Two Roads, One Night
769 Words
CHAPTER 4
Friday night. 2 weeks after the breakups
Kendrick didn’t go home after the bar. He drove.
Nancy’s laugh on Josh’s lap replayed in his head. One week he’d thought she was different. Calm. Honest. Not the type to keep a man in the living room and another in the bedroom.
His phone buzzed three times on the passenger seat. Nancy. He blocked the number without reading it.
At 2 a.m. he pulled into his building’s lot and sat with the engine off. Daniel was at his parents’ house. Good. He couldn’t explain any of this to an eight-year-old.
He sat there until his hands stopped shaking, then went upstairs and slept in his clothes.
Saturday. 4:00 p.m.
Work was the only thing that made sense the next day.
He buried himself in driver schedules, warehouse reports, client calls. Anything that didn’t leave room for his brain to loop back to Nancy’s face.
At 4 p.m. his phone rang. Unknown number.
“Kendrick?”
He didn’t recognize the voice. Female. Young. Nervous.
“It’s Tasha,” the woman said. “I work with Nancy at the salon. She asked me to call you.”
Kendrick stopped walking. “Why?”
“Because she’s scared you won’t talk to her,” Tasha said. “She saw you leave the bar Friday. She knows you saw her with Josh.”
“So she sent you to clean it up?”
“No,” Tasha said quickly. “She sent me because she’s an i***t and I’m tired of watching her ruin things. I don’t know your whole story with her. But I know Josh has been paying her rent for eight months. I know she met you and actually wanted it to be real. That’s why she’s panicking.”
Kendrick didn’t answer.
“She told me you’re going through something with your wife,” Tasha added. “She said you’d understand what it’s like to feel stuck. That’s why she thought you’d listen.”
The word “wife” hit him wrong.
“I’m separated,” Kendrick said. “And I don’t owe her anything.”
“I know,” Tasha said. “I’m just telling you the truth. She messed up. But she’s not lying about liking you. Do what you want with that.”
She hung up before he could reply. He didn’t sleep well that night.
Friday. 4 weeks after the breakup.
Kendrick went out alone.
He ended up at O’Malley’s, two neighborhoods over. He just wanted a drink without running into anyone he knew.
He was on his second beer when Nancy walked in.
She saw him at the same time he saw her. She stopped walking, like she was going to turn around. Then she came over.
“Can we talk?” she asked.
Kendrick set his glass down. “Sure.”
She sat on the stool next to him. No flirting, no act. She looked tired.
“I saw you with Josh,” Kendrick said before she could speak. “You’re still with him.”
Nancy nodded. “Yeah. I know you saw us. I didn’t know how to explain it.”
“Explain it now,” Kendrick said.
Nancy looked down at her hands. “He pays my rent, Kendrick. Has for eight months. If I leave him, I lose the apartment. I lose my job at the salon because he owns the building. I have nowhere to go.”
“So you stay with him?” Kendrick asked.
“I stayed because I was scared,” Nancy said. “And because I didn’t think anyone else would want me if they knew the truth.”
Kendrick was quiet for a long time.
“Stop it,” he said finally.
Nancy blinked. “Stop what?”
“Stop choosing him over yourself,” Kendrick said. “Stop letting him pay for you like you’re his. You’re not.”
Nancy stared at him. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying quit Josh,” Kendrick said. “Quit him tonight. Move out. I’ll help you with the first month’s rent. But that’s it. We’re not dating. I’m not ready for that.”
Nancy froze. “What do you mean?”
“I mean I’m separated, not divorced. And I’m not dragging another woman into that mess,” Kendrick said. “If you want help, I’ll help. Nothing more.”
Tears welled up in Nancy’s eyes, but she didn’t look away. “Okay.”
Kendrick nodded once. “Good. Text him tonight. Be out of that apartment by the end of the week.”
- Writer
