Page 80 of Every Broken Promise
I was driving myself mad with all of these rampant thoughts.
When I got toThe Herald, I went straight to my cubicle, and when I didn’t see any flowers there, I let out a relieved sigh. With everything going on, I almost forgot about last week’s gift. A one-time delivery didn’t make a pattern, so I shouldn’t jump to any crazy conclusions.
“How was your weekend, Astrid?” Orianna asked me as I plopped down on my chair.
“It was okay. I think I have the concept for a new column.”
“Oh, what is it?”
I was a bit hesitant at first to share because I knew how she felt about my other column, but once I started telling her about it, her eyes brightened, and she asked me many animated questions that seemed genuine.
“That’s such a good idea. With the township forming and the neighboring towns becoming a bit more integrated, it’s a great way for them to know what each place has to offer.”
“I hope people like it.”
Orianna reached out and touched my hand.
“People will love it.”
Throughout the day, we kept up the witty banter, which made the day go by considerably faster. It made me realize that maybe I was the one that had been closed off since moving back, not really giving people a chance to get too close to me. This thought fully cemented once Orianna said she was leaving early. I realized I wanted more of her company.
Man, was I this really friendship-deprived?
As I sat there, I started to think about my past friendships and even the friends I made in college. I could say I loved them, but I didn’t really keep up with them. Making friends wasn’t the problem, but keeping them was. It wasn’t because I was a shit friend either—I think after what came with Tyler, I never allowed myself to get too close to anyone.
I had no new best friend because that way, no one would have the power to hurt me like Tyler had. Disappointment never happened if there wasn’t anyone to disappoint you.
When my workday ended, I walked over to where I had parked my car, only to be dumbfounded when I saw nothing there.
What. The. Fuck?
I looked around our very small parking lot and, yeah, no sign of my car.
My dumb ass even walked back inside and then out as if that would make my car appear. My car was mine, therefore, I owned it. I pulled my phone out, ready to call the cops, because who else was I supposed to report this to? That was when I noticed the little black business card on the floor where my car had been parked that morning.
Motherfucker.
I stopped dialing the cops when I saw the Kanes’ auto shop business card. There was no need to look at the number it had. I already knew the shop’s number by memory.
It rang once.
It rang twice.
“Kanes’ Auto, how may I help you?”
A thrill went down my spine upon hearing Tyler’s voice. Instead of saying anything, I hung up. That’s what he wanted from me, wasn’t it? To call him and demand that he come get me because he took my car.
Just as I was about to call my parents or Rachel to see if they could pick me up, Ronnie walked up to me.
“Is everything okay, Astrid?”
“Yeah, totally,” I lied with a smile on my face.
He nodded then looked at me and around the few spots.
“Where’s your car?”
Leave it to him to notice that my car wasn’t here.
