Chapter Forty-Five

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Chapter Forty-Five

 "And then, like, I was done with him!" Giselle exclaims, tearing a piece of naan. "So...I took a hammer and smashed his new car. It was goodbye to Martha, his car, not the girl he cheated on me with. I mean, like, who names their car that anyway?"

             I'm laughing my lungs out by this point in the story. "Oh, jeez! Same! My brother named his car Sherry!"

            "You have a brother? All I have are two younger sisters and a billion redneck cousins from the parts of the United States nobody cares about," she informs me. "Do you have a picture of him?" She pulls out her phone for the first time tonight since she has a rule to leave phones in the corner during dinner out, and quickly shows me a picture of a young girl and a slightly younger girl. "Bella and Colleen. Mom's really big on the two l's in everyone's names."

           "They're cute," I say. They both look like they could be in middle school or younger. I take my phone and show a recent selfie my brother sent me with him pointing to a Florida sunset in an obnoxious you-wish-you-were-here way. "This is Brent."

           Giselle steadies the phone, grabbing the side and really looking at him. "Oh, wow, now that's the definition of cute." She looks up, wiggling her eyebrows.

        "Girlfriend," I tell her and she pouts.

         "Of course!" She sinks back into her chair, stuffing more naan in her mouth but smiling still.

          I laugh, taking my glass of icy water, the chunks of ice tapping the sides of the glass. It feels refreshing down my throat. "I'm glad you totaled that guy's car though. He was surely an idiot."

           "Yeah, I know," she replies, dipping the bread into chicken tikka. "Some of my friends were asking me why I didn't hunt down the girl or total her car. Hey, she had no idea I existed. Why should I go after the girl when the wrong decision was made by that idiot? Society these days, man. Women against women, without good reason anyway. We need to support each other especially when barbarians like my ex walk freely around this planet."

            "Tell me about it," I say. I decide I really like Giselle. Her morals and beliefs match with mine to the maximum.

           Her and I are at Dhaba Indian Cuisine. It's a bit north from our dorms and a bit of a hike by foot so we took the train and walked around a little before arriving. It gave me a feel for the city and nightlife. Not to mention the feeling of taking trains. It'll take me a while to adjust to those. I'll be lying if I said I'm not a little scared of them. I've been a sheltered and stable white female my entire life. New York City definitely isn't the tight knit suburban town of Brownwood, that's for sure. Anything and everything can and does happen here.

             When the check comes, we agree to pay separately and we stand, leaving the restaurant. I'm sure they're glad to get rid of their loudest customers. We're those people. The ones hyena laughing in the corner and the ones that elders shake their head at. Already, I feel closer to Giselle.

             We walk back, talking about politics and boys and our favorite memories. It's easy to talk to her. Giselle's like a river and everything just flows about and with her. As we walk to the train a new way, I pass by his house. Or his hotel, really. Reigning over the other buildings in the area, it's humongous. I stare up as if he can see me but I know he can't.

             Giselle animatedly talks about saving animals and wildlife and I nod as my eyes flicker sneakily back and forth towards the building and the front swiveling doors, expecting him to come out. I know he won't and I know I shouldn't want him to but I can't help but glance. How am I going to live in the same city as him without feeling like a drug addict sitting next a joint only a few days after quitting?

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