She

My turn

I felt bad for Erin. She was working all day and I got to sit on the couch watching 'Game of Thrones'. Still, she was due home in ten minutes anyway. I was comfortable, wrapped in my cardigan, my coffee mug all but burning my hands, when there was a knock at the door.
I frowned; people usually buzzed in at the machine downstairs and then came up. It was strange to receive a spontaneous knock on the door.
I irritably sat down my mug, dragged myself off the couch and went to see who it was. I peered through the peephole, then convulsed back in over exaggerated horror. It was that Chloe girl from the other night.
She was the last person I wanted to see... but I was also curious as to why she was here, and how she knew where we lived. So I opened the door.
"Hey," she smiled, "is Erin here?"
"No, she's at work, can I take a message?"
"Oh, you don't schedule all your days off for the same time? That's what I used to do."
"That's nice," I sighed.
"Well when will Erin be back?"
I was hoping she wouldn't ask that. "... ten minutes," I said through gritted teeth.
She looked at me expectantly.
I rolled my eyes, "would you like to come in and wait?"
"Oh, you're so kind."
"Have a seat," I might as well be hospitable now, "coffee?"
"I'll pass," she said.
"Uh..." what question to ask first? "How did you manage to find our apartment?"
"Stalking," she said dully.
"What?"
"Relax, I'm kidding. This magical thing called the Internet told me where your little tattoo studio is and I was nearby and then I saw you coming in here yesterday. No big deal."
"Still kind of stalking," I frowned.
"Whatever. I had to see Erin."
"Why?"
She gave me a look, "I can't tell if you're stupid, or just praying that your instincts are wrong... I want her back."
"What?" That was like a slap to the face.
"Oh come on, you can't seriously think it'll last between you two," she looked me up and down, "girls like Erin don't go for girls like you."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well... don't take this the wrong way. You're shy, and awkward. You have a bunch of carrots growing out your head. And you could really do with getting your nose fixed."
I looked at the ground, "well you're wrong," I said quietly, "Erin does want me."
"She's slipping away and you're doing nothing about it."
"Slipping away?" I shook my head, "I was gonna propose that night. I had the ring in my pocket and everything was planned. It was gonna be... beautiful. And then... you turned up and started talking about how much I suck and it sort of ruined the atmosphere."
She rolled her eyes, "sweet."
"And what about your boyfriend?" I asked.
"Jonathan?"
"Wasn't it Joshua?"
"Whatever. I didn't really like him. But Erin on the other hand. I really like Erin. I want another chance with her," she shrugged.
"... you had your chance. You had your chance and you blew it, and now it's my turn, and you wanna screw that up too. Well I'm not fucking this up... 'cause I love her. She's my world."
Erin suddenly turned up at the door, "well this is a surprise... Kristen, you invited Chloe over?"
"No. She..." I looked at Chloe for confirmation, "followed us?"
Chloe didn't say anything.
"What are you doing here?" Erin asked.
She bit her lip, "it doesn't matter anymore. I should go." She looked at me, "I'm not a home wrecker. I didn't know you felt like that. It's sweet," she didn't seem sarcastic this time. She lowered her voice, "don't let her go," she squeezed my shoulder, then left as quickly as she had arrived.
"What just happened?" Erin asked me.
"I... don't know," I said sadly, "That was strange."