Rachael: March 13, 2014:
After I changed out of my "business casual" apparel and into something a little more comfortable for LA weather, I sent Andre a text to let him know I was ready for him.
Hey hot stuff, what color are your panties? :p
I chuckled when I read Andre's response to my message. No matter what I have going on, he can always make me smile.
I'll let you know when you come pick me up. I can't wait to see you! I wrote back and started to put away the paperwork from my meeting and straighten my hotel room up a little.
Andre responded and said he'd be leaving his house soon. He had become one of my closest guy friends since he started working with Josh several years ago and if there was anyone I could put all my trust into, it was him. He pulled up outside of the hotel a half hour later and I was starving, since they didn't feed us well at the meeting earlier.
"The devil in a sundress returns. What are you all dolled up for, beautiful?" he asked when I climbed into his and gave me a peck on the cheek.
"I'm not dolled up. Is this dolled up?" I smoothed out my navy blue dress "It's like 1,000 degrees out. I wanted to be comfortable! I'm not used to this LA heat!" I buckled my seat belt and pulled out my phone to find a Chinese takeout restaurant in the area.
"Great plan! I'm starving!" Andre said as he pulled out of the parking lot and drove us to a place not far from Josh's house. I texted Josh on the way to see if he wanted anything.
Hey, we're on our way, making a pit stop for Chinese. Want anything? I typed to him and he responded right away with his order, General Tso's Chicken with extra soy sauce, typical Josh order. I wrote back and asked if his "better half" wanted anything and all he responded with was: She left. Hurry up. I need to see you, now.
"Oh, thank goodness!" I exclaimed when I saw his reply.
"What are you so excited about?"
"Josh's little lady friend won't be there. Really don't feel like seeing her and being around all that lovey dovey crap."
Andre just chuckled and patted my knee. "Yeah, no need to worry about her. They were fighting last night. I'm actually surprised she was over there today. It won't be long now before Josh comes to his senses."
"He's so fragile when it comes to girls. He's had the worst luck. I don't know how he picks these winners."
"She's so manipulative and just not a nice person at all. You know she's the reason he hasn't been home in a while, right?"
"Oh, yeah, I'm definitely not surprised! It happens all the time. Josh gets a girlfriend and he doesn't come home for months, then boom, as soon as the relationship is over, he hops on a plane, stays in Union for a week or two then when he's all better and forgets about her, he goes back to LA. It never fails."
Josh: May 21, 2008
"Mom, I don't care about her fucking graduation party. I don't want to see anyone. I need to be alone for a few days. Can you just give me like 2 days to myself, please?" I sat crossing my arms and staring out the window, watching the clouds pass us by. My mom was going on and on about what she had to get done to help out with Rachel Wallace's graduation party.
"You know, you really need to watch your language, Joshua, we're in public." She shook her head in disappointment, turning the page of her magazine.
"I don't care, mom." I closed my eyes and leaned my head up against the window. I couldn't believe Chelsea had the nerve to go and screw some other guy. After I told her I loved her, too. I felt like a wasted piece of nothing and just wanted to crawl into a cave to wait out the rest of my miserable days on Earth.
There was no one else in the world who mattered to me more than her, and the fact that she wasn't mine anymore killed me. I couldn't hold her or kiss her or even call her on the phone because she wanted nothing to do with me. I wanted to beat the shit out of the other guy, she told me his name was Tony and I swore if I ever saw him with her, someone would have to hold me back.
"Welcome to Cincinnati, ladies and gentlemen, where the current time is 2:36 pm and the temperature is 72 degrees. If this is your final destination, we hope you have enjoyed your time flying with us here on JetBlue." The flight attendant's voice was like nails piercing into my eardrums. I blocked out the sound with my headphones, blaring "Don't Want You Back." By Eamon.
When we got to our house in Union, I went straight to my room down in the basement. I wanted no human contact of any form.
Rachael: May 24th, 2008
"Thanks for coming, guys!" I greeted my two friends from school, Alex and Rob. "Beer is that way, pool is this way. Food will be ready shortly!" I waved them off and jumped back into the pool and kept chatting with my aunt and cousins who were in town.
"So, what's next now that you're in the real world?" my 15 year old cousin, Ashley asked.
"Um, well, I found a cute apartment and I'll be moving in a couple months."
"Do you have a job lined up? Because you know I might have some connections," my aunt Sheila asked, peering over her sunglasses at me.
"Yeah, actually I'm going to be working for the company I did my internship with, so I'm all set there." I looked past them and saw the Hutchersons greet my dad who was manning the grill.
I climbed out of the pool when I saw Michelle walking over to me.
"Hey! I'm so glad you guys came! Sorry I'm all wet!" I gave her a semi-hug and grabbed a towel to dry off. She handed me the gift bag she was holding.
"Congratulations, sweetie!" She leaned in close, putting her hand on my shoulder and whispered, "I know Donna would be so proud of you if she were here!"
Her comment made me tear up a little so I changed the subject, "Michelle, you didn't have to get me anything, really! Thank you so much!"
"That's from all of us, don't open it til later, ok?"
"Yes, ma'am!" I set the bag on the gift table and looked across the lawn to the Josh, Connor and their dad who were talking to my uncle Bob. "Hey, what's Josh doing here? I thought he wasn't going to make it."
"Oh...yeah. He'll be home the next few days, probably closer to a week actually. He and Chelsea, well...It wasn't pretty. He just needs some time at home. He's been cooped up in his room the last couple days."
"Awww that poor guy, that has to be rough. I'm gonna go say hi to them."
I grabbed my tank top from a nearby chair and waved at Chris and Connor, whom I just saw the day before. "Hey, thanks for coming by!" Josh was looking down at the ground with a scowl on his face "What's up, Josh?" I asked with a smile, putting my tank top back on.
"Nothing." His didn't even look me in the eye.
His dad ran his finger under his neck, gesturing for me not to ask. Josh was an impossible person to have a conversation with when he was angry. He just sort of shut the world out. I knew he was hurting a lot, so I didn't want to pry, but I had a feeling I knew exactly what he needed. A walk the bridge.
