The Dream Before the Dark ✓

13 | A Common Thread

JEN GAVE CELIE PERMISSION to fill Jude in on the tragic state of her romantic affairs. She wasn't someone who generally enjoyed broadcasting her personal life too much and she was particularly embarrassed by it at the present moment, but she had sufficient reasons to let him in on it.

First, foremost, and most simply – he was her friend, and friends told each other things, and she trusted him.

Secondly, explaining it all to him outright would halt his need to constantly speculate about it at work.

And finally, as her only friend who happened to be a man, he was her best hope at attempting to understand the male psyche whatsoever.

So when her phone started ringing before she even had time to get out of bed the following morning, she expected it to be Jude, come to assail her with more questions. But it was Celie. She jumped straight to her request without a prior greeting, sounding entirely too awake for this time of day. Then again, the girl did have access to astoundingly large quantities of coffee. "Can you meet me outside in fifteen?"

It took Jen's sleepy brain a second to process this. "Outside—my apartment? Are you already on your way over? I'm still in my pajamas!"

"Then you better get ready quickly," Celie said cheerfully.

Jen had hoped for a relaxing morning rendezvous with a good book and a cup of tea, but alas, the universe apparently had other plans. "This better be important," she grumbled.

"Don't worry, it definitely is."

Jen wasn't entirely convinced of that, but she got ready in a hurry nonetheless. It was a good thing she had no one to impress because she had time to either make her makeup look good or eat a bagel for breakfast, and she opted for the bagel, the last bite of which she was still shoving into her mouth as she hurried out onto the front steps.

Celie was already there waiting for her, looking suspiciously gleeful. There was a tinge of mischief in her smile that worried Jen slightly.

"Um, hi," she mumbled through the last mouthful of bagel, then swallowed it. "So, what are we doing that's so important?"

Celie wrapped an arm around Jen's shoulder, wearing a wicked grin. "We, my friend, are going revenge shopping."

"Revenge shopping?"

"Yeah, you know. Buying the hottest clothes you can get away with wearing at work so that he'll regret all his life choices as soon as he sees you."

She said this very nonchalantly, but Jen spluttered and waved her arms in a motion of protest that probably made her look like a deranged chicken. "But—revenge for what? He didn't do anything wrong-"

"He led you on with those letters and then kissed you even though he already knew perfectly well that he didn't want any sort of commitment with you," Celie protested sharply, sounding like she'd formed a much firmer, much less forgiving opinion towards Robert since last night.

But Jen was still hesitating. "I don't think it's that he didn't want it..."

She wasn't sure if she should be speaking of his desire in the past or present tense, but she could still see the conflicted expression he'd worn and hear the tension that had been there in his voice when he said, Then I suppose it wouldn't do me much good to hide that last night wasn't the first time I thought about doing that.

"I think he did...just not enough."

The thought felt like an anchor tugging her heart downwards, but Jen also couldn't help but wonder...did she want him enough? If he'd brought her to the museum to tell her that he wanted to be with her, that he was all in...would she even have said yes?