Page 60 of Unfriend Me
“You’re gonna regret that,” Jayden muttered.
I grinned from ear to ear. “Nah. It’s just what I need.”
24
Amelia
It turns out drinking your heartache away only works when the guy was a dirtbag who deserved to be forgotten about. Alcohol only pronounced the shit you messed up when you regretted the breakup. Also, burying yourself in work wasn’t a viable solution either, especially when you’ve trained your staff so well they could run the hotel without you. Tommy kept kicking me out of the kitchen for trying to wash the dishes. I only broke two plates and five bowls. It wasn’t that bad.
“Well, Big Foot. Looks like it’s just you and me now,” I said to the hotel cat as I sank into the lounge chair in my room.
He gave me a look I couldn’t decipher and then proceeded to lift a leg straight in the air and lick his balls. I grimaced, utterly disgusted with my life. My friends had tried to call me all week long, hearing of the breakup through the gossip channels alive and well in Auburn Hill. I hadn’t returned even one of them. And so here it was a Friday night with me watching a grown male cat groom himself.
Oh, how the prideful had fallen.
My heart lurched in my chest and my eyes started to burn. I glanced over at the vodka bottle I’d done some damage with earlier in the week. The very thought of that made my stomach churn, so I pushed the idea out of my head. Left with nothing to medicate my heartache, I did what all girls do when they were backed into a corner emotionally.
I called my mama.
Which was how I found myself walking through the front door of my childhood home a little before eight on a Friday night.
“Mom? I’m home!” I called out.
A flurry of swinging hair, long limbs, and way too much perfume came around the corner of the living room. For a second there, my heart lifted, thinking my sisters were coming to buoy me up. Instead, the two of them, Esme and Vee, pushed me out of the way and flew out the door.
“Sorry, we’re late, talk later, love you!” they shouted over their shoulders.
My mom came around the corner at a much slower pace, a patient smile born from years of dealing with a gaggle of rambunctious girls.
“Hey, baby. What’s got you visiting me on the weekend without a guilt trip from your mama?” She pulled me into a hug that smelled of home and youth and a simpler time. I gave into all the emotions being held back by the world’s strongest emotional dam and hugged her back tightly, refusing to let go until she started chuckling and pulling my arms off her.
I swiped at my eyes, surprised as hell to find them overflowing. Swallowing hard, I tried to answer her, but nothing came out.
“Oh, honey, come here.” Mom took me by the arm and led me to the couch where she snuggled me under her arm like I was five again, rocking me as my damn eyes malfunctioned.
“Am I an attention whore?” I finally managed to ask between sniffles.
Mom chuckled, the bounce of her laughter jiggling my head as it lay on her shoulder. “Well, I certainly wouldn’t put it that way, but yes. You’ve always loved the spotlight. Don’t you remember quitting tap dance when they wouldn’t give you a solo part? It was a solo or nothing for you.”
I sat up and snagged a tissue off the coffee table to wipe my cheeks. “Really?”
Mom smiled tenderly. “I always figured it was your ‘middle child’ status that made you crave the attention.”
I frowned. “But I’m not really the middle child.”
Mom tilted her head. “Well, Oakley is the firstborn. You’re the second, but Esme and Izzy are twins, which gives them a special bond. And Vee being the baby gives her the spotlight naturally. I figured you were always searching for a way to stand out among so many girls.”
I digested that explanation, thinking she was probably right. “But have I missed things because I was always trying to get attention?”
“Where’s all this coming from, honey?”
I sat back on the couch and folded my arms across my chest. “Titus and I broke up.”
“Ah.” Mom spun to face me, curling her legs up under her. “I heard about that, but figured you’d come tell me about it when you were ready. I take it there was some discussion about your attention-seeking ways?”
I snorted. “Yeah. He said I never truly saw him. Or us. But how can that be right? He was my best friend. Of course I saw him.”
“I can’t speak to your relationship with Titus. That’s between you and him. But I can tell you as your mother that no matter how much attention we gave you over the years, it would never be enough. And maybe that’s on me for never making things clear to you.” She grabbed my hand and pressed it between hers. “Stop looking for external validation. You’re perfect, exactly as you are, Amelia Waldo. No one is going to come around and hand out medals for perfection. Giveyourselfthe medal and move on to a bigger and better life where you aren’t chasing approval and attention from everyone else. It’ll be a much nicer life, I promise you. Now if you don’t mind, I have some brownies to make.”
