"Sorry, I'm late, honey." Karen rushed into the office after having lunch with Will. Their night together was wonderful and it was hard for them to say goodbye. Her smile was bright until she met Grace's eyes.
"Karen, where have you been?" Grace seemed angry with her for a reason that she didn't quite understand.
"What's wrong, honey? Is it that dress that's harshing your mellow, because I can understand that." Grace rolled her eyes and Karen sat down at her desk.
"No, Karen, it's not my dress that's bothering me. What's bothering me is the fact that you're lazy and you never show up on time. It wouldn't be so bad, but you promised that you'd be here early today to help me."
"Honey, calm down, your face is starting to match your hair." She walked over to her friend and looked into her angry eyes. "I'm here now. What do you need me to do?"
"I've already finished it, Karen!"
"I forgot. I'm sorry."
"That's not good enough for me! I need help! I hired you for help! But you can't do anything!"
"What crawled up your ass and died? Stop yelling at me."
"Just leave. You have the day off." She went back to her sketches, but her eyes were cold. Karen had no idea what was wrong with her. It was usually easy to read what she was thinking, but her attitude hid everything. She put her hand on her back only to get slapped away.
"Honey, you can talk to me."
"Why? You can't talk to me." She tilted her head back and looked at the sky, as if she were praying for the patience to handle Grace's latest mood.
"I know that you hate me living with you, but I'm looking for an apartment. Just give me some time."
"You're taking my place!" The women stood in the middle of the design studio staring at one another. Karen was completely confused, causing Grace's anger to reach a new level. "Why the hell don't you get it? I'm going through stuff too, but Will isn't there for me anymore! He's too busy making you feel comfortable, or going to lunch with you, or sharing his bed with you! You've got him wrapped around your finger and it makes me sick!"
"Are you kidding me? He's just being a good friend."
"And that's the worst part of all! When he's busy giving you a hug or you're lazing around the apartment eating your own weight in junk food, he stops being a good friend to me! A guy broke into your house like five months ago, get over it! I have bigger problems than your missing jewelry!"
"You are so fucking selfish!"
"And you need to get out of my apartment!"
"Grace…"
"I'm serious. I don't want you there when I get home." They stopped speaking, their eyes locked in a venomous glare. The words stung, even though Grace had no idea what had really happened five months ago. If she did then she would have never acted so harshly. Karen straightened her back and sighed before turning to grab her purse off the floor. She looked back to Grace to find that her face was stiff, uncaring. She turned and walked out the door.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Jackie, unlock your door. I need you." Karen knocked on Jack's apartment door, hoping that he was home. She knew that he had an audition earlier that morning, but he should have been home already. She assumed that the audition didn't go so well because he only locked his door when he was depressed.
"Hi, Karebear." Her assumptions were right because he answered the door with a sad look on his face. His look changed, however, when he noticed the suitcases next to her feet. "Are you alright?"
"No, honey, Grace kicked me out and I need a place to stay."
"She kicked you out?" She nodded and he picked up one of her suitcases. "Well, come in. You can stay here."
"Thanks, Poodle. I really appreciate it." They left her clothes in his room before going back to the living room. She sat on the couch and he began to make some coffee. "How was your audition?"
"Terrible. I fell like twice and they think that gives them the right to say 'get off the stage, homo.'" He sat next to her on the couch and she pouted her bottom lip to him. "I can't believe they couldn't see my talented aura."
"Well, maybe next time. Hey, I know, I'll help you run some lines if you need help."
"That'd be great, Kare." He clapped and bounced, placing his latest failure in the back of his mind. "Wait, why did Grace kick you out?" She shrugged.
"I don't know, honey. She says that I'm taking her place with Will. She started yelling at me and the next thing I know she kicked me out." He patted her hand before standing from the couch to get two cups of coffee. "I guess I can understand what she's saying, but she could have talked to me instead of yelling like that."
"I agree, Kare. Maybe we should talk to Will about it. He is the smartest out of all of us." He handed her a cup and she smirked at his statement. When she thought about it, he was right. Will definitely was the brains of their little group.
"I think I'll let Grace tell him. I don't want her to think that I ran to him with another problem."
"Well, if we aren't going to cause drama, let's go shopping. Oh, and then we can go to the gym and work out until we can fit into the clothes we buy." She nodded and giggled as they went to his room to put their workout clothes in a duffle bag.