Accidentally Engaged(46)
But what good was trust really? It made no difference in the end—the people she trusted still left. Her brother, her best friend. Hell, even her job. And probably Nadim. She’d trusted him, and he’d only cared about obeying his father’s demands. She’d lost his friendship, if she ever really had it at all.
Reena didn’t even change. She just turned off her light and climbed into bed.
This whole fucking day could go shove itself.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Three days, four cartons of rocky road, and a full bottle of vodka (she was so done with gin) didn’t do crap for Reena’s foul mood after that night. And nothing intervened to cheer her up. She didn’t hear about any new jobs and didn’t hear from any of the ones she’d applied for. She did have the new luxury of no longer giving a shit if anyone in the building discovered her unemployed state, but since she saw no one, it felt like a hollow benefit.
And she literally saw no one. Not even Nadim. It wasn’t that she wanted to see him. After hearing how hard he worked to please his father she now questioned every flirty wink, every concerned look, every friendly touch. The competition video told her how well he could perform. How great he was at faking affection. She couldn’t believe she’d fallen for it. If they made it to the next round, how could she continue with this charade?
And if she was wrong about him, if all this wasn’t about fulfilling some promise to his father or hers, then she had to see it for what it really was.
A fucking pity-kiss.
Pity for poor unemployed Reena. Unlucky in love, and with parents forcing an arranged marriage on her because she couldn’t manage to figure out how to make a dozen previous guys stick around long enough for an “I love you,” let alone a proposal.
Either option—the calculating Nadim or the pitying Nadim—didn’t make Reena feel all that great about herself.
She looked around her messy room. Plates strewn about. Empty bowls of ice cream and glasses. She was clearheaded enough to realize that after a full bottle of the best vodka thirty Canadian dollars could buy (honestly, not that good), she should probably stop using isolation and liquid mood enhancers to cope. Or full-fat ice cream for that matter.
She pulled a sweatshirt over her T-shirt and slipped on her flip-flops, glad this time no one could criticize her footwear, and headed out the door.
She went straight to the back deck. This was a mostly unused space that was technically for all the tenants, but no one came here. It held a few chairs and an old bistro table. After climbing the few stairs up, she noticed the deck looked different. A grouping of aluminum lawn chairs, the type popular in the eighties with wide woven straps in brilliant colors, now surrounded a yellow Formica table. And lights encased in translucent white balls had been wrapped around the railing—off now, but Reena could imagine their ethereal glow illuminating the quirky decor here. It felt like stepping into some sort of bubbly oasis behind the graying brick building. A cheerful hipster paradise.
As she was taking in the improvements, she heard someone walking down the steep stairs from the fire escape on the second floor. It was Marley, holding a tall rainbow-striped melamine glass and smiling at Reena.
“Oh, hey, Reena. I didn’t know you were here.”
“I didn’t know anyone was ever here. What happened to this place? You’ve been decorating?”
Marley shrugged as she placed her glass on the table. “Shayne’s been decorating. He wants to start doing photo shoots here. And I like having an outdoor space.”
“What kind of photo shoots?”
Marley shrugged. “He’s got a ridiculous new idea to start a new Instagram and fashion blog. Want some tea? I picked up this super-smooth oolong. It’s fantastic iced.”
Reena smiled and nodded, and sat on the purple lawn chair. Marley went back upstairs to her apartment. Once she was back with a second glass of iced tea, Marley sat on the yellow chair. “I’m completely wiped.”
Reena looked at her cousin. Something in Marley’s expression told Reena that her cousin’s exhaustion was more than just because of a busy work schedule. “You know, Marl, I know I’ve been a little self-absorbed lately, but if you ever needed to talk, I’m here for you.”
Marley squeezed her lips together a moment, before smiling again. “Eh, everyone is dealing with their own shit. It’s such a nice afternoon, I’m glad to have someone to hang out with. Did you take a vacation day?”
Reena closed her eyes a moment and debated whether to lie. But…fuck it. Marley was her cousin, yes, but her friend, too, right?
Reena tried to paint on an unaffected smile. “Nah. Got laid off a couple of weeks ago.”
Marley tilted her head sympathetically. “Ah. I’d wondered. I heard about the Railside layoffs.”
Of course. Marley worked in fashion retail. Reena had frankly been a bit deluded when she thought she could keep this secret. Mum and Dad would probably find out soon.
“I’ll be okay. I’ll find something else,” Reena said. Her four-day pity party hadn’t completely zapped her optimism about finding a new job. Her fear was more what would happen to her between now and getting that job.
Marley nodded. “I can ask around to see if anyone I know is hiring.”
“Thanks. And…”
“Don’t tell anyone, right?”