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Chapter 1 - Audrey
I ruffled around my bed in a futile attempt to get some sleep. Physically, I was beyond tired.
I had been alternating between incessant motions aimed at tiring me out, and complete immobility, hoping my body would fade and collapse into the pleasant world of dreams. But sleep had fled from me, abandoned me.
A part of me feared that my dreams wouldn’t be as pleasant as I imagined. What if they simply reenacted the events of the previous night, precipitating all the emotions swirling around me into the only land of rest I knew?
One thing was certain: I wasn’t going to be getting any sleep tonight.
I sat up sluggishly and caught the rays of daybreak streaming from the slits of my window into my room.
I really didn’t sleep all night,I said to myself as I sank back into the bed exhausted.
My alarm blared, thrusting me into alertness, and I immediately turned it off. I sighed and scratched my head. My body was overcome by fatigue and I felt my heart sinking. I needed to get my mind off things.
Fortunately, it was a Saturday and I could use the day to get myself back together. At least, enough to go to work on Monday.
Work—that place would only remind me of him, but what choice did I have? I needed the money.
I drew my pillow into a cuddle and buried my head in it, hoping the pain would vanish as well. Tears threatened to fall but I held my breath. I couldn’t let this get to me.
This weekend was going to be a long one, that was for sure.
Faintly, I heard a doorbell ring. Opening my eyes, I groaned and rose up in a daze. To my surprise, I had fallen asleep. I guessed my worries had lulled me to slumber at last.
I let out a yawn and passed from my bedroom into the living room. As I approached the front door, a thought came to mind: what if it was Jeremy at the door? I staggered back. I wasn’t ready to see him, wasn’t even prepared to turn him down. Every single part of me was terrified of an encounter.
“Audrey, darling! Are you there? Are you alright?” the familiar voice of Charlotte, marked by her British accent, rang from behind the door.
“Oh, Charlotte!” I called out to her and opened the door. As soon as the door was unlocked, she stormed in. Her signature aquatic scent wafted into my nostrils as she passed me. She tossed her backpack at one of the chairs and walked anxiously toward me.
“Are you alright? I heard the news from Ben this morning. I thought Claire was supposed to—”
“Slow down, please.” I sighed and fell into my couch.
She took a deep breath and asked, “How are you holding up?”
“Terribly, so far. I couldn’t sleep last night.”
“Yeah, I can imagine. Had breakfast yet?”
Charlotte dropped two McDonald’s bags on the center table and sat herself down on an adjacent seat. My mind had been in a flurry so I hadn’t noticed the bags in her hand or the dark circles under her eyes. No doubt she must’ve pulled another all-nighter working on one project or the other. Charlotte was one of my best friends, and even though she was the busiest between the two of us, she’d always had my back since our time in college. I took my time to observe her and I realized from her appearance that she must have rushed down here from her academic work. There was always one way I could tell Charlottehadn't had or taken much time to dress up and that was the condition of her hair. Many people would be fooled by the neat sky blue linen shirt and jeans she was wearing—she actually often carried a change of clothes with her—or the refreshing fragrance that wrapped her, but what gave her away for me was her hair, which was packed into a messy ponytail. She loved to carry her hair straight and well parted and if it ever deviated from that, you could be sure her schedule was driving her crazy.
“I got you your favorite, egg bacon biscuit sandwich. I know how much you love them.” Charlotte shot a warm smile at me. “So are you going to tell me what happened?”
In the end, I had hoped she wouldn’t ask, but I could understand her curiosity. My understanding still did nothing to make the recollection less painful.
I took a bite of the sandwich while Charlotte took a monk pose and crossed her legs, completely making herself at home. Her almond-shaped brown eyes, aquiline in nature, fixed themselves on me, simply waiting and searching. I knew what it was she wanted and it was always better if I related everything to her at once.
“It’s Jeremy,” I began slowly, my voice subtly quivering as I spoke. “I-I found him at Mango’s last night with another woman. He told me he’d be very busy this weekend and wouldn’t be able to see me, and I foolishly believed him... Anyway, at Claire’s insistence, I followed her to the club at last. She’s been inviting me since the year began and I finally gave in, you know. Maybe I shouldn’t have gone. Well, I went with her, only for me to catch Jeremy there!”
I burst into tears. The memory was too painful to bear. The image of Jeremy traced itself in the air as I spoke, along with the cold, indifferent way he had regarded me when I’d confronted him.
“And what about you? What are you doing here?” he had asked calmly after a minute of silence, as his lips curved into a sardonic smile. Somehow, he had shifted the blame, the weight of the entire problem, onto me. He always liked doing that.
“So, what did you do?” Charlotte asked, her face full of sympathy.
“What do you think? I threw the ring at him and left the place.” I stood and went to the kitchen to fix myself a cup of coffee, with Charlotte following closely behind. “Care for some coffee?” I asked her. She shook her head.
