Two

CHAPTER TWO

Back from nowhere

I tried to get out of the bathtub but Hannah pinned me down.

“Not today, you're not .” Hannah gets out of the tub, looking grim. “I'll tell your boss. Don't worry, he won't give me any trouble.”

I couldn't help but chuckle. No one gives Hannah trouble and any ones who do seriously regret it. I mean who dares to get a top lawyer troubles?

I don't think Roland will mind, though. He's not heartless, and I have a spotless record of him.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, Hannah comes back, along with pizza and ice cream.

“Roland said it's fine, he can get someone else to cover the story. He asked me to pass along his best wishes .”

“Thanks.” I poured myself a glass of wine and took a sip. “I don't know what to do .”

“For now, relax, drink and eat. Tomorrow, I suppose you'll be expected back at work. As I said, you can stay here as long as you need. There's no rush .”

Her words are a comfort, but they don't fill the aching hole that Raymond had left inside of me. I had been slapped hard on my face and my years with him proved to be a total joke!

Over the next few hours, we proceed to drink our way through two of Hannah's best bottles. By the time I'm pretty better. I flop into the bed, grinning vaguely. My phone is on the dresser and I grab it.

I scroll through my WhatsApp contacts, not looking for anyone in particular. The name Dylan catches my eyes and I gasped, remembering our high school days.

Dylan was very close to Hannah and me in school and throughout most of college. Everything changed one weekend after he went camping.

We never figured out what happened. He came back with blood, refusing to say how he got hurt. Barely a week later, he moved clear across the state. I've tried calling him, with no response. So far he hasn't responded to my messages.

Well, it is worth a shot.

Kenzy: “Hey.

I broke up with Raymond, he cheated on me.

Dylan: Sorry, Kenzy. Are you okay?

Kenzy: Sure, I'm great.

Dylan: You are drunk, ain't you?

Kenzy: Absolutely.

Dylan: Lol. Call me when you are sober if you want to talk.

It's not much, but it was more of a response that I've gotten so far. I send Dylan another smiling sticker before dropping the phone, missing the dresser and letting it fall to the ground.

I tried to grab it, but I ended up hitting my head on the lamp.

"Ouchhhh.." I whimpered, rubbing the area in circular motion.

There are five missed calls from Raymond, but I ignored those.

Maybe I'll let Hannah go there tomorrow and castrate him.

My head is starting to pound, so I figure this is a good time to sleep. Getting myself under the blankets is a task that defeats me in my drunken state, so I sprawl atop them. My thoughts try to turn to Raymond, and I tried to shut them down with little success.

For the first time in a long time, I worried about my future. I don't know what my life looks like without Raymond. I don't know if I can survive without him.

What if I can't do it?

*****★*****

Unsurprisingly, I woke up with a pounding headache.

I groan, rolling over and nearly falling off the bed. I somehow manage to crawl to the shower, thanking every God I've ever heard of that it's a Sunday.

If I had to drag myself into work today, it might just end for me.

Once I'm dressed, I head for the kitchen in search of water and a painkiller. Hannah isn't up yet, but I managed to find what I needed rooting through the drawers and cupboard.

Feeling slightly revived, I went back to the guest room and spent a few minutes finding my phone.

There are two messages.

Dylan: Hey, give me a call when you wake up.

Dylan: I'm in town, it would be wonderful if we could meet up.

I vaguely remember messaging Dylan last night. Still, I was surprised at his new messages.

Does he want to see me?

Hannah and I were both under the impression that he didn't want to be friends anymore. Apparently, that wasn't the case.

I found myself grinning as I responded.

Kenzy: Sure I'd love to meet up. Where?

Dylan: How about IHOP?

Kenzy: Just give me some hours to bring myself back to life. Eleven?

Dylan: Sure see you then.

Wow, I can't believe I'm going to see him again.

I wonder what made him disappear for so long? I guess I would soon find out. I paused halfway thinking of what he was going to look like after such a long time. I grinned, whatever I wanted to know, I was certainly going to find out about it in the next few hours.

Hannah is dead to the world, I even have to check up on her to check if she is still breathing. After eating, I spent the whole morning browsing through Netflix. I keep glaring at the clock checking the time as it passes by slowly. It's 10:30 and I'm already dressed up and on my way out when Hannah pushes her door open, robbing her eyes and asking me the big question.

"Where are you going?"

I'm reluctant to answer that and only make up excuses, pulling the door open and slipping out.

I ended up at IHOP half an hour early. As I sip my coffee, I looked at the window watching for Dylan.

He arrived at eleven on dot.

I leap up, pulling him into a hug.“ Hey, it's so good to see you .”

Dylan returns the hug gingerly, as though afraid of breaking me. “You too, Kenzy. I've missed you so much.

“Where have you been? What happened to you? You just vanished! I was really worried.”

When we were friends, Dylan had never had secrets. We used to joke that he'd make the world's worst secret service agent. Now, he leaned back, his face suddenly closed off.

I could feel the guilt in his eyes and knew he was hiding a lot, there were many things he wanted to say but I guess for some reasons he is choosing to hold it back.

“It's....it's a long story."