Chapter 2-2
1047 Words
“Oh, screw—what’s his face anyway…” She scrunches up her face in disgust. She never liked him much anyway based on the few times they met. “Asshole.”
“Andrew,” I fill in for her, feeling bile rise in my throat at saying his name aloud.
“Andrew. Asshole. Same thing, really.” She curls the corner of her lip. “Screw him. Go on a single’s cruise and find yourself some hot man meat!” The tone of her voice is serious, which terrifies me. Once Natalie gets an idea in her head, she pushes it until I cave in. We’ve been friends since elementary school and attended the same college, so we know everything about each other. The good, bad, and ugly.
“Hot man meat?” I arch a brow. “We graduated from middle school over a decade ago,” I inform her with a teasing grin. “The only hot meat I want near me is a big fat turkey.” I smile, getting excited about spending Thanksgiving with my family next month up in Eagle River where I’m originally from. I moved down here for college, and once I got hired at the hospital, I made it my permanent residence.
“Okay, so no singles cruise.” She frowns.
I give her an eye roll, then reach for my purse. I dig around inside until I find my prescription bottle. Once I open it and grab a pill, I toss it down my throat and swallow it with a big gulp of water.
“What’s that?” she asks, tilting her head to read the bottle as she takes another bite of her carrot stick.
“It’s my STD medication. A parting gift from Andrew,” I deadpan. She starts choking on her carrot, and I nearly die of laughter.
“River! That isn’t funny.” She smacks her chest as tears form in the corner of my eyes.
“Oh my God. The look on your face was priceless,” I say, wiping tears from my cheeks.
“You’re seriously a b***h. You deserve an STD after that.” She scowls.
Once I’ve controlled my laughter, I shove the bottle back in my purse. “Don’t be so dramatic. My doctor prescribed it for my sinus infection; thankfully, it’s almost gone now.”
“Oh my God!” She slams her palm down on the table, the loud bang echoing through space. I jump at her unnecessary spasm.
“Jesus, Natalie,” I scold. “Nearly made me pee myself.”
She points a finger in my face. “You deserved it.” She smirks. “Anyway. I just got the best idea. Adam and I are going to Key West soon for two weeks. You should totally come!”
I furrow my brows at her like she’s crazy. “I’m not going on a couples’ vacation with you and your boyfriend, Nat. That’d be weird.”
“No way. We’d have a blast,” she insists.
“I’d be the third wheel,” I correct.
“Hardly. Adam plans to go fishing like every morning. You can keep me company on the beach drinking margaritas and checking out the local eye candy. Then when he’s back, the three of us can find fun stuff to do like snorkeling or sailing.”
“That sounds fun, it really does, but I can’t just tag along on your couples’ trip. I’d feel like such a burden.”
“Girl, stop it. Adam and I are basically an old married couple. Truth be told, I’d have more fun with you hanging around anyway. Once Adam starts talking about fish and worms, and God knows what else, I start to fall asleep.”
“Oh, so now you want me to be your buffer. This is sounding better and better,” I muse.
“What’s it matter?” She grins. “Just come and enjoy the sun and the beach and the water and forget about the STD married asshole man.”
“For the record, I don’t have an STD, Natalie!” I whisper-shout.
She waves me off as if it’s irrelevant.
“Just think about it, okay? You can book a separate room at the same resort. We can head down to the pool and have breakfast together and read books by the beach, and then when you get yourself drunk enough and find a hot, single man, you’ll have a room all to yourself for slutty banging time.”
I groan at her words but laugh at the eagerness in her tone. She’s nearly begging at this point.
“I don’t know. Two weeks? I doubt I’ll be able to get off work in such a short amount of time.” I pick at the remaining food on my tray, thinking it over.
“You work nonstop, River. You deserve a vacation.” She stands up and grabs her baggie of carrot sticks. “Just think about it.” She winks before walking away.
As I finish the rest of my shift, the thought of spending two weeks on the beach and how nice it’d be to get away for a bit invades my mind. Once I finish charting and clock out, I walk to the bus stop near the hospital and wait.
Digging my cell out of my purse, I turn it on and see I have a few new voice messages. As soon as I hear Andrew’s voice, my body tenses.
Hey, baby. I miss you. I know you hate me right now, but I promise I can explain—
I delete the message before he can continue his lies. I click on the next one.
I can’t stop thinking about you, River. Please come back to me. I’ll—
Delete.
Any guesses who voicemail number three is from? Asshole.
Shoving my cell back into my purse, I stand as the bus comes into view from down the road. Within moments, another bus passes and drives through a puddle only to splash muddy water on my shoes and uniform. The gentleman standing next to me steps to the side, glaring at me as he takes in what a mess I am.
- Writer
