"Just sit tight."
That's what Lisa had said on the phone just now. Jennie sighed as she sat in front of the coffee table, shovelling pizza into her mouth. She'd already polished off two slices and her stomach was starting to get that unpleasant, distended feeling that comes from binging on too much greasy food. She should probably slow down.
"Just sit tight. I'm on my way. I'll be right there."
She slid a third slice of pizza onto her plate.
Lisa was coming back to talk to her, and Jennie knew what she was going to say. All the comfort food in the world wasn't going to take away the feeling of impending doom. She almost wished Lisa had done it over the phone just now. It would have been easier. Then Jennie could just collect her things and slink away - and not have to worry about hiding how much it hurt.
But Lisa would never break up with someone over the phone. That was the thing about her. As much as Jisoo liked to knock her down and call her names, it wasn't true. Lisa was a good person. Not a douchebag. Lisa would never been a douchebag, right? Oh, why couldn't she just be a douchebag? This would be so much easier right now if she were just a douchebag.
Jennie's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a phone ringing. She looked down in confusion at her cell phone, sitting next to her on the couch where she had left it. The ringing wasn't coming from there. It sounded like it was in bedroom. One of Lisa's phones? Had she left one of them here when she went out before?
She ignored the sound and began patting the slice of pizza with a napkin to absorb the excess grease. To her relief, she heard the ringing stop - only to start up again a moment later.
"You never heard of leaving a message?" Jennie muttered in annoyance.
She sighed. Maybe it was important. She should probably go see who it was. She stood up and headed into the bedroom. There was Lisa's phone, lying in the middle of the bed with the caller ID clearly visible.
Rosé
Wonderful, Jennie thought. The ringing stopped and then immediately started in a third time. Clearly, Rosé wasn't giving up until somebody answered her call. Jennie rolled her eyes and picked up the phone. "Hello?"
"Hello? Lisa?"
"This is Jennie. Lisa isn't here."
"Crap," Rosé responded.
"Why don't you call her on the bat phone?"
"This is the bat phone."
"Oh." Jennie pulled the phone away from her face and looked down at it in surprise. "Wow, that's weird."
"Do you know where she is?"
"Lisa said she was at the airport..."
"The airport?"
"... but she's on her way back now. Lisa should be here soon."
Jennie pulled the phone away from her ear as she heard Rosé curse loudly on the other end. "Ok," Rosé said at last. "Ok, just tell her to call me immediately. I need to talk to her."
"Yeah," Jennie said under her breath, after she had clicked the phone back off. "Get in line, lady."
She tossed the phone back onto the bed and laid down next to it, trying to ignore the queasy feeling in her stomach. Too much pizza. Definitely too much pizza. Better to lie down in here for a little while before she really made herself sick. She was just closing her eyes when she was disturbed by the sound of the phone ringing again.
"Oh for crying out loud!" Jennie said, squeezing her eyes further shut. Now what? All she wanted was to feel sorry for herself in peace. Was that really too much to ask?
The ringing continued, and Jennie fished out Lisa's phone from beneath the covers next to her. But the ringing wasn't coming from there. Was it her phone this time? With a groan, she rolled out of bed and padded back into the living room.
There. Her phone was going off. She recognised the LA local number that Lisa had called from earlier, and she picked it up on the fourth ring.
"Hello?"
"Jennie?"
"Where are you?" Jennie asked.
"Still at the airport," Lisa replied. "Do you think you could come pick me up?"
"You don't have your car?"
"It's a long story."
"Well, can't you take a cab or something?"
"Just... are you still in the hotel room right now?"
"Yes."
"Go into the bedroom," Lisa said.
Jennie stood and returned to the foot of the bed where she'd just been lying down.
"Look at the bedside table," Lisa's voice directed.
Jennie raised her eyebrows. Lisa's wallet and car keys were sitting there on the table top. "Lisa, you don't have your wallet?"
"Ok, here's what I need you to do. I need you to take my wallet and my car keys. Go get my car from the valet, and drive it here. Ok? Please?"
"Um, well I-oh wait, Lisa, Rosé was trying to call you just now. On the bat phone. She said she needs to talk to you right away."
"Yeah, I'll bet she does."
"What happened?"
"Never mind," Lisa said. "I'll deal with her later. Just get the car and come. Ok?"
"Ok, but... hello? Lisa? Are you there?"
Her question was met with silence. Lisa must have hung up.
Jennie stared at Lisa's car keys on the bedside table and considered what to do next. It was a simple enough request. Take Lisa's car. Pick Lisa up from the airport. That's what Lisa's girlfriend should do for her right?
Right. Well, what about soon-to-be ex-girlfriends? Still obligated to perform airport pick-up duty? Lisa had a lot of nerve, honestly, asking her to do that under the circumstances. But that wasn't the real problem. That wasn't what started Jennie's heart racing in her chest as soon as she heard Lisa's request. The real problem was that she had absolutely no business getting behind the wheel of a car.
Was it even legal for her to drive? Technically, she had a driver's license that she renewed like clockwork every few years. She'd passed her driver's test when she turned 16, and her parents had given her a car as a high school graduation present. She'd brought it with her to college at NYU. It had sat, unused in its $300/month Manhattan parking spot the entire four years.
She could count on one hand the number of times she'd taken that car out to go somewhere. After college, she'd sold it to help pay law school tuition and never bothered keeping a car in the city again. Easier just to go everywhere by subway or taxi. She'd lived on the island of Manhattan ever since, and driving had simply never been necessary. It had to beat least five years since the last time she'd touched a steering wheel.
And Lisa expected her to negotiate the freeways of Los Angeles?
It was a problem that had been bothering her ever since she'd arrived here last week. If she was actually going to consider moving to LA, it would mean re-learning how to drive. But she hadn't told Lisa that.
Now Lisa had no idea what it was she was asking of her. Jennie knew she shouldn't do it. She shouldn't try to drive. She should call someone else to go get Lisa. But it was too mortifying. If this was going to be goodbye, she'd be damned before she left Lisa with that as a last impression. A weak, helpless little girl who didn't even know how to drive? No way.
How hard could it really be anyway, right? She had a valid driver's license. It was probably like riding a bike. Once you know how, you never forget.
"Fine," Jennie said out loud. She grabbed Lisa's wallet and keys and thrust them into her purse. "I can do this."
Jennie picked up Lisa's cell phone from the bed and stowed it in her bag as well. Then she straightened her shoulders and strode decisively out the door.
