Page 59 of Beautiful Trauma
Ezra shut the door firmly behind me, and it felt like an omen. I wanted to cry but wouldn’t allow it until I was someplace private and safe. My priority was getting a ride home. Jess had dropped me off on her way to a bar gig in Covington. I barely had enough money in my account to buy food after paying for my schoolbooks, so getting a Lyft was out. It was too far to walk, I didn’t have change for a bus, and a taxi would cost me as much or more than a Lyft. I hated to bug Geoff, but he was my best bet. If he didn’t answer, I’d call Des.
Stepping inside the elevator, I dialed Geoff’s number. “Please answer. Please answer,” I said when his phone started to ring.
“Hey, Henry, what’s up?” he whispered into the phone.
“I need a favor, Geoff. I’m in a little jam.”
“I’ll be right there,” he said soberly. “Um, where is there though?”
“I’m at Ezra’s,” I said just as the elevator door opened on the ground floor.
“Uh oh. I’ll be right there.”
I was glad to see George was busy talking to some tall dude so he wouldn’t witness me leaving with my tail tucked between my legs.
“I just need to drop this off for Ezra Meyer,” said the tall man with a familiar British accent. I ducked behind a large potted plant then peeked around the fronds to study him closer. Big and British turned his head to look at another couple coming off the elevator, allowing me to see his face in profile. He was the same guy I’d run into on Friday night. “He left his cell phone at the bar where we were having drinks,” Ezra’s friend, Pres, told George.
“Oh, how nice of you to return it. Let me call up and see if Dr. Meyer wants you to bring it up,” George said. Knock it off, George. The asshole said he was dropping it off.
“That’s not necessary. Ezra told me he was expecting company,” Pres told George, who’d already picked up the phone to dial the condo.
“Dr. Meyer. There’s a gentleman at the desk who claims to have your cell phone.” George listened for a second. “Yes, he’s tall, dark, handsome, and British.” George smiled at whatever Ezra said. “I’ll tell him, sir.” George laughed when he hung up the phone. “He said for you to bring it on up. He’s in 1214.”
“Well, I guess Ezra’s plans changed, and I’m the lucky benefactor. Have a good night.” The dickhead said it like he didn’t plan to see George again until morning.
“You too, sir,” George replied.
I waited until Pres was on the elevator and George turned to grab his coffee thermos off the back counter before I skirted out from behind the large plant and exited through the door. Feeling like fifteen kinds of foolish, I walked up the sidewalk to the same area Geoff had dropped me off on Friday night before I bumped into the guy who’d be sharing Ezra’s bed. It took everything I had not to lose my shit and sob like the brokenhearted sucker I was. I told myself not to keep watching the door to Ezra’s building because I was sure big and British wasn’t coming back out anytime soon, but to my surprise, he came back out ten minutes later. I could tell by his body language he wasn’t happy about his speedy exit, but I was deliriously so. I’d held back my tears of anguish in the elevator, but tears of relief spilled down my cheeks.
Ezra and I might’ve fought, but we weren’t over until one of us said we were. He might’ve been drunk and disappointed with me, but Ezra hadn’t betrayed me. There was still hope. Maybe in the light of morning, I’d look back and realize I had acted as immature as Ezra accused me of being. One argument didn’t mean the end of us, but my heart was still racing, and my stomach was still queasy.
My phone vibrated in my hand, and I saw it was a call from Ezra.
“Hey,” I said softly.
“Come back, Henry.” His voice was as soft as the sponge he loved running over my skin. “Where are you? I’ll send a Lyft.”
“I’m just down the street from your condo building waiting for Geoff to pick me up,” I said.
“Geoff? Why’d you call him?”
My body stiffened with tension. “Because money is tight right now, and walking home isn’t an option. It’s okay for you to get drunk with afriend, but I can’t call one of mine when I need a ride?”
“That isn’t what I meant. I don’t want to fight. I just want to hold you. Please?”
The idea of calling Geoff and telling him to never mind felt wrong. The tone for another incoming call sounded in my ear. I pulled the phone away from my ear and saw it was Geoff. “Geoff’s calling me now, Ezra. Let me find out how close he is because I’m not going to drag him out of bed to get me then just tell him to turn around. Geoff might not answer next time I need help.”
“There won’t be a next time, baby,” Ezra said firmly then hung up.
I tapped the accept button for Geoff’s call and said, “Hey, Geoff.”
“Please don’t kill me, Henry, but I’m not going to be able to pick you up. My car is blocked in, and I can’t find my mom’s keys to move her car. Waking my parents up to ask for the keys isn’t an option.”
“It’s okay. I’ll just go back to Ezra’s apartment. I’m sorry I bothered you.”
“You’re not bothering me. Are you sure you’re okay with going back to Ezra’s? I can order a Lyft for you on my app.”
“No, buddy. I’m fine. I love you for it though.”