One Night

Chapter 109

Audrey

I trudged into the house late that night, my feet aching as I kicked off my shoes. The sound of laughter and the faint glow of the TV drew me to the living room, where I found my friends sprawled across the couches, video game controllers in hand and half-empty pizza boxes strewn about.

“Well, look who finally decided to grace us with her presence, Tina called out with a grin, pausing the game.

I collapsed into an empty armchair, sinking blissfully into the sol c**hions. “Don’t mind me,” I mumbled, my eyes already starting to close. “Til just be here, quietly dying”

“Rough day?” Betty asked, offering me a slice of cold pizza.

I waved it away, too exhausted to even consider eating. “Oh, you have no idea.”

Avis, munching on one of her famous chocolate chip cookies, said. “This is the second night this week you’ve come home. late. What’s going on?”

“Where do I even start?” I huffed, rubbing my temples as if that would somehow soothe my migraine.

Over the next few minutes, I recounted my day-starting with the mannequin incident, followed by the permanent marker. After that, I had gone on a wild scavenger hunt all over the building in search of some special cleaning solution to get the marker off of the board, which had taken all day.

“That put me behind on my second project,” I muttered. “So I had to stay late to get it done.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Betty fumed. “And let me guess, Linda is just skating by?”

The mention of Linda’s name made my blood boil, but I forced myself to stay calm. I refused to let her get under my skin, even when she wasn’t around to see it. “As far as I can tell, yeah. She hasn’t had a single issue since we started. Although. I don’t think the design she presented this morning was actually hers.”

Tina growled softly. “I wouldn’t put it past her. Let’s not forget how she stole your cheerleading uniform design.”

“Exactly.”

“I still can’t believe she got that internship,” Avis sighed. “After everything she did to you at school? Something about this is fishy.”

I shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant even though I was seething inside. “It doesn’t matter. Even if I say something, 1711 just be painted as the bad guy in the situation. It’s easier to keep my head down and work hard.”

“But Audrey,” Gavin protested, “you can’t just let her walk all over you like this.”

“What choice do I have?” I asked, burying my face in a nearby pillow.

Tina suddenly sat up straight, “Oh, I can think of a few ways to expose Linda’s true nature.”

Like what?”

“Well,” Tina began, ticking off ideas on her fingers, “we could sneak into her apartment and plant some cameras.”

“Or we could hire a private investigator to follow her around and catch her doing something shady,” Avis added with a giggle.

“Ooh, how about we lure her on a fake date and then trap her with her ex?” Betty suggested.

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As my friends continued to brainstorm increasingly outlandish schemes, I couldn’t help but laugh. Their enthusiasm was infectious, even if their ideas such as making a giant net and capturing Linda in it-were completely impractical.

“Alright, alright,” I interrupted, wiping tears of laughter from my eyes. “As much as I appreciate the creativity, I think I’ll stick to my original plan of just working hard and hoping Linda exposes herself.”

“Boring.” Tina groaned, but she was smiling.

“You’re a better person than I am,” Gavin admitted, “If I were in your position, I would probably have snapped by now”

I yawned, the exhaustion of the day finally catching up with ine” think I need to call it a night before I do snap.”

My friends wished me goodnight as I trudged up the stairs to my attic room. But, despite my exhaustion, sleep eluded me. After tossing and turning for what felt like hours, I gave up and made my way to the antique sewing machine.

The room was dimly lit by a single lamp, casting an amber glow over the small space that was oddly soothing. I lost myself in the rhythmic hum of the machine, the fabric sliding smoothly under my fingers. I wasn’t even sure what I was making, I was just sewing for the hell of it, anything to keep my hands and my mind busy.

Suddenly, a soft knock on the door broke my concentration. “Come in,” I called out, not looking up from my work.

The door creaked open, and Gavin’s voice drifted in. “Hey, I thought I heard you up. Can’t sleep?”

I

I shook my head, finally glancing up to see him settle cross-legged onto my bed. “Too much going on in this head of mine, I

guess.”

Gavin watched me work in silence for a few moments before speaking again. “Listen, Audrey, I wanted to apologize for what happened at the party. You know, when I tried to kiss you.”

My hands stilled under the sewing machine. “Gavin, you don’t have to-”

He held up a hand, cutting me off. “No, I do. I was drunk and not thinking straight. I’m sorry I keep doing this.”

“I don’t blame you,” I said softly, finally turning to face him with a small, sad smile. “Really, it’s okay.”

Gavin nodded, looking relieved. Then, hesitantly, he asked, “Do you think… Do you think we’ll ever have a chance?”

I felt my heart sink. We had had this conversation before, but I knew I owed him patience and honesty. Setting aside my work, I moved to sit beside him on the bed, the springs creaking as I settled in.

“Gavin,” I began gently, “it’s not you. I’m just..” I paused, licking my lips. “I’m in love with someone else. Someone I can’t have.”

There was that word: love.

It surprised me as it left my mouth, but I knew instantly that it was true. I loved Edwin, as impossible and painful as that love might be. Still, the thought made my cheeks flush, and I quickly looked away.

I could see Gavin’s shoulders slump out of the corners of my eyes, but there was understanding in his voice. “L… I get it,” he said softly, flopping backward on my bed with his arms outstretched, his gaze fixed on the ceiling. “Unrequited love sucks.”

I looked over at him and felt my heart stutter. Perhaps the way I felt when I thought about Edwin was the same way he felt about me. And perhaps I had no place to wallow if I was putting him through the same pain.

With a sigh, I flopped down beside him and stared up at the pitched ceiling above us.

“Yeah, I muttered. “It does.”

Neither of us spoke for a long time after that, although we didn’t need to. There was a sort of sad understanding between us;

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Chapter 109

an understanding that we were both in the same difficult position, and there was nothing we could do about it.

But we were still friends. And that was what mattered.

Finally, Gavin yawned and sat up. I, too, felt my eyes growing heavy, and I knew I’d be able to sleep soon.

“Well,” he said, standing up, “if you ever want to talk about it, I always here.”

Touched by his kindness despite our difficult situation, I stood and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Thanks for being such a good friend, Gavin.”

He blushed, mumbling a goodnight before slipping out of the room. Once he was gone, I crawled into bed, hoping for a peaceful night’s sleep.

Instead, I found myself in a nightmare. I was back at Brooks Designs, standing in the middle of the design department. But rather than Leo or Linda, it was Edwin who loomed over me, his face twisted with disappointment.

“I expected better from you. Audrey,” he scolded, his voice echoing unnaturally in the room as he wagged a finger in my

face.

Before I could respond, Fiona appeared at his side. “Edwin, darling.”

Edwin turned to her, dipping her low beneath a spotlight that had suddenly appeared over their heads. Their lips met in a passionate kiss, mirroring the one Edwin and I had shared at the masquerade.

Gasping. I reached up to touch my face, only to feel the smooth surface of a mask. As I tried to remove it, I found another anidemeath, and another after that.

Each new mask was a different animal-a pig, a rat, a chicken-all creatures considered lowly or undesirable.

Then, suddenly, I was surrounded by a crowd of masquerade attendees, all wearing identical silver wolf masks. They pressed in close, their gowns rustling and hands reaching for me.

“Silver Star, Silver Star,” they chanted, their voices growing louder with each repetition. “Remember who you are!”

I felt suffocated, trapped by the sea of bodies and fabric. I opened my mouth to scream, but the only sound that came out was a harsh, grating alarm.

My eyes flew open, my heart racing as I bolted upright in bed. The alarm on my phone blared, cutting through the remnants of my nightmare. I fumbled to silence it, my hands shaking.

“Just a dream,” I murmured, pushing my sweat-damp hair out of my face. “Just a dream..”

As reality settled back in, I groaned. Time for another day of hell

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