“Just don’t make the same mistake again,” Tracey teases. “Don’t date anyone from work.”
“Oh, I won’t be dating anyone for a very long time, you can trust me on that one. I want to focus on my work.”
“That’s wise. Oh, is that the company?” Tracey leans across and looks at my phone screen where I have already started doing my research. “That looks like a nice place. You excited for the chance?”
We chat about it for a while, but Tracey soon falls in to silence while she drifts off, watching what is on the TV instead. This allows me to continue on with my research and my mental planning for the interview. Now this is helping me to feel much stronger, this is making me feel my power, this is me taking control. It really is true, that success is the best form of revenge and that’s the form I am going to take.
Knock, knock. I glance up as someone bangs on our front door. That wasn’t what I was expecting today. No one is really aware that me and Tracey are home, which is strange. Knock, knock. Knock, knock.
“Urgh, that’s probably a cold caller.” Tracey rolls her eyes as she stands up. “I will get rid of them.”
“Thank you. I don’t think I can deal with any more arguing today.”
I continue making notes as Tracey answers the door. I block the rest of the world out focus on what I need to do. I don’t even react when I hear raised voices coming from the front door. I have dealt with some of these cold callers before and I know how eggy they can be if you try to turn them away. Their salaries depend on what they sell so they have to do what they can to off load what stock they have. Tracey is more than capable of standing up for herself though. She usually deals with these people because she is so much better than me.
I should have had her deal with Zack and his wife. She would have shut that shit down better than me.
But then the voices get louder, or Tracey’s does anyway, and I realize that she is properly yelling. Someone seems to have really upset her and while I don’t know if I should intervene, I should at least be there for her. If this seller sees that no one is interested, then we might end up left all by ourselves which is how we want today to be. Perhaps next time someone comes to the door we should just ignore it…
“Oh my God.” I stop dead in the hall way when I spot the person Tracey is shouting at and it all clicks in to place. Everything makes so much sense now. Well, the arguing anyway. Nothing else does. Especially not him being here after everything. Didn’t he get the hint before? Wasn’t I clear when I told him not to contact me again? Don’t the words leave me alone mean anything anymore? “Zack, what the hell are you doing here?”
Chapter 14 – Zack
“I just want to talk to you,” I plead with Latesha. “I didn’t get a chance before and I need to now…”
“I just told you to get out of here,” Latesha’s roommate, Tracey screams at me. Yep, she officially hates me, and I can understand why. She thinks that I am a married man who has been having an affair with her best friend, without even letting Latesha know that she is nothing more than my bit on the side. At least, that’s what I have pieced together they believe. Now I just need to make Latesha see that she couldn’t be more wrong. “Latesha doesn’t want to talk to you because you are a piece of shit, Zack. You have been horrible…”
“This has all been a mis understanding,” I plead, focusing only on Latesha. “Please let me explain.”
“You don’t get to explain.” Tracey tries to slam the door on me, but I put my foot in the way to prevent it from closing all the way because I still have a lot of things that I want to say. “You need to take a long hard look at yourself. You need to think about how you have treated my friend. It’s horrible.”
“I know.” I hang my head low. “And there isn’t any excuse for it. I can see that. But I would like to explain. I just want to show you, Latesha, that none of this was your fault. This was all outside influences.”
“That is bull shit.” Tracey is like an angry bull protecting her friend. She is going to be a challenging barrier to break down. “You don’t get to explain yourself away. Not after what you did.”
Latesha spots the flowers underneath Tracey’s feet. The bunch that she snatched off me right away and she crushed between her feet because she despises me so fiercely and I can see her getting upset. Or certainly emotional enough to have tears behind her eyes at any rate. All I want to do is hold her to take the pain away but since I’m the one who caused it, I don’t think I have the right to try. All I can do is stand here like an idiot.