“Amelia, this is Teddy, my driver. You can drink the water,” I say as I rub my eyes, feeling a headache coming on.
“Thank you so much for the water, Teddy. Hope I didn’t traumatize you back there.” She offers him a sweet and sincere smile.
Great, now I fucking hate Teddy.
“My pleasure miss. No need to apologize. We can stop by and get you some Gatorade on the way home. This place only had the gross flavors,” he says with a scrunched up nose.
“Thanks for the offer, Teddy. That’s very kind of you, but I don’t need a ride home, I’ll be leaving with my friends tonight,” she says while glaring straight at me.
“Actually, about that...” Nikki starts. “We just got a call that Justin’s baby brother Jason got into another bar fight. In Brooklyn this time, so we need to head over there and bail him out.” Nikki shoots Justin a stern look. To me, it looks like he’s trying to cover up a laugh with a cough. “And you refused to bring a purse tonight, so that means that you left your keys at my place while getting ready soooo ...” She gives me a look, urging me to take the hint.
“You can stay at my place for the night,” I say way too quickly for my own liking.
“Ha! That’s funny,” Amelia muses. “It’s okay Nikki, I’ll tag along to the precinct with you guys, then we’ll head home when we’ve bailed out Justin’s brother.” Amelia rolls her eyes.
“Ummm Amelia. I love you and all, but I just watched you barf twice all over New York City garbage. We can’t shlep you to another borough and have you up until God knows what hour they’ll let us take Jason out of there. He’s probably in a drunk tank for all we know. And then we’ll probably be summoned to Justin’s mom’s house to hand over the prisoner. I’m sorry babes but I think maybe it’s just safer to crash at Evan’s until we get back home in the morning.” Nikki winces.
Amelia stands with her mouth gaped, staring at Nikki. Before she can protest, Nikki asks Amelia for her coat check ticket. “Hand it over before you freeze all your bits off.”
Amelia slowly closes her mouth and sighs. She opens my suit jacket that she’s been clutching onto and pulls out a coat check ticket out of the depths of her cleavage. Leaving me to wonder what other treasures lie under that dress top.
Teddy takes that as his cue to hop back in the car.
The drive back to my apartment is agonizingly quiet. Amelia sits so far away from me while facing the door, that she’s practically straddling it.
Teddy stops by a pizza joint to grab us a large pepperoni pizza. After she eats two large slices, the only sound echoing in the vehicle is Amelia sipping the last ounces out of her fountain drink, incessantly raising and lowering the straw, as if the cup is going to magically refill itself. My only saving grace is that my apartment building has finally come into view.
11
Amelia
I hate the universe.
How did I go fromliving my best lifetoliving my worst nightmare?
Ok, maybe that’s a little dramatic. Younger Amelia may have been doing cartwheels at the idea of Evan swooping her up and taking her back to his apartment. But this version of Amelia, whatever pieces are left, not so much.
I’ve spent most of the car ride trying to plaster myself as far away from Evan as humanly possible. I can’t stand to think that this is another situation that is out of my control. I mean, sure I don’thaveto stay at his place, I could call my brother or dad and crash with them. But truthfully, I would rather spare them from seeing me in my current state, and I hate that even Evan knows that.
“We’re here.” Teddy’s voice pulls me from my thoughts as I look around and realize where we are.
“You live on the Upper West side? Aren’t you supposed to live on Park Avenue or something?” I gaff.
“Yeah, I had my heart set on a place, but was outbid by one of your Real Housewives of New York.” He smirks. “Kidding, I just got back last week and I’m not sure where I want to buy yet, so I figured I would stay somewhere that’s at least familiar." He shrugs.
I want to roll my eyes, but I’m a bit stunned to see we are only two blocks away from my childhood home. The tiny two-bedroom apartment where I was raised and where all of my favorite childhood memories are held.
Teddy opens the door for me and guides me to the sidewalk. I’m surprised I’m still feeling a little wobbly from tonight’s shenanigans. Really thought that the puking would have reset me, but guess not.
“It was nice to meet you, Amelia. Look forward to seeing you in the future. Hope you guys have a good night.” Teddy smiles warmly.
“Thank you, you’re too kind. Don’t know how you drew the short stick in driving this grump around, but I hope you get a big fat promotion soon and a less barbaric boss.” I give him a side hug, making sure it’s the side that I’m pretty certain doesn’t have any puke on the bottom of the jacket.
“Goodnight Teddy, see you Monday,” Evan says as he puts his hand on my shoulder to guide me towards his building. I jolt at the feeling of his large hand unexpectedly on me, and he removes it quickly.
“Relax. Just trying to get you in the building in one piece. You’re walking like a newborn fawn at this point.” he grumbles in my ear, causing me to roll my eyes as far back as humanly possible. “And don’t worry, I’ll try my best to keep thebarbaricin me at bay,” he mutters.
We make our way into the lobby of his building, and then into the elevator. He presses the number 15. “You know, you never really answered my question,” I say as I cross my arms over my chest.
