“You can do better,” he says a minute later.
“Where’s that cab at?”
“Mia, did you hear me?”
“Yes, Andy, I heard you.” I get up from the steps and start to
briskly walk away. He’s the last person I want to discuss my fucked up
relationship with.
“You deserve so much better than some dick that steals your money.”
I immediately stop. “What? How do you know about that?”
“The whole apartment complex knows, Mia. We all saw you
throw his shit out the window.”
“You don’t even live there! Why are you always there?!”
“Mia, he’s an asshole.” I tell him to shut the fuck up. “Well, it’s
true!”
“Well, I didn’t ask.” I’m walking faster now but he has no trouble
keeping up.
“Will you just listen to what I have to say?!”
“No!” Where the fuck is that cab?! Andy’s saying something else
now but I can’t make it out. “What?!” I scream.
“I said, you realize you don’t have any shoes on?!” I look down at
my feet in disbelief. Goddammit, the asshat’s right. I stand there, letting
my face fall into my hands and I begin to cry. My birthday, what’s supposed to be the one night of the year, the night where everything goes
right for once, is the night that I get stuck in the middle of the street with
Andy, barefoot.
A minute later Andy’s by my side with my stupid blue pumps. He
hugs me and I cry into his shoulder. My wig’s blonde curls are soaked in
tears and the faux hair clings to my face. He pushes it out of the way and
smiles at me. Seconds later the cab pulls up. It only took three or four
Halloweens but I finally stopped hating Andy.
I have to work today which sucks because I’m still hungover from
last night plus today’s my birthday. The shift feels incredibly long and my
feet permanently hate me from wearing heels the night before a five-hour
shift. Luckily, it’s a slow day and I’m given a break halfway through. During my break I head outside and smoke a cig next to the dumpster behind
the diner. Looking at the pack makes me think of last night and how
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