Chapter 78 - A Blip
Keeley had a case of the munchies and sliced up an apple to eat before trying to go to bed. She finally finished her outline around 9 PM but wasn't tired enough to go to bed that early.
She was still in the kitchen when the key turned in the lock and an expensively dressed Jennica waltzed through the door.
"Where have you been?"
"Acting gig. Some guy paid me to be his date to a party to get his parents off his back," she said as she removed her high heels.
"Did he give you those clothes?" she asked in confusion.
She recognized the designer of the dress, the brand of the shoes, and the fact that the jewelry she was wearing was made of real diamonds. Though it had been many years since she had been actively exposed to such things, they tended to make an impression.
"Yeah, he said he had no other use for them. He was an odd one but I feel sorry for him," Jennica admitted, plopping onto a kitchen chair and leaning back. "Can you imagine being willing to give up your entire world for the one you love?"
Only too well. She had done it once and it was the biggest mistake of both of her lives.
It was a bit strange that her roommate would ask this kind of question on the day she just happened to run into her ex-husband for the first time in five and a half years. "Why do you ask?"
"Ah, it's nothing. I was just curious."
Keeley answered the question seriously, voicing her true opinion.
"I think if someone gives up too much for a relationship and doesn't receive enough in return that both parties will end up resentful in the end and everything will fall apart. Some couples just aren't meant to be."
Jennica narrowed her eyes and sat up straight. "You sound like you're speaking from experience."
She shrugged and flippantly said, "It happened between me and my ex."
"Ah." Her friend wisely dropped the matter and changed the subject.
"Anyway, the people at this party were nuts but at least it paid well. I can focus on preparing for my own role and the understudy script without worrying about rent for a while."
"Good for you, Jen! I'm glad it worked out for you."
"Yeah, me too. Have you seen Valentina around? I want to tell her about a real New York City cocktail party," she said excitedly. "She'll flip!"
"She came home while you were out; I think she's in her room," Keeley said before popping an apple slice into her mouth.
"Thanks, I'll go check."
Keeley finished off her apple slices, brushed her teeth, and crawled into bed next to Molly as she snoozed on her pillow.
She couldn't fall asleep for a long time because she kept wondering what it was that possessed Aaron to ask her to dinner tonight.
She hadn't seen him since her freshman year of college; she was supposed to be off his radar. Was it really a coincidence that he just so happened to be in her favorite coffee shop when she got off work? It had to be.
If he was still on the same kick he was their senior year, he would have continued pestering her the entire time they were apart.
She changed her number but Aaron knew where her dad lived so she wouldn't be too hard to track down, especially since that traitor liked him for some inexplicable reason. No, this had to be a coincidence.
Seeing him wasn't the issue here; she was concerned about why he forcibly dragged her to dinner.
Considering he wanted to catch up, they didn't actually do all that much catching up. It reminded her of before when he didn't care as much about their conversations as he did her presence.
Aaron…what on earth was he thinking? Didn't he know she had completely moved on?
She had told him dozens of times that she wanted nothing to do with him. What would it take to get that into his thick skull for good?
When she finally did fall asleep, she dreamed that she was at a cocktail party wearing Jennica's fashionable outfit and was handcuffed to Aaron.
"Keeley…you can't escape me, Keeley. Not ever! You're stuck with me for good!"
His voice floated around her head and was echoed by mocking laughter from a group of socialites.
"Look at that gold digger!"
"She thought she could tie him down. Tsk, they never learn."
"She may look pretty in all her expensive clothes but she will never be one of us."
"She's not fit to be Mrs. Hale…"
The laughter increased until the socialites turned into a pack of hyenas that pounced on her all at once and began tearing her dress into shreds. She screamed for Aaron to help her but he was gone, leaving the other handcuff dangling empty at her side.
Keeley woke up in a cold sweat at 4:23 AM and was wide awake. With a groan, she fumbled for her phone's flashlight and made her way out to the living room to stream a funny sitcom she liked. She could use a laugh right now.
Valentina came out to make breakfast at 6:30 and found Keeley parked there in her tank top and pajama shorts covered in hearts.
"Why are you watching TV this early?"
"I had a nightmare and couldn't go back to sleep," she admitted.
Her roommate's expression grew worried. "What was it about?"
"I don't remember," she lied, not wanting to explain herself.
The combination of meeting Aaron and Jennica's out of the blue question must have triggered stress in her unconscious mind.
"Well, you might want to start getting ready too. You have class at eight, don't you?"
Valentina was right. She pressed pause and turned off the TV before taking a nice hot shower to calm her nerves.
It was just a dumb dream. She'd had dreams like this before but not for years. This was but a blip in her peaceful Aaron-free existence.
She let the hot water run down her back, loosening the tension there. She was going to be just fine. He didn't know her number, where she lived, or where she worked. She would just have to avoid the White Leaf Café for a while and everything would go back to normal.