“Any word from Gabe?” Ava asked.
Michelle shook her head. She didn’t expect to hear from him. He’d gone back to his life in California, and she suspected he was going to do whatever it took to pretend there weren’t people in New York who loved him.
She had, however, heard from the contractor, who’d texted to say her bathroom was all finished.
Michelle drummed her fingers on the table. “I’m going back to my apartment today.”
Ava looked up from the counter, alarm written on her features. “You are?”
“Relax, Ava. I’ll be fine.”
She didn’t feel fine, but she would be. She always was.
Michelle thanked her cousins and sent them on their way. She packed up everything she’d brought with her, coaxed Jezebel into her carrier, and waited until her mom got home before saying goodbye to her parents. She’d told them the night beforethat Gabe had a work emergency and had gone back to California, then did her best to brush aside her mother’s follow-up questions. Her dad, bless him, must have noticed there was something wrong, because he changed the subject.
And then there was nothing to do but leave. Her dad helped her carry everything out to her car and got Jezebel settled in. The cat was meowing, so Dominic passed her a treat through the wire door. Michelle finished arranging bags of groceries in the trunk and slammed it shut.
“Everything okay, Michie?” her dad asked.
She sighed. Her dad was far more perceptive than he let on. “No, Daddy. But it will be.”
He gave her a big hug and kissed the top of her head. “Let me know if you want me to...”
“Dad, don’t be a stereotype,” she warned.
“What? I was gonna say, let me know if you want me to leave bad Yelp reviews for his gym.”
It made her laugh, which she guessed had been his intention. “I’ll see you for dinner next week.”
He patted her shoulder, then went back into the house.
Michelle opened the driver’s door and slid behind the wheel. Before she started the car, she stared for a long moment at Gabe’s parents’ house. Part of her felt like she should go say goodbye to Norma and Esteban. But if she went inside, she’d start crying, and Norma would probably start crying, too, and then it would just be a whole big mess. Michelle didn’t know how Gabe had left things with his parents, didn’t know what he’d told them about her, and honestly, she didn’t want to know.
She just wanted to go home.
After firing up her K-pop girl groups playlist, she hit the road. She’d beaten rush hour, so she reached Hell’s Kitchen in less than forty-five minutes. It took a few trips around the block before she found a spot near her building, then she started the process of bringing everything inside.
She hauled Jezebel up the stairs first and left her in the carrier with the apartment door propped open while she went back to the car. Jezebel was meowing her head off by the time Michelle had retrieved the last of the groceries. Jezebel was normally a quiet kitty, but she didn’t like being left alone in her carrier for long stretches of time.
“Chill out, Jez,” Michelle muttered as she locked the apartment door behind her. “I put the air-conditioning on for you, didn’t I?”
Jezebel yeowled in response.
Michelle bent to the carrier and released the beast. Jezebel leaped out and began a curious circuit of the apartment, smelling everything.
Michelle stood for a minute watching her.
“It’s just you and me again, Jez.” Then she hung her keys on the hook and toed off her sneakers.
She’d gotten her life back, just as it was before. No more staying at her parents’ house. No more marketing projects.
No more Gabe.
She felt shaky, like her insides were trembling, and it had nothing to do with the wine she’d consumed the night before. Because she wanted to break down and cry in her bed, she forced herself to get to work. There were groceries to put away, plants to water, a cat to feed.
And if she went into her bedroom, she’d be inundated by memories of him. Of his adorable striptease. Of him fucking her against the forest wallpaper.
Why is everything ten times better with you?
