The Waiter by Bradleigh Collins (bill gates books recommendations .txt) 📕

my own place, and Dalton had just made the decision for me. Of course, I wasn’t expecting to be thrown out on the street. But I didn’t care. I just wanted out.

I finished packing my clothes and went into the bathroom. I began gathering up all of my makeup and toiletries and loading them into my Scoop bag. When I closed the medicine cabinet door, I didn’t recognize the person I saw looking back at me in the mirror. I felt sorry for her. Sorry that she had wasted so many years of her life believing every lie and ignoring every act of cruelty. I had been trying so hard to hold on to something that wasn’t even there because I was afraid of being alone. I decided right then and there that I would rather be alone for the rest of my life than to be Dalton’s emotional punching bag for another second.

I went back to the bedroom and grabbed my duffle bag and backpack. Dalton was sitting on the couch in the living room staring at the television.

“This is the last time I’m leaving you, Dalton,” I said as I headed for the door. He got up and stepped in front of me.

“You’re not going anywhere,” he said. “Stop being so fucking dramatic.” He tore the duffle bag away from me and threw it on the floor. He put his arms around me. I stiffened.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean what I said. You just make me so angry sometimes. You make me say things I don’t mean.”

“I don’t make you do anything, Dalton. Let go of me.” I tried to move away from him. He put his hand against the door.

“Stop,” he said. “Sit.” He pointed to the couch. I knew he wasn’t going to let me leave, so I went and sat down.

“I’m sorry. I don’t want you to leave. We’ll talk about this later. I’m mad. You’re mad. Let’s just go to bed. I’ll even sleep on the couch.”

“Fine.” I went to the bedroom and threw the comforter and a pillow out onto the couch. I left the door open, but I turned out the light. I sat down on the edge of the bed, still holding my backpack and Scoop tote. Then I waited.

When I heard him snoring about an hour later, it was time to go. I tiptoed into the living room and slowly turned the locks, making as little noise as possible. My heart was racing. I opened the door with the same slow and quiet intensity. I picked up the duffle bag and left, quietly closing the door behind me. I snuck down the stairs and out onto the street. The air was chilly, but the sense of relief I felt when my feet hit the sidewalk was as though I’d been cured of cancer. And, in a way, I was. I turned and looked up at the third-floor window. He wanted me out. I was out. I was done. And this time, I actually meant it.

I turned around and walked up to Third Avenue. A cab stopped immediately.

“Upper West Side please,” I said as I shoved all of my bags into the back seat and closed the door. “Riverside and Tiemann Place.”

The cab sped up Third Avenue. If I never laid eyes on the Upper East Side again, it would be too soon.

“I thought you might be headed to the airport with all those bags,” the driver said. “Thought you might be leaving town.”

I smiled at his kind reflection in the rear-view mirror. “No. Definitely not leaving. Just switching sides.”

CHAPTER 21

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I arrived at Josh’s apartment around eleven. When he opened the door, he immediately took my bags and set them down. Then he gave me a really long hug.

“I’m so sorry cuz,” he said. “Are you okay?” He handed me a glass of wine.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“What the hell happened?”

“He was cheating on me, Josh. He’s probably been cheating on me for years.”

“With who?”

“Rhonda! And I knew it! I knew what happened that night. I knew he was lying, and yet I still took him back. I’m so fucking stupid.”

“He’s the stupid one, Sam. I wanna kill him.”

“Okay,” I said. We both started laughing.

“So, what are you gonna do?”

“Well, first, I have to find an apartment. Any chance there’s an opening here in your building?”

“Actually,” he said. “There is.”

“Are you kidding? Please say you’re not kidding.”

“No. I’m not. This apartment is available.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m moving in with Katie. You can have my apartment.”

“Oh my god! Josh! Are you serious?”

“Yeah. We’ve been talking about it for a while. I’m crazy about her, Sam.”

“I’m crazy about her too! I love her! I love you and her together!”

“I’ve been spending practically every night over there, anyway. Her apartment is a lot bigger than mine. Plus, we’ll both save a ton of money.”

“Josh, this is huge! I’m so happy for you guys!”

“Well, if it weren’t for you, we might not be together. So consider the apartment payback.”

“I can really just move in here? Do I need to talk to your landlord?”

“No, you can just sublease from me. It’s eleven-hundred a month. Rent-stabilized.”

“Josh, I will never be able to thank you enough for this. You just made my life.”

“You can help me move,” he said.

“Absolutely! And to think, just a few minutes ago I was homeless.”

“Well, not to get all Zen on you or anything, but everything happens for a reason. The other night Katie was saying that you needed to get your own place, and I was like, ‘she can have mine!’ I just didn’t realize you’d be needing it so soon.”

“Yeah, me either.”

We finished off the bottle of wine and then he went to bed. He promised to wake me up in the morning after he got out of the shower so I could get ready for work. I plugged my phone into the charger and turned it off. I knew when Dalton woke up it would start ringing and I