Page 14 of I Blame the Rival

I let Karen pull me to my feet and guide me towards the entrance. We walk through the small office that doubles as Karen’s workstation and the cozy living room, but I don’t register any of it as she gets me settled on the couch pushed up against the far wall.

Skylar abandoned me.

My only friend abandoned me.

Pressing my lips together to keep them from trembling, I cast a watery gaze over the living room that takes up one hour of my week, every week. The same grandfather clock chimes in the righthand corner and the same glass table separates the couchfrom the chair directly across from me. The box of sunshine tissues sits proudly on the table and my shoulders start to shake.

I’m just about to start sobbing when a yellow square catches my eye.

“What’s that?”

I point towards the sunshine tissue that’s lying on the side table next to Karen’s chair. Adjusting her long, flowing skirt before sitting down, Karen gives me a light laugh.

“Oh, I found this tucked in my flower bed. I think someone must have lost it on the way out.”

My heart stops as I register her words. Blinking until my vision clears, I clear my throat and try to keep my hopes from soaring.

“Can I have it?”

Karen blinks, “You want a used tissue? My dear, I don’t think that’s sanitary.”

“I won’t use it. I just want the message on it.”

“Oh.” Blinking a few more times, Karen shakes her head and gives me a warm smile, “Well, of course! We all need a little inspiration sometimes, don’t we?”

I nod, “A special message can go a long way.”

My damp jeans creak when I stand up and walk around to the side table. The quote of the day screams back at me in bold writing.

Every moment is a fresh beginning.

Holding my breath, I carefully lift it up and turn it around.

I’m not a pretty person, Lacey. I come from a family of angry men and as much as I wish I could say it skipped a generation, I can’t. That’s the real reason I’m here every Friday, talking to Karen.

A new onslaught of tears hit me as relief floods my veins. Clutching the tissue to my chest, my cheeks grow damp as I return to my spot on the couch.

“Thank you.” I whisper the words and Karen looks at me in alarm.

“You can take as many tissues as you want, Lacey. There’s no need to only take one.”

I shake my head, feeling the ache in my chest slowly begin to fade.

“This is the one I want. Thank you.”

Skylar

Something’s missing.

I study the sketch in front of me, the sharp edges of the purple flowers drawing my attention to the garden that sits outside Karen’s building. The overcast sky casts a shadow over the figure crouching in front of the garden.

Lightly running my pencil over the scene, I shade in the drizzle of rain to darken the sky.

“Are you still alive?” A sharp knock hits my door before Vector pokes his head inside, “Dinner is ready. Oh, and you’re coming to my party tomorrow.”

“I’ll be down in a second.”

Tilting my sketchbook, I try and look at it from another angle.

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