“Yeah, being too pregnant to walk is always convenient,” Ray said. “You know what else it's good for?”
“What?” Emily asked, suspiciously.
“Emotional blackmail,” Ray said.
Emily laughed.
“Yes, so be here at seven sharp,” Ray said and hung up the call.
“Well, that was as rude an invitation as can be,” Emily whispered in the dark room, looking at the bright light of her phone screen.
She wasn't hoping sleep would grace her with its presence today, so she played around on her phone for a while. She didn't know how her fingers found their way to the picture gallery and scrolled down to Ray's graduation.
They all looked so happy.
She swiped through the pictures until she found one in which Ray, Seb, and young, naive Emily were laughing. Ray was the only one looking in the camera, and Seb and Emily were looking at each other over her shoulder.
Emily remembered that time being particularly difficult for her. She could hardly look Seb in the eyes. She was so into him back then. At least that girl would be proud that Emily finally slept with him.
***
Emily did end up calling in sick the next morning, but she asked Marissa to schedule enough calls and send over enough work to keep her occupied for the day.
She didn't give herself any time to think about yesterday or about Seb. What was there to think anyway? She was a sucker enough that she'd want Seb even if he left her alone for years, didn't bother to explain the absence, and then proceeded to take over her life and mind like nothing had happened.
So, she was done thinking.
She hated herself right now, so she worked. And then she drove to Ray's to vent her sorrows to her best friend, who was no comfort last night.
Ray hugged her the best she could with the heavy belly and took her directly to the dining room. “Do you trust me?” she asked once Emily and Jess finished their small talk and Jess made her a cup of tea. Ray’s face was all serious.
“That’s my cue,” Jess said, rushing out of the room but not before shooting an angry look at Ray.
“Em?” Ray asked, ignoring Jess.
“Of course,” Emily said, without even thinking.
“So trust me when I say you need to get your head out of your ass,” Ray declared.
Emily's mouth hung open. She kept her tea down. This was clearly not a cozy conversation.
“That's rude, Ray. Emily Junior can hear you,” Emily said.
“We’re not naming her that,” Ray stressed. “And it could be an early lesson for her on dealing with stubborn best friends.”
“Okay, what did I do?” Emily asked, feeling very attacked right then. “You obviously talked to Seb, but you can't become Team Seb just because I made one tiny error of judgment,” Emily pleaded her case.
“Well, yeah, I've been talking to him, and it has been a snoozefest of how ‘Em ignored me today,’ or ‘She looked at me,’ or ‘She smiled at me before getting angry again.’ I'm bored. You need to make up,” Ray complained.
“How can you even say that?” Emily asked. “He left me, Ray. He didn't call or text or respond to me for two years,” Emily said.
“I know,” Ray said, sighing. “But then you did the same to him for the next two years, so you're even.”
“You know it's not that simple,” Emily said, almost rolling her eyes.
“I know,” Ray said. She took a deep breath. “Okay, I'm going to tell you something that is definitely not my story to tell, but I'm really done with you guys, so I'll tell you anyway.”
“No, wait, I don't want some half-ass excuse for everything he did,” Emily said, stopping her.
