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Anger fueled her, and she picked up the phone to dial his number. It went straight to voice mail. Either he had his phone turned off or had blocked her. That jack ass!
Her day switched gears. Since she hadn’t heard from Tristan, she needed to be by herself. She skipped eating with her friends and got back into comfy clothes, knowing that Kristen would be getting back to her as soon as she could.
She wasn’t disappointed.
She was cuddled under a blanket on the couch, binging Netflix, when the smell of pizza filled her nostrils and her best friend’s voice filled her ears. It wasn’t just Kristen, though. Elizabeth was with her. She sat up and forced a smile. Maybe they could help her get out of this funk.
Kristen placed a Diet Coke on the coffee table along with some leftover pepperoni pizza as Elizabeth plopped in the chair. Stacey grabbed a piece and let the delicious flavors fill her mouth.
Kristen’s eyes blazed into hers.They want me to talk.She felt tears rising to the surface.I can’t cry anymore.She kept eating. Maybe she could eat till the tears passed.
Frustration finally got the best of Kristen. “Girl, come on. What exactly happened last night? It seemed like things were going amazingly well at your party.”
Was her party just two days ago? Did she really tell him she loved him? She buried her face in her hands. Why did she do that? Ugg!
“Okay, what’s going on inside that head of yours?” Elizabeth asked.
“Yeah, there’s something big. I can smell it.” Kristen leaned forward and laid her hand on Stacey’s knee.
Dammit, Kristen!Stacey caved and found herself spilling everything. The feelings she had for Tristan, the feelings he said to have for her. Their amazing night, and the meeting of Doctor Bitchy, who was really his amazing Aunt Elie.
“What?” Kristen’s mouth almost hit the floor.
Stacey’s eyes were wide. “I know. Picture how shocked I was when I saw her there and realized he kept that from me. I was so mad, I asked him to bring me home.” She searched her friends’ faces. They were exchanging glances.
Kristen spoke up. “Stace, we don’t hear that he said anything wrong.”
Stacey’s heart fell. “He lied.” Tears streamed down her face. “I trusted him, gave him my heart, and he threw it back at me. I thought he was different.” She shook her head, and her voice came out in a whisper. “I was wrong.”
“Oh, Stace.” Kristen’s voice was filled with concern. “We know he lied. Or, you see it as a lie. But was it really? Could it have been he just didn’t know how to tell you?”
“Yeah,” Elizabeth added. “From what we saw Friday night, you two are great together. He made you shine in a way I’ve never seen before.”
“Really, Liz? I figured you’d understand. You, of all people, know the importance of trust and how much it hurts when that trust is broken.”
Elizabeth’s face creased. “What do you mean? Me, of all people?”
“Last year, you were ready to raise Grant on your own, without Brady. You left him because of his stupidity. He broke your trust.”
Elizabeth shook her head. “That’s far from the truth, Stacey. Yeah, I was ready to leave him and willing to walk away from what we had, but the circumstances were a bit different. He cheated. His lies affected our family. We had to start over and figure things out. Tristan didn’t cheat.”
God, she was hurting. He didn’t cheat. He lied. She couldn’t hold the tears back anymore, and the dam broke. Kristen and Elizabeth wrapped her in a hug and let her cry. Finally, with her face wet and snotty, she unwrapped herself from their cocoon and accepted the napkin from Elizabeth. Her eyes met Kristen’s. “I trusted him. I…” She couldn’t finish.
Kristen held her again. “I know, but Stacey, he made a mistake. He’s human. It’s going to happen. Don’t compare him to all those jerks you’ve dated in the past. He’s nothing like them. And he’s nowhere near the shit rating of Carl.” Kristen held Stacey at arm’s length and held her gaze. “I think you both need to talk things out.”
Stacey nodded. “I know, and I agree. After I got home and had time to think, I realized I overreacted a little and tried to call him, but he’s been ignoring me. He hasn’t called back or sent me a message.” She let out a big breath. “That proves he knows he screwed up and refuses to do anything about it.” She looked at her friends. She was hurt, but it was much more than just that. She was also upset, pissed, and irritated.
“Maybe he just needs time also, Stace,” said Elizabeth. “There’s probably a perfectly good reason he hasn’t gotten back with you.”
Stacey’s breathing calmed, and she nodded. When she spoke, her voice came out in a whisper. “I know. You’re right.” She was so glad they were here. “Thanks, y’all.”
Stacey jumped out of bed Monday morning before her alarm went off, eager to get to work. A change of scenery and the reliability of chaos and action of work seemed like a great way to get her mind on something else. She never heard from Tristan yesterday, but Kristen and Elizabeth helped her try and keep her mind off things. They watched a couple ofHarry Pottermovies until it was late, and she had to get to bed.
“Hi, Stacey.” Nancy said. “Do you have a minute? I need to talk to you before you start your day.”
“Sure. What’s up?” Stacey took her coffee and joined Nancy at the table.
Nancy’s face was lit up. “Well, it seems like you left a great impression at your interview Friday.”
