“Open it, Calla.” Tori looks at me from her spot on the couch. “It’s just going to torture you if you don’t. Why put it off longer and let that whore bag win?”
I nervously play with the end of my ponytail while staring angrily at the envelope. “Look at the envelope, Tori.” I pick it up and slam it back down onto the table. “It’s a wedding invitation. I don’t need to open it to see that. She’s already won and she knows it. The whole world knows it.”
Tori tugs me back down to the couch and hands me the envelope. “No. . . . What the whole world knows is that she’s a twofaced, conniving bitch that deserves to get her expensive heels shoved up her high maintenance ass. No one likes the bitch.” She bumps her shoulder against mine and we both laugh at the truth in her words. “Now open the envelope before I rip it up and toss it out the window. Then, I’ll personally drive to Wisconsin, take her fancy stiletto off her foot, and shove it where nothing else has ever been. Damn prude. ”
I turn my head away and take a long, deep breath while opening the envelope with shaky hands. “I hate this.” I pull the black and silver paper out and hold my breath as my whole world officially breaks apart and crumbles in front of me. I feel like I’ve just been stabbed in the heart by one of my sister’s expensive heels.
My eyes stay glued to the pretty lettering as the wetness begins to slide down my cheeks, wetting the fancy paper. I feel like I’m in some kind of daze as I sit here staring at the invitation.
“Fuck it, Calla,” Tori says in an attempt to soothe me as I stare like a fucking zombie. I feel her hand on my back as she looks over my shoulder. “She’s not worth your tears. Dry your face off.” She dramatically wipes her arms over my face, causing me to laugh through my tears.
Nodding my head, I drop the invitation down onto the table and grab the envelope from my lap. I get ready to rip it up until I notice that there’s a small piece of paper stuffed inside.
Tori notices it at the same time I do and quickly grabs the envelope away, saving it from my destruction. “You don’t need to read this right now, honey. One thing at a time, but don’t rip it up. See what the bitch has to say first.” She reaches out and wipes away another stray tear. “You’re better than this, better than her, and better than them. You’re better than anyone that I know. Never forget that.”
I nod my head and close my eyes. I hate feeling this way. I don’t know why I let her affect me this way after two years. Maybe it’s the fact that she actually has the nerve to invite me to her fucking wedding. I don’t know what would ever make her think that I would actually want to be there for that. I can’t tell if I’m more angry or shocked. I’m definitely both. I feel like someone has reached into my chest and is twisting my heart.
Tori stands up and reaches for her purse, looking pissed at the world. “Enough of this bullshit. You need to get out. We’re going to go out, grab a few drinks, and have fun. No thinking. No caring. No crying. Call up Kyan and I’ll call up Brad and we’ll make a night of it.”
Kyan . . . My heart swells at the memories of last night. The sex was great, don’t get me wrong, but the best part was just lying in his arms afterwards without a single care in the world. What I wouldn’t give right now to go back to that moment and forget this day all together. We laid there for what seemed like hours, talking and enjoying the freedom. He asked me about my job and my family, my interests and anything that I would expect a boyfriend to want to know. Whenever I said something funny, I found comfort in the vibration of his chest as he let loose and just lived in the moment with me. Oddly, I crave for that feeling right now.
“I can’t just call Kyan up and ask him to go on a double date, Tori. It’s not like that with us. He’s got two businesses to run and he’s not my boyfriend. He’s just . . . he’s . . .” I stop and let out a frustrated breath. “He’s busy.”
Thinking about Kyan only seems to make my head hurt at the moment. I want nothing more than to ask him to hang out with me, but I’m afraid he’ll say no and remind me of the fact that we can never be anything more. The thought causes my chest to ache and I fill up with anxiety.
“He might not be.”
“Huh?” I look up from my phone that I didn’t even realize I was now holding.
Tori grins and points to my phone. “Send him a text. It’s not going to hurt to ask. Then go to your room and change out of that work attire crap and throw on something cute and flirty.”