Another Door Opens

13 - And he calls me a crybaby

- EDEN -

Wolfe had basically booked a flight down to Melbourne the minute he heard from Luna that I had finally decided to move home, surprising me by arriving on my doorstep---or the intercom downstairs at least---the night before I was scheduled to begin my drive from Melbourne to Byron Bay in my car which I’d already packed to the brim with all that was left of my belongings, except for the pillows and blankets I’d folded and slept on last night considering my bed was collected by an international university student yesterday afternoon.

I’d already begun packing all my things as soon as I received notice of my need to vacate, wanting to get a jump start on organising everything. I’m one of those people who are painfully obsessive when it comes to everything being neat and organised, and a house move, let alone an interstate one, is a lot to organise. 

When I accepted Nella’s offer to stay, I knew I wouldn’t have much room to bring and store all my furniture, so I just decided to sell pretty much everything I couldn’t fit in my small SUV and start fresh when I finally found my own place. I thought it might be fun to redesign a new space for the new woman I’m apparently growing into. Shed the drab cocoon I’d outgrown and fly off into the sunshine with my brighter wings, as Heath would likely say.

I’d listed my couch, bed, bedside tables, dining table, TV unit, washing machine, dryer, fridge and microwave on Facebook marketplace and Gumtree, and they were nabbed in no time. I actually had people in somewhat of a bidding war on Marketplace over my couch, which I found hilarious because I despised the ugly thing as it was much more to Trey’s taste than it ever was mine. I also donated half of my wardrobe to op shops considering some of my clothes were purchased to withstand the cooler temperatures of Melbourne winters, and I’d maybe only need them a handful of days a year when I was back in the warmer climate up north. My boots were perhaps the items that took up the most room in the car considering I’d developed a sad girl shopping addiction with this cute little boutique shoe store around the corner from the apartment, mindlessly walking there and somehow ending up wandering home with a new pair whenever I’d be grappling with the dilemma in my head of what to do with my relationship with Trey.

“So, basically you haven’t left me with anything to help out with but to take shifts driving the seventeen odd hours north?” Wolfe said when I let him inside and he saw all the nothing left in my apartment except for my makeshift bed, the TV currently sitting on the floor, and the bottle of wine I’d been drinking... directly from the bottle.

“I wasn’t exactly expecting any company to either help or bear witness to my shame,” I said, plonking myself back down on my ‘bed.’ “I can go grab you a glass from my car if you’d like some?” I laughed after taking another swig, already half a bottle deep. I’d spent the last couple weeks drinking my way through all the remaining alcohol left in the apartment, including a last minute farewell party that I was coerced into having with my work friends last weekend. Coerced, yes, but happily so in the end because it was so much fun I regretted not making more of an effort to hang out with them all outside of work.

“Better idea,” Wolfe said, his eyes lighting up with the beginnings of a plan. “Why don’t you find some less comfortable clothes, and we go out and grab a drink somewhere on the town? I haven’t been out in a while, and I can’t imagine I will be able to much any time soon considering my impending fatherhood. Might be nice to leave this place on a high, and it is Friday night after all.”

I wasn’t planning on going out anywhere tonight before the big drive tomorrow, and I’m not sure I even know where any nicer clothes are right now considering I’ve practically been living in one of three shorts and t-shirt combos that I kept unpacked; but I’m also not going to pass up an opportunity to go out with Wolfe. I think he and I have been out only once or twice before, and one of those nights was cut short because Trey ‘wasn’t feeling well,’ which I believe was code for ‘these are your friends, and I feel outnumbered for once and don't like it.’ Nothing against the guy, and I mean that wholeheartedly, but the longer I have to reflect on everything between us and the more time and distance that is placed between us makes me realise just how unequal our relationship was.