Besides finding out that his sister was pregnant with his ex-best friend’s baby, things were going well for Andy. He really liked West Virginia. He was making friends with the guys at work, and he had even spent a few nights out with them.
I was happy for him. I just hated the fact that it meant I was alone a lot more. I didn’t tell him that though. Whenever he asked if I would be okay by myself for a night, I always smiled and pretended like I would be. Just because I was miserable didn’t mean that he had to be miserable, too.
I always spent the evening at his house if he wasn’t out or working. My dorm room was too quiet, and right now, I couldn’t handle quiet. I started thinking when things were quiet, and that always led to tears. I was tired of crying over Jesse all the time.
As hard as I’d tried, I couldn’t get that morning out of my head. He’d been cautious around me, like he was afraid that I’d run away, but he’d still been Jesse. It was the first time that we’d actually talked since he’d left California. We hadn’t discussed anything that mattered, but we’d talked nonetheless. I kept telling myself that it didn’t matter if we started talking, but my heart clung to that morning like it was something important.
I kept having dreams about the night of the party, too. I dreamed that I would wake up in Jesse’s bed, and he’d start kissing me. As soon as I started to move to the next stage, he’d push me away. It seemed so real that I often wondered if it was. I knew it couldn’t be though. He was with Ally now, and he would soon be a dad.
“Emma?”
I looked up to see Abby walking next to me.
“Hey, what’s up?” I hadn’t made much of an effort to get to know Abby better since school started. I’d been so preoccupied with finding Jesse and then trying to accept the fact that he was really gone that I hadn’t worried about making friends. I knew it was too late to start trying now. Most of the girls in my dorm had already formed groups, and I wasn’t welcome in any of them.
“I was wondering if you were doing anything tonight,” Abby said.
“Um, I don’t think so. Why?”
She stared at the ground as she said, “Today’s my birthday, and I wanted to go out. I just don’t have anyone to go out with. You’re the closest thing I have to a friend.”
“Oh,” I said, shocked at her words.
Abby was a sweet girl, and I felt horrible for her. No one should have to spend her birthday alone.
“I understand if you don’t want to or if you already have plans. I just thought I’d ask.”
“No, I’d love to go out with you. Where do you want to go?”
“I don’t know. Clubs really aren’t my thing, so I was thinking we could just go watch a movie and maybe grab some dinner?”
“Abby, are you asking me out on a date?” I asked with a serious expression.
Her eyes widened, and she shook her head. “No! I didn’t mean it like that. I’m not…you know.”
I started laughing. “I’m just messing with you. Do you want me to drive or do you want to?”
“I can drive. I live in the same dorm as you, so we can just meet in the parking lot.”
“Works for me. What time do you want to meet?”
“I’m finished with classes for the day, so whenever you’re done, I guess.”
“I’m finished, too. Can you give me an hour to get changed and do a little bit of my homework?” I asked.
“Sure, that works for me.”
We finished walking to our dorm together. I waved good-bye as I exited the stairs at my floor. I spent the next hour trying to get some of my homework done. After I finished, I changed and hurried downstairs to meet Abby. She was already waiting for me at the edge of the parking lot. I’d never seen her look so excited before.
“Ready?” she asked.
I stopped in front of her. “Yep, let’s go.”
We drove to the mall where the movie theater was. She tried to get me to pick the movie, but I refused. It was her birthday, so that meant that she got to pick. We debated for a few minutes before deciding on one that was about zombies. Her choice surprised me. I never would have picked Abby to be the zombie-movie type.
I paid for her popcorn and drink as a present to her. I couldn’t help but frown at how excited she was. It was obvious that she’d never really had a friend. I sat through two hours of zombies popping out of random spots. The movie wasn’t bad. I just didn’t like scary stuff. I rolled my eyes as I realized I’d be sleeping with all the lights on tonight.
“That was awesome!” Abby said as we walked back to her car. “Did you like it?”
“It was great,” I lied.
“Are you hungry?”
“Starving.”
We drove back through Morgantown toward campus. My hand tightened on the door as we pulled up at the restaurant where Ally worked. Abby didn’t seem to notice my discomfort as she stepped out of the car. I looked around and saw Ally’s car parked a few spaces away.
This is going to be a disaster.
I followed Abby into the restaurant, scanning the place for Ally. I didn’t see her anywhere, but I knew she was here. I made sure to take the seat where I could see the waitress station and the counter. There was no way that I was going to let Ally sneak up on me.
“You okay?” Abby asked.
I tore my eyes away from the restaurant to smile at her. “I’m fine.”
“You seem kind of nervous. Do you not like this place?”
“No, I love it.”
“Okay, I just wanted to make sure. I was going to say that we could go somewhere else if you didn’t.”
I was tempted to tell her that I hated it, but I decided not to. It was her birthday, and I wouldn’t let Ally ruin it for her. If Abby wanted to eat here, we would eat here.
“What can I get you guys to drink?” a familiar voice asked.
I looked up to see Ally standing by our table with a pen and a pad of paper in her hand. I’d been concentrating on Abby so much that I hadn’t even noticed Ally walking up.
“A water for me. What do you want, Emma?” Abby asked.
“The same,” I said as I stared at Ally. There was no way that I was going to let her out of my sight.
“I’ll be right back,” Ally said sweetly.
She made sure to push her stomach out as she turned to walk away. I wanted to vomit.
“She seems nice,” Abby said, completely unaware of what was happening around her.
“Yep.”
My eyes never left Ally as she walked to the waitress station and filled two glasses with water. When she returned, she was just as sweet as before.
“Are you ready to order?” Ally asked.
“Yeah, I want a cheeseburger and fries,” Abby said as she handed Ally her menu.
“And you?” Ally asked as she stared at me. Her back was to Abby, so she didn’t try to hide the hate in her eyes.
“The same,” I answered calmly as I shoved the menu in her hand.
She stumbled back a bit with the force of it, but the smile never left her face. “Great. I’m going on break, but I’ll put your order in before I go. I should be back by the time your food is done. I’ll be sure to bring it out to you.”
There was just something about Ally that made me nervous. I hadn’t given it much thought when I’d been with Jesse, but now, the feeling wouldn’t go away. She was a hateful bitch. I had no idea why she hated me so bad. She’d won—she had Jesse. That was all that mattered to her.
I sipped my water and chatted with Abby as we waited for our food. Ally had disappeared into the back room as soon as she put our orders in, so I tried to relax while she was gone. If I didn’t like Abby so much, I would have left the second I realized Ally was our waitress.