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After analysing the chart for a few minutes, I decided on the toffee-brown.
Back in my bedroom, I studied my straightened and trimmed brown hair in the mirror. It fell just below my breasts, smelt like a tropical island, and was the silkiest I’d ever seen it. The brown made my eyes look bright blue, not grey, and my face appeared slimmer.Hmm, not bad.
It only took a few seconds before Seb crept back into my mind, and I imagined the sleazy things he’d say to me if he saw me. I shuddered and got mad that he wasn’t as easy to brush off as I thought. He had meant something to me, and I believed he loved me. How stupid of me.
My mind took me back to the movie last night. MaybeLa La Landhadn’t been the best choice because hearing the name Sebastian made me want to cry with humiliation. It was difficult to sit there with my eyes glued to the humongous screen, taking in the storyline, while I was distracted by Seb and his lying ways.
Patrick alternated between sipping his red wine and munching chocolate-coated nuts. He was utterly engaged with every facet of the movie – the colour, the passion, the singing; in fact, he was so involved, he thankfully didn’t notice I was bothered.
It seemed that no matter what I did or where I was, I was reminded of Daniel, Seb, and Debra. You’d think being next to someone as charming as Patrick would make me forget about them, and most of the time I did, but without fail, they crept back into my mind. And I guess everything would’ve hurt even more if Patrick hadn’t come into my life. I was so thankful I had met him.
I think what bothered me the most was how the movie exposed what a lie my relationship with Seb had been. Mia and Sebastian’s relationship failed inLa La Land, but before the failure, there was love. Seb and I weren’t love – we were a lie, a pathetic lie that did nothing to change my opinion of ‘true love’.
If Seb and I were a movie, people would be glad I had the strength to walk away from an awful man. They’d be cheering me and anticipating me getting my happy-ever-after with someone else, but this was the real world, and sometimes you didn’t ride off into a fairy tale at the end. Sometimes, you kissed many toads, and the toads just kept jumping right into your lap.
At this rate, I mused, I might stay single forever, considering I seemed to only attract sleazebags.
I knew it was probably a bad idea, but as I sat on my bed, I grabbed my iPhone and opened Deb’s page on Facebook to check out her GoFundMe for myself. I couldn’t find it –hmm, has she deleted it?All I could see was selfie after selfie after selfie. I closed Facebook and went to Messenger: nothing. What a disappointment that my high school best friend and ex-lover still hadn’t apologised to me even after three days.
And as if on cue, a message notification from Deb popped on the screen.
Deb:Naomi, I am soooo sorry, and I mean, so sorry for what happened. Anyway, I have some good news! I’m moving back to Brisbane, and I found a job! AND, you’re not going to believe this, but you know how everyone always thinks I look older? Well, that sure as shit has paid off because I scored a manager’s position in an Italian restaurant. The sassy bitch is back. Miss you, chicka.
What? A manager’s position? But how will she pull that off with just her waitressing experience?I shook my head and half-smiled imagining the lies she would’ve told to score that position. When she wanted to be, she was a great talker.
Me:I’m still hurt by our fight and you accusing me of sleeping around when you know I’m not like that, if anything, I’m the opposite, and I can’t believe you tried to kiss Seb and grope him. Drunk or not…that’s the lowest thing you’ve ever done to me. I’m supposed to be your best friend.
Deb:OMG, Naomi. I was so upset you ditched me on my birthday, like, you have no idea how much it hurt. I get it, you don’t drink anymore, but I do! I love to drink, and that’ll probably never change. I made a mistake trying to kiss Sebastian, but he’s a disgusting pig anyway and you can do better.
I laughed aloud about her comment saying ‘I could do better’ when only last week she was convincing me to stay with him because he was ‘such a great guy’.Hmm, so calling Seb a disgusting pig justifies her actions and makes it okay for her to kiss and grope the guy I’m seeing?Okay, yes, she was right. He was a pig, but still …Ugh.You do your thing, Deb, sleep around with whoever you please, but don’t touch your best friend’s man or married people.
Me:I want to be civil, and I’m happy you found a job and are moving, that’s great, but I don’t think we can go back to what we were. You hurt me real bad. And I’ve had enough of you using me to drive you everywhere and not appreciating me as a person.
Deb:Look, I know I was wrong. I stuffed up and acted like a shitty friend I was just in a dark place. I was upset and hurt, okay.
There was no point discussing anything further with Deb. Too much had been said and done, and there was no changing that. All I could do was forgive her and move on and hope she learnt some valuable lessons from this experience. Deb and I weren’t ever going to be roommates or best friends again. The trust was broken, and I didn’t see how it could ever be recovered.
Me:Take care, Deb, and good luck with everything.
Deb:You too, chick, all the best.
I lifted my legs onto the bed and sank my head into the pillow as I looked around my lilac-painted room. I stopped when I caught sight of my oakwood bookshelf filled with hundreds of cookbooks. My attention was grabbed by the vibration of my phone in my palm, and as I lifted the screen to my face, my stomach dropped as I saw Seb’s name flash on the screen.
Seb:Miss you.
Arghhh.Is that all you’ve got to say, Seb? ‘Miss you’ with a bloody dot? Not ‘I’m sorry’ or anything?
A surge of anger streamed through my veins, and that message was the final straw. I didn’t want to play his game any longer and didn’t want to be reminded of him ever again. My feet swung off the bed, and I walked to my dressing table. I grabbed the opal necklace and shoved it in my sock drawer where I put his raunchy lingerie (which I’d sell on eBay or Facebook sometime this week). He’d blown his chance of me giving those items back to him.
With a smug grin on my face, I blocked his number, his Facebook, and Instagram account and felt nothing but pleasure.There, that’ll show him.I’m gone, and I’m never, ever coming back, Seb. You blew it, baby.
I swung open my door and walked to the kitchen to fix myself an instant coffee and a banana from the fruit bowl. Seventies music was coming down the hall from Mum’s bedroom, and I couldn’t help but smile. God, it’s peaceful at home. And Carlos, the night owl, was either asleep or playing his computer games.
As I slumped into the dining-room chair, I looked down at the steam rising from my coffee. After letting out a long exhale, I pressed my face into my hands and was mad that I couldn’t look at instant coffee without thinking of Deb. I attempted a sip but couldn’t stomach it, so I tipped it down the sink and put thebanana back into the fruit bowl.Guess cookbooks in bed it is for the day.
On my return, my mind played guessing games on who was calling as my phone began to chime. It’s weird how you don’t hear from people for ages, then you hear from them all at once. Funny that.
The biggest smile spread across my face as I saw Patrick’s name on my phone screen, and my heart quickened as I lifted the phone to my ear.
