Untitled Story

Chapter Fourteen

The days following Saturday all seemed to blur together, with nothing eventful happening. I still hadn't heard from Tony, which was honestly quite relieving. Both Lucia and Lexi would text and call me at every available opportunity while I was at work to check on me, knowing that no amount of make-up was going to cover the marks on my face until they faded enough, and they would either take turns to meet me on my lunch break or come together. Honestly, it's super sweet how protective of me they've been, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't starting to get slightly annoying.

Given that at work I had a reputation of being quite stern at work, no one dared ask me what happened. Except for Jenny, but I had politely told her that I didn't want to talk about it and that was the end I heard of it, thankfully.

On Monday I had called Lexi's uncle Mike and he had been very friendly and reassuring, which I appreciated greatly. He asked me to send over some documents and that he would draw up a rough settlement agreement, and then we'd go through every part of it together and make the necessary changes. Since I had told him everything that had happened with Tony, he suggested that he come to New York once the agreement was drafted so that we can go through it in person, which I agreed with, although I insisted he allowed me to pay for his flights and stay. Given how long it had taken to convince him to accept, I'd hazard to say that stubbornness runs in Lexi's family.

Given that it's been over a week since the last time I was in my apartment, it makes sense that I am running out of clothes once again and in need of making another trip. The hunt for my own place has been a slow one, although Luce and I have a few viewings coming up this weekend, and I'm hoping that one of them will be the one, because as much as I love Luce, her apartment is becoming a bit too cramped with both of us there.

Both Luce and Lexi have already insisted on coming with me whenever I plan on going to get more of my things and I am beyond grateful that I won't have to go alone, although I am definitely hoping that Tony won't be in the state when I finally have it in me to go.

Shaking my head once again to stop myself from thinking about Tony too much, I refocus on the current task at hand - figuring out what to wear to Lexi's exhibit tonight. With basically everything I have at Lucia's thrown across the bed, I groan and lean against the wall staring at all of them.

Why do none of them look right? And it's just Lexi, why am I so concerned about what I'm wearing.

Lucia must have heard my exacerbated groan. "Okay, if I hear another groan, I'm gonna beat the shit out of you." She states, as she walks into the room. "What is the problem?" She leans against the open doorframe, taking in the mess that I'd made.

"I have nothing to wear," I sigh.

Her arm motions around the room. "I think the fuck not."

"Ugh, why am I so stressed about this? Fashion is literally my job. This shouldn't be a problem!"

She walks towards the bed, her eyes running over the potential outfits. "Maybe because you like the woman."

"No shit."

I watch as she walks to her wardrobe and begins rummaging around. She holds up several options before eventually standing in front of me holding a red satin dress. "What about this?" She asks.

"It's beautiful, but it's not mine."

She throws the dress at me and stomps back to the wardrobe, this time looking for shoes. "Yes, I'm aware idiot. But just wear it. It's not the first time we've borrowed each other's clothes."

My eyes admire the dress while my hands feel along the soft fabric. "Isn't this a bit fancy? What do people usually wear to gallery openings anyway?"

She walks back towards me holding black stilettos. "How should I know? But don't even pretend that you don't want to catch her off guard looking drop dead gorgeous. And now you finally can cover that with makeup," she says indicating to the mostly faded bruise on my chin.