A luxurious box the color of rich scarlet sat on the center of Haley Delacruz's bed, the lid strewn somewhere on the floor behind her as she chewed her finger anxiously. Reaching out a hand, she delicately plucked the cream envelope nestled on the contents inside.
With hasty fingers she ripped the letter open, already knowing who the sender was.
Haley,
I picked out some pieces from my line that I thought would be a perfect fit for you. I would love to see you and celebrate this exciting launch with you this evening. It's been too long.
The Foundry
Queens, NY
Love,
Emmeline
Haley shouldn't have felt so anxious receiving a gift and invitation from her nearest, dearest, and oldest friend, but it had been the first time she'd heard from Emmeline in the past six months. Prior to that, things had been strained.
It was a culmination of reasons that led to the longest rift the girls had ever experienced in their friendship, and Haley was first to admit that the fault was mostly hers. Pride was a nasty monster, and it was her stubborn pride that had kept her in a bad relationship far too long that led to the deterioration of a lot of things in her life.
When she had finally worked up the courage to walk away, it was pride that had stopped her from texting the three words that she should've said to Emmeline:
You were right.
She also wasn't sure she could withstand the smug pity that she would likely see in her friend's eyes when she saw her again for the first time. Not after their last exchange.
They had been in Cabo, an impromptu girls weekend that had been an unplanned escape they'd planned two days before flying out. Emmeline had been laying quietly on her beach towel as Haley had typed furiously on her phone.
"Seriously, if you don't put down that damn phone I'm throwing it into the ocean and he can fly down here himself and kiss my ass. Haley, why won't he leave you be?"
Haley huffed past the thick lump in her throat, the grip on her phone slackening as she cast Emmeline a glance. "He's just upset because he's in America right now, and I'm not. It's hard for us to be on the same continent lately."
"Yeah, because he is an asshole and makes you jump through hoops. Look at you right now. I love you, but this is too much. He is not worth what you are doing to yourself. You need to get rid of him."
"It's not always like this..." Haley mumbled defensively, half-heartedly because the lie tasted bitter on her tongue when she spoke it. This was turning into one of many, many times Emmeline pleaded with her to open her eyes.
Emmeline just didn't understand what it was like.
"That's such bullshit. You can lie to yourself, but I will not allow you to lie to me. He makes you feel bad, all the time-" Emmeline gestured wildly to emphasize her point. "And he is sucking the life out of you. He's ruining your friendships- he won't even let you talk to Harry without bitching, for fuck's sake- he's throwing your career down the drain-"
"Excuse me?"
"You know I'm right, Haley. It hurts to hear but I can't keep watching this. I can't handle it anymore. I love you, and that's why I am telling you-"
"You can't be serious right now. Did you plan this just so you could get me down here and attack me?"
Emmeline rolled her eyes, mumbling something under her breath that she couldn't quite catch. The two didn't speak for the rest of the day, and Haley had felt numb when she booked the first flight out to New York for six the following morning.
