Page 5 of Something Forever

Well, the life that I was building before I blew it up over the course of a single day.

How am I standing in the same place I was before this call? The apartment looks different, feels different, somehow. Heavier. Emptier.

Gasping for another deep breath, I feel the familiar prickling on the backs of my eyelids, a pressure building in my nose and chest.

Great, now I’m going to cry.

I should have trusted my mantra.

Nothing good has ever come from a rash decision.

2

WHITNEY

After eating an entire pint of ice cream, I spend the rest of the day binging my comfort TV show, trying to distract myself from my imploding life. I can usually tell how depressed I am by what teen drama I’m watching. One Tree Hill is when I know I’m on the decline, Gossip Girl is getting into pretty dire territory, and Glee is when I know I’ve hit absolute rock bottom. Still, my favorite has always been Gilmore Girls because Lorelai and Rory always reminded me of my mom and me. It used to be us against the world.

Now, it’s just me.

And potentially a million dollars.

I get to Rocka Rolla a few minutes late. Abbi is already in the backyard with our drinks, her fiery hair tied into a messy bun that somehow manages to look both stylish and chaotic. When she sees me, she shrieks and throws her arms around my neck.

“Oh my God! My girl is a free woman!” she shouts as we both sit down. We’re getting side glances from other people sitting on the patio, something that happens often when I’m with Abbi given that her voice is louder than any sane person’s probably should be.

She picks up her margarita and lifts it against mine. “To spontaneous life decisions.” She grins. We both sip our drinks and Abbi leans forward. “So, tell me everything.”

I sigh, trying to figure out where to start. I haven’t even told her about my inheritance. How do I explain the shit show that is the past twelve hours of my life?

“I just… snapped. Walked right up to Dan and told him I was done.”

“Are you sure you and I haven’t been Freaky Friday’d? Because spontaneous quitting is much more my groove.”

I chuckle, shaking my head. “I wish. Then I’d be going home to a hot basketball player instead of finding out my roommate is moving out. Olivia got some tour gig that required her to leave immediately, and now some random guy is supposed to be taking her place.”

Abbi frowns. “No way. You gotta vet him first. He could be a Craigslist murderer for all you know. My ex once had a roommate who used his toothbrush. Nasty shit.”

“Thanks, Ab,” I say, grimacing through a wave of nausea. “I’m feeling really assured now.”

She smirks. “Maybe he’s one of the good ones. You never know.”

“Knowing my luck, he’s probably Ted Bundy’s grandson.”

“I don’t think Bundy had kids.”

I give her my best glare, but she just cackles in response and downs the rest of her cocktail.

“Come on,” she urges impatiently, “drink number one should be a distant memory by now.”

I snort and down the drink. When I’m finished, I bang my fist on the table for good measure, startling the people around us. “Same again?”

“You know it.”

I get the second round and return with two more margaritas, setting them down on the table.

“The loser next to us just tried to hit on me. As if I’d ever go out with a guy who wears Kanye merch,” she says, her voice carrying through the garden.

“Pretty sure he can hear you, Ab.” I glance to the right where a kid, who can’t be older than twenty-three, is frowning at us.

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