Page 8 of Unstoppable You

James had been one of the first ones to notice and I heard her loudly talking to some other girls in the locker room when I was changing for gym. Swallowing down nausea, I’d stayed in the stall until they’d left and had been punished for being late to gym, but it didn’t matter.

It wasn’t until high school that I found more loyal friends and people who didn’t think I was a freak. Most of them had gone off to different colleges or moved to other states, but we still kept in touch every now and then online and through messages.

“You’re frowning a lot for a Monday,” Larison said, interrupting my ruminating in the late afternoon.

“Sorry. Just thinking about too many things.”

Larison made a face. “I know what you mean. My brain never seems to slow down. Are you feeling any better about…everything?” She didn’t need to clarify what she meant by “everything.”

I shook my head. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

She winced. “Sorry for bringing it up.”

Larison was an incredible friend, as well as a boss. We had clicked in the first interview, but I never could have known how important she would become to me.

“Thanks.”

“Why don’t you go and check on the online orders? I’m sure some came in over the weekend.”

Doing work in the back office was my least favorite thing, but I was tired, and it was almost the end of the day anyway.

I got totally wrapped up in my task of filling the orders. I’d have to make a trip to the post office tomorrow to ship everything out. If I did that, I could stop by the bubble tea place and get a treat.

“Hey,” Larison said, making me jump. Why was I so out of it lately? “Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you. But we’re ready to close down.”

“Oh, thanks.”

Her face crinkled with worry that I didn’t want to see, so I went back to stacking the orders in the “ready to ship” box.

* * *

I didmy best to focus on my routine of going to the grocery store and bringing everything home to have a nice dinner that night, but instead I bought a party tray with veggies, cheese, and crackers and ate it on the couch with a really bad reality show on in the background. Cooking could wait until tomorrow.

My phone lit up with a notification just as I was eating the last grape. I had a new message on one of my social pages from an account I didn’t recognize.

Hey Delaney, this is James. I wasn’t sure how else to reach out to you. Didn’t want to ask my brother for your number. He and I are not on the same page about a lot of things so I’m ignoring him at the moment. Anyway, I just wanted to reach out and see if maybe you’d let me buy you a cup of coffee? There are some things I’d like to say to you that I think should be said in person. Just let me know.

I almost gasped aloud at her audacity. I mean, at least she’d waited almost one whole day before reaching out to me, and she hadn’t begged her brother for my number. Still, it wasn’t cute, and I wanted to answer her right away telling her to go fuck herself, but something made me hold back and resist the impulse to burn this bridge completely.

Maybe I felt the teeniest, smallest sliver of compassion because while Connor was now my ex, he was still her brother. There was no getting out of that relationship, even if they never spoke a single word to each other again. She’d always be connected to him.

And he was one of the biggest assholes on the planet.

The freedom I had now that I no longer had to defend him was a little shot of euphoria in amongst the rage and hurt and disappointment.

I read the message several times over, wondering what to say. I didn’t want to have coffee with her. Didn’t want to hear what she had to say, but…

If I didn’t sit down with her and let her get whatever off her chest, then I knew I’d always wonder what it might have been. I wasn’t sure if I believed in regrets, but in my soul, I knew that I would be upset at myself for telling her to fuck off again.

It had been years since we’d had any contact. I was a different person now, and it was a little arrogant to believe that she hadn’t changed as well. If I didn’t hear her out, just this once, then I’d never know what she might have said.

Fine. We can meet somewhere for coffee. You are buying. I have the freedom to leave the second I want to. You’re also getting a fifteen-minute time limit. That is more than enough time to say what you need to say. Understood?

I sent the message and waited for her response.

That’s all fine. Let me know when a good time for you would be.

Chapter Four

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