“I told him off! I made him feel like shit, and then he cried and said it was a mistake. That he was having cold feet before the wedding. He made me promise not to tell you, and I didn't. I didn't tell you because I thought it would break you. I thought you loved him. You want to talk about being honest? Why weren't you?”
“I've always been honest with you!”
“Really? You knew in your heart that Derek wasn't the one for you, and yet... you stayed. Why?”
“We were happy. We were getting ready to start a life together-”
“No.” She interrupted me. “You were happy with the idea. It was written all over your face. Why do you think I was so against this wedding? I was waiting for you to come to your senses! To tell me to fuck off! To finally stand up for yourself!”
“Fuck off!” I yelled. “How's that for standing up for myself?”
Before she could answer, I stomped towards the door and flung it open slamming it in my wake. The sound was enough to send Owen flying out of his room, and I nearly bumped right into him. He caught me by the wrists, and I looked up at him with fresh tears in my eyes.
“Unicorn?” He asked.
I practically threw myself into his arms, and he pulled me snug against his chest.
“Shh. Hey, it's OK. Tell me what's going on.”
“I have no idea who she is anymore.” I said, around my sobs.
FIFTEEN
INSTEAD OF WALLOWING in Owen's hotel room, he talked me into going for a walk instead. The fresh air was a welcome relief, and the feel of his hand wrapped around mine helped too. We didn't speak, just walked along in silence. The more time that I spent away from Morgan, the more I wondered what I was really doing here. Moving to New York, opening a boutique. Was it really even my dream that I was chasing? Or hers?
Our hotel room was directly downtown, so it wasn't long until we found a bench and sat down. I watched as the people walked by. Going in, and out of the shops that lined the street. It reminded me a lot of Virginia, and I found myself thinking back to my time there. It was where I met Owen, and it was also where I thought my friendship with Morgan had finally turned a corner.
She not so delicately pointed out that we had already hashed things out. So why was I feeling so hurt right now? The fact that Derek tried to sleep with her didn't even bother me. Not really. What bothered me was that she chose not to tell me. She could have stopped me from making the biggest mistake of my life months ago, and yet she chose to keep her mouth shut.
I couldn't really blame her though. I knew long before then that I wasn't happy with him. That I wanted more than he could give me. I made the choice to stay. Maybe the real person that I was angry with right now... was myself.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Owen asked, finally breaking the silence.
“I'm not even sure why I'm upset anymore.” I admitted.
“What happened?”
“Morgan was just being, Morgan.” I sighed. “And I don't know why I keep letting her choices surprise me.”
“I don't think it's surprise that you're feeling. It's more like disappointment.”
“I think you're right.”
“Can I get that in writing? I mean, our relationship is still pretty new. It would be nice to have an ace up my sleeve for future arguments.”
I nudged his elbow with mine, and he chuckled before putting his arm around my shoulders. I laid my head on him, and he kissed the top of it.
“What if I made the wrong decision.” I said, in almost a whisper.
“About me?”
“No. About life. My life.”
I sat a little straighter, turning on the bench so that I was facing him. He did the same, keeping his arm draped over the back of the bench.
“I never knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. I didn't have a plan. I had no passion, or drive. The only thing I was focused on was making it through school. Then I met Morgan. She was so full of passion about designing that I wanted to be a part of that. I knew that I didn't have her talent, but I had other qualities that she didn't. What if I made her need me, just so that I could find a place for myself?”
“When you think about Sew New, how do you feel?”
“Terrified.” I laughed. “Neither one of us has any idea how to run a business. Obtaining a degree, and actually putting it to use are two completely different things.”
“Anyone would be scared to start something new, Unicorn. But how do you feel.”
“Proud, I guess. It took a lot of fundraising, and hand greasing to get to where we are now.”
“Do you think you'd be feeling either of those things if it wasn't something that you were passionate about?”
“Maybe. I mean there's a lot on the line. If things don't work out... I don't exactly have a back up plan.”
“I'm sure with a degree like yours there are endless possibilities.”
“I've actually been thinking about branching out. If things go well with the boutique, maybe I could help other companies?”
“Have you talked to Morgan about this?”
“No. I don't want to hurt her.”
“She's your best friend, if anything I think she'd be supportive.”
“Maybe.” I sighed. “I think we should go back.”
“Alright.” He agreed before standing, and reaching for my hand.
On the way back to the hotel I thought about what Owen had said. It wasn't that I didn't feel excited about the opening of Sew New, it was just a reminder that everything revolved around Morgan. Even though my name was beside hers on the business contract, no one would know it. It wouldn't be sewn into the tags on any of
