Evangeline, heartbroken after her roommate and secret love, Chloe, moves out, struggles to find a replacement. Desperation leads her to reluctantly accept Aurora, a new coworker facing eviction. Evangeline, determined to keep emotional distance, set...
Her entire life, she's struggled to make friends because every guy she hangs out with falls in love with her, and every girl she hangs out with, she falls in love with. Obviously that's what's going on! There is no other explanation.
A foul feeling invaded her bloodstream, brought upon her by her own hand. She fell green with jealousy and nausea. She swallowed the burning liquid in her throat down as her stomach growled in agony. She was starving, but her mind circled right back to all of the other worries in her mind, including the mental calculations she was performing to create her budget for the next week. Somehow, amongst everything else, she still has responsibilities.
Payday was still five days away and she somehow had to get a hotel room for the next few nights, get gas to get to and from work every day, and somehow still have money to eat. She hasn't eaten in days. It's been the furthest thing from her mind, but now that the hunger pains were excruciating, she had no choice but to worry about her next meal.
She began to see white dots fill the room and then black circles that consumed her vision. Everything had spiralled out of control so fast as soon as she went on break. She laid her head on the table in front of her and closed her eyes. The rocking of the room slowed and her dizziness began to dissipate.
The door behind her opened and footsteps approached her. A soft, masculine voice called from behind her and came to her side. The man took a seat next to her. "Aurora?"
Aurora could only muster a grunt in response.
"I noticed you didn't bring a lunch to work today," he said. His cologne identified him before the sight of his tan, veiny hands peeking from his beige hoodie did. "You never bring one, and you don't go to the deli, and you don't have food delivered. I just want to make sure you're eating."
She looked up to see Trey placing items on the table. He scooted a sandwich toward her and steadily placed a soda and water bottle next to each other. "Trey, I'm fine."
"Don't make me worry about you, 'cause I will." He set his hand on her shoulder, squeezed it tight, and started to walk away. "Enjoy your break."
Guilt and shame consumed her. It fueled her nausea and jump-started her vertigo. She took a quivering breath, but it didn't help. Her anger festered. She didn't need charity, especially not from him. She had been homeless before and she managed just fine. She was resourceful and made the best of the situation. She didn't need Trey or Evangeline. She didn't need anyone!
She pushed away the offerings and groaned as her stomach ripped through her abdomen, chasing the meal she shoved off. She grabbed at her belly, praying for it to settle.
The half-sub sat before her, blankly staring into her soul. It was, of course, inanimate, but she still felt its peering eyes coercing her.
Defeated, she grabbed the water bottle and began sipping on the ice cold liquid. It only made her feel worse!
She picked up the sandwich and gently began nibbling at the bread. She didn't lose a single crumb as she ate the turkey sub. She stuck an entire bite in her mouth and ravenously finished it off.
"Aurora?" Evangeline's voice came from the door as it clicked into place. "I just wanted to let you know that you can stay another night if you need to."
"I—"
"Tomorrow is Christmas Eve—if you believe in that stuff— and I just figure you have enough on your plate, and I don't have anyone lined up to take the space until the new year, so if you need to stay another night, you're welcome to."
Aurora sized up Evangeline timidly. Her hangry, disoriented mood was not helped by Evangeline's gracious offer, and she could not rationalize a kind response. She could only nod. If she spoke, she'd surely destroy the bridge she was trying to build. She liked Evangeline as a friend, but everything inside of her wanted to sabotage her life and prove to herself that she didn't deserve good things.
Evangeline continued, "We both work at 8 tomorrow morning, so if you want to, I can take you back to my place tonight, we can get some take-out delivered, and I can bring you back here tomorrow."
Aurora tasted copper in her mouth as she pierced through her lips, gwaning on the flesh between her teeth. Of course Trey would go reporting everything to Evangeline! He didn't offer her this meal out of the goodness of his heart, he did it to make Evangeline take even more pity on her.
"Jeff also said the deli is catering some dinner for the holidays," Evangeline said, "so if you stick around past 5, there will be turkey and mashed potatoes."
Evangeline did not try to overstep during the silence, but Aurora defensively denied her. "I don't need your help."
"I'm not saying you do," she said patiently. Her approach had been miscommunicated, so she tried to be more clear. "I'm just offering because I'd like to be friends with you."
"What?"
Evangeline tucked her blonde hair behind her ears and sighed bravely. "Would like to hang out with me tonight? If you don't want to, you don't have to. Would you like to come over after work?"
Aurora sighed, dusting the crumbs off her fingers. Humiliation was creeping in. "I'm sorry. I am really on edge with everything going on."
"Don't be sorry. I've had my fair share of shitty days— my entire life is a shitty day." Evangeline sat down. She looked at the floor. "I'm going to be honest with you. You asked how Trey and I became friends. At first, I kind of hated him honestly. I thought he was obnoxious, and then, something changed."
She massaged her hands together with her eyes fixated on the linoleum. "One day after work, he asked me to hang out with him and this girl he was friends with. I didn't really want to go because I was still getting over a break-up when he asked me to go to the beach with them. He ended up introducing me to that girl, who became my best friend, and the three of us got really close as friends. He had to make the first move, and I am damn grateful that he did. That was the first time in my life I can recall having real friends."
Aurora listened attentively. She felt ashamed for the lies she had crafted in her mind. It was her way of protecting herself. It was easier to believe everyone had something she didn't have than to accept that she had been sabotaging herself for her entire life. "I've never really had friends."
"I got lucky with Trey and Chloe," Evangeline said. "And, I'd like to be friends with you, too."
Her stomach twisted as Aurora tried to rewire her thoughts. She had to erase the ridiculous ideas that had infiltrated her mind. This was her chance to finally have a friendship and she had to believe that she deserved it. For just one minute, she needed to believe that she deserved to have a friend in her life.
"I'd like that, too," Aurora admitted.
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