Page 10 of Fixed Up Ever After
“That’s right, bitch. You’d burn for centuries. Gotta be a good girl and read to them childrens.” Mona teased, tossing her empty plastic cup to her. “Now let’s get out of here and get some food. I’m starving and ramen is calling my name.”
And just like that, her mood increased exponentially at the thought of food.
* * *
Mona droppedher off at her apartment at a quarter past five. The ramen restaurant near Phoenix had been full of college-aged students set up with their laptops on one side and their piping hot bowls on the other. They managed to find a small, cramped booth toward the bathroom, but the table was stationary and gave her little room between the booth seat and the table.
Luckily, the uncomfortable seating arrangement only lasted for about thirty minutes before Mattea called Mona to come help out in the bakery. On her way, she dropped Lola off at the main office in the apartment complex to get her mail. She was expecting a few packages to complete furnishing her new apartment.
Lola had been in her new two-bedroom apartment for a little over a month now. She was adjusting well and often had Mattea and Mona over for dinners and home projects she needed another set of hands and eyes for. They were content as long as she had booze and food, which she always supplied.
As expected, two medium-sized boxes awaited her in the office. She signed for them before walking a few feet over to the mailboxes to gather her neglected mail due to her long hours at the shop. Pulling out a week’s worth of forgotten mail was no easy task, especially when the small boxes were filled to the brim. Somehow she managed and made the trek back to her home, only one building over.
When she was searching for an apartment, Lola had called Mona to help her find something big enough so she didn’t feel like she lived in a box. Also, she needed somewhere located within the city. She wasn’t a country girl and only enjoyed the occasional vacation to less populated areas when she was in need of a break. Otherwise, Lola liked feeling the buzz of crowds and the excitement that inevitably came with city living.
She had sent a few prospects to Mona and Mattea to check out for her, but they had not been thrilled with any of the properties she sent their way. Unknowingly to her, Lola’s friends went on a secret mission to find her a place to live and sent her options based on their favorite places. Her current apartment was within walking distance to Phoenix, Mona and Mattea’s house, and her friends' bakery. She filled out the application immediately.
Fumbling to get the key into the lock, as well as balancing the mail and packages in one hand, Lola pushed her way into her modern-styled apartment. Pops of pink, yellow, and blue made the living room feel inviting and stylish. She had an eye for colors and bold patterns and never shied away from statement pieces.
Lola dropped the heavy mail and packages onto the bright yellow coffee table after shutting the door with her foot. The mail spilled out over the table, and a navy-blue envelope fell to the floor. She reached for it, but before her hand made contact, she recoiled as if she had been severely burned. The room felt as if it were spinning and she reached back to grip her Tiffany-blue couch, sitting down before she fell on her ass.
She had wondered when she would finally receive it. Her father had been keeping her in the loop about Marisol’s upcoming wedding, but she hadn’t been quite as prepared as she believed she’d be to get the wedding invitation.
It had been six months since she last saw her family, only keeping in touch with the occasional phone call from her father. Six months since she left their engagement party and hooked up with a stranger. She almost convinced herself that none of it had been real. That her sister hadn’t betrayed her in the worst way. Of course, her sister didn’t shoulder all the blame. Archie and her mother were just as much to blame for this sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.
Breathing became a struggle. Her heart raced. Visions of that dinner came rushing back and she didn’t know how to turn her mind off. She needed to pick the envelope up off the ground. Did she throw it away and pretend like she never got it? That would create bigger problems with her mother later on, knowing she wouldn’t stop calling and guilt-tripping her until she responded. If she responded, then she would have to come to terms with the reality that Marisol was really marrying Archie.
It wasn’t as if she loved Archie. She didn’t and hadn’t for a long time. She recognized that they were two very different people, but there had been a time when she loved him. She had planned a life with the man, only to have the rug pulled out from under her when he said she no longer fit into his life. She had been devastated by losing him, but that pain paled in comparison to the pain of finding out he moved on with her sister.
Marisol had never been a great sister, but Lola would hardly call her a bad one. They did not have the sisterly bond that many of her friends had, and it wasn’t for lack of trying. Lola had tried many times growing up to befriend her sister, but the girls were vastly different. It was impossible to find any middle ground when their differences had no commonality.
Despite this, Lola never hated Marisol. She loved her because that was what you were supposed to do: love your siblings because they were family. The fragile relationship and love they may have shared with one another broke the moment she agreed to a romantic partnership with Archie.
She couldn’t deal with this alone. She needed to talk this out, to hear her own thoughts out loud, and for someone else to be a voice of reason. Her family was obviously out of the question, so it only left two people. Lola fished out her phone inside her purse and called.
Not even two rings later, a cheerful female voice picked up. “Hi sweetie. Didn’t Mona just drop you off? Are you okay?”
Before Lola could answer, Mona’s voice piped up in the background. “Don’t tell me your dumb ass locked yourself out of your apartment.”
Lola tried to find the words, wanting to joke about how many times Mona had locked herself out of her house or assure Mattea that she was okay. But the only thing that left her mouth was an embarrassingly loud sob.
Crying was a vicious cycle. It hurt to fight back the tears, but crying only pissed her off. Instead of making the tears stop, the anger only made her cry harder. Which wasn’t fair because once she started, she found it was hard to stop.
“Oh no, sweetie, no.” Mattea’s sweet voice came through, along with a few sniffles. Mattea was a sympathy crier and would start crying if someone else was, even if she did not know the reason behind it.
“Let it out, Lo-Lo. Talk to us when you can. Are you safe?” Mona’s voice was gentle, though worried.
Lola managed to get out a simple, “Yes,” because she was safe, just upset. She had not properly grieved the relationship that ended so abruptly. Even now, the hurt felt like an open wound that hadn’t scabbed over yet.
Grief was a weird thing. One moment a person could be totally fine, living their normal life, then the next moment the weight of the world could fall upon their shoulders and nothing was good or right.
After five minutes of embarrassing crying, Lola felt some of her composure come back and she could answer their unasked questions.
“The invitation came.” She did not need to say more than that; her friends knew exactly what she meant. She heard Mona swear and Mattea mutter something about “burning his white ass in hell” which caused Lola to smile.
“Throw it away. Don’t open it,” Mona said.
“I thought about it, but I think that would make things worse. You know my family. They’re relentless. I’m not getting out of this shit.”
