I sighed. "I really wanted to hit the road tonight. Is there no way that you can get it tonight?"
"Sorry," he said. "I tried my best, but these things can take time and the shop that has it is closing. I'm nowhere near it."
"What if I picked it up?" I asked quickly. "I could go and grab it and then you could install it."
"I would do it for you, but if I'm not home soon my wife is going to lose it. You understand right?"
"Yeah, I get it. Thanks for trying, anyway."
"No problem. I'll be there first thing tomorrow."
I nodded and hung up the phone. I understood, but I still didn't like it. I'd told Amber I was getting on the road soon and now I had to wait until the morning. As much as I hated I'd have to call her back and let her know, I also felt something like relief. I didn't have to leave just yet. I still had time.
Time to do what though?
I thought about Peter and quickly shut that thought down. There was nothing that I could do except finish straightening up the house and make sure I was completely ready to go by tomorrow. After I signed the papers, I'd be out of there and moving on.
I sank down to the floor underneath the window and leaned my head against the wall. There was no TV to watch and I'd packed my books up into the car. I didn't want to go rifling through that stuff to find something to read. Instead, I deci
ded to call back home and say hi to my friend, Leslie. I hadn't talked to her that much since I'd been fooling around with Peter, but she was happy that I was hanging out with a guy and didn't seem to mind at all.
"Joanne," she said happily as she heard my voice. "Where are you girl? Are you on your way back?"
I shook my head. "Not yet. I was going to leave tonight but my car needs one more part before it can make the long-haul back. I'll be heading back in the morning."
"Awesome. I can't wait to see you. We should grab lunch when you get here or dinner depending on what time you get in. How is it out there?"
"It's nice," I said quietly. "Different than what I remembered. I mean everyone is so nice and I forgot how relaxed it is out here. People aren't racing around or running each other off the roads."
Leslie laughed. "That's city life for you. It must be nice to have some peace and quiet though. I should try that out sometime."
"Yeah," I mumbled. "You should."
She was quiet for a minute. "What's the matter?"
"Hmm?" I asked.
"Don't you just sit there and hmm me. I know for a fact that something is wrong. I can hear it in your voice. Spill!"
I sighed. How much did I want to tell Leslie? I adored her. We'd been great friends for the past few years and usually, we told each other everything. I picked at the hem of my shirt and finally sighed and decided to tell her.
"It's just been a little bit of a rough time. I started hanging out with my best friend Peter, you know? Things were going great, but I think I might have screwed everything up."
"Why do you think that?" She asked.
"I didn't tell him that I was going to be leaving so soon. He came over and found out and now he's pissed."
"Wait, Peter? The one you’ve been sleeping with?" She asked in surprise. "Why wouldn't you tell him that you were leaving?"
I shrugged. "I didn't want to stir up drama. We’re old friends, and he knew I was only here for a short time and I was sure he'd be okay without me again."
"Are you insane? All you've been texting me when you get the chance is how great he is, how funny he is, how much you like sleeping with him."
I groaned. "Don't mention that."
"I'm serious. Why would you just get up and leave without saying a word to him? I know you like this guy. I've never heard you talk about someone so much. Usually, you're over them in like five minutes."
I shrugged. "Peter and I had fun, but that was all it was. Fun. We're not together and we don't need to be together. Can we not talk about this? I already feel shitty enough as is."