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“Really gorgeous,” I said as I touched the surfaces and admired the fine edges. “The rest of the house looks damn shabby compared to this.”
Standing between the kitchen and the living room, I agreed it looked like a before-and-after shot. Same as my life, only with me, it was exactly the other way around. My before was good, hopeful, and glamorous. My after was… well, not that great, to put it mildly.
I am the living room. Dusty, shabby, and barely holding myself together. No wonder Nick preferred Brenda to the mess I am.
I exhaled. Even the coffee tasted bitter, like my life, but the burn was pleasant.
My phone rang, and I was fast to answer. Why was I disappointed that it wasn’t Soren who called me?
I need to get a grip on myself. The guy gave me a kitchen. It’s not as if he has a thing for me or something.
“Hi, Aly.”
“Girl, you won’t believe what happened. It was full-on drama. So, I went out with Greg, the cute Peds doctor I had a thing with, right?”
She kept talking, and I tried my best to listen. I was happy it was not a face call, only an audio call. That way, I could insert an Uhuh now and then and keep going. As much as I tried, I couldn’t focus on this conversation.
“And she slapped me,” I heard Aly say.
“Wait, what?”
“His fiancé. Looks as if he didn’t break up with her. She followed him to my place and then down to the restaurant. She walked in, angry as hell, and slapped me in the face. I have a big ole bruise. I thought Greg liked me. I honestly believed we had something special. I’m so stupid.”
Aly’s voice broke, and she started sobbing.
“He’s at fault. You’re not to blame because he’s a liar.”
“Yana, I was so embarrassed. All the people watched me. They knew I was the mistress, the home wrecker. I’m trailer park trash.”
“You’re not.”
“That’s what he said. She slapped me, and he jumped off the chair, running after her. He said he loved her and that I was only a piece of ass, no one important, trailer park trash. He called me trash. I stood up and ran all the way home.”
My heart broke for Aly. She was a good kid and had bad luck with men. Like the solar creature she was, she had not a touch of darkness in her soul. That’s why she couldn’t see the bad intentions in anyone else. Hearing her like that made me sad.
“I’ll come over.”
“No, I’ll be fine. I cried all night. I’m out of tears. Thank you for being my friend. See you later at work, okay?”
“Drink some coffee and get something to eat. Call me if you need me.”
“Thanks, Yana.”
Why do men think they can play with women’s feelings like this? Greg treated Aly like a piece of meat he could use and discard. It hurt me for her. It made my stomach churn.
Pressing the button on the espresso machine, I made another coffee. With each move, each sound, each time I heard an engine down the street, I nearly jumped, thinking it was Soren.
It was not Soren.
He was gone.
He was not interested in someone like me.
7
YANA
The day at the hospital passed slowly. There were no bad cases, and I was stuck with endless paperwork. Again. Karl came to look for me, and I treated him to a coffee because I owed him.
