“Nope,” I said. “Let’s talk about singing.”
Carla laughed. “Oh, come on. That guy was… hot. Tell me you took him home…”
“Liam is an old friend.”
“Old friend,” Faye said, rolling her eyes. “That means either he’s gay or he’s taken.”
“Which one?” Carla asked.
“Taken,” I said.
“And where was she?” Faye asked.
“She’s away right now,” I said.
“Oh, you little devil,” Carla said. She slapped my arm. “The bitch goes away and you come out to play…”
Faye clicked her tongue. “My, oh, my… you fit right in with us.”
“Tell her about Robin and Fritz.”
“Who’s Fritz?” I asked.
“Her husband, Kyle,” Carla said. “That’s his nickname. Long story short… Fritz had a girlfriend. They were basically engaged. Weird story there too. But Robin saw him and wanted him. She was better. She believed they were meant to be.”
“Did he… cheat?” I asked.
“Not necessarily,” Faye said. “Feelings are crazy things, you know?”
“Put it this way,” Carla said. “When they both knew, they both knew. That was it. Fritz got rid of the wrong woman and got the right one.”
“Even though he knocked up the right one and we’re short a singer,” Faye said.
“Which brings it all back to why we’re here,” Carla said.
“Wait a second,” I said. “Robin and Fritz. They’re married? She’s pregnant? It’s good?”
“I’ve never seen her so happy,” Faye said. “They’re meant to be. The heart knows what it wants. It’s not all sappy romance like in a movie.”
“Back to singing,” I said.
“Simple,” Carla said. “Do you want to sing with us or not?”
“I do,” I said. “I’d love to sing on stage with you. And Ernie wants me to sing a solo show too.”
“Perfect,” Faye said. “How awesome is it that the night Robin sings her last song with us you’re there to sing, Emily?”
“Thank Liam,” I said. “He wanted me to do it.”
“I hope that’s not all he wants you to do,” Carla said with a wink.
I laughed.
My cheeks turned red.
I was actually happy for the first time in a long time.
All because of Liam.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Liam
I heard my phone ringing from across the apartment.
I wasn’t sure I had ever ran so fast through the apartment to get to my phone ever.
For good reason.
There was a phone call I had been waiting for damn near all day.
With each passing second it felt like the day was going to go without hearing her voice. Which almost felt like a tragedy to me.
There was that other voice in my head, reminding me of one word.
Wrong.
Wrong was right.
But what was right didn’t feel it.
That made everything simply confusing.
All my racing thoughts came to a sudden halt when I saw the name on the screen.
Miranda.
I rubbed my jaw and answered the call.
“Hey,” I said in the happiest voice I could muster up.
“Liam,” she yelled into the phone.
“Miranda?”
“Liam. Is that you?”
“Yes,” I said as I walked toward the kitchen. “It’s me.”
“This is Miranda,” she said.
“Are you drunk?”
“What? No.”
“Yes you are,” I said. I laughed. “What are you doing calling me drunk?”
“We’re supposed to get married. Remember that?”
I took a slow breath. “Miranda, where are you right now?”
“Outside. Liam. I’m smoking a cigarette.”
I swallowed hard. “Why are you doing that, Miranda?”
“Because I want to,” she said. “You can’t control me anymore.”
“I don’t control you. I never tried to.”
“You made me quit smoking.”
“I didn’t make anyone do anything,” I said. “You wanted to quit and asked for my help. Remember?”
“Liar,” she said. “I’m going to smoke a million cigarettes tonight. Okay? What are you going to do about it?”
“Nothing. If that makes you happy…”
“You used to make me happy, Liam,” Miranda said.
“I think you need to call it a night over there, Miranda. You’re starting to say some mean things.”
Which was typical Miranda when she got too drunk. There was a level of her drinking that went from being tipsy and fun to just plain mean. There were dozens of times in college I would have to wrap my arms around her waist and carry her out of a college bar because she was ready to start a fight that I would have to finish.
“You’re the mean one,” Miranda said. “Everyone here says so. You’re not here, Liam. You’re supposed to be here.”
“Miranda…”
“So I’m going to smoke and drink and you can’t stop me,” she said. “And you know what? What would happen if I met a nice guy too? Huh? What would you do?”
Now she was really pushing at me.
She wanted me to get mad. She wanted me to explode with anger.
That would help lay the path of her justification of whatever she wanted to do.
I felt that burning in the pit of my stomach. Anger. But it was just that. Anger.
It wasn’t jealousy at all.
“Just tell me you’re safe,” I said. “Then we can talk in the morning when you’re sober.”
“Oh, I’m safe,” she said. “I’m right where I want to be, Liam.”
“Why did you call me tonight?”
“To make sure you remembered my voice. You’re a stranger to me. I’m a stranger to you. So what the fuck are we doing here? Why don’t I just give you this ring back and we can shake hands?”
I shut my eyes.
I clenched my jaw.
Full disclosure - it wasn’t the first time she had said that to me.
“Goodnight, Miranda,” I said. “You need to call me in the morning.”
“Goodnight,” Miranda said. “I’m going to fucking party.”
She hung up on me.
I looked around the apartment.
I glanced down at my phone.
All I wanted to do was text Emily.
Instead, I went to bed.
I sat behind my desk after kicking the interns out.
I hated that David was going to be the successful one in the group.
Marie was second up. She was smart but too timid. She second guessed herself way too much. And Jacob was lost in love land.
I spun around in my chair and put my hands behind my head.
The skyline of the city was as cliché as ever, but it was also comforting.
I didn’t sleep well last night.
My mind and heart were ripped into two pieces.