Girl Crush

Chapter 29

It was one of those dreary, overcast days that November brought. It was as if the weather checked to see how Dani was feeling and decided they should coordinate. A cold front had moved in and Dani watched the flurries slowly flutter past Robin's living room window. She sat on the couch, her knees pulled into her chest, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders as she sipped from her mug of coffee.

They had spent the night watching movies and eating junk food. Robin hadn't brought up the Eddie situation again and Dani was grateful for it. No amount of talking was going to fix this. There was no solution to be found. They had just curled up, sharing a blanket, Dani's head on Robin's shoulder. It was so comforting just to have her near, to know that she was not going to be completely alone when this was all said and done. They had wound up falling asleep on the couch and woken up about an hour ago.

Robin had headed upstairs to take a shower. Dani had thought about turning on the tv but she knew it would be pointless. It would just be mindless noise in the background of her chaotic thoughts. Her mind had trouble focusing on anything that wasn't the impending doom that was her friendship with Eddie. She knew Robin was right. She was just delaying the inescapable, but she couldn't stop herself. Every moment she put off that fated conversation was a moment she could just live in the in between.

"So," Robin said, bouncing down the stairs as she scrunched the water from her hair with a towel. "What we are not going to do is sit in this house all day and sulk. No sad sacks today. I think we should go harass Steve for a bit. He'll be bored this early in the day anyway. We can bless him with our presence for a little while, grab some movies for tonight, and then maybe head to the mall. We can wander, window shop for all the things we can't afford, gorge on junk at the food court."

Apparently, Robin's answer to everything was to eat ridiculous amounts of junk food. Last night she had pulled out all kinds of Little Debbies and ice cream and chips and insisted Dani eat because she would feel better. She didn't. In fact, after that, her stomach was even more twisted. The thought of more junk food made her cringe.

"I don't know," she sighed, holding the mug in both hands, savoring the warmth that seeped into her fingers. "It's such a yucky day anyway. It's so cold. It's the perfect day to just snuggle inside. Why don't we just stay here and watch movies or something?"

"Nope," Robin said, shaking her head. "That is exactly what we are not going to do. Don't think I don't know what's going on here. You want to hide away because you don't want to risk bumping into Eddie somewhere. But he's definitely not going to be hanging out at the mall. He's allergic to name brands and the mainstream who flock there so we're good. You have got to get out. You need some fresh air and real life people."

Robin crossed the room, grabbing Dani's coffee cup and setting it on the end table. Gripping her arms, she guided her to standing.

"There we go. Up and at 'em, girl. Now, go upstairs, change your clothes, do something with your hair and let's go," she stated. "We are about to begin Mission Make Dani Feel Like a Human Again."

Rolling her eyes, Dani sighed, "Robin, this really isn't necessary. I would be much happier..."

"No, you definitely wouldn't be. I am not hearing a single argument on this," Robin said firmly, crossing her arms. "You see this face? This is my determined face. You are going to get on board and you are going to like it."

"Ugh...fine. I am getting on board but I am definitely not liking it," Dani muttered, heading for the stairs.

"I'll take it, grudging acceptance is better than flat out refusal. We're making progress," Robin called out.

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Dani may have agreed to this ridiculous outing but she hadn't had the energy to put too much effort in. She had pulled her hair into a messy ponytail and went without make-up. She glanced down at her sweats and oversized sweatshirt, thinking how she would have been appalled for Steve to see her like this when they had been dating. Now, she couldn't care less what he thought about her appearance. Hell, she couldn't bring herself to care what anyone thought about her appearance. It felt like nothing mattered anymore.