"You guys broke up!?" Emily gasped.
"We can't be broken up if we were never together." Clara plopped on her bed. She put her face in her pillow and laid the phone on her face without hands and exhaled deeply.
"I guess so, but you still should have told me. Boyfriend or not, that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt. Do you want me to pick you up? You still haven't seen my new place! It has a pooool! And I have wine..." Emily enticed.
"You know what, that sounds amazing, sure. I'll drive myself though, I could use a good car ride to clear my mind."
"Turn the radio up loud and drown it all out girl! I'll see you in a bit. I love you!"
Clara hung up and rolled over onto her back and stared at the shadowed ceiling. Her eyes welled up as she recalled how Cyra spoke to her. Their conversation replayed in her mind over and over again like a song stuck on repeat. She finally decided to stop feeling sorry for herself and stand up.
Clara arrived at Emily's just before sunset. The house that stood before her was huge, almost as big as Cyra's and twice as gaudy. She pulled up to a black, cast iron gate that was between two black lion statues, guarding obediently on pedestals. The gate had a speaker box and before she could press it, Emily's voice broadcasted loudly, "Hey girl, I'm in the pool! Let yourself in and head straight to the back."
The inside of the house was even more flashy than the outside. In the entrance there was a ginormous crystal chandelier and there were two grand staircases on opposite sides of the room, meeting together in the entrance. "Definitely more gaudy than Cyra's place" she thought.
As she made her way through the glittering home that smelled of fresh cotton and lavender, Clara exhaled and her shoulders lowered involuntarily.
Outside at the pool area, Emily was perched with her long legs crossed on a bar stool inside of her swim-up bar. She was half submerged in water and looked like an actual mermaid.
"Hey girl!" She called at Clara, raising a martini glass. "What's your poison?" She teased.
"I'll have whatever you're having. Is there somewhere I can change?" Clara scanned the yard. It had actual cabanas.
"There's a pool house just on the other side where you can change. I'll have your drink ready for you when you're finished!"
Once inside, Clara pulled out her bathing suit from her purse and slipped out of her street clothes. When she removed her shoes, a small crinkled piece of paper fell out. She picked it up and her eyes widened as she recognized the handwritten note.
"The phone number I found at the warehouse! I've completely forgotten about that." She pressed her lips together hard. "I have to tell Cyra." She reached for her phone but hesitated, rubbing her index finger on a crack on her phone case. She bit her lip in frustration. "Cyra doesn't want me on the case... remember", Clara reminded herself. She tapped her nail to her lip and pondered.
Clara emerged from the pool house with a white bikini. It had little red cherries dancing all over and a little felt cherry on the top between her breasts. Her hair was in a high, messy ponytail that swung with each step.
When she got back to the pool, Emily was now perched on the edge of the pool with two glasses sitting next to her. The orange and purple sunset beamed behind her and kissed her tan skin as the pool reflected the sparkling backdrop. She waved Clara to her.
"Emily, your place is beautiful. And the view of the sunset over the mountains is breathtaking. Is this all influencer money?"
Emily giggled. "A lot of it, yes but my parents have bank too, you know that!"
"But this is your house, right? You're so lucky to be spoiled. I'm jealous!" Clara sat next to Emily and took the drink in both hands.
"Yeah so lucky" she answered sarcastically. "I see my parents twice a year, three times if I'm lucky and they throw money at me because they think that's what I want."
Clara touched Emily's shoulders empathetically. "You always have me Em. My beautiful Emily who punched a boy for me in the 4th grade for snapping my already double D bra. That day in the principal's office I knew you'd always have my back!"
"I don't know what I would do without you! I'm sorry, you must think I'm so selfish." She hugged Clara tight. "I'm supposed to be making you feel better not the other way around! Typical that the poor rich girl is complaining that she's rich when her best friend has gotten her first breakup!"
"I told you, Em. It's not a breakup. We weren't a couple. We never even kissed." Clara watched the ice crack in her drink.
"I know, but this is the most serious I've seen you with a guy. Usually they are the ones chasing you."
"He was chasing me." Clara confessed. "That's the problem. I made the mistake of letting him catch me." Clara's long eyelashes lowered.
Emily watched her with a sympathetic smile. "You need another drink hun. I'll be right back!"
Clara was left alone with her thoughts in the perfectly heated pool as she dipped herself into the crystal clear water.
I have no right to feel bad. I have treated boys like play things all my life. This is my karma for being a heart breaker. I'll never bring my walls down for anyone ever again. No one except Emily. But what do I do about this phone number? I can't call it or it might scare off the person it belongs to and what if it belongs to someone linked to Emor. It definitely belongs to someone who knew that Cyra was making a deal with Emor, that's for sure. I need someone who can track the number. Someone like Natalia. Like Cyra.
Emily returned with two fresh drinks and slid into the water gracefully.
"I think I need to go see him Emily. I have something important to speak to him about. Besides, we still have that class together and a very important project that we are partnered on together. We have to at least get back on speaking terms if we are going to survive the semester."
Emily smiled and shrugged delicately. "The heart wants what it wants. My Clare Bear. Go then. Good luck." The pretty mermaid waved goodbye.