I am so nervous. What if she yells at me for just blacklisting her?
“Hey, Tessa,” Aurora said as she lowered her head.
“Aurora?” Tessa said. “Is everything okay? We haven't talked in forever. I thought Gannon didn’t want you to see me anymore.”
Tessa was blonde and walked with spunk in her step because she was a jock and ran track in high school. During their undergrad, Tessa always tried to get Aurora to run with her, but Aurora would always quit ten minutes in. Aurora preferred to bike if anything.
“I am sorry. I know we haven’t seen each other or talked in a while, but I...” Aurora started to choke on tears.
“I know you are not here to just tell me sorry,” Tessa said as she pulled Aurora in for a hug. “What’s wrong?”
“Gannon cheated on me,” Aurora said as she took a deep breath and wiped the tears from her face. “I caught Gannon with a woman the other night.”
“Oh, Rora,” Tessa said.
“I was wondering. Before you say I told you so…” Aurora said.
“I won’t say that.”
“Well, you know I hate asking for help. I paid for all of my college and expenses on my own and covered the expenses of my life with Gannon and never asked anyone for a dime.”
“Really?” Tessa said. “He paid nothing? That lazy ba – ”
“Tessa,” Aurora said. “I know I was so stupid to ever pay for anything for him. I am just asking you… Asking for your help.”
“Of course! What can I do?”
“I just need a place to stay. I can pay for rent. I will even stay on your couch. I just don’t know who to talk to about what happened. I can’t tell my family or any of my friends.”
“But you can tell your best friend,” Tessa said.
“Yes,” Aurora laughed as she shed happy tears. “My best friend…. I guess I have been so distant lately. Gannon just got so bad that I felt like I was in a hole I could not get out of.”
“It’s fine. I get it.” Does she really get it? I guess I won’t get into that now, Aurora thought.
“So, do you still live in the suburbs?”
“Yes,” Tessa said. “I still live an hour away, like I mentioned the last time we bumped into each other. I am working for a dentist now.”
“That’s a long commute, but that’s fine,” Aurora said. “I have been staying in a hotel the last few nights. You know, since I left my place. I just cannot stand to be alone anymore. I haven’t eaten anything in three days.”
“No problem,” Tessa said. “I would love to have you stay with me. It will be just like college again.”
When Aurora and Tessa met in college, they lived across the hall from one other. Aurora had needed help setting up her Wi-Fi. She asked Tessa for help in her own awkward way, but she usually tried to avoid small talk or introduce herself to people she didn’t know. Aurora could tell by Tessa’s mannerisms that she was the same way. They became friends after that, and would do everything together, like going to parties, eating, and studying.
“Thank you,” Aurora said.
“It’s okay. Pretend you never asked, and that I asked you.” Tessa said. “Is that all you wanted to say?”
“Well,” Aurora said in a silent voice. “No. Gannon was abusing me.”
“He was what?” Tessa stammered. Her voice began to attract the attention of onlookers.
“Such a horrible human being. Remember the summer of freshman year when I took a trip with you and Gannon to Chicago?” Tessa continued.
“Yes. I remember.” Aurora was standing stiff and tense.
“Well, I saw how Gannon was always poking fun at you or making you feel stupid. I hated that. That is probably why he hated me. I saw through his narcissistic personality by his always making excuses for you and me not to hang out.”
“He didn’t hate you,” Aurora said as she kicked some leaves on the ground. “But he didn’t like you either.”
“He did hate me then, and he still hates me.” Tessa rolled her eyes. “He had to, because no one just stops seeing their friends for no reason,” Tessa said. “I am sure he hated me because I saw through his crap. I never liked him. Who knows what he would say if he knew we were talking now.”
“He won’t,” Aurora said. “But you told me how he was before I married him. I just didn’t want to listen. I am sorry I let him get between us.”
“It’s fine. I am just happy you are not with him.”
“I am sure.”
“I am happy that you will be staying with me.”
“I am just glad you said yes.” Aurora took a deep breath and smiled as she relaxed her stance. “I was expecting the worst.”
“You always expect the worst, Rora.” Tessa smiled and let out a soft and comforting laugh. “Some things never change.”
--
Aurora went to her and Gannon’s apartment with Tessa after work the next day.
“I’m not going to miss this place,” Aurora said as she and Tessa walked into the living room. “It was like my own little hell here.”
“Funny thing is,” Tessa said, “this is the first time I am allowed in your place, and it is to pack your things.”
“Please, Tessa,” Aurora said. “You know I felt guilty about that every single day.”
“I know. I am just messing with you.”
Aurora looked at her wedding picture hanging on the wall.
“Wow,” Aurora said. “That is probably the last time I remember being happy.” Aurora pointed at herself in the photo.
In the photo, Aurora was wearing her dream wedding dress, which was an off-white lace dress, like the dress Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, had worn to marry Prince William. Aurora’s hair was up in a French twist and she was wearing a white lace veil. The ceremony was a picture-perfect fall wedding. They were at Gannon’s parents’ estate, The McMaster Plantation, just outside of Auburn, Alabama. It had a beautiful garden in it. Aurora was sickened when she thought it was probably built on the backs of slaves, but she never said anything about it though it bothered her deeply. The garden had been around since it was created in 1862 when Gannon's great-great-grandparents first purchased the land after coming to the United States from Ireland. In the photo, Gannon and Aurora were walking in the garden down the wedding aisle that was covered in white rose petals. The garden flourished with pink peonies, which were Gannon’s mother’s favorite flower.
“I doubt I will ever have a wedding like this again,” Aurora said. “Not like I ever want to again, anyway.”
“Don’t talk like that,” Tessa said as she got closer to the photo. “But wow. To think you were only twenty-one when you and Gannon got married.”
“Yup, and Gannon was twenty-three,” Aurora said. “Everyone said we were too young to get married, but we didn’t care. I just loved him so much, but it was only that Gannon didn’t want to lose me to my career.” Tears ran down Aurora’s face, and she wiped them away with her sweater sleeve.
“Aurora,” Tessa said as she tried to console Aurora.
“It is just that everything changed on the day I married him,” Aurora said. “Everything changed after I said ‘yes’.”
“It’s