I gave her my best puppy–dog eyes.
She squirmed under my gaze, a look of
amused exasperation on her face.
“Alright, alright. I’ll go with you.”
<
My eyes welled up again.
Ashley grabbed her car keys and pulled me
out of the office.
“You’re something else,” she muttered.
As we drove, I couldn’t help but cry.
Do you know that feeling?
Someone actually cared about me.
I wasn’t a complete failure.
“If crying makes you feel better, then cry.”
<
Suddenly, I remembered my train ticket.
I stopped crying long enough to quickly
cancel it on my phone, losing 20% to the
cancellation fee.
Ouch. That stung.
And just like that, I forgot all about crying.
Ashley shook her head, smiling.
“Whatever makes you happy.”
I was happy. Finally free.
く
We went back to my apartment.
Ashley surveyed my five duffel bags piled on
the floor. “That’s it? You all packed?”
“Yup, even the chipped bowl.”
She patted my shoulder, her eyes full of
sympathy.
I grinned. I had to keep up a poor appearance when my mom and Sarah visited.
It felt good to have someone on my side,
someone who cared.
<
My lease wasn’t up until the end of the
month, so I planned to wait until then to move
out. My mom had the landlord’s number. I
couldn’t take any chances.
Once we hit the highway, I felt like I could
finally breathe.
I wasn’t going back until they were gone.
I drifted off to sleep while chatting with
Ashley.
I hadn’t dared to sleep last night, a kitchen
knife under my pillow.
