Best Friends Don't Sleep Together - A.H. Series #1

Chapter 14

⪻You can spend minutes, hours, days, weeks, or even months over-analyzing a situation; trying to put the pieces together, justifying what could've, would've happened... or you can just leave the pieces on the floor and move on.⪼

- Tupac Shakur

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"Is that a new form of cannibalism?" Beatrice teased when, upon entering my office, she saw me bite my nails harshly enough to take off the whole skin more than just the cuticles.

I heaved a deep sigh, finally stopping, and turned my swivel chair around to face the window, then groaned out loud. I haven't been productive all morning, my head kept mulling and mulling and mulling. Between the thought of Chris with that witch and Adam's offer, I should have already enough on my plate. But now with Sebastian and what he said ...

"Vivian?" Beatrice called, coming closer. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I ..." no, I'm not alright, not one bit. Ever felt like everything comes down on you all at once? That was me right now. Sebastian didn't want to say one more word on the subject, he just dropped the bomb and then left it at that. I didn't want to push, we barely know each other, so I allowed it, but now I keep wondering, what happened?

The only thing I can be sure of is that his ex is dead. Like, dead-dead. But how did she die? When? Does he feel guilty? Does the thought of her hog his heart enough not to let him move on the same way as ... and here we go, the thought of Chris returned to haunt me, the image of him and Karen. Ugh.

"Doesn't look like you're fine." Beatrice pointed out, frowning. "The days off really didn't do you any good."

"Oh, they did," I blurted out without thinking, standing up to look outside the window – not this incredibly magical view, since my office is in the back, all I see is dumpsters and drunk men urinating against the wall, which is why I never look outside. "But then I came back to reality." I sighed, turning to Beatrice because even a glimpse of that pathetic sight was enough to make me nauseous.

"Did Sheryl yell a lot?" Bea laughed, placing some folders on my desk.

"Yell?" I scoffed. "She was ready to skin me alive." I restarted biting on my nails. "Between the failed interview with Julia Woods, and the days off I took, she wants my head on a silver plate right now."

"Is that why you're so ..." Bea grabbed my hand to stop me from biting my skin, but didn't finish her sentence.

"No, it's not that." I placed my hands under my elbows, to avoid the temptations. It's really some sort of nervous habit I have, biting my nails until blood comes out. "I mean, it doesn't exactly help, but no."

"Then what?"

I sighed deeply, dropping against the window. "I just have a lot on my mind."

"Such as ..." Bea insisted, chuckling.

I looked at her for a moment. We're mostly just co-workers, or rather I am technically her superior, but we get along really well. However, she's not that kind of friend, the type I'd confide to. Not yet. "It's a long story." I dismissed, going to sit back at my desk. "So, what did you need?"

She shrugged, pointing at the folders she'd left on top of others. "Sheryl says you need to finish all this by tomorrow."

"Is she insane?" I gasped. That wall of folders could make me disappear while sitting at my desk.

"Probably," Beatrice laughed, walking away, "and quite vindictive, it seems."

"Come on, she can't hold it against me for taking two days off. And the interview, what did she expect? I never do field work."