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Seb:Whatever, Naomi, whateverrrrrr. It’s just a bit of extra lube.
Oh, wow, how did I get so lucky with this man? I stared at the eye-roll emoji he’d stuck at the end of his last comment as rage bubbled in my throat.God, I really know how to pick them, don’t I?At least we weren’t in an official relationship or anything, but what is it that made me still want to pursue him? Ever since we had sex, his sleaziness has been out of control.Perhaps he feels entitled to act that way since he’s had me? He uses his looks to his advantage and thinks he can get away with this behaviour, but frankly, it’s getting too much, and it’s hindering my feelings from growing further. But then a part of me believes there is hope for us and maybe we’ll work things out.
Without replying, I dressed in a baby-blue shirt dress and Docs to go to the plaza, solo, because I didn’t want Deb to see what I was buying for her. She was staked out on the couch with her fishbowl glass in hand and squished cigarette packet on herchest. I tried not to shake my head on my way out at the empty pinot grigio bottle on the wooden coffee table. There were also coffee ring stains from whoever forgot to use a coaster.
‘Never too early for a beverage, and hangovers can fuck right off,’ Deb said, stopping me in my tracks.
‘I’m going out. I’ll see you later.’ I swivelled to face her and noticed she was still in her pyjamas, which consisted of a black T-shirt (her ex-work one) and yellow polka-dot underpants. Her hair was unbrushed, and I could tell her teeth were too. Yellow marks stained her fingers from all the smoking, and one of her fake nails had snapped off.
‘Where are you heading?’
‘Plaza quickly. Got to run some errands.’ I gave a weak smile as I tried to fight off the nausea from seeing her like this.
She did the captain sign with her hand and sank into the couch, squeezing her eyes shut. Her pale skin and the bags under her eyes were undeniable.
***
Hopefully, I’ll find her such a great present today, it will make things like they used to be,I thought to myself as I drove to the shopping centre.
Ninety minutes later, I was back in the car, smiling at the memory of a pleasant afternoon. I’d window-shopped, with a vanilla latte, and admired pretty things but surprised myself by not buying anything for me.Mum would be proud. Deb’s present from Mecca had been my only purchase. It took a lot of restraint to wander the aisles of that makeup wonderland and only buy for her.
I felt proud of myself for not caving in and self-indulging as I made my way back home. It took the usual thirty-five minutes toget back and park the car. The sound of the sliding door to the garage caught Deb’s attention as I walked through.
‘Hey, chick,’ Deb said as she got off the couch and headed to the fridge.
I walked over and moved past her into the kitchen, glad that her present fit into my bag so I could sneak it in without her noticing. ‘Hey, Deb. How are you feeling?’ I squirted some soap onto my hands and washed them in the sink, then patted them dry with a tea towel.
‘Oh, same old, same old.’ She sighed and opened the fridge door to get a chilled bottle of wine. She glanced at my arms, empty of any shopping bags. ‘Didn’t you buy anything?’
I shook my head. ‘No, nothing that I wanted.’ I smiled a self-satisfied smile. Just as I was about to walk away, I noticed toast crumbs sprinkled all over the kitchen counter. Without thinking twice, I had the multipurpose spray and sponge in hand and was wiping away the crumbs into the bin.
‘Bummer. So, are you going to get kinky with Seb tonight or what?’ She waggled her eyebrows. ‘It’s weird how you haven’t been hanging as much. He was all over you like a rash. What happened?’
‘Nope, it’s that time of the month, so I plan to gush in peace. And I’ve been at work all week, and this is my first day off.’ I paused for emphasis, groaning a little. ‘And he’s also on a pokies spree with Billy.’ I chucked the sponge back into the sink and walked closer to Deb as I leant against the kitchen wall.
‘Pokies, hey?’ Her reddened eyes lit up. ‘Oh, and men don’t care about period blood, honestly …’
I didn’t reply to her comment.Why did everyone always try to talk me into doing things I didn’t want to do?I grasped at a topic to change the subject. ‘How’s job hunting going?’ I asked.
‘Non-existent.’ She flashed me the peace sign. ‘I’m enjoying the slack life.’ I noticed she hadn’t bothered to get her wine glass.She was just slugging it straight from the bottle with her head tilted towards the ceiling. I frowned with concern. Concern for her and also concern that I was about to piss her off again. ‘You used to love working, though,’ I said, crossing my fingers for a reasonable response.
She lowered the bottle from her mouth. ‘I need a break, okay? I’m super stressed about what happened, so get off my case.’ Her ebony eyes flickered with annoyance as she ran her free hand through her greasy, unbrushed hair.
‘Okay.’Shit. Not this again. ‘Sorry, but your drinking is becoming over the top. It’s so hard to see you like this all the time. You know where my dad ended up because of this recklessness.’
She sighed. ‘As I said, I’m stressed. Anyway, did you get my text about picking me up some ciggies? I’ve run out.’
‘Do you have any money?’ My brow shot up in curiosity.
‘Mum transferred me two hundred dollars today, so I’m sweet.’ She stuck her thumb up. ‘She gave into me and is going to pay for me until I find a job.’
I nodded my okay, but inside, I couldn’t help but think of how little Deb paid her own way. Even the car she never used was bought for her. It seemed that her dependency on others to pay for her was only getting worse.
‘Can you pick up my ciggies from the servo, please?’ she asked without even a suck-up smile; it was just a blatant order.
‘I was just out, Deb.’ I glimpsed at her polka-dot undies wedged up her bum as she reached into the fridge to grab a piece of banana bread from her special plate filled with slices she had pre-lathered with butter.
She spun around with her mouth full. ‘Naomi? What the fuck? Please. I’m super stressed out and can’t drive.’
