“Yeah. I need to.” After I threw my spent cigarette butt on the asphalt as well, Justin hugged me, and I probably held on longer than I should have. “It was good talking to you. I mean that.”
“I know.” We finally released one another. “See ya later.”
I slept a whole lot better that night. My friend was back.
* * *
The next day, I wasn’t quite sure how it happened, but Kevin and I were chatting and planned a second date. This time, though, it was going to be a family game night—I’d cook and he’d bring something to go with. Because he really was a nice guy, even with his strange bedroom proclivities, I needed someone nice in my life.
This was good. This would help me keep Justin firmly in the friend zone so maybe my heart could let him go.
The rest of the universe, however, had other plans.
I was into my second hour of studying late that morning when my cell rang. It wasn’t a number I recognized, but with all that had happened with Sarah lately, I wasn’t about to ignore any calls. When I answered, there was silence on the line for a few seconds, long enough that I almost hung up.
But then a female voice asked, “Is this Randi?”
“Yes.”
“Or, should I say, Rascal?”
“Who is this?” I refrained at the moment from using the F word.
“This is Chelsea, Justin’s girlfriend.” My hackles rose at the emphasis the little twit placed on the last word. Girlfriend. Sure, Justin had girlfriends, but I’d seen him blow through at least a dozen of them in the short time we’d been friends. The word girlfriend didn’t have as much import as this woman seemed to think. No matter. I bit my tongue while she continued chattering. “You were in his cell with just your first name and a hell of a texting history. I’d like to know why you rate all that, Randi.” Chelsea said my name with so much contempt that I found myself glaring at nothing in particular in my kitchen.
But I managed to keep my voice calm. “Because we’re close friends.”
“I’d like to know how close.”
“That’s none of your business. If Justin wants to talk to you about it, that’s fine.”
“Whatever. I’m just calling to put you on notice, bitch.”
“Notice? For what?”
“From here on out, you will leave Justin alone. No calling him, no spending time together, nothing. It’s unhealthy for a guy to have friends who are women when he has a girlfriend. It’s potentially damaging.”
“What? Are you out of your mind?” Once more, restrained, I kept myself from calling her a bitch. But the word was rolling around in my brain.
“Are you out of yours? You are not as important to Justin as you might think.”
“You don’t have any idea what I think. You don’t even know me—and you have no right to talk to me like that.” Standing up, I grabbed my cigarettes and walked toward the back of the house. Before she could start talking again, I said, “In fact, don’t ever call me again.”
Chelsea continued spouting until I hung up on her. She called right back, as if we’d been disconnected accidentally, and I let it go straight to voicemail. I couldn’t remember how to block numbers on my cell, but she suddenly quit calling. No voicemails, no texts. Maybe she got a clue. I saved her to my contacts so I’d know who it was the next time she called and, if she did, I’d figure out how to block her.
But that stupid girl would find out soon enough that Justin didn’t keep women around for long.
Unless their relationship was getting serious. Considering Chelsea had gotten my number, probably without Justin’s knowledge, I realized maybe they were closer than I’d allowed myself to believe. It would certainly explain why Justin had been more distant lately.
All the more reason to be glad Kevin and I had a second date coming up.
Chapter Seventeen
At Sarah’s next appointment, when Rebecca wanted to have a one-on-one chat with me, I thought at first maybe she’d figured out the source of Sarah’s problems. But it wasn’t that simple. “Sarah loves you, Randi.” I hadn’t thought hearing something like that would be comforting—but it was, and my eyes actually teared up. Before I could find any words to say, she continued. “Justin.” My ears perked up and my muscles stiffened as I prepared for the worst. “He’s your, uh…boyfriend?”
“No.”
Blinking slowly and taking in a soft breath, she said, “But…the