Chapter 5

“You too,” I replied as I got in my car. I stayed in my parking spot for a moment and took a few deep breaths. I closed my eyes and rested my head against my seat.

I didn’t know what request my boss was talking about, but it had to mean time off. What was West planning? And why didn’t he tell me about it?

Chime-chime

At first, I didn’t want to even look at my phone to see who had texted me. But I was also kind of hoping it was West so I could rip him a new one. I glanced down at my phone and was pleasantly surprised.

Wren: Hey Cath. What are you up to?

As always, my heart did that little flutter thing.

Me: Hey. I just got off of work. How about you?

Wren: Not much. Bored haha I was thinking about going out and getting a drink tonight. Want to come? I’m going to our usual hangout.

I hesitated before replying to him. As much as I wanted to see him, I still had to go home and deal with West. I had no idea how that was going to go and I wasn’t sure if I was going to be up for going out.

Me: I have some stuff I have to take care of when I get home. Can I let you know?

Wren: Of course. I hope to see you there.

I put my phone back in my purse and headed towards my apartment. I lived about twenty away from my job, but combined with rush hour traffic, it was a good hour before I pulled into my parking garage.

It took another ten minutes for me to walk to my building and take the elevator up to my fourth floor apartment. Just when I thought there wouldn’t be any more surprises today, I get to my door and there’s West waiting for me.

“West? What are you doing here?”

He turned towards me with an annoyed look on his face. “I wanted to come by and hopefully have dinner or something. Of course, you refuse to give me a key to your place so I had to sit out here and wait.”

“Excuse me?” Okay, I was not in the mood for this today. “You know what time I get home from work. I get home around the same time every day, Monday through Friday. So, if you showed up early, that’s not my fault.”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “Or you can just give me a copy of your key?”

“I told you, West. I don’t feel like we’re there yet.”

“Are you kidding me? We’ve known each other forever. We’ve been together for a year. How are we not there yet?” His eyes darkened a little before he said. “Don’t you think it’s a little suspicious that you won’t give me a key?”

My eyes widened and my mouth dropped a little. “Suspicious? It’s a little funny that you would say that considering my boss walked up to me today and told me the time I requested off got approved.”

I waved my hands. “Any idea what he’s talking about? Because I sure as hell don’t know what he’s talking about. Why are you calling my office, West? I told you my work is private.” I cut him off before he could use his normal excuse. “Don’t tell me it’s because you wanted to surprise me. You could have told me what day to request off and still have surprised me. We’ve had this talk before.”

“Fine. I won’t call your office anymore. But I still think it’s weird that you won’t give me a key.”

I let out a puff of air as I unlocked my apartment door and swung it open. “Do you think I’m hiding something, West? Go ahead. Look around.”

Instead of taking me up on my offer, he turned and stormed out of my apartment building. Good. This isn’t the first time he tried accusing me of having someone in my apartment. Sometimes it made me wonder if he was the one who was sneaking around. In the whole year that we have dated, I have never once cheated on him.

After he was out of sight, I went inside my apartment and slammed my door shut. I sat my purse on the couch before I walked into the kitchen and poured myself a glass of wine. Why was he always acting like this?

I have never done anything that warranted the right for him to be suspicious of me. I may be guilty of still being in love with Wren, but I was never going to act on that. Besides, Wren made it clear about how he felt about me a long time ago. Or rather, what he didn’t feel about me.

I honestly believed that, no matter who I dated, my feelings for Wren would never truly go away. And I was never going to cut him out of my life; our friendship meant too much to both of us to let that happen.

I took a sip of my wine and let out a heavy sigh. Too frustrated to even think about eating dinner right now, I went to take a hot shower.

I spent more time in the shower than I usually did and unfortunately it still didn’t help lighten my mood. When I walked over to my closet, I debated if I should put on my pajamas and stay home, or put on regular clothes and go meet Wren at the bar. I could really use a drink and a friend tonight.

Seconds later, I found myself reaching for one of my favorite outfits. It didn’t take me too long to do my hair and put on some light makeup. I slipped on my black flats and headed out the door. It took me about ten minutes to drive to the elusive bar known as Down The Rabbit Hole.

My eyes landed on Wren as soon as I walked in. He was leaning against a pool table as he took a swig of his beer. He also happened to be talking to a very beautiful blond woman. Oh crap. Could this night get any worse? I turned around and tried to make my escape. I never should have come out here. If I had a choice, I would rewind this entire day.

I cursed under my breath as I fumbled with my keys.

“Cath! Cath, wait!”

Wren’s voice cut through all the street noise and I turned towards him. “Hey.”

He stopped in front of me. “Where are you going?”

“Well, you looked a little—busy in there. I didn’t want to get in the way or anything.” Way to not sound awkward, Catherine.

Wren smiled and I glanced away briefly. I hated when he smiled. Mainly, because I didn’t. “I was just catching up with an old friend.” He nodded his head towards the bar. “Come have a drink with me.”

He waited patiently while I thought about his offer. To be honest, I didn’t want to go back home right now. Going home meant I would be alone with my thoughts. I also didn’t want to be in a crowded bar, either. But I already knew what my decision was.

“Yeah,” I said to Wren. “Let’s get a drink.”