Page 88 of Rise & Fall

“I’m just saying.”

“How long do you think we’d need? I just took last weekend off for Em’s birthday. I can see if I can get someone to cover my shifts, but I need to know when I have to leave and when I can come back.”

My best friend has always been a more one-day-at-a-time kind of gal, whereas I plan things out ahead of time as I can. So, I’m not irritated that I have to potentially give up a weekend at the bar to fly back to Colorado for a dress fitting. If anything, it could be good for me. Plus, I miss her.

“Well, Callan just bought your tickets. You’ll be leaving Saturday morning and landing in the late afternoon. Then your flight back is Sunday afternoon,” she chirps in a matter-of-factly tone.

“Sterling, what? No. I can’t let Callan pay for my tickets. I can pay for them,” I object, not really liking the feeling of allowing someone else to pay for something of mine.

“You’re my Maid of Honor, it’s my wedding, and my fiancé is fucking rich. It’s our gift. Or at least part of it. Just please say yes.” I can practically see her puppy dog eyes.

“Well, yes. I was always going to come when you needed, but I can pay my own way there.” And I can, working the bar has been way more financially beneficial than the hospital ever was.

“Great, I’ll pick you up from the airport then. Gotta go. Bye, girl.”

“Wait!” I try to interrupt her, wanting to talk to her about my dilemma, but she hangs up. I just scoff; she’s busy and I’m spiraling. I remember when the roles were reversed. But I didn’t realize how badly I needed someone to talk to about this.

I lean against the railing of my balcony, loving the breeze that swirls around me. It leads me to my next thought. For some reason, my brain summoned the idea of needing someone to talk to who isn’t my best friend, someone who might not be biased to my needs. And though I don’t know her too well, something tells me that she’ll listen, and she’ll give me honest advice,

So, I take my phone out and search for her number. When I find it, I type out a text.

Hey Barbie, It’s Dakota…

I remember that we don’t actually know each other’s real names, no thanks to our boss’s stupid rules. So, I delete my name and type out my nickname.

It’s Red. I was wondering if you had time to meet. Just needed some girl time tbh and I wanted to see if you wanted to hang?

I send the final message, feeling a tad silly for reaching out to someone who may actually not like me very much considering we don’t even work together a ton. But in this life, after everything I’ve been through, the realization that I have to take risks and give the unknown a chance dawns on me daily. This time, I’m doing things differently.

My phone buzzes with a response from Barbie.

Hey girl. I’d love that. But I’m busy right now, I can swing by your place after? That work?

I feel a sense of accomplishment creep over me as I read her text. See, it’s not so bad to try new things. We might even become friends.

That works. I’ll send you the address. See you soon!

I smile at myself, noticing that I’m excited more than nervous. I’m really about to confide my relationship drama in someone I barely know. But I need to talk about these things though. I’m not one to let things fester for too long. And I can’t talk to Nolan, because the topic is Nolan, and Sterling is busy with her own life, so I have to start somewhere.

I really hope I don’t regret this.

twenty-eight

Nolan

“Whatdidyouwantto talk about, Jessica?” I find her sitting at a table at the restaurant she asked me to.

I’m eager to get this over with so that I can get back home and call Dakota. I really don’t like the way we left our earlier conversation. I got the feeling that she was hiding something from me. But I don’t know what it could be.

I pull out the chair across from Jess and a look of dejection crosses her face, as if she were expecting me to share the booth seat with her.

“Hello, Nolan.” She smiles at me, ignoring my obvious rush for the information she claimed as important.

I just nod at her, not loving that I agreed to this arrangement in the first place. But I did it in the moment and here I am, annoyed that I have to suffer through however long she’s going to withhold the initial reason why I’ve been summoned.

“How are you feeling?” I try my hardest not to roll my eyes at her attempt of an empathetic conversation, her tone is soft but forced as she smiles gently, trying to weasel her way back into my life.

“I’m fine, Jess. Listen, I don’t really know why I’m here, but I really don’t have time for nonsense. I’d really like to just get to the point of what you wanted to talk about.” I try to stay as civil as possible, but I also don’t want to give her the impression that I’m here for any funny business.