Second Chances

Heartbreak Anniversary

I felt much better after dinner, I hadn't eaten anything all day other than a cup of coffee and beer so my stomach was in agony at this point.

Satiated and refreshed after my nightly facial routine, I get ready for bed. I lay on the bed for a long time doom scrolling through social media until a call's ringtone pulled me out of it.

My eyebrows go up in surprise when my best friend's name appears on the screen with a picture of us both smiling.

I'm so eager to pick up the phone that I miss the button twice before I get there.

"Guess who's coming back to New York for the weekend ?!" Her excited voice is the first thing I hear.

"Jess !"

"Hey, Judy ! Miss me ?"

"You don't know how much." I sigh with a smile.

Nothing is the same without Jess, I crave her bubbly personality to motivate me every day.

"Perfect because tomorrow you're meeting me at 10am at the mall. I just landed."

The fact that she makes plans without consulting me doesn't even surprise me anymore, she's always been the boss in our relationship.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner, jeez ? If I had known I would have come to the airport to meet you."

"I wanted to surprise you and no, I didn't want you to come, you're working a lot already."

Ah that's right I didn't tell her about the recent events....

Jessica Banks or just Jess, is a reporter for a large journalism company. She was assigned to Seattle earlier this year and is as busy as I am so talking to each other has become hard.

She greatly values our time together so she's willing to come all the way to New York when she's free just to make up for lost time like this time.

I know I'm lucky to have her and I'm really grateful for all the effort she puts into our friendship.

I have known her since high school, we were classmates and have been inseparable ever since. I honestly have no idea how a girl like her befriended a girl like me, we are so different.

"Are you going to make me spend all my money again?" I pretend to complain.

"Don't act like you don't get paid plenty, and you barely spend that money. I don't even want to see what a mess I'll find your wardrobe in."

"There's nothing wrong with my wardrobe, excuse me."

"We're not having this discussion again, honey."

I laugh at her exasperated tone.

"Well, not to mention, that flight drained me so I need a good night's sleep terribly. See you tomorrow?" She adds.

"Sure, I'm looking forward to it. Get some rest."

We say goodbye and I hang up before setting my phone on the bedside table. I can't stop smiling, Jessica was the perfect distraction I needed. Nothing was better than a day with her where I was just Judy Harper, no police, no investigation, and especially no Nick.

I woke up this morning in a better mood than I had been all week. The stress of the unknown waiting for me at the train station was terrible at this point. I hated it when anxiety got the best of me.

But now that everything was clearer and I had a relaxing day ahead of me, I felt more free.

I even caught up on the podcast I used to listen to before the McAlister case took up all my time and thoughts. I was often so consumed with work that my hobbies became completely secondary.