Shy Town Girls by Katie Leimkuehler Read Free Book Online Page B

text
from Meryl. Lunch? I’m feeling Thai Food.
    My response: Please, Star of Siam, Illinois Avenue,
12:30
    I beat Meryl to the restaurant and sat alone,
waiting. My memories began to get the best of me as I sat and
sifted through moments Charlie and I had spent together the past
few years. Nervously, I drummed my fingers on the table. I felt as
sick as I did at the moment I had first learned what had happened.
Why the hell is it taking so long for her to bring me a glass of
water? My heart dropped to my stomach when I pictured Charlie and
me lying together on my suede couch, him asleep, his face angelic
and peaceful, so incredibly beautiful, as always. I remember I had
wanted to kiss him, but knew that I’d wake him if I did. He didn’t
like it when I did that.
    While I was gazing down at him so adoringly, I saw
his phone light up on the coffee table. 3 a.m. Who could possibly
be texting him at this drunken hour of the night? Of course, his
psychotic ex-girlfriend! The one he’d dated when he was a freshman
in college and who hated me so strongly that I wouldn’t be
surprised if she spent her Saturday nights poking needles into a
voodoo doll she’d made of me.
    “ Happy Belated Birthday Charlie”
read her pathetic text. Furtively, I began scrolling through his
messages. There were other texts from her, quite a lot of them. And
quite a lot of texts from other women as well. I scrolled and
scrolled and scrolled... It was like the numbers running down the
walls in the Matrix, only it was a never-ending list of stripper
names like Brandi, Alissa,Bambi, Natalia, Candy, Kaci, Stacey,
Bethany, Tiffany... followed by stripper-like conversations such as
“come on over” “Can I see your dorm room tonight?” “I rented us a
movie” and “What’s taking so long?”
    Wait. Your girlfriend freshman year in college?
Really, Charlie? As if it wasn’t enough, competing with 5’10”
models, let’s add in a few eighteen-year-olds! Hopefully they’re at
least that old.
    I felt my face getting hot and a sort of tunnel
vision activating. I could hear the blood pumping through my ears.
Disgusted at the sight of him, lying there with one lock of
dirty-gold hair curled down over his forehead, I disentangled
myself and slowly got up off the couch. I nearly lost my balance,
but without any hesitation, I cocked my arm back as far as it would
go, and harder than baseball hall-of-famer Nolan Ryan could throw a
pitch, I chucked Charlie’s stupid iPhone at his stupid face.
    He yelped, leaping off the couch in a panic, grabbing
his forehead.
    “ What the hell?”
    “ Get out, Charlie,” I said. “Get out
now!”
    He looked at me as if I’d lost my mind. In a way, I
had.
    “ Get out Charlie, I read your
texts.” I turned around, slowly walked up the spiral staircase and
locked myself in my bedroom. I heard him follow me slowly up the
stairs, one step at a time, open the front door, and SLAM! The
waitress dropped a cup on the table causing the water to splash
everywhere, “Water?” I snapped out of it and stared at the Asian
girl thinking she’d be much prettier if she smiled more. My phone
buzzed; it was Meryl:
    “ Hey, where are you?” I
asked.
    “ Bobbie, something came up, I can’t
make it I’m so sorry, explain later,” she offered in a
rush.
    “ No problem, want me to drop
anything off for you?”
    “ No, I’m okay. I have a surprise
lunch with an author that’s just in town for the day. Are you
okay?” she asked, sincerity in her voice.
    “ Yes, I’m fine. Charlie made a
surprise visit to the office. I let him kiss me, like an
idiot.”
    “ Oh no, you know what, I’m coming.
I’ll cancel.”
    “ Meryl, no. I’ll be fine.” I
begged.
    “ You sure?” her voice sounded
worried. We said our goodbyes. I did not mind a moment alone:
sometimes talking about my relationship made things worse. My
mother always told me the more attention you give to something the
more it grows, good or bad.
    “ Excuse me, can