VI

Just as sleep was knocking at her door a different type of knock came from the real world. Groaning at the notification sound she stood up on her hands and looked over at the phone on the coffee table. Scrambling for the device she struggled to get it due to being too lazy to move off her couch. 

Once she got a hold of it she opened her notifications only to be surprised by the number of messages she received from her best friend. A bit distraught by the overwhelming number of them she made haste to dial her friend.

Ring Ring

"Layla, I am so sorry I-"

"Robin where the heck have you been? Are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah I am. Why did something happen?"

She asked her frantic friend concerned that she might have been in some sort of danger or hurt.

"What do you mean what happened? What happened is that I found myself playing maid of honour to your evil sister, not to mention waking up to seeing my best friend's face pasted on every news channel. Robin what the hell is going on?!"

"Wait, go back what did you mean playing maid of honour for my sister?"

She asked confused. The last time she checked the wedding was cancelled due to the groom's infidelity. So why in the world was she complaining about it?

"Oh my gosh, Robin. I am so sorry I thought you knew"

"Knew what Layal?"

"Marcey and Victor got married"

It was at that moment she felt her heart fall to her stomach. An indescribable feeling washed over her in waves. Nearly dropping the phone to the floor her hands shook as a nauseating feeling came over her. 

"Robin are you still there? Hello, are you alright?!"

Layla grew worried at Robin's silence and began to call out to her friend but the words were muted by the static-like noise coming from her ears. She felt her body grow heavy all of a sudden, her vision turned foggy and the feeling of dread showered her.

Layla's calls grew louder as did her worry.  Hearing her friend pleading for her she shook her head in an attempt to clear her mind of the deafening sound in her head she composed herself bringing the phone back to her ear.

"U-Um, sorry I kinda...lost you there. What were you saying?"

"What happened the night of the wedding? Why wasn't it you walking down the aisle?"

What could she say to that? That her cheating fiance was the cause, that her greedy sister who was always in competition with her wanted her man, or that her mother was right and no man would ever love someone so fat?

"It's, it's complicated"

"No, Robin it's not. Tell me what happened and the truth"

Robin knew there was no getting out of this, her friend was not the kind to easily let go of things. Sighing out loud she told her the truth.

"He cheated on me. That's it"

"What, with who?"

"My sister."

"Oh no, Robin"

"It's fine, it isn't that big of the deal. Plenty of fish in the sea. Off to the next and all that"

She swiftly lied to her friend pretending to be unaffected by all this. However, on her side she had tears lining her eyes threatening to fall but she refused to shed a single tear for the man who ruined her.

"...Robin I know what you're going through right now is hard and I know you're a strong woman but you don't have to lie with me. You know I'm always gonna be there for you and will never judge you so, please don't shut yourself from me of all people"

"I know."

She whispered to her friend Layla reciprocated with a soft hum. The two sat in silence waiting for the other to speak. 

"Hey, Layla"

"Yeah?"

"There are, there a few things that are going to happen and I won't be able to tell you about them yet."

"Okay?"

"But I promise you once everything is solved I will explain it all to you, so for now I just really need you to trust me."

"Is this about the scandal thing?"

"Yeah"

"...Okay, though I don't know what is going on, I'll trust you"

The tears she had been holding in since yesterday night and this morning when she opened her eyes finally spilt, she sat alone in her room on her couch silently weeping to herself. 

"Thank you"

Her voice came out broken and raspy but she felt better after consulting her closest friend and only ally.

Dropping her phone onto the bed she lay beside it with her face facing the ceiling. After her emotional outburst, she and Layla spent a few hours talking about useless things and reminiscing about their past.

Turning to her window she noticed the night sky now in place of the blue she had woken up to.

Wow, did that much time pass already?

Getting up from her bed she walked toward the window looking out to the streets with their pedestrians down below. Shifting her eyes up at the buildings she saw a billboard with a model on one of them, catching her reflection in the window she immediately stepped back. 

She could not help but slightly feel inferior and disgusted with her body. Deciding to begin packing her things instead of dwelling on things she could not change she closed her curtains and walked to her dresser. 

Low self-esteem was not one of her major problems at the moment. She had to get both her mind and body prepared for what was yet to come tomorrow and she was far from ready.

Strive forward Robin, strive forward.