“And this is my stand?” I asked.
“Why not?” Faye asked. “You love music. You’re good at it. You found a man you love. You two get to write your own love story. Screw the rest of the world and anything they think.”
“Let me ask you this, Emily,” Carla said. “You forget about Liam. You forget about us. Then what? You said your bakery probably won’t survive no matter what you do. You know that Miranda will keep fucking you over. What’s the plan? When do you get something for yourself?”
Faye stood up and walked to my guitar case and took the guitar out.
“This, Emily,” she said. “This is your true voice. And the way you were with Liam, that was true too.”
“And if I tell him everything I’m feeling and he doesn’t want the same thing?” I asked.
“Then Carla will cut off his dick,” Faye said.
“Chop, chop, asshole,” Carla said as she made a scissors gesture with her right hand.
She scooped a big spoonful of ice cream and stuffed it into her mouth.
She cringed from the brain freeze.
I turned and walked to the window.
“I have to go talk to Ernie,” Carla said. “Smooth things over with him.”
“On your knees?” Faye asked.
“Sorry for messing up our gig,” I said.
It was dark out.
I was supposed to be on stage.
“Don’t worry about it,” Carla said. “You belong on that stage. Ernie still wants you to sing a set on your own.”
“We do too,” Faye said.
I nodded. “Thank you. I have a lot to think about.”
“We can spend the night,” Carla said. “Let’s get drunk and strip down to our panties and have a pillow fight. We can take pictures and send them to guys we like and tease them.”
I laughed. “You’re crazy.”
“That’s tame for her,” Faye said.
“Thank you both. I’ve known Liam for so long… I don’t know if I can handle losing him again and then seeing him. It’s a lot.”
“Don’t lose him then,” Carla said. “Either way, we’re here for you. Remember… chop, chop.”
“Chop, chop,” I said back with a smile.
“Come on,” Faye said to Carla said. “Let’s go find that bright red lipstick Ernie likes so much on you.”
“I think if I’m naked, he doesn’t care what color my lipstick is,” Carla said.
They started to argue as they left the apartment.
A minute later, I heard knocking again.
“Back so soon?” I called out. “It’s unlocked!”
I was smiling as the door opened.
When I saw Miranda, the smile faded.
The look in her eyes…
She knew everything.
“That’s why you didn’t call me?”
“Miranda, stop,” I said. “I’m not in the mood.”
“For what? For fucking my fiancé?”
“He wasn’t your fiancé,” I said. “You were broken up.”
“After all I’ve done for you. You backstabbing whore.”
That step I was worried about taking?
I took it.
The wires were cut.
All hell broke loose in my head.
I was ready to burst into tears but didn’t.
“So you’re going to be silent?” Miranda asked. “Was this your plan? To sneak your way in? You fucked with my wedding…”
“You had no wedding,” I said. “You had nothing. You didn’t want to marry him. You did it for your own look. To give the appearance of being a professional. To help yourself. You wanted someone to come home to and nothing else. You dumped it all on him. And you forced me into helping.”
“Forced?”
“That’s right. Forced. And that ends right now. I’m drawing the line, Miranda.”
“You couldn’t have drawn that line before sleeping with him?”
“It’s not like that,” I said. “When we were younger-”
“Oh, of course. The old high school love. You’re pathetic. You can’t do anything on your own, can you? Can’t open a business, so you suck off your grandmother’s and ruin it. Can’t find a man…”
“You’re a bitch,” I said. “You deserve everything you feel right now, Miranda. You’re not going to break me any more than I already am. Get the fuck out of my apartment or else I’ll make you.”
“How are you going to do that?”
Without hesitation, I walked to the kitchen and grabbed a knife.
Was it extreme?
Yup.
But it felt good.
“Do I need to say it again?” I asked.
“You’re crazy, Emily. You’re going to regret this.”
“Goodbye, Miranda,” I said.
“He spent the night with me last night,” she said. “Remember that. You were all alone. He took me home. He put me into our bed. That’s right. Our bed. Not the place where you act like a whore.”
I took one step with the knife in my hand and Miranda bolted from the apartment.
I then shut the door and locked it.
I dropped the knife to the floor.
As I sank to the floor, I knew what had to happen next.
I picked myself up and went to find my phone.
I made a phone call.
“Hey. I can’t believe you’re calling me…”
“Just please listen to me… okay, Jeff?”
Chapter Forty-One
Liam
“Honey, I’m home,” Cole said in his tough voice as he shut his apartment door.
I pointed at him. “That’s not cool, man.”
“I’m waiting for the day you’re not here.”
“Soon. Believe me, soon.”
“What happened today?”
I shook my head. “I’m caught in my own bullshit. Nothing you need to worry about. I was going to hit the weights for a bit. Think of a game plan. I can’t let this shit go, Cole.”
“You’re in love with her, of course you can’t,” he said. “Me? What the hell would I know about that. I think you and Jackson are out of your damn minds.”
“Says the guy who wants to sleep with his secretary,” I said.
Cole waved his hands. “Correction. I want to sleep with everyone. There’s just too many beautiful women in this city to settle down. And… the secretary thing is a joke. A big joke. You’ve seen her. I chose her for a reason.”
Cole winked.
“You know, when you show your real side like this, you’re an asshole.”
“I consider myself honest when it counts,” he said. “Jackson advertises that he’s an asshole. I don’t need
