"Claudia, do you want a little rum in your diet coke to try and take the edge-" Stacey stopped talking as she watched Claudia drink straight from the liquor bottle and then bury her face in her hands. "Seriously, Claudia, I'm trying to help you. Please talk to me."
Claudia lifted her face slowly as she looked at Stacey face filled with sorrow and compassion. She rubbed her eyes wearily and took in a deep breath, shuddering a little bit as she tried not to sob. Stacey bit down on her lower lip wondering if she should try to convince Claudia to try to sleep. She had never seen her best friend look so beaten down. Her face was red and swollen from crying, her hair hung listlessly in her face as she drew her knees under the oversized t-shirt of Sam's she was wearing. Stacey felt her own eyes well up with tears as she felt the pain Claudia was experiencing.
"Claudia, we can talk tomorrow if you want? I told you I'd stay here as long as you needed me…"
"No, no. I'll talk." Objected Claudia as she lit up a cigarette. " I just don't understand! Everything was beyond perfect. We had plans with Shanny and Andy this weekend to take Salsa lessons. Then the next weekend, we were heading out of town with you guys, and now.... now?" Without saying a word, Stacey pulled out an old soda can to use as an ashtray and cracked open the doorwall. She hesitated then reached for a cigarette; using Claudia's lighter to light up. Neither of them smoked except on the occasional drunk night, however whenever either of them was hurting especially bad, they would silently light up cigarettes and smoke until their throats and lungs hurt. Stacey sat down and listened quietly while Claudia filled her in on the events of the previous night.
"So then without saying a word, he just gave me this look, God, Stace, it was awful. This look like he wanted to die. He walked by me, grabbed his coat, and keys out of the kitchen and turned and walked out the door. He texted me early this morning saying it was over forever and to please leave his things on my front porch and he'd pick them up later." Claudia rubbed her temples wearily. "Stacey, why won't he give me a chance to explain? I mean he left the key I gave him to the house on the counter. I had no clue Mark was out of jail. I haven't talked to him in years! He shows up out of no where and it's not like I invited him over."
Stacey reached over and gave Claudia a hug. "It's ok. It'll be ok." She soothed. "You didn't know he'd come over. It's not like you talked to him right?" Stacey grimaced and she felt Claudia stiffen. "Right Claudia? Tell me you didn't invite him in last night?"
Claudia sat up and looked at Stacey then quickly looked down and began fiddling with the bottom hem of her shirt. "Wasispppsgnddo?" she mumbled.
"You want to repeat that?" asked Stacey sarcastically.
Claudia sighed. "What was I supposed to do? He just got out of jail. He had no where to go, no money, nothing."
"THAT IS NOT YOUR PROBLEM!" shouted Stacey. She stood up quickly knocking her chair over backwards causing the cats to run out of the room at the sudden noise. "My Lord Claudia, he lied to you, stole from you, and physically hurt you. You were hauled down to the police station on suspicion of drugs! Not to mention, up until several months ago, pretty much destroyed your want or ability to love a man again. Did he stay here?" She groaned as she saw Claudia's head nod.
"Nothing happened Stace. I swear. I made him a bed on the couch then I went upstairs to try to sleep. At about 3 in the morning I thought I heard a sound and it was just him kind of drinking some water and sitting in my front room. He apologized and said he didn't blame me for being upset."
"How very considerate of him…" muttered Stacey.
"So I just started crying and told him that my life was finally on track and he just stood up, kind of hugged me and held me until I was able to stop crying. He said he would be out of here in the morning and not bother me again. I could call him if I wanted to see him. He was gone when I came downstairs this morning."
As Claudia began sobbing again, Stacey said a silent prayer hoping that Sam would give Claudia a chance to explain the situation.
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Sam sat in his apartment, aimlessly flipping through the channels on the tv. He ignored the texts coming through on his phone knowing it was Kristy checking to see if he was alright. I can't believe how life can change in just a matter of seconds. He thought.
When he had walked out of Claudia's house last night, he needed some air to breathe and some time to process everything. Once he had arrived home he tossed and turned and thought about how shocked Claudia had been to see Mark standing there. He knew she hadn't been expecting him and that the visit was unplanned. He wanted to resolve things immediately and quickly threw on a pair of shoes, grabbed his keys and drove back to her house in the middle of the night.
"I guess I got my resolution." He muttered out loud thinking back to the scene. As he had pulled up to the house, he noticed two figures illuminated in her front window locked in an embrace. He waited for a few minutes as Mark's arms remained locked around Claudia and she buried her face in his shoulder.
Sam leaned back on his couch thinking back to the fun times he and Claudia had shared. He couldn't remember feeling so free and excited about a girl. Even his ex-wife had never made him so happy during the times they were together. He thought for a moment, then realized what he needed to do. He reached for his phone and quickly dialed a number, tapping his foot impatiently while waiting for her to answer.
"Hello?"
"Hi, it's Sam."
"Sam? Wow, are you ok? Is everything ok? Are plans changing for this weekend?"
"Kind of, well not really, well. There's too much to explain actually. Just wanted to know what you guys were doing not this weekend but the next?"
"No plans I don't think why? Did you want to switch weekends?"
"I just wanted to know if you wanted to head to Cozumel with Stacey and Jason? It's already paid for, I just uh…found out we're not able to go as planned."
"That sounds great Sam, I'd have to make sure Andy can do it but I'm pretty sure he's off that weekend. Are you sure everything is ok? Is Claudia ok?"
Sam felt his throat swell up at the sound of her name.
"Things are …um…. Hey, I'll overnight the info to you ok? You can call Stacey for details. Take care, Shannon. Bye"
He hung up the phone and sank back into the couch cushions finally letting his emotions overtake as tears began rolling down his face.
