Alphahole (Alphahole Roommates 1)

I give him a smile. “Have a great day. Thank you again!” I hand him a crisp ten-dollar bill on top of the signed taxi slip that the company sent me, and he eyes the cash in his hand and then smiles back and his eyes are aimed at my mouth, then they move down to my toes and then back up to my head again. Eek. I hope he’s not about to ask me out.

He hasn’t said a word, just driven, but now he’s standing there smiling at me. Creepily.

I reach for the handle on my suitcase, pull it up and lock it into that position, heft my carry-on and my purse over each shoulder, and head to the revolving doors of the glass façade building.

The cabbie is still oddly standing there, smiling at me. I wave and head inside, feeling a little unnerved at his friendliness.

That’s the thing about me. I’m too friendly. Too trusting. Too nice. Or, that’s been me thus far. And that

’s why I’ve gotten walked on, screwed over, and treated like a doormat. Repeatedly.

I’ve come here with a plan to turn over a new leaf. No more bullshit-eating Doormat Carly. After the storm I’ve just weathered, I’ve hit my limit. I’m done. That’s why I’m here. New Carly. New life. Bullshit-free.

Hopefully.

If someone pushes, I’ll find a way to push back. If someone gets in my way, no more rolling over and playing dead. Forgive and forget are now F-words in my vocabulary.

I had a newly ex-boyfriend that took and rarely gave. For two years I was the giver, bending over backwards and doing backflips for him while he barely flexed a muscle.

I have a sister who constantly takes advantage of me. No. Took. Past tense.

Because, it’s over now. I’m not having it any longer. No more borrowing money and never paying it back. No more borrowing my clothes and ruining them without replacing them. She expects me to drop everything for her 24/7 whenever she needs me, but never giving me that back, not even when Jon broke my heart when he blindsided me and dumped me.

Cait went to a concert instead. For a band she didn’t even care about. Yep. She left me crying into my ice cream tub because she’d already bought tickets.

‘Sorry, baby sis. I’ll be back in a few hours and we’ll burn all the pictures you have of him. Okay?’

She came back to my place at four o’clock in the morning, only because she’s been evicted, so I’ve been letting her stay with me. She comes back wasted, and I put her to bed and she sprawled so much that I had to sleep on my couch.

I’d dealt with garbage as an intern, then peon, where people took credit for my work and constantly dumped grunt-work on me. Come in early. Stay late. No credit for all my hard work and given the dirty work constantly.

And I had a now ex best friend I’d caught talking shit about me when I’d thought she was my person the way Cristina Yang was Meredith Grey’s person.

I was done. At least being a peon for the company was finally, finally paying off.

I’d stumbled into the opportunity in an impromptu interview with the CEO of the new parent company who’d recently acquired us.

He happened to be in our office the day after my bullshit meter had hit the limit. I’d considered calling in sick that day, but thankfully the trooper that I was, it paid off. Perfect timing getting this transfer. The only people I told I was going, beyond my coworkers, was my parents and three days later… I was g-o-n-e gone. The rest of them would figure it out.

I had gone to a stylist and used my savings to get a makeover and new wardrobe so that I could be Carly 2.0 in San Diego. I hired some help and put my stuff in storage so that it wouldn’t be left at my apartment, sending an email to Stephanie right before I left, advising her that she had to be out at the end of the month, that I’d given notice.

Stephanie Formerly-Dearest,

This letter is to inform you that I’ve moved out. I’ve given notice and you’ll need to vacate by the end of the month. As my rent is paid until then, my sister can continue to sleep in my room, should she wish, though I’ve removed all furniture. Unless you want to attempt to ask her to leave. As much as she might be a junkie ho-bag, she’s also angry with you on my behalf so good luck with that.

No-longer-dearest-doormat-Carly.

The ‘junkie ho-bag’ and doormat comments would tip Steph off to the fact that I’d overheard her conversation where she trash-talked me.

This had happened the same day Jon dumped me, the same day Caitlin had jetted off to her concert. But, it was true that she’d expressed outrage at Steph and would likely inform her of that.

We called one another Dearest for years. Stephiedearest, Carlydearest. It was done now.

Steph had been on nightshifts, so I avoided her for the few days before I left. She hadn’t even seen me, though she might have been weirded out by the fact that I hadn’t so much as sent a text about my breakup with Jon.

Thankfully, the landlord liked me and had a renter lined up, so let me out of the lease without proper notice. The lease was in my name and I was the one who’d paid all the deposits and put all the utility bills in my name when we moved in.

‘Cuz I’m nice like that. Or I was. I’m too nice. Per Steph, a nurse who I overheard while she was at work when I stopped in to the hospital after it’d happened. It was after midnight, I’d finished the ice cream, and knew what time she got her break so I’d decided to go pop by, so I could cry on her shoulder. I was about to around a corner when I heard her voice. She was nattering with her coworker at the nurse’s station, (Tammy, who I’d also considered a friend, a friend who I’d driven to the airport, who I’d watered her plants for when she went on vacation, and so forth.)