AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My eyes flicked back over to the boring tan page with the plain font. It promised a six-week course that would prepare you for a real estate career. Real estate? I tried to imagine myself selling a house to a new family, picturing the open house signs and homemade cookies people wouldn’t eat. I’d read in a magazine once that realtors used baked goods to make houses smell more like homes.
“Amanda!” another barista called from the counter.
I looked over my shoulder to see them setting the cup down and balancing a straw on the lid. Before I realized it, I had tugged at the flyer, ripping it from the bulletin board. I crumpled it in my hand and shoved it into my purse. Quickly grabbing my coffee from the counter, I rushed out the door.
Real estate.
Chapter four
Amanda
“So I quit my job today,” I said, taking the pile of fabric swatches from my best friend’s hands—the ones intended to be color choices for the bridesmaid dresses for her wedding. Mackenzie’s jaw dropped, and behind her, Bryson choked.
“You what?” my brother shouted, slamming his hand and the glass he was holding onto the countertop. I cringed.
I knew he was going to be mad when I told him. Really, I didn’t blame him. Who just quits their job without any notice or a new job lined up? But I had a plan. “I said I quit my job,” I repeated confidently.
Mackenzie set the wedding planning book that had hardly left her hands in the last few months on the kitchen table. She looked concerned, like she thought I’d lost my mind. “What happened?” she asked.
“I got bored.” I shrugged, and my brother groaned.
“You don’t just quit your job because you get bored, Amanda,” he said. “Do you have another job? Or a plan at all? There’s no magic crystal you can just stuff in your pocket that stops you from getting evicted from your house.”
I glared at him, ignoring his remark. He always made fun of the crystals around my house. “Of course I have a plan, asshole,” I snapped. But did I really?
Mackenzie scooted forward on her seat, preparing to take the position of peacemaker. It had become her new role since she got engaged to my older brother—she was the only one who knew she could calm us both down in an instant. She put her hand on Bryson’s arm.
“It’s Amanda. You know she has probably been planning this for months.” I didn’t miss the slight twinge in her voice thinking I’d been making big life changes without her.
I swallowed, debating if I should tell him I quit my job minutes after I reached into my purse for a piece of gum and felt the crumpled-up flyer from the coffee shop. He would be infuriated to know I stood up at that moment, walked into my boss’s office, and quit.
“Actually, I didn’t have a plan,” I said anyway.
“What the fuck, Amanda?” he yelled. Next to him Mackenzie cringed, dropping her head into her hand and giving it a small shake. “Are you trying to ruin your life?”
I glared at him, standing up from the table quick enough that the chair behind me toppled to the ground. Mackenzie winced at the loud clatter. “No! I’m trying to live it!”
When Bryson stepped forward, Mackenzie stood up. She put her hands on his chest. “Why don’t you just let her explain?”
“Fine,” he huffed. Then he looked at me over her shoulder. “Explain.”
I considered leaving and not telling him anything. It wasn’t his life to judge. He was my brother, though, and besides Mackenzie, he was my best friend. “I’m bored, Bryson, and then I thought Dallas was proposing—”
“Wait, what?” Mackenzie interrupted, whipping around to face me. “Dallas proposed to you? When? Where? How?” She grabbed my left hand, pulling it towards her and inspecting it for new diamonds that weren’t there.
I yanked my hand back from her. “No.”
“You said no?” She sounded surprised, almost appalled.
“No! He wasn’t proposing!” When the room fell silent, I realized I’d yelled. My heart was racing in my chest, and I was breathing harder. It felt like my body was vibrating, and I planted my hands on the table in front of me to stop them from shaking. “It’s a long story. He was just tying his shoe.”
Bryson stifled a laugh, and I blinked back a thin layer of tears that welled in my eyes. I took three deep breaths in through my nose, letting them slowly out through my mouth. When it felt like my heart rate was under control again, I stood up. I could do this.
“Look. I’m bored, okay? I wake up every day and go to the same boring job and do the same boring things, and I just…” I grabbed the strap of my purse and dragged it across the table towards me, digging into it. I pulled out the crumpled flyer, flattened it out, and handed it to him. “I’m going to do this.”
“Commercial real estate?” Bryson asked, handing the sheet of paper to Mackenzie. “Why?”
I shrugged. “At first I kind of pictured myself selling a house to a new family, and then one thing led to the next. I think it sounds fun and challenging. I think I would be good at it.” And if I fail, Dallas can take care of me. I wouldn’t admit that backup plan because I refused to fall back on it.
