Dressing Up

Chapter 6: Waiting

Lizzie waited. She didn't want to wait, but she had little choice in the matter. And somehow in the blink of an eye, a week worth of waiting went by. It seemed like everything in her life had come down to waiting. She waited for rejection letters from job applications, she waited for more jobs to be posted and she waited for a cute boy to not call.

Lincoln and Tara were cold and barely spoke to her after the party, but it didn’t really register. There was more meaningful rejection, up close and personal for her. Tom didn’t call. He wasn’t interested. It hadn’t meant anything. 

The longer Lizzie waited, the more painful the memory became. So she wrapped herself in her duvet and when no one was home she cried, like the truly pathetic creature that she was. She refused to leave the house when Cynth pestered her. She even skipped their Sunday tradition - peppermint lattes and ginger slices at Common Sense. Somehow even that space seemed tainted with the memory of Tom.  That last look she had taken as she climbed out of the car. Oh god– Tom. How he haunted her. Lizzie relieved the evening over and over in her mind, analysing every comment, searching for a sign that it had meant something to him. Had it just been pretty words? Did he do this every weekend?

To have such an intense encounter and then have it snatched away - it hurt. Lizzie snuggled into her blanket on the couch and sighed deeply. She obviously wasn't cut out for one night stands. To not have Tom call- well it was to be expected wasn’t it? Isn’t this what guys did now? The whole hook up/ not available bullshit. But then why had he asked for her number? Why the pretence when she was already getting out of his car and likely to never see him again? Tom hadn’t need to save face and call it anything but a hook up. Why ask for her number if he wasn't going to call? 

Cynth, the good friend that she was, kept trying to convince Lizzie that Tom would call, but Lizzie knew he wouldn't. She had seen He's Just Not That Into You enough times to know the lay of the land. He probably had a girlfriend anyway. Lizzie kept trying to think of feasible reasons why Tom had left in the middle of an actual hook up- but the only thing that made sense was another woman. Scratch that- another woman that he was in love with.

Maybe he had asked for her number so he could call when the girlfriend was busy? Something cold settled inside Lizzie. Would she cheat if it meant she could be with him?  She shook herself, furious that she entertained the thought even just for a second. She was better than that. Especially after what Charlotte and Adam had put her through. No! She couldn’t condone cheating. Even if she was a little in love with the guy.

Lizzie sighed. She was sad. Really fucking sad. And completely sick of men. She knew what she needed to do. She needed to go home. She was broke, she had nowhere to live and she couldn't get a job. She was done. It was time to lick her wounds and go home. Lizzie shuddered at the thought. Ugh home. That would be a whole other battle. She scrolled through her emails. She didn't generally hear from mum that often. They weren't the closest. But yesterday when the email had popped up, she knew it was a sign. Lizzie opened the email and reread it.

Elizabeth, I broke my arm and am having trouble with Ezeriah. Be great if you can spare some time to help. Mitchel said not to bother you, but I told him you're a good girl and will do what's right. Dale is coming down for work on Thursday. He can give you a ride, See you then. xo Mum

Lizzie put down her phone and sighed. Going home was never easy. Her older brother Dale lived in Auckland too, but they didn't have much to do with each other. Theirs had never been a particularly close knit family but once mum had remarried, it had divided them even more. There were new step siblings, not to mention the baby. Mum's new husband was religious. It was all just a bit much.

Lizzie sent Dale a text, asking about catching a ride. A few minutes later he replied with a time. And that was the nail in the coffin. Lizzie was giving up on the Auckland dream and heading back to Waihi. She put her head in her hands and had another quick cry. To say she was disappointed was an understatement. Life wasn't supposed to have panned out this way. It was so shit. Her life was meant to be different.  Something about meeting Tom and then having it all go so wrong so fast, while still recovering from Adam -she just felt broken inside.