Mending Heart |18+|

Chapter 25

Confrontation

"It's not how we make mistakes, but how we correct them that defines us." – Rachel Wolchin

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Stepping foot outside onto the busy street, it was unusually warm for an early September morning. The breeze coming from the lake tousled my hair, and all of a sudden, a walk around downtown didn't sound so bad.

It was better than going home to an empty apartment, confined by four walls.

I couldn't even call Zoey to come over anymore because she had already settled into her dorm at Penn State two weeks ago, and my friends – well let's just say I don't take pride in telling them I was sent home on administrative leave until further notice.

Which is how I found myself walking around Michigan Avenue, completely taken by the luxury design stores. I should have known better than to walk down this way – I can never refuse a pretty pair of shoes, I thought to myself as I pushed against one of the doors.

"Welcome!" A chipper sales associate greeted me as soon as I stepped foot inside. She was dressed in all black, her hair tightly pinned in a perfect bun. "Can I help you find something?"

I don't know – can you help me find my dignity?

Of course, I didn't say that. Instead, I politely returned her smile and allowed her to guide me through the store – my eyes hungrily scanning the designer labels.

Time to do some serious damage to my bank account.

......

Three hours later, with countless shopping bags and a cramp developing in my right hand, I finally walked through my apartment door. After kicking my shoes off, I made my way over to the couch and dropped all of the bags. Plopping down on the cushioned seat, I began taking out items one by one.

After very little internal debate and even less persuasion from the sales associate, I had finally settled on a black Chanel purse I've had my eye on for years but never had the gulls to buy, a pair of nude Christian Louboutin pointed toe pumps, some new sunglasses, and a bunch of clothes I didn't need.

While my bank account certainly wasn't too happy with me, there's nothing a little retail therapy couldn't fix. After all, a woman can never have too many pairs of shoes.

Of course – that was a lie.

Sure, I felt slightly better and I had calmed down, but deep down I still felt like crap.

The car ride home also gave me a chance to think about everything that happened today, and of course, I realized a little too late that my hasty personality once again got the best of me. When I was younger, I always thought that I would mature with age, but that clearly hadn't been the case.

Sometime in between trying on my new favorite pair of shoes and flipping through Netflix, I had fallen asleep on the couch. It wasn't until I heard the insistent knocking on my door that I finally woke up, my neck stiff and eyes still tired with sleep.

"Coming!" I shouted, shoving some of the shopping bags out of the way. I also noticed it was noticeably dark in the apartment compared to when I drifted off. How long was I out for?

Jerking the door open, I found myself asking, "What are you doing here?" Honestly, what is it with him just showing up all the time. Do I have to move to get some peace and quiet?

"Get changed." Ethan slipped past and came to stand in front of me. The first thing I noticed about him was that he wasn't wearing his usual suit and tie. Instead, he had on a pair of navy blue basketball shorts and a white t-shirt.