
But all Aiden did was show me that when times get rough, we both fall apart.
Chris drives us back to Sarah’s house. My legs are cradled to my chest while I rock back and forth. I can’t cry anymore, but I’m sure if there were any tears left, I’d be a blubbering mess.
We pull into the driveway, and Chris manages to help me from the car, then ushers me inside the house. We walk past Sarah, and Chris shakes his head.
She frowns, rushing to my side. “Jeni, are you all right? Is there anything I can get you?”
I don’t reply, merely curling up on the sofa into a ball.
It hits me hard—I’m no longer with Aiden, we’ve officially broken up.
Numb, emotionless, and weak, I lay on the soft cushions. Sarah pulls down the blanket placing it over me as I zone out. She walks into the kitchen with Chris, and I overhear them whispering.
“What happened?”
“He was wasted. The idiot blew it.”
“What does that mean?”
“She broke it off with him.”
Sarah sighs as the landline rings, and she answers it. “Hello… hey, Aiden, I heard. How are you doing?” she asks. “Yeah, I think she means it. I’m sorry,” she offers, then I hear Chris take the phone. He starts to talk to Aiden, but I tune him out. Nausea washes over me, my body shaking. I’m overwhelmed and certainly not myself. Taking in a deep, slow, steadying breath, I try to bring myself back to something that resembles normal. The weight slightly lifts, and I hear Chris hang up the phone.
“It sounds like he’s a mess,” Sarah says quietly.
“You’ve no idea,” Chris replies.
I sit up on the sofa as my stomach lurches, my heart races, my mouth flooding with saliva. I stand and take off, racing to the bathroom, getting there just in time to expel the bile from my mouth into the bowl. I cough and splutter, my stomach twists and turns making me continually dry retch. I have no control over my body right now, and I feel like I’m losing a fight with my mind. Sarah’s hand touches my back, letting me know she’s there, comforting me while I continue to heave.
“Jeni, it’s going to be all right. Let it all out.” She rubs my back ever so gently.
I try to catch my breath and calm down. Eventually, my stomach starts to settle. I turn and slide down next to the bowl with my head in my hands. Sarah sits opposite me in the small room but says nothing, simply resting her hand on my knee in support. Eventually, we make our way to the bedroom.
She stays with me the entire night. The time passes slowly as I daze in and out of some sort of zombified state.
Eventually morning comes, and I wake to Sarah fiddling with my hair. I take in a deep breath and sit up slowly.
“Morning.” Sarah’s looks at me with her brows furrowed. The door of the bedroom creaks open, and Chris comes in to check on us.
“Morning,” I mumble to them both. “Sorry, Sarah,” I say, feeling guilty for keeping her here with me for the entire night.
“Hey, that’s what best friends are for.”
We both stand, and she walks with me arm in arm to the dining room where we take a seat.
“Thank you. I mean i
t.”
I feel slightly better than I did last night. At least my stomach isn’t churning, and although my chest is still hurting, my heart isn’t thudding out of control. Chris brings us both a cup of coffee and sits with us at the table.
Sarah takes my hand in hers. “Now that you have decided to end things with Aiden, have you thought about what you’re going to do? Maybe you should contact ADF and see if your old position is available? You need something to occupy your mind?”
My body sinks a little. “I think that’s a good idea, but I am pretty sure the position’s been filled. I have some savings, but that’s not going to last,” I reply.
The landline rings again, and Chris gets up to answer. “I told you to call my phone, man,” Chris grumbles sternly. “Shit, sorry. Yes, of course, she’s right here. I’ll put her on.” He pulls a funny face and mouths, ‘sorry.’ “Jeni, it’s your mom.”
