Page 89 of Coming Up Roses

Myla Rose

My mom abandoning me?Yeah, it hurt, but eventually, I realized I was better off without her. My Grams passing away gutted me, but deep down, I knew she was in a better place. Taylor leaving me when that test came up positive tore my heart to shreds, but I found a way to paste it back together and came out stronger for it.

Cash shutting me out? Yeah, no. There is no positive spin, just a whole lotta pain, regret, and sorrow. Oh, and anger, too. Though that’s directed mostly at myself.

“Myles, let’s go, time to get up,” Azalea says as she ties back my curtains and raises the blinds.

Immediately, I pull the duvet over my head to block out the light. What business does the sun have shining when my world is so, so dark? “C’mon, sister-girl. It’s been four days. It’s time to get it together.”

“Nope. I’m fine right here, thank you very much.”

“You say that, but you’re not seeing what I’m seeing. Myles, you need a shower. You need to eat real food—if not for you, then for the baby. And Lord knows, you need to go rescue sweet Magnolia from your clients.”

“Just go, Az. I’ll rejoin the world tomorrow.” I burrow further under the covers. “Yeah, tomorrow sounds good. Promise”

“No, ma’am. TODAY!” She rips the duvet from my body, leaving it in a heap on the floor before repeating the action with the sheets. “Get up, Myles, I mean it. I’ll go start you a shower.”

Opting to take the path of least resistance, I follow her. I can always get back in bed after my shower.

Standing under the hot spray, I can’t help but cry. “You okay, Myles?”

“No,” I choke out. “I just . . . I miss him.”

“I know you do. Have you heard from him?” Her question causes my tears to fall faster, harder.

“N–no. He’s finished with me.”

“You don’t know that.”

“No, I do, and I deserve it. If there’s one thing Cash hates, it’s a cheater, which he thinks I am. I brought this on myself.”

“Oh, Myla—”

“No, don’t you ‘Oh, Myla’ me. I did this. I broke us, and you’re right, I need to stop wallowing. Crying hasn’t ever once changed shit, and it’s certainly not going to now.”

Azalea’s cheeks split into a wide smile. “You opened your mouth, and Grams came out, girl. Because that sounded exactly like what she’d tell you.”

At that, I smile. My first post-Cash smile—something I wasn’t sure was possible. Feeling a little stronger, I shut off the water and wrap myself in a fluffy towel. “Wanna grab something to eat?”

“Sister-girl, I thought you’d never ask.”

After getting dressed, Azalea ushers me down the stairs and into the passenger seat of her little BMW Z4—a graduation gift from her mom and pops.

“Where are we going?”

“Late lunch and a movie. We gotta get your mind off he-who-shall-not-be-named.”

Through my laughter I tell her, “While I appreciate the effort, you can say his name. We share friends, and I don’t want y’all walking around on eggshells around me, okay?”

“You’re stronger than me, Myles, that’s for damn sure.”

We spend the rest of the drive in a comfortable silence—me lost in my thoughts, and Azalea, well, Lord only knows why she’s being so quiet.

I don’t realize I’ve nodded off until Azalea puts the car in park. “Come on, we’re here.”

I take a few moments to get my bearings and realize she’s driven us across the bay. “Why’re we in Mobile?”

“Thought a change of scenery would be nice, and this restaurant is supposed to be to die for.”

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