“I called her yesterday actually to find out that exact thing,” he said. “I thought she’d be a good date for the event. She said she got into some sort of huge fight with Amanda and her sister. She said her sister punched her in the mouth and has now alienated her from the family.”
“Wow, over what?”
“She said they were mad at her for telling me the truth about Amanda,” he said.
“Why would Lindsey punch her in the face for telling the truth? It’s her own little sister.”
“I don’t know, man,” he said, scrunching his eyebrows together. “Why do you want to know, anyway?”
“I thought about talking to her about what she told you,” I said.
“Dude, seriously, you need to get past this shit,” he said, standing up. “Enough is enough. You need to get your shit together, and stop drinking so Goddamn much, or you are going to ruin the company and everything all of us have worked so hard to achieve. I don’t mean to be harsh, but I think it has reached the point where someone needs to tell you how it is.”
“You know, maybe you’re right,” I said, standing up and grabbing my jacket. “No, actually, you need to mind your own damn business and fuck off.”
“Whatever,” he said, turning and walking from the room.
I shook my head and sighed, kicking the empty trash can next to my desk. I left the office, telling my secretary I was leaving early for the day. I went straight home and poured myself a drink. If I was going to be fought every step of the way, I might as well just be by myself. Just me and my bottle of whiskey.
Chapter 23
Amanda
I was really happy to have Lindsey staying the night at my house. It had been ages since we had a sleepover, unless you counted the numerous times I passed out drunk on her couch after a night at the club. I had ordered take out for us to eat and got some sparkling cider to drink while she enjoyed champagne that her parents had brought over. She looked so peaceful and calm, and I wondered if the whole idea of cold feet was just something that someone made up to calm people’s nerves when they knew they were making a mistake. Either way, she didn’t have cold anything at that point.
The next day was the wedding, and we were excited that the day had finally come. Lindsey wanted to follow every wedding tradition down to the tee, including not seeing each other before the wedding. That was ultimately why she was staying at my house. Jordan had offered to rent her the penthouse at one of the hotels, but she said she wanted to feel at home and just be alone with her best friend. It made me feel good that I was still important to someone. Nathan had made me feel like I wasn’t worth anything, and that was a really hard feeling to shake away.
“You remember when we were kids, and we planned out our wedding days?” she asked.
“Yeah.” I laughed. “You were going to marry John Stamos.”
“He is still hot. I don’t care what anyone says.” She laughed. “You had decided you wanted to get married in the woods on a fall day with just me and your groom. You refused to name him because you thought it was bad luck.”
“Oh, yeah,” I said, laughing. “That still would be a great wedding and not stressful to plan at all.”
We sat laughing and talking, but I still wasn’t feeling like myself. My body felt tight and stressed, and the nausea came in waves that I couldn’t tell were coming until they were right on top of me. I tried to put that all in the back of my mind, though, and enjoy the night with my best friend. It would probably be the last time we did something like this.
“Nathan told Jordan on Wednesday that he would definitely be at the wedding,” Lindsey said, peering over at me from the top of her champagne glass. “I didn’t want to tell you then, so I waited until you couldn’t back out of being my Maid of Honor.”
“Don’t count your chickens,” I said, feeling my stomach drop. “There is still plenty of time for me to back out of this thing.”
“Oh, no you don’t,” she said. “Why do you think I am spending the night? I want to make sure you don’t run.”
“Isn’t that
my job for you?”
“No, you are supposed to help me run if I choose to do it.” She laughed.
“I always get confused on that.” I smiled. “As far as Nathan is concerned, I don’t know what to say about it. I guess I should have known there was a chance he would be there. I mean, I’m not sure what I am supposed to do.”
I sat there moving the popcorn in my bowl around, thinking about the idea of actually seeing Nathan the next day. Lindsey was right. I wanted to run away, but I knew that I had to face this. If nothing else, I could find solace in knowing it was probably the last event I would have to face him at.
“You never know what will happen,” she said. “Maybe by now, he has calmed down and thought about what I told him. Maybe the two of you can sit down and talk about everything. It’s a safe space. If one of you gets mad, you can just walk away, and the mood will be positive going into it. Plus, my sister won’t be there to mess anything up.”
“I almost feel like it would be better if she were there because I could call her out in front of him,” I said. “But I think you are crazy to think that he will talk to me at all. You weren’t here when he broke up with me. He was so mad, and he wouldn’t listen to any reason at all.”
“No, I wasn’t here, but I was in his office watching him wither away with a bottle of whiskey, trying to drink you away,” she said. “And from what Jordan says, he hasn’t achieved his goal yet. Maybe because he’s worn down from missing you, he will be able to open up and listen to what you have to say. And if not, you just dance your night away and eat a layer of my cake, and you will forget all about it.”