Page 53 of Acceptance
“I’m pretty sure my relationship is over,” she says. “But I live with him. I don’t know what I’m going to do. There’s nowhere to go but here.”
“Are you positive it’s over?”
The tears fall as she slides the water back to her. “Yeah, I’m sure. Any chance I can get something stronger?”
She grabs a bottle of vodka from the shelf behind her. “Straight or mixed?”
“I don’t really care, honestly.”
“Straight it is. I’m Marnie, by the way. My dad’s a member in Summerville,” Marnie says and pours the vodka into a shot glass.
“What are you doing in Griffin’s Beach?”
A second shot is poured, and they clink glasses before shooting the alcohol back. It burns, but Jamie kind of likes it. A temporary distraction from her pain.
“I’m here because I chased after the only man I’ve ever really loved, and he doesn’t want me anymore. I made a couple of mistakes and hurt him, and he refuses to accept my apology.”
Her eyes widen. “Tell me it’s not Venom.”
“Why?”
“His ex-girlfriend is nuts. Cinder something. She tried to take on Lex, and it did not go well. It was kind of cool, though.”
Marnie chuckles and pours them another round. “I heard about that. Yeah, it’s Venom. I was scared about how my father would react, and I pushed him away. Terrible things were said, and I’d give anything to take them back.”
“I’m sure you can get him to forgive you.”
“No, he made it very clear there’s no second chances. Lex thinks he’ll come around, but he told me he doesn’t love me. Never has.”
Her heart breaks for the woman, which feels crazy because it’s already in a billion pieces. “I’m sorry.”
Shrugging, Marnie walks over to the till. “I have never felt pain like I did when he said that, and I’ve just kind of been going through the motions of life since.”
“How much do I owe?”
“I got it. I’m clocked out, but I’m more than happy to hang out. The only friend I have here, if you can even call her a friend, is pregnant and can’t drink with me.”
“I could use a friend who isn’t also friends with Undertaker.”
Sitting beside her, Marnie grabs the vodka and pours another round. “You’d think I’d stay away from this considering I just had food poisoning that put me in the hospital, and then I got some bug from being in the hospital. This is only the second day I’ve been able to keep food down, but fuck it. Tell me what happened.”
“His ex-girlfriend died,” Jamie says, then quickly remembers she’s not supposed to tell anyone anything. “Anyway, he’s really hung up on it. Which, I understand. It’s a whole thing with his dead best friend.”
“Tough spot to be in for the new girlfriend.”
Shooting the shot back, Jamie focuses on the feeling as it goes down her throat. The way it briefly dulls the ache in her chest for a moment. “I know it was probably wrong, but I looked through his phone.”
“Was he talking to her?”
I really should have drank more in college. Marnie’s a pro, and I can’t keep up.
Another shot gets tossed back, and Jamie’s head feels lighter. “No, they’ve been apart for over ten years. But he has over a hundred pictures of her on his phone. Which means he’s transferred them with every phone for the past thirteen years.”
“Do they have his best friend in them?”
Another shot.
“Only a few. Most of them are half to fully naked pictures.”
