Page 74 of The Roommate Problem
Her friends stopped eating, putting their spoons down to give her their undivided attention.
She stared at the bite of food on her spoon. “I never thought the universe would send me someone so…unlike who I thought my soul mate would be, but August…he might be a bit grumpy and prefer solitude to going out, but he’s also kind and sweet, and he really cares about the people around him.”
“And I bet he’s dynamite in bed.”
“Pru!” Lilly admonished.
“No, no, she’s right.” Mo lifted her fist, which Pru bumped with her own. “He’s amazing in bed.” Understatement of the century.
“What if I screwed it all up?” She glanced at her friends. “Ruined my chance at a happily ever after?”
“Wow.” Pru gave a small shake of her head. “You really have gone full mopey, Mo. That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”
“Hey!” Way to kick her when she was down.
“It’s true.” Lilly nodded in agreement. “Who’s the one who’s always telling us love conquers all? The one who kept pushing us to believe in true love and soul mates? The one who never gave up on us no matter what? The one who helped us find our happily ever afters even when we thought they might never be possible?”
Pru leaned in, wrapping an arm around Mo’s shoulders. “Finding the person you love doesn’t mean everything works out perfectly. You’ll still fight, argue, disagree. You’ll do things or say things you shouldn’t, apologize, and have to learn to forgive. But the true test of love is if you both realize that what you have is worth fighting for.”
Lilly inched closer as well, placing a hand on Mo’s knee. “I still don’t know if I believe in all this soul mate stuff, but I do know love is a very powerful force, and it hits you when you’re least expecting it, sometimes with a person you’d never imagine yourself with, but that’s the beauty of it. You complete each other. And it doesn’t go away because of one or two mistakes or misunderstandings. If it’s real love, you fight for it. And the Mo we know has never been a quitter.”
She snorted, shoving another bite of cheesecake in her mouth, chewing and swallowing before scathingly responding, “Maybe she’s just watched too many princess movies and thinks fairy tales are real, but she should really grow up and face the dark, harsh reality that life can suck.”
Lilly pulled the box away.
“Hey!” Mo protested. “I was eating that.”
“No extra pieces if you’re going to totally disregard your best friends.”
“I’m not disregarding you.” She let out a heavy sigh. “I’m just…hopeless right now.”
“It’s okay, Mo.” Pru hugged her tight. “You can be a little hopeless right now. Everyone is after a major blowout with the person they love.”
“She’s right, but you can’t let this change who you are. Embrace what you’re feeling right now, examine it, and then find a way to make it right. Go talk to August. If you really think he’s your soul mate, then fight for him. Fight for your love. But whatever you do, don’t stop being you. Because we love you.”
With Lilly and Pru staring at her, supporting her, and giving her hard truths, Mo nodded. Her friends were right. She couldn’t let this be the end. Lilly slid the box back over to her with a satisfied smile.
“Good. Have another day or two of your pity party, then go find August and work this out.”
A small flicker of hope rose in her chest. “But what if he doesn’t love me?”
“Come on, Mo.” Pru huffed out a laugh. “How could anyone not love you?”
Her friends were seriously the best.
Mo finished off her second piece of cheesecake. And then the other half of Lilly’s when her friend caved to the patented sad puppy dog eyes look Mo had perfected over the years. The rest of the workday went by fairly quickly, and then Mo was back upstairs in her apartment. Alone.
She headed to his room, opening the door and staring at the large bed. Such an innocuous piece of furniture. Nothing but a bunch of wood, metal springs, and cloth, but it had changed her world so completely. Not the bed, really, but the man who’d taken her to it. Who’d worshipped her in it. Who’d held her close in the night, making her feel more at home, more complete than anyone or anything ever had.
The place seemed so much bigger without August. Sure, most of his stuff was still here except for a duffel bag of clothes he’d grabbed the other day while she did as he requested and stayed away. Agatha had texted her on Saturday night that August had booked a room at a motel and that all men were beyond pigheaded, but the good ones eventually came around to see the light.
She hoped so. Because August was the best man she’d ever known. She might have made a mistake, and she knew she hurt him. But she was also willing to fight for him, for them. She wasn’t going to let him run away from her. She was wrong, yes. She’d apologize. Not with cookies or a trip to a fancy garden but with her heart and soul. She was going to lay it all bare in front of the man she loved and take a chance on the thing she believed in most in this world.
Love.
She turned away from his room and headed to the bathroom. Stripping off her clothes, she turned on the shower and waited for the water to warm. As hot steam filled the bathroom, she stared at her reflection becoming fuzzy in the fogging mirror.
Resolve filled her. Her friends were right. Moira Rossi didn’t give up.
Tomorrow, after work, she was going to find August and show him just how much she cared. Convince him they were worth fighting for.
She wiped at the condensation on the mirror and grimaced at her reflection. Lifting a strand of her streaked hair, she wrinkled her nose. Tomorrow she’d get the love of her life back, but tonight she had to dye this hair.
