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He laughs as he says, "I missed you, Iz."
And I'm not sure why, but the words strung together sound like magic.
Chapter 14
The stuffy dressing room feels cramped as I try on a new blouse. A new blouse that's way too expensive. But Ava insisted.
I deposited my first check yesterday after work. And, after handing half of it over to Mom and Dad to cover rent, food, and babysitting (they protested, of course), I have enough left to pay my cell phone bill, buy Brianna some winter clothes, and get myself a few dressy outfits for work.
"Hurry up!" Ava yells on the other side of the door.
"Yeah," Brianna's little voice giggles. "Hurry up, Mommy!"
I reach for a pair of black slacks Ava also insisted I try on and quickly slip into them. As I stare at myself in the mirror, I don't see someone drowning in despair anymore. I don't see the old me. The one who had dark circles under her eyes. The one who wore worry and exhaustion like a shawl. The one who needed a break.
I see someone who's starting to get her life together.
It feels good.So good.
But then I remember why I'm doing so well.
Because Mom, Dad,andBrady are helping me. And by helping, I mean housing me, taking care of my daughter, and paying me a ridiculous salary with ridiculous benefits.
"Are you ready?" I holler.
"Yes!" I hear Brianna shriek.
I unlock the door and pull it open. Brianna jumps off the little red couch in the waiting area and claps her hands together.
"You have to twirl, Mommy!" she instructs.
"Yeah, twirl for us," Ava winks at Brianna.
I awkwardly twirl for my daughter and sister. "Do we like it?"
Ava stands and walks over to me. "You look great, Iz. You should get it."
"I just..." I trail off as I stare at the price tag. I can't afford this. I need a cheap retail store. Not Ava's friend's expensive and bougie Boutique on Main.
"You can't keep wearing clothes that don't fit you," she gives me an encouraging smile. "You deserve this."
"I feel guilty," I say quietly as Brianna dances with the doll Brady gifted her when she was sick. "I still owehimmoney for the clothes he paid for."Himas in Brady Cohen.
"And you will pay Brady back when you have all your finances sorted out," Ava frowns. "Why is this bothering you so much? It's Brady. He's like a...an oil stain on the driveway. He's not going anywhere anytime soon. You have time to pay him back. Don't stress about it. Besides, he's like a billionaire or something. It's not like he's hurting for money."
I hate when people tell me not to stress. Stressing is literally part of my DNA.
"When I married Steve," I lick my lips, "I was so convinced it would work out. I wasn't marrying the love of my life, but I was marrying my best friend. That was supposed to...it was supposed to work out. And it just didn't."
"So?" Ava tilts her dark head to the side. "Where is this going?"
"So, I didn't see myself coming home to the asshole who broke my heart and needing him to help me get my life back together."
"Youare getting your life back together.Youare putting in the work. And you didn't come home to him. You came home to us—your family."
"I didn't mean it that way," I blow out a tired breath. "Brady handed me my job on a silver platter. He didn't even look at my resume. I'm usinghismoney to buy this outfit."If I buy it.
"Iz," Ava bites her lower lip, "you earned that money fair and square."
