About last night

The ringing in her ear grew louder but the weight she felt on her body couldn't let her move an inch. Riley tried openning her eyes but it felt like something was pressing her eyes down preventing her from properly opening them. Slowly, she ran her hand through the bed in a bid to locate her phone that have been ringing since forever, it was a failed attempt. The banging in her hand was becoming unbearable and she knew she had to do something about it. With every ounce of strenght she had in her body, Riley opened her eyes and sat up. She ran her fingers through her messy hair and took a deep breath.

   " good morning"

Riley was startled for a second at the deep masculine voice till she looked beside her and saw a male figure, a familiar one. Suddenly, the events of last night began to come back to her and it all made sense now. She remembered meeting Jesse at the bar, she remembered the drinks, lots of it, the loud laughter and catching up,but, she didn't remember the part where she invited him to her apartment.

" Hey, ermm, hi" Riley said as she was becoming more aware now " did we??'

Jessy let out a soft smile " Yeah, if you're asking if we had sex, we definitely did that" The smile faded and he couldn't bear to look at her 

Riley looked at herself and Jesse wasn't lying. she realized she had nothing on except her white duvet that barely covered her. she dragged the duvet in an attempt to properly cover up herself.

" Yeah, i guess that happened" Riley said and took a closer look at Jesse, he was all dressed up and ready to go " and you're dressed" riley said, a little disappointed.

" yeah, ermm, i came to town for a business deal and i have a flight out this morning, a flight that i'll miss if i don't leave right now" Jesse said with a bit of embarrasment and disappointment in his voice

" okay, that's alright" Riley said with a smile

" yeah, and uhmm, it was really nice seeing you, it's been...forever" Jesse said

" Yeah, it was nice seeing you too" Riley responded

" and about last night, i didn't mean to , you know, you were in such a bad shape and you just kept talking about things and...i'm sorry if it looked like i took adavantage" Jesse said in a calmer tone

" It's okay,we were both drunk and i'm sure no one intended to take advantag of the other, so..." Riley aid as the awkwardness set in " Uhmm, did you see my phone?''

" Yeah" Jessy said and proceeded to pick the phone from the table and handed it over to Riley" it's been ringing all morning"

'yeah" Riley looked at the phone and looked back at him" It's Ana"

" Ana, wow, it's been a while too" Jesse said " i haven't seen her since we left college"

" Yeah, well, time flies"Riley said with a smirk

" Yeah, well, ermm, can i maybe get your number?, we should talk som time" Jesse asked

" Sure, give me your phone" Riley replied

Riley and Jesse excahnged contacts and he left shortly after, but not before promising to call her. Riley folded the duvet round her body and stood up. she sat on the chair and dailed Ana's number, Ana picked up in one ring.

" Hello" Ana answered from the other end " what's going on girl?, i've been blowing your phone up since last night, i didn't sleep cause to be fair, you asked me not to"

" hello Ana" Riley responded "i'm sorry i didn't call or anything, i was ermm, i had a very weird night"

" Weird night?, what do you mean by that?" Ana asked

" well, where do i start?, let's see, remember Jesse" Riley asked

" Jesse?, your Jesse?'' Ana asked with a tone that depicted surprise " yeah...we never talk about Jesse, so..."

" well, i saw him last night?'' Riley said 

" Saw him last night?, weren't you with Adam last night?, did he know it was Jesse?'' Ana asked trying to make sense of the current situation.

" There is no adam Ana" Riley replied with a big sniff

" What do you mean by there is no Adam?, did something happen to him?, wait, is he dead??' Ana asked, obviously confused

" That would be the better picture here, but, no" riley replied " He's having a baby"

" Having a baby?, are you pregnant??' Ana asked with a pitched voice

" I'm not pregnant Ana, you would know" Riley replied, this time, the tears were beginning to set in and the incident of last night was rushing back to her

" so, if you're not pregnant and he's having a baby...does that mean?'' Ana was beginning to say but stopped abrubtly " NO''

" yes, he got some girl pregnant and he's gonna marry her" Riley said and finally broke down in tears " He told me that he loved me but he had to be responsibe for his actions and...i begged him Ana, i still begged him to stay can you believe that"

''I'm so sorry babe, i don't know what to say right now, Jesus christ" Ana said " and he had to invite you out to actually say that?, what happened to all the clues?''

" Well, apparently my secretary likes trying on my stuff and she and her friends obviously gossip about me and adam is just, horrible" Riley said and began to cry even more

" I am so sorry Riles, i can't even begin to imagine how you felt or what you did" Ana said expressing concern

" Oh, i felt terrible, i felt like my life was ending and, i just wanted to die. I went to drank, i actually drank a lot of booze, i got all messed up and i might have made yet another mistake last night" Riley said with a few sobs and wiped her tears

" What mistake?" Ana asked

" I met Jesse at the club and we talked, a lot, we talked about college and life and i was just so messed up, i wasn't thinking straight Ana" Riley said still sobbing

" Nooooo" Ana said " Don't tell me you slept with Jesse" There was silence on the other end " Riley!!You know better than to sleep with an ex, not just any ex, jesse, THE ex! You guys had more than just a fling, he asked you to marry him, you were gonna marry him"

" I know, i know, but trust me, you shouldn't be yelling at me right now, i wasn't thinking straight, i don't know what to do" Riley cried

" Look, i'm sorry i gave you too much crap, i just , i don't want you making harsh decisions like this" Ana apologized " so what now?"

" I'm moving, i figured i have nothing left here, i had all these job offers from different aganecies and i kept rejecting them cause you know, Adam was here and my life was all about him, but, now that it isnt anymore, i have no reason to be here, i can go anywhere, LA, Atlanta, New york, Colorado, even paris . I can make few calls and see if any agency still wants me, in fact there is this one in England that's just starting but they're doing good for themselves, i can work with that" Riley said as tears ran down her cheeks

" You hate England, you can not survive in England so stop spewing nonsense and calm down " Ana said " Look, i know you're hurt, and yes, i think you should move, but not move out of the continent. Listen, i think you should come to new york, there are lots of Ad agencies here and with your cv you can get any job with any of them. Plus, you can stay with me and there would be someone to actually stay with you in a time like this"

" I am not handicapped Ana, i don't need to be looked after"Riley said with " but, i can see myself living in new york, i mean, it's the city of glitz and glamaour''

" That would be LA'' Ana cut in " New york is more like sweats and more sweats and a little, just a little glamour but fun"

" Whatever, you know what i'm saying" Riley said in her defence

" Okayyyy, but,on a bright side, there are actually lots of rich and eligible bachelors in this city, that just might be what you need at this point" Ana said sounding all excited

" I know that your motto is, to get over a man, you must get under another, but Ana, i ned to be getting under my work and not another man" Riley said " in fact, i may just be off men for now"

" Cool, you can be on women" Ana said and let out a giggle

" You can still joke about my predicament??, girl bye" Riley said and tried to end the call

" wait" Ana sharply inputed " I'm sorry, i just wanted to lighten up your mood, i can't even begin to imagine how you must be feeling right now but, i'm ready to do anything to make sure you get better, i promise"

Riley took a deep breath and cleaned the tears that have once again formed in her eyes. Just yesterday, she woke up as the happpiest women in new jersey, and today, she was a mess of a woman who just lost her boyfriend and slept with her ex.

"It's fine Ana, i'm fine" Riley said " I'll pack up few things and go stay with my mom for a while and ermm, maybe take you up on your offer to move to new york, i think there might be something there for me, who knows"

" that's the spirit girl, you'll get through this, i know you will" Ana said

" yeah, bye"

" Bye"

Riley put down the phone and stood up to take a look at her apartment. She remembered moving here the year she left college and got her first job. The apartment represented adulthood, it represnted growth. Prior to that time, she had spent her life living with her mom then went straight to the college dorm, and then, an apartment off campus where she lived with Ana. This apartment was her first adult decision and she felt even happier that she didn't have to run to her mother for rent. it was all hers, every bit of it. Even though she started earning more money and could afford to move to a beter place,she always neglected that. Now, looking at the apartment, it represented pain and everything she wanted to leave behind. She could see Adam all over the room. She couldn't help but remember all the times he slept over, the times he would make her breakfast, the times he would sit on the chair and work on his cases or be on a call. She walked over to the wardrobe and his shirts were all over the place, it made her sad.

Without thinking, Riley began to pull Adam's belongings from the wardrobe with tears in her eyes.she poured it all on the floor and went ahead to pull out everything that reminded her of him, the sheets, the pillows that she could swear still had his scent all over it, the pen holder she bought for him to stack his pens, the chair, and finally, the picture of him holding her on the waist that stood firmly on the bed stand. The picture went crashing on th floor and Riley fell with it,crying uncontrollably. The events of last night didn't still make sense to her and all she wantd was to drive up to his house and ask him why he would do that to her but she knew better, she knew she fell in love with him for a reason and she knew it was for that same reason that they had to break up, he was always taking responsibilities for his actions.

One look at the apartment again and Riley's mind was already made up, she couldn't stay here, she won't move on if she did.

*****************

The drive from new jersey to new york was the longest three hours of Riley's life. She had opted for the road trip due to the need for some calm and serenity. Driving, to Riley, was theraputic. She had left her new jersey apartment with nothing but her box of clothes, at least, the ones that she didn't get from Adam or the ones that reminded her of him. she had spent two weeks with her mother and had gotten all the support she needed to move to new york and move on with her life.

Ana was thrilled to hear that her best friend was finally moving to new york and they get to relive their college life, well, as adults now. Riley was no stranger to Ana's apartment so she had no trouble shooting through the streets of new york and finding her way to east village.

Ana was already outside the building waiting when Riley pulled up. The hug after she alighted from her car took forever, the girls even shed few tears. Ana helped Riley carry her bag in one hand while holding her hand with the other. They got on the elevator to the fifth floor where Ana lived. The apartment hadn't changed much since Riley's last visit on october. It was a two bedroom apartment with the finest sitting room Riley had eveer seen, according to her on her first vist. The wall was painted white and Ana had this big painting of a woman's lips hanging on the wall. there were flower pot holders that had the most beautiful flowers on them. There were three couches in the sitting room and one armless chair at the back of one of the couchs facing the window. Ana had a handmade table just in the center of the room and a big tv mounted up facing the couches. There was a book shelve just beside the tv that housed mostly vinatge books and old caseetes. The small dinning area which also served as the kitchen stood as a demacation betweeen the sitting room and the passage leading to the two rooms. The dinning had a handmade table and four chairs. The kitchen was interwined with the dinning as the dinning table and chairs stood in the middle while kitchen cabinates and stoves were at each end.

walking past the kitchen cum dinning, one would see a small passage with pictures on the wall and flower pots hanging on the wall, then, two doors facing eachother.

" Good enough for you?, i may have decorated a little" Ana asked as she ushered Riley into the room that would now be hers.

" It's perfect" Riley replied looking around " Thank you best friend"

The room was sizeable, the bed was in the middle and there was a small couch by the end of the room just before the window. There was a small balcony one could access by lifting the window and that was what Riley loved most about the room. There was also a white rug in the center of the room and it was so soft. 

" Just get settled and we'll eat, i can't cook to save my life so i ordered some food and it should be here soon, i think" Ana said, Riley smiled in apprecation.

Ana left the room to give Riley space to get settled in, she sat on the cried. she didn't know if she had made the right choice by packing up and leaving the way she did, but she knew she wanted to feel better and new jersey couldn't offer her that anymore.