Authors notes
Okay so I personally am not 100% happy with this update but I hope you guys enjoy it anyways.
Kimberley practically ran down the street, ignoring the people around her. The suitcase dragged behind her on tiny wheels, slowing her down, but she didn't care. Hot tears splashed down her cheeks, and her heart felt like a burning hole in her chest.
Cheryl wanted her to make something of herself.
The words made Kimberley sick. Cheryl didn't like who she was. She thought kimberley was a joke. Worse, someone to be embarrassed of.
Well, screw that, and screw her, Kimberley thought, dashing the tears from her cheek with the back of one hand. A subway station appeared down the street, and she headed for it, needing a sense of purpose. Somewhere to go. Anywhere.
Of course, when Kimberley got into the station itself, she swiped the MetroCard she'd gotten with Melissa while shopping and then realized that she had nowhere to go. She frowned and took a seat on one of the benches, staring in dismay at a nearby map of subway interchanges. She'd been so content, wrapped up in her little cocoon that Cheryl had created for her, that she hadn't even bothered to sightsee in the city she'd been so excited to visit. No Statue of Liberty, nothing. All she'd done was go shopping and attend a party.
And spent hours in Cheryl's bed, being pleasured out of her mind, she corrected herself.
Except cheryl didn't want her. Not really. Kimberley the waitress was embarrassing. Cheryl needed her to be Kimberley the small business owner.
And here she was, stranded all over again. Except this time, there wasn't an elevator or a hurricane or a gorgeous woman to keep her company. This time she was stuck in New York City with nowhere to go and no one to talk to, her heart broken into a hundred pieces.
She could always go straight to the airport. Call this little vacation quits, admit defeat, and return home. Of course, then she'd have to find another job. Cheryl was her new boss, after all. Kimberley wouldn't be able to stay at the diner knowing that at any moment cheryl could come through that door and insist that kimberley talk to her again. So. New job. It was a shame. She liked her coworkers.
Despair threatened to overwhelm her. She'd lost the person she loved, lost her job, and was stuck in a strange city. Had she ever been lower? Tears welled in her eyes.
Music began to play at the far end of the station, and she automatically looked up. A man stood, his violin case open, his soft song echoing in the tunnel. Someone passed by and dropped a dollar, barely even looking, but Kimberley was entranced.
She was sitting in New York City, and she hadn't even explored the place. "Adventure is worthwhile," she told herself. Aristotle had it right. Why not visit all the places in New York City that she wanted to see before going home? A thought occurred to her, and she pulled out her phone, flipping through the list of numbers. She dialed a recent one.
"Hello," the woman on the line answered promptly.
"Melissa? It's me, Kimberley."
"Kimberley?" The other woman sounded confused for a moment. "Why are you calling me?"
"I need a place to stay," Kimberley said, her eyes on the subway map. "I've left Cheryl."
Just saying it out loud made her chest ache. They'd had a whirlwind romance. She'd fallen fast, and she'd fallen hard. Cheryl was going to be a difficult woman to get over, she realized. She felt raw, completely shredded on the inside. Part of her wanted to turn around and hear cheryl explain, to have her soothe away the hurt she felt, and to return into her arms. She would've done anything just to curl up against Cheryl again.
