Chapter 15

Kate had never known time to drag on so slowly like she had in the week after she'd snuck out of Hollis's hotel room. As soon as she got back to Lexi's apartment on Sunday, she threw herself into job hunting, knowing that she'd have to stay busy if she wanted to keep her mind off of Hollis and the fact that Kate might never see her again.

With each day that went by, Kate's heart continued to jump at the sound of a text coming in, hoping that this was it. Hollis had finally decided to use her number and say hi or that she was thinking of Kate or that she wanted to see her again. Something. Anything.

But it was Sunday again, and Kate never heard from her. She'd had her first shift at a sports bar yesterday, and she had a few job interviews lined up during the week, hoping to find a morning shift at a coffee shop. She had to save up some money as fast as possible, because even though she knew Lexi wouldn't kick her out, Kate couldn't sleep on her couch forever.

"Hey," Lexi said, coming to join her on that very couch. "You okay?"

"Yeah." Kate shook her head. "You know, just thinking about... Everything."

"It'll get easier." Lexi shifted to turn towards her. "You know what you said in the car on the way back last weekend, about going back to college to finish your degree?"

"Yeah."

"I think the deadline is soon. Like this week or maybe next week. If you're serious about doing your last year."

"Shit," Kate pulled her phone out of her pocket, hating that she'd even stopped to check the notifications for an unknown number. She searched for the college she'd already did three years at, also hating the fact that she'd left her education behind to go to New York on a whim. "Thanks, Lex. I have four days to get my shit together. Fuck, I was so caught up in trying to get a job."

"Hey, you're doing just fine. I'm not going to throw you out if that's what you're worried about. And you know Isabelle doesn't care. She's just happy her rent's gone down. Stay as long as you need to."

"I know. Thank you. I'm just trying to get my life together. I mean, I know I needed to, but the whole thing with Hollis just made it so clear. How could I ever expect someone like her, a business owner who's in her forties to take me seriously when I'm a college drop out, sleeping on my best friend's couch."

"She hasn't text has she?" Lexi asked with almost a wince, already knowing the answer.

"Nope." It was a dull ache that had sat in the middle of her chest all week, because with each passing day, the chances of Hollis reaching out grew slimmer. And because of the way Kate had done things, she had no way of getting in touch with Hollis.

"If it's meant to work out, it will."

Kate blew out a breath. "I can't believe I didn't stay."

"Yeah, but you said it yourself. What if Hollis flat out told you that she wasn't going to give you her number because she didn't want to see you again? Or maybe not something that harsh, but you know what I mean. That Hollis knew she wasn't in a place where she could see you again, and therefore, ended things then and there, in her hotel room."

"That might have been better. Knowing. Right now, I keep jumping when my phone lights up."

"It's only been a week. I'm not saying to wait around for her, but she is going through a divorce. Maybe, when it's all finalized, she'll get in touch."

"God, I hope so."

"But no moping around. You've had a week of that, and don't even try to deny it. You might not be complaining every second, but you've got that defeated look. Get enrolled. Get another job if you really want to. But don't let this thing with Hollis take over your life."

"You're right." Kate got up to slide her laptop out of her backpack and pull up the college's website. "Do you still have your notes?"

Lexi laughed. "No. As soon as I got my degree, I chucked all that shit."

Kate shook her head. "But you would have given it to me, right? If you had them?"

"At a price," Lexi said with a grin, and Kate reached behind her for a pillow, whacking Lexi in the shoulder. "Hey," she said, leaning back to stay out of reach. "Drinks Tuesday night. Me, you, and Izzy."

Kate put the pillow between them. "I'm working."

"You name the night then. We're going out and celebrating."

"Celebrating what?"

"You. Getting your shit together."

Izzy's voice drifted down the hall. "Count me in!"

Kate smiled. She had so much that she needed to change, but she knew how lucky she was to still have Lexi in her life all these years later.