Page 10 of The Drop

“For the ride and the getting rid of Josh,” I explain as he leans against his door frame, and we stare at each other for a beat before I cave. “What?” I snap at him because he keeps staring.

“I’m just waiting for you to tell me I looked hot doing it?” He smiles.

Rolling my eyes, I mutter, “When hell freezes over.” I walk back into the apartment. I hear him laugh as I shut the door.

“Okay, here we go,” Cami shouts over, while grabbing shot glasses from the kitchen cabinet and a bottle of what looks like tequila. We settled in the living room with a girl power playlist on, and finished the wine. It’s finally time to unpack.

“A shot for every time we get through another detail of what went down tonight.”

“I mean, that doesn’t seem like a reward I’m interested in, Cam.” I laugh and look towards the clock. “And it’s almost midnight.”

“Time doesn’t exist during a breakup.” She pushes the shot towards me. “Come on, B, you've got to tell me what’s going on.”

“I don’t even want to talk about it myself,” I mutter, grabbing the shot.

Cami makes a buzzer sound. “Wrong answer. Start at the beginning.” I roll my eyes but settle into the soft sofa cushions to unload my eventful evening.

“Well, I had just finished packing up some things from my room at Mom’s, like the last box was in the van.” I take the shot and groan as I remember my whole life in a van on its way to our new apartment in a week. “Josh says his parents are throwing us a surprise party for moving home.” I grimace, still tasting the shot as Cami pours another. “Which I thought was weird anyway, like, we had already gone to college; we were just moving colleges, not moving home.”

“Total red flag,” she scoffs, taking her shot and refilling.

“Right? Anyway, he says he had to tell me about the surprise party, so I wore something nice, as he knew it would upset my mom if I weren’t dressed up.” I roll my eyes at the memory. My mom is a stickler for being presentable andalways put together. No one is allowed an off day in her eyes. My childhood was filled with being dressed up like a doll and paraded around as her friend, the perfect daughter. “So, I put on the blue dress, you know, the cute one with the slit up the side.”

“That was that dress?” Cami asks, shocked. “I love that dress; I couldn’t tell with the mud.”

“I know.” I nod sadly. “It’s ruined.” I sigh, and we both take a shot out of respect for the dress.

“Everyone is there, like, the whole new team he’s been training with, friends and extended family, like, everyone!” I fill up my shot this time. “I had a couple of drinks, and next thing you know, I’m told Josh is going to make a speech, so I go inside to grab him.”

I take the shot. “I walk into the house and hear my mom say, “You are going to be the most expensive son-in-law.”

“What? What does that even mean?” Cami asks, wide-eyed and leaning forward, gripped by what I'm telling her.

Taking a deep breath, I continue, “Then, Josh says they made the deal right after my dad died, and he was happy with me now, so she didn’t need to keep paying him to stay with me.” I take the last shot as the bottle is empty and pull my bottom lip inbetween my teeth, waiting; I feel so embarrassed. “My mom paid my boyfriend not to break up with me for five years.”

“I- I don’t know what to fucking say,” Cami stutters. “Why would she do that?”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to work out. Did you notice anything?” Admittedly, Josh never really put effort into my friendship with Cami, but they had spent some time together.

“No, I mean, I never really liked the guy, but I would never have thought he would do that.”

“I know.” Frowning and feeling the tears starting. “I loved him, and he made me feel safe, and now he’s made me feel sad and stupid.” I sniffle.

Cami comes over and hugs me. “We are going to figure this all out.”

“I am a mess,” I cry. “I transferred colleges for him, his name is on the apartment, all my stuff is in boxes in a truck, God knows where, and I fell down a muddy hill,” I sniffle.

“Oh, sweetie.” Cami hugs me tight, but I can feel her shoulders shaking with laughter.

“Don’t laugh at me.”

“I’m not. It’s just that I wish I had taken a picture of you.” She laughs. “You looked like a swamp monster.”

I cannot help but burst out laughing.

“I’ve never seen Grant so quiet.” She laughs, taking the shot glass I’ve been fiddling with and putting it on the coffee table. “I think he was in shock.”

I groan. “Don’t remind me, Cam. He’s seriously hot, and he saw me looking like that.” I throw my head into a pillow next to me.

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