to hear that, a little barb in my chest. “It’s gross. You’re not acting sane, you’re acting like some lunatic. You think you’re in love with some boy? Of course you do, if he’s shagging you properly. But this is all going to fall flat, you know this. You’re just…I don’t know, you need to find your self-esteem somewhere else.”
“Am I embarrassing you?” I ask, trying to keep my voice steady.
“Yes! You are. This is not the Thalia that I know.”
“Okay,” I say, feeling a tear come to my eye, the kind of tear that usually shows up when I’m drunk and emotional. I take in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Well, then if I’m a new Thalia, I don’t think this version of myself wants to be friends with you anymore.”
“What?” Helen screeches. “You can’t do that! What are you, ten years old?”
“No, I’m forty. And old enough to know when a friendship does me more harm than it does me good. Goodbye Helen. Say hi to Stewart from me.”
And then I hang up.
I actually hang up.
I stare at the phone for a moment, all this adrenaline and alcohol rolling through me, my emotions being pulled in a million different directions.
I look up at Alejo and smile. “I guess I did it.”
I feel proud of myself that I finally told her off and ended it but…
And my smile falters.
It still kind of sucks.
I feel myself crumbling and then Alejo’s arms are around me, holding me tight against his coat. “Hey, it’s okay,” he says to me. “You did the right thing but you’re allowed to be upset. It’s never easy when you say goodbye to a friendship.”
I just nod, wiping away a lone tear. I don’t want to end our evening on a bad note, even if that phone call put my heart in a bit of a vice.
Thankfully, just being with Alejo is making me feel better.
“What do you want to do now?” Alejo asks. “Since you’re on a roll of being a badass.”
I laugh. “I don’t know about that.”
“Want to go eat the kind of food Mateo would disown me for? Want to go eat McDonalds?”
He sounds so excited, like he’s seriously contemplating something naughty, that I have to say yes.
“Sure, let’s do it. Start the New Year off on the right foot.”
“Everyone knows January 1st doesn’t count,” he says, pulling away and taking hold of my hand. “Come on, let’s go get a Big Mac and see where the night takes us.”
I know he’s trying to distract me but I couldn’t be more grateful for it.
We walk off into the night.
I haven’t felt this hungover in a long time.
And even though I just woke up, I have a feeling Alejo feels the same way.
Carefully, very carefully, I roll over in bed and see his feet aimed right at me. It takes me a moment for the scene to make sense, and I take another moment to actually appreciate his feet. I’m not a foot person, but considering Alejo kicks balls for a living, his feet look smooth and pampered.
Hmmm. I’ll have to ask him about that later.
My gaze travels down from his feet to the blanket where he briefly disappears and then, finally, I see his dark hair at the end, half off the bed.
I have no idea what caused us to fall asleep like this but something tells me it had to do with a lot of Cava and a lot of grapes.
Ugh. Even the thought of grapes makes me want to vomit.
I slowly get out of bed, careful not to disturb either Alejo, who is snoring lightly, or my head, which is pounding heavily. I do my business in the washroom, drink two cups of water at the sink, and splash copious amounts of cold water on my face.
I look like shit. My body is getting too old for this kind of stuff. I’m probably going to have a hangover for a few days, too, as extra punishment. Oh well, it was fun. At least all I have to do today is do absolutely nothing and…
Oh shit. I forgot that I’m supposed to meet Vera for New Year’s Day brunch together. When I told her I wasn’t going to their place for Christmas, she was adamant we see each other soon. At the time, I naively assumed I wasn’t going to be hungover and so brunch sounded fine. Now that Alejo is here, and I feel like ass, I’m not sure