Page 10

A smack will help

“I s that any way to treat your bestie?”

I lower my shoe, wondering what the hell Gwen is doing here at this hour.

Before I can unlock the door, I hear my neighbor across the hall wrench his door open and yell, “Shut the fuck up! We’re trying to slee—” He stops mid-sentence, and a few seconds later, his voice becomes more compassionate. “Well, hello there…can I help you?”

That’s Gwen’s superpower showing itself.

Undoing the chain on my door, I pull Gwen inside and quickly shut it. “Why are you here this early in the morning?” I point to the big analog clock on the kitchen wall to show her it’s past four.

“What do you mean?” She pouts her bottom lip. “You told me to come.”

“I told you to come tomorrow ,” I remind her.

“But today is tomorrow,” she giggles, then cries out with surprise when she looks at me. “Hey, you’re still dressed.”

I decide to take advantage of Gwen’s presence by turning my back to her. Lifting my hair, I plead, “Get me out of this thing!”

“Is this all I’m good for?” Gwen teases as she unzips the expensive gown and helps raise it over my head.

I force a laugh, trying to keep up the charade that I’m okay. But the moment I turn to face her again, she looks me in the eyes and the smile fades from her face. “What really happened, Soph?”

Her simple question opens the floodgates, and I can’t stop the tears once they start. Gwen ushers me to the couch and runs to get my box of tissues.

Instead of peppering me with questions, she joins me on the sofa and hands me tissue after tissue. I sit there in my underwear, swallowing down the painful lump in my throat, too choked up to tell her the details.

Gwen envelopes me in a warm hug and whispers, “Just let it out.”

I hold onto her tightly, giving in to the unwanted tears until they finally stop. Pulling away from her, I grab another wad of tissues to blow my nose. “Not the way I wanted to start the New Year…sitting on the couch in my underwear, all snot-nosed.”

She smiles at me with compassion. “Why don’t you get into some warm jammies, and I’ll make us tea.”

Heading to my bedroom, I look back and ask half-jokingly, “Did you ride the cowboy?”

“No. But he did make me laugh till my stomach hurt, which is almost as good.”

I chuckle to myself as I slip into my comfiest flannels and make a quick pit stop to wash my tear-stained face.

When the two of us meet back on the couch, she hands me a cup of chamomile tea. Tucking my legs under as I sit down, I take a sip of the warm liquid, building up the courage to explain what happened.

“When I went to the lobby to take the call, I had a feeling SkullCrusher wanted to reach me because Noah had won the tournament. I was partially right…he got the second-place prize of $75,000.”

Unfazed by the amount, Gwen looks me in the eyes. “But…?”

“The reason SkullCrusher called was to tell me Noah was in a car accident.”

Gwen puts her hand to her mouth. “Oh, my God!”

“Our chauffeur drove me to the hospital, but by the time I got there, I found out Noah had already been sent home.”

Her look of concern instantly changes to one of suspicion, as if she already knows what I am about to say.

“So…I went to Noah’s apartment.”

She immediately jumps in. “You caught that bastard cheating!”

I swallow hard, hating to hear the truth out loud. Detaching myself from the event, I tell her in a flat voice, “I walked in on Noah and AngelEyes kissing each other.”

“What did that motherfucker say when you confronted him?”

I reach for my tea and take a sip before answering. “I didn’t.”

Gwen raises her eyebrows. “You left without saying anything ?”

My hand starts to tremble, so I set the cup down. “I just wanted to get out of there, G.”

“Oh, Soph…”

I shake my head, trying to erase the image of them kissing. “She’s a married woman with twins! I’ve seen pictures of the baby girls in chat.”

“That’s disgusting,” she snarls.

“What could Noah possibly see in her, Gwen? I don’t understand…why wasn’t I enough?”

Gwen’s eyes burn with rage. “You don’t get it. You are way out of his league. You always were. You just refused to see it.” She growls, adding angrily, “I bet that skank just wants his prize money. Those two deserve each other!”

“But I…” I almost say the word “love,” but I realize it died tonight and amend the word to the past tense, “…loved him.”

“You loved the idea of him, Soph,” she insists. “You didn’t want to see that he always put himself first. That stupid YouTube channel and his gaming have always been more important than you.”

“Ouch!” I pick up my cup again to take another sip, trying to calm down after her stinging remark.

“That isn’t a slam on you. This is all on him! That jerk is so stuck on himself that he missed the best thing that will ever happen to him.”

I mutter, “You’re just saying that because you’re my friend.”

Gwen grasps my shoulders. “No, Sophie. Listen to me—you’re way too good for him.”

Tears blur my vision.

She gives me a tight squeeze. “I really hate that he hurt you.”

“I feel like a fool.”

“You’re not,” she declares firmly. “You saw the best in him because you have a big heart. But he’s a dick. Would you like me to be there with you when you confront him? I’ll be happy to smack that cheater in the head and tell him what an asshole he is for hurting you.”

I smile sadly, grateful to Gwen for making me hurt a little less.

“What can I do?” she begs. “Seriously. I want to help.”

I take her hand and squeeze it. “You’ve already done it by coming here tonight.” Under my breath, I mumble, “…even though I specifically told you to come tomorrow.”

She snorts. “I swear you said today, but I’ll let you off the hook this time—in the name of friendship and all that.”

“Wow, that’s big of you.”

She glances over at my kitchen clock. “Hey, do you mind if I borrow a pair of pajamas and sleep on your couch tonight? I’ve got rehearsal in the morning.”

“On New Year’s Day?” I ask, surprised.

“We’re in crunch mode, woman. Besides, true artists take no days off.”

Grateful not to be an actress, I offer to share my comfy bed with her.

Gwen crinkles her nose. “You snore, and I need my beauty rest.”

Frowning, I protest, “I don’t snore!”

“Right…”

I’m both offended and amused by her sassiness after everything that happened tonight. But it makes me feel normal, which is something I desperately need.

When I get up to fetch her a pair of pajamas, she commands, “Stop right there.”

Confused, I look back and smile when she turns her back on me and lifts her hair. “Unzip me like you were that sexy cowboy tonight.”

I smirk as I pull down her zipper with one hand while smacking her butt with the other. “Aren’t you the cutest little heifer?”

Her loud squeal evokes pounding on the wall by my neighbor. The two of us look at each other and cover our mouths to muffle our laughter. Knowing it’s way too late for us to be making such a ruckus, I help Gwen settle in for the night before heading to bed.

But, as I lay there staring up at the ceiling, the weight of what happened with Noah finally sinks in. I mourn the death of the man I thought he was and the future we planned together.

Happy fucking New Year…