Page 53 of Exactly What I Needed
It continued to ring until eventually it sent me to voicemail.
My shoulders sagged, but I was determined. So, I called him again.
And again.
And again.
But each time, it eventually went to voicemail.
I wrapped my arms around my body and sank back against the wall. If I had just confessed what I had, I would’ve been mad too. And instead of understanding, instead of taking a moment to actually process what he was truly asking, I’d told him to fuck off.
This was my bed I’d made, and now I had to lie in it.
Pushing off the wall, I slowly dragged my feet to my car. Time to go home and try to get a couple hours of sleep at least before I had to be up to teach and deal with a district meeting. Stupid district meeting.
Stupid me. Stupid me.
My fingers spun the ring between them as I sat at my desk. One perk about being an English teacher was silent reading time on Fridays. I should’ve given this back to him, but I was quietly grateful I hadn’t thought about it. There had been no missed calls from him this morning, no missed texts or Picsnaps. I’d texted him a couple times and even called him, but nothing.
Though I hadn’t dared Picsnap him yet, because I knew that if he opened it and didn’t respond, or didn’t open it, all that would do was hurt me even more. So instead, I let myself wallow in pity and exhaustion while my class read. I should use this time to catch up on the work I’d neglected the past two days.
Shouldwas the keyword.
But I was anywhere except here.
My mind was only able to think about one thing and one thing only: Asher. Well, him and how much of a fool I’d been. And he’d even come to the elevator to ask for my forgiveness, when I should’ve been the one to—
A shrill ring shot through the air, snapping me out of my thoughts. I blinked, realizing I’d let half of my pasta drop from my fork. It was already lunchtime, and I’d barely noticed. Glancing at my phone, I furrowed my brows. What was Sydney calling me for?
I clicked the answer button and put it on speaker, wanting to continue eating my lunch. “What’s up, girl?” I asked. At least the guilt was mostly gone when I was with my best friend. Though I wasn’t sure that the guilt was worse than the heartbreak I was feeling right now.
“Do you want the bad news or the bad news first?” she hesitantly said. I pushed the glasses up my nose and brushed some lint from my forest-green paper-bag-style pants.
“Let’s go with the bad news.” I stared at the phone, unable to eat with the nerves that were now running through me.
“Void’s manager called me,” she quietly began.
“And?” My stomach sank.
“They can’t come tomorrow anymore. Apparently, the fans got too intense and wild, and they’ve left town for their safety,” she finished.
My hands went numb; my heart began bleeding out. I’d ruined things. Past the point of ever fixing them. Asher backed them out, and I had no one to blame but myself. No one to be upset with except for me. I’d prettymuch told him, “Hey, you’re great and all, but only for sex,” when he’d been searching for some confirmation that he meant more than that to me.
And he did.
“I’m sorry, Cosi. Though they’re still coming back for the two-night concerts, so we can still go to that,” Sydney said, breaking the silence. It was fine. Everything was fine.
“What’s the other bad news?” I tried to change the subject from Void and Asher. Attempting to mask the pain that was ripping through me. I felt so abruptly lonely.
“Danny’s here with your parents already,” she replied, and I closed my eyes. “My parents wouldn’t let him stay at their house, though, so he’s stuck in a hotel, while yours get to crash in a guest room here.”
“Well, that’s not entirely terrible news, right?” I tried to be hopeful. “Make sure you tell your parents how grateful I am that they have my back.”
“Of course! Again, Cosi. I am sorry about Void. I was so excited to stick it to Danny, and now it’s too late to find something else.” Her voice was soft and sympathetic.
“It’s fine. Really. Maybe a good thing since now I won’t worry about Danny taking things out on my parents,” I mumbled.
“Except you know that my parents wouldn’t have let him go that far. They don’t like him. Like at all.”
