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CHAPTER1
Rose
The door slams shut behind me, and I jump as my heart races in my chest.
Damn that ever-present cross breeze that flows like a wind tunnel between the open bedroom window and the front entrance of my condo.
Logically, there’s no reason to get startled; this happens all the time. Yet, given the overwhelming day I’ve had, my frayed nerves can’t help but react.
“Tony, we really need to fix that door,” I mumble absently, placing a small box of my personal things onto a high, white stool by the kitchen island.
No response comes from the callout to my live-in lover, and my cheeks warm immediately. Of course there’s no answer.
That’s because Tony’s not here,I remind myself, swallowing the growing lump in my throat.He left yesterday.
A part of me still harbors a faint hope that he’ll return, but I’m not holding my breath. His feelings were unmistakably clear when he stormed out last night, fed up with me and my “constant need to change things.” Whatever the hell that means.
That was last night’s storm, but today, I’m grappling with a different kind of disaster, further shaking the foundations of my world.
Just this afternoon, I was fired—another unexpected jolt, further destabilizing the already tumultuous landscape of my life.
How the hell am I going to pay rent without a job? And with Tony gone, there’s no second income to fall back on. I am totally screwed now.
From my purse, vibrations course up the patent leather, and I exhale, kicking off my shoes, not caring where they land. Optimistically, I pull my phone from the depth of my bag, expecting to see Tony’s boyish grin on the display screen, the photo of him and me from our vacation in the Florida Keys staring back at me.
It’s Sera, crushing my hope in a heartbeat.
I debate whether to answer it, but before I can stop myself, I do.
“Hey,” I exhale, placing the call on speaker.
“Did you get fired?” she squeaks, her tone as disbelieving as my head still. “I got back from lunch and your desk was empty. Charlotte said that you…”
She can’t bring herself to finish the sentence, a deep breath replacing the words she wants to say.
“‘Laid off’ I think is the term they used,” I reply dryly. “But yeah.”
“Oh, Rosie…”
“I had a feeling it was coming.” I flop down on the plush sofa I can’t afford, the payments still deducting from my bank account monthly until the end of the year. “Last one in, first one out when cuts are made, right?”
A car honks on the street below, and another answers with a longer, blaring bleep, yells of indignation following through the open living room window. Dusk in Seattle brings the worst of rush hour and temperaments.
“You’ll find something else, smart girl like you.” Sera gives me as much reassurance as she can muster, but I know in this economy, with my limited experience, I’m fucked.
My meager savings will barely get me through next month, now that I also have to cover Tony’s half of the bills.
“Do you want me to come over?” Sera asks. My mind is all over the place, and I’m only half-listening to the conversation. “I can find a sitter and bring a bottle of wine. Then we can talk shit about the assholes in upper management.”
I’m half-temped, but the urge to wallow alone is just too great. Plus, I don’t want to answer any questions about Tony. I haven’t told anyone about our fight, and I can’t imagine that he’ll just walk away from an eighteen-month relationship that easily.
Maybe he’ll come back. Right?
“Rose?”
I’ve drifted away again.
“No,” I blurt out. “Thanks, Sera, but I’m okay. I’m going to take a bath and go to bed.”
