Young Adulting - Christina Benjamin Page 0,65

with the pout she’d no doubt one day become famous for. “Both of them.”

I choked on a laugh at her serious tone and that little snicker was all the rest of them needed to start laughing. Like a pinprick in a balloon, that little bit of levity seemed to ease a ton of tension from the room.

It did nothing to lighten my mood, but the others stopped treating me like a fragile, breakable egg and started rehashing what I’d told them, analyzing Henry’s every word and brainstorming to figure out how I should handle Colin.

I sat back and listened as Becca and Ashley argued over which was worse—Henry’s lies or Colin’s backstabbing.

It wasn’t much of a toss up for me. My dreams might have been crushed by Colin, but my heart was breaking over Henry.

I tried to tell myself that I’d find another way to make it in this business. There would be other scripts, there would be new opportunities.

But there wouldn’t be another Henry.

Or Leo, for that matter.

I sniffled and reached for the tea, more to cover up the fact that I was crying—again—than to quench any thirst.

I was going to miss Henry and Leo. And now that I knew the sensitive screenwriter I’d felt such a connection with was the same man who’d made my heart race and my head spin with his kisses and his sense of humor and his thoughtfulness…?

I gripped the teacup tightly as I fought another wave of homesickness.

I knew this feeling well. I’d been feeling it for months now, but I was usually homesick for my parents, or Fallon, or even the comfort of my old bed.

But this…

I’d never been homesick for a person I’d seen just hours before. But there you had it. I missed Henry already.

Man, I was pathetic.

“Here, take this.” Kendal threw her sewing project at me so quickly I just barely kept from dropping my tea in my lap. Instead, the cloth bundle fell on my thighs and I frowned down at it.

“What is it?”

Kendal’s sudden grin was wicked. “A voodoo doll to work out your anger.”

I stared at the makeshift doll for a full second before bursting out in a teary laugh at the surprisingly sweet—and moderately terrifying—present.

“Ooh, a voodoo doll? Show me.” Fallon had video-called me so I hung the limp doll over the screen of the phone and she let out a cackle.

“I love it,” Carolina declared. “He deserves to suffer.”

“Which one?” This came in unison from me, Fallon, Becca, and Ashley. We waited for the now expected response—both of them. But Kendal answered first, “Henry, obviously.”

I looked at her in surprise as her level gaze met mine. “Izzy already knows what she has to do about Colin.”

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Kendal was right. My emotions might have gotten the best of me when it came to Henry, but Colin was another story altogether. But I was done being a doormat. I harnessed the pain I’d endured today and let it fuel my resolve.

Sitting a little taller, I faced my roommates. “There’s no way I’m letting him take my script from me.”

This was met by a ‘damn straight!’ from Fallon, a ruffle of my hair from Kendal and a high five between Becca and Ashley, while Carolina muttered something sinister sounding in Russian.

I smiled at them, these girls who’d become friends, letting their support buoy me. I was near tears again as their kindness tugged at my heartstrings. Luckily, Fallon noticed the quiver in my lower lip just before the waterworks began.

“Group hug!” Fallon shouted, making me laugh before I dissolved into tears as my roommates swarmed, sweeping me into the fierce hug I so desperately needed.

Puffy eyes and sleepless night aside, I was as ready as I could be to face off with Colin the next day when I showed up at the office.

The whispers from Taylor and her crew didn’t even phase me as I marched past them and back to the office where Colin had pulled the rug out from under me.

If he thought I was going to walk away without a fight, he was sorely mistaken.

I didn’t knock, just barged in. He didn’t seem all that surprised to see me and his smirk was still as smug as it had been the day before.

“What can I do for you, Izzy?”

“I’m not giving up my project.”

He made a tsking sound as he shook his head. “I thought we’ve been through all this, Iz. You’re clearly not ready