Another Note

I forgot to mention that the schedule will return to normal next week. :)

The Crazy Girl

Today started off like any other day. I woke up bright and early at 7 in the morning. Ok, that part wasn't normal. I just couldn't go back to sleep. After getting up and taking a hot shower, I made myself some breakfast. Since I was up early, I was able to put in an hour of TV watching before I absolutely had to start my to-do list.

I didn't know where to start.. I ended up deciding to wash my car. Yes, cool people wash their cars at 8:30 in the morning. I drove my car to the car wash and had their complementary coffee while I waited for my car to come out of the car wash. They do such a good job here that I'm shocked. I've never seen my car this clean before in my life.

I didn't notice that I had left my phone in my room when I left for the car wash and I came home to a message from Henry. We were planning on going out to dinner tonight to celebrate his new job. I wanted to go somewhere fancy-ish like The Cheesecake Factory as opposed to going to our usual burger joint like Henry wanted.

I went on my voicemail to listen to Henry's message.

"You have one new message. Beep!" the annoying voicemail voice tells me.

"Hey, Court," Henry said on the message. "I have some really good news and some really bad news. I'll start with the bad news first. I'm not going to be able to make it to dinner tonight. But here's the good news! It's because my boss called me and they want me to be working tonight on this big project that they're doing. I'm really sorry, babe, I know that you were really looking forward to having dinner to celebrate my new job. I promise that I'll make it up to you. I have to go get ready and go to work. Bye, babe. Again, I'm really really sorry that I can't make it to dinner."

"End of messages." says the voice.

I sighed. I was really disappointed that we couldn't go to dinner that night, but I completely understand that Henry had to work. I mean, this was just a one-time thing. He's never flaked on me before and I doubt he'll ever flake on me ever again. I wasn't even mad at him because Henry just loves his job.

So, now I have nothing to do later today. I sighed.

"What's with the sad face, sis?" Brittany asked me when she walked into my room.

"Henry canceled on me," I said, sadly. "I don't have anything to do now and it's my day off from work. I guess I'll just stay home and be bored all day."

"Listen to yourself, Court," she said, rolling her eyes at me. "Since when do you need your boyfriend to entertain you?"

"You're right, Brittany!" I said, smiling.

"Stop whining and let's go make something happen," she said to me. "We don't need boys to have fun! It'll be you and me, Court!" She smiled at me. Her smile was contagious. I couldn't help but get on board with the idea.

"Yeah!" I said, excitedly. "Let's go!"

"Let me get ready," she said, excitedly. She skipped happily out of my room. I shook my head and smiled in amusement.

I really love my sister. I know that she has better things to do than to do whatever it is we're going to be doing today. I smiled to myself, feeling like the luckiest girl in the world.

The doorbell rang.

Huh, that was weird, I wasn't expecting anyone over today.

"Brittany!" I yelled. "Are you expecting anyone over today?"

"No!" I heard her yell back. The doorbell rang again.

I went downstairs and opened the door.

"You!" the person screamed at me.

Farrah.

Note

Just going to update everyone really quickly. :)

I didn't receive a call today from my employer today about my schedule. So, I called them. They told me that I'll get a call tomorrow or Thursday when I start working, which I think will be this weekend hopefully.

I don't know why I thought this department store was more organized than the last one I worked at. HAHAHA.

So, the situation is basically still the same as my previous note.

On a positive note: I love my Tuesday night class. :)

Just a Note

Hey guys!

I just wanted to let you guys know that I started school today and I'm getting my schedule for work tomorrow, I'm not sure how it will effect the posting schedule yet. I might have too much on my plate for 3 posts a week. But I want to let you guys know and give everyone a heads up!

J'et

Break It To Him Gently

My mind raced with a million thoughts. I was getting off of work in a little bit, should I go get coffee with Taylor like I promised him? It wouldn't hurt, right? But do I really want to put myself in that position? It would look pretty bad if anyone saw Taylor and I having coffee together. What would that do to Henry? I wouldn't want him to go have coffee with another girl. Decisions, decisions! For the record, I'm not loving this whole being an adult thing.

"Court?" Taylor said, waving his hand in my face in an attempt to try to get my attention. "If you're busy, I can always come back later."

"Um, yeah," I said to him. "I'm not sure if that would be a good idea, Taylor."

He looked at me with his puppy dog eyes. He knew that I was a sucker for his puppy dog eyes. I could tell that he was going to try to pull me into his spell.

"Why would it be a bad idea, Court?" he asked me with a smile. "Are you scared that you might still have feelings for me like I have feelings for you?"

I fought the urge to laugh in his face. He was delusional if he thought that I was even interested in him after all that stuff with Farrah. I have Henry now and he's a million times better than Taylor. Henry is surprisingly more mature and understanding than Taylor is. I think that proves that age doesn't determine maturity.

"No, of course not," I scoffed. I bit my lip.

"Well, then what's the problem?" he asked me.

"I'm not sure if my boyfriend would appreciate me going out and having a cup of coffee with my ex-boyfriend," I said to him.

I put my hand over my mouth. I didn't mean to let that slip out.

I saw the color drain from his face and he stared at me as if he couldn't comprehend what I just said.

"Did you just say what I thought you said?" he asked me. "You have a boyfriend?"

"Yeah, for awhile now," I said to him.

I felt awful breaking the news to him like that, he looked completely heartbroken and defeated.

"Well, I guess, I should stop bothering you then," he said, sadly. "Would it be weird if I asked if I know who it is?"

"Not really?" I said, uncertainly.

I didn't care if Taylor knew who it was. It wasn't a secret anymore. Well, we still have to tell Adam, but he's too busy trying to eat Zoey's face. Speaking of Zoey, she no longer hates me as a person and we're trying to become friends again. Sorry, total sidetrack moment.

"I'm seeing Henry," I said after a moment of silence.

To my surprise, Taylor started laughing. Really loudly and uncontrollably. I was getting stares from Megan and Cody. That's how loud Taylor's laughing was.

"What's so funny?" I asked him, annoyed.

"I would have never expected that," he said to me. He smiled. "Well, I feel better now."

"Great," I said, sarcastically.

"Call me when the two of you break up," Taylor said with a grin. "We'll get coffee."

With that, he left the store, leaving me fuming... and wondering why people don't expect for me and Henry to be a couple.

I decided not to worry about it, besides.. Taylor doesn't know anything about Henry.

All I know is.. I was getting tired of Taylor's presence in my life.

You Promised

Ok, so Megan and I are seriously not going to become best friends forever anytime soon. I feel kind of bad for saying this, but she's annoying me. I know, I know. I was so excited to call her and tell her that she was hired. There was also the whole I-need-a-new-girlfriend thing. But she's REALLY annoying me. I'm not sure if it's the billions of questions that she felt the need to ask me or I don't know, the reassurance that she needs every five seconds to make sure that she's doing everything right.

"Am I folding these jeans right, Courtney?" She perfectly shows me the technique that I taught her a minute ago for folding jeans.

"The hangers go in this box, right?" She points to box filled with hangers. I felt that it was obvious that the hangers were supposed to go into the box that was clearly marked "hangers", but that's just me.

Maybe I'm just in a bad mood today. I think I might be taking everything the wrong way, but I was too annoyed to not get annoyed by her.

Of course, it didn't help that Cody wasn't doing anything to help me out with Megan. I think that he sensed my annoyance of her and is just waiting for me to explode. He's even playing dumb when Megan started to ask him questions by directing her to me.

"Hey, Cody, how do you do a return?" she asked him. He shrugged.

"I'm not sure, I haven't had to do a lot of those, you should ask Courtney," he said to her.

I mentally groaned in frustration. Cody has been here longer than I have and has done plenty of returns. I wanted to punch him in the face.

"Thanks a lot, Cody," I said, sarcastically when Megan went on her first break. "You're very helpful."

"No problem, Courtney," he said with a devilish smile. "You know.. Megan is kind of cute."

"Ok, whatever," I said dismissively. I went back to restocking.

Megan came back from her break and began showering me with questions again. I mentally sighed. This girl has 4 years of retail experience. What the heck? I tried to answer all of her questions without sounding like a witch.

I went into the storeroom and pulled out a new shipment of skirts, noticing that Megan wasn't nipping at my heels anymore. She was talking to one of the customers. I smiled at the fact that she was no longer bugging me.

I brought the skirts to an empty rack and started sizing them. I noticed that Megan was still talking to the same customer. Actually, it looked like she was flirting with him by her body language. She was giggling and twirling her hair. I couldn't see what he looked like, but judging from her reaction to him, he must have been cute.

The customer turned around and to my shock, it was Taylor. I weakly and awkwardly waved at him. He motioned that I come over. I tried to walk as slowly as possible, dreading this conversation.

"Hey, Courtney, how are you?" Taylor asked me, giving me a one-armed hug. Megan looked at me with her eyes wide open.

"You know him, Courtney?" she asked me, a little shocked.

"We used to date," Taylor explained to her.

I saw the blood draining out of her face. She turned a ghostly white and looked at me nervously as if studying my reaction.

"W-w-well, I'm going to get back to work," Megan said, nervously. "Nice meeting you, Taylor."

As much as I'm excited that things between Megan and I are going to be awkward for some time, I was not excited to be standing here with Taylor in the store. I did not want to talk to him after what happened at the wedding.

Ok, I might have promised him a cup of coffee, but I was hoping that he was too drunk to remember that part of the conversation.

"So, are you free for that cup of coffee you promised?" Taylor asked me.

He didn't forget.

Fast-Talking Friday

Hey guys!

How has your week been? I can't believe it's Friday already.

My week has been crazy. It's the last week of summer and I head back to school on Monday. I'm super excited for my classes! :) So, I have about 3 days left to enjoy my summer and spend as much time as I can with my boyfriend and my cat. Our schedules are kind of flopped for school (him mornings, me in the afternoon/night) and yeah.

I have exciting news!.. I got the job! :) My orientation is today! I'm super excited! I'm not sure what I'll be doing for how much, but I got the job! YAAAAAAAAAAAAY! My boyfriend and I have money to move out in 3 to 4 years!

My presidency at my Honors program has been a little shaky. Our first event was the picnic and only a couple of people showed up out of everyone who RSVPed. I'm worried that no one is going to want to do anything or try to be active this semester. My two right hand men ditched me. One said "yes" to coming and the other one said "maybe". Irritating.

Oh, for the record.. one of my right hand men who flaked.. had the nerve to say that we should have a vote to get someone to fill in for me because I'm going to be busy with my job. Who else is going to fill in that's as motivated as I am about bring the program off of the ground? It's so hard to stay positive when everyone else (even the coordinator, a little bit)is like "I don't really give a crap."

I can't do everything by myself.. It's not possible, especially for the events. My determination is dwindling.. just because I know that I won't have the manpower to push everything I want to get done this semester, let alone this year.

Sorry that this is so long, I needed to get some things off my chest.

Happy Friday! :)

PS. The schedule is still going to be weird for a little bit longer. I promise that it will go back to normal soon. By soon, in a week.. or two. :)

Girlfriend?

As Henry started his new job, I was left to fill the position that he had left open. Jasmine and I had interviewed so many people today, still going to interview more people. I'm not sure if anyone was right for the store. It's kind of hard to explain, but.. during the interview process, we had some pretty interesting characters.

There was one person who came in with ripped t-shirt and short shorts for her interview. Really? Did you think that we were going to hire you to work here if you're wearing a ripped t-shirt with your breasts practically hanging out and short shorts? Maybe she thought it was a guy who was going to interview her. That's probably it.

Another person came in completely nervous and started stuttering uncontrollably. I couldn't understand a single word he said. He seemed like a sweet guy and I wanted to hire him, but Jasmine couldn't hire him if he couldn't speak to the customers and have them understand him.

I sighed. I couldn't bare to interview any more people. It was just tedious. Each one was worse than the next, it felt like.

The next guy came in for his interview. I'd have to admit that he was pretty cute. The typical looking California boy- blond hair and striking blue eyes. I wouldn't have minded to work with him in the store. He looked like one of those models from an underwear catalog. He looked picture perfect on paper too- he had lots of retail experience. I was wondering why he was unemployed.

He performed really well in his interview. I think that both Jasmine and I were impressed with all of his experience and his answers during the interview. We would have hired him.. if he wasn't such a creep.

After his interview, I went outside for my break. I sat on a bench and read my magazine. All of a sudden, I saw a shadow and I looked up.

"Hey, Max," I said to him. "Did you forget something?"

"Courtney, right?" he said to me. I nodded. He took a seat next to me on the bench. "I couldn't help but notice how beautiful you are and was wondering if you'd like to go out on a date with me. I'd sure like to show you a good time." It was obvious that he was staring at my chest.

I looked at him, not knowing if he was serious or not. I just interviewed this guy and he was now asking me out on a date?

"I'm sorry, Max, but I have a boyfriend," I told him. "That is something that is wildly inappropriate to ask someone who just interviewed you for a job. I'm sorry, but you will not be getting the job due to your inappropriate behavior. Excuse me."

I got up and went back inside the store to tell Jasmine what happened. She agreed to stand by my decision to not hire him.

"We're never going to find anyone!" I wailed. "How did it get this bad where it's just only me and Cody left?"

"Well, school is starting soon," Jasmine said, shrugging as if that answered my question. I sighed.

We had to replace Henry's spot for sure, maybe hire a couple of other people to help out. But I think that the store is going to be pretty slow right now. Jasmine's nephew, Victor, is going to start working here when September starts. I was really starting to think that we weren't going to find anyone suitable for the store.

Our last interview of the day was for a girl named Megan. She was amazing! There was nothing wrong with her, she seemed really reliable and friendly. I really liked her upbeat personality and her smile. Jasmine really liked her experience (4 years in retail) and the fact that she had glowing recommendations.

After her interview, we sat down and sifted through everyone's applications and we decided to hire Megan. I was thrilled to be able to work with her.

I get to be the one that calls her and tells her that she's got the job!

Excited! I definitely need another girlfriend after Sarah left.

A Whole New World

Henry and I spent the remainder of our trip to San Francisco just relaxing and enjoying the city. There was nothing really special about the remainder of our stay. The only thing memorable thing we did was go to Union Square and Fisherman's Wharf to people watch. I know it sounds creepy, but I promise, we weren't completely staring at people. We were watching people walk by in their trendy outfits and just complementing them. Ok, that does sound a little creepy.

It was kind of nice to take time away from everything and just relax with Henry. I feel like ever since we got together, there has been a bunch of things that could have ended our relationship if Henry wasn't quite so understanding.

We even had a day where we just stayed in bed and watched movies all day long, like a married couple. It's kind of weird to say that I'm so comfortable with Henry that it seemed that we've been in this relationship longer than it has been. Honestly, it feels like I've been with him for years instead of being with him for a month. We ended up spending our first anniversary here in San Francisco.

****About two weeks later. August 23rd****

I sat in Sarah's room, attempting to pack up all of her things. It was difficult to help her pack up her things when my loyalty was to Justin. Plus, she had a lot of things. I was overwhelmed by the amount of clothes, shoes, jewelry, random trinkets, and crap that she had in her room.

I sat down on her bed and started folding some of her clothes to put into a box to ship over to her apartment in New York. I sighed. This was going to be a long day.

Justin got back from his grandmother's about a week ago. He had stayed a little longer to help her recover and to spend a little extra time with her.

He told Henry and I that he was going to go to not attend University of California: San Diego because it would remind him of the goals that he and Sarah made together. He decided to enroll himself at Beachside Community College.

Honestly, I tried to talk him out of it. I mean, this is college we're talking about. This was really really really important. He can't just give up going to a 4 year college because his girlfriend broke up with him. Justin made up his mind. This was his justification:

"I didn't even want to go to UCSD in the first place," Justin told me. "That was Sarah's choice. That was Sarah's school. I don't even like the place. I wanted to go there because she wanted to go there. Now that she's not going to be there, I really have no business of being there."

Which, I admit was a valid point. So, he's going to be attending Beachside Community College and starting his GE classes there. He enrolled in mostly night classes because they were the only classes that were open. Now, he had to switch to day shifts at work.

Honestly, I felt bad because Justin had to change his whole life for Sarah and now, change it again because of her.

Henry came over to help me pack up Sarah's things. We talked a little bit about college and our future.

"I don't ever want to find us in that position," I told him. "I don't want one of us to compromise for the other and then if something happens, one of us is going to regret that decision."

"That's not going to happen," Henry said. "We're both going to the same school. We have relatively the same schedule. We do a lot of things together." I sighed a little.

"We do," I said to him.

I was a little worried that we were going to get sick of each other and want to take our space when school started.

Henry cleared his throat.

"I didn't want to tell you this because I wasn't sure that I was going to get the job," he said, uncertainly. "But, I got a job offer to work as a paid intern at this company that makes computer software."

"Omg, Henry, that's great!" I exclaimed. "I think that you should take that job!"

"Really?" he asked me. "I think I should too, I really think that this is a good opportunity for me to learn a lot from the company. I've been getting sick of the customers at Bella. I really love working with you though."

"Take the job, Henry," I told him. "You were thinking about heading into one of those fields anyways. Do it and see if you like it."

"I think I'm going to take it!" he exclaimed.

I was extremely happy for him. I really hoped that he wasn't going to take this job because we were going to potentially spend too much time together. Maybe I was worrying over nothing and nothing needed to change?

We continued to pack up Sarah's room until late that night, only completing half of her stuff. As I was getting into Henry's truck, Henry took my arm and held me back. I looked at him confused. He smiled at me and said the magical three words I wanted to hear from him.

"I love you."

Easily Bruised

***Hey guys! I think we're still going to be on this funky schedule until the end of this month and then we'll be back on the normal schedule. I know the posting schedule has been a little weird, but please bare with me. I'm trying to catch up on the posts I missed and put up the posts that are supposed to be scheduled up. It's pretty interesting to try and balance it. Also, writer's block isn't helping. I just wanted to let you guys know and hope that you understand! Thanks! - J'et ***

I let out a sigh of relief. Justin is safe. Henry knows where Justin is. Henry's smiling which meant that Justin is safe and isn't dead, in the hospital, or hurt in any way. Except for the obvious. I thought.

"Where? Where is he?" I asked Henry, eagerly. I smiled. "Where? Where? Where?" I couldn't help but bounce around excitedly, awaiting the news.

"He's in this one city," he said to me. "It sounds familiar, but I'm not sure where it is." I looked at him confused.

"Really?" I asked him. "What city?"

"Some small town called Morgan Hill," he said, shrugging. "I think we passed by it on the way up here."

"Yeah, I think I saw that," I said to him. "I think it's by Gilroy. You know, that city with all the garlic festivals?"

"I think you're right," he said, nodding. "We passed by a lot of cities on our way up here. I'm not sure."

"What's he doing there?" I asked him, confused. As far as I knew, I didn't think that any of Justin's relatives lived in what was it? Morgan Hill? Yeah, I'm pretty much lost here.

"Sarah said something about his grandmother living there," Henry said. "Apparently, he got a call last night saying that she was getting surgery and he wanted to be there for her. According to Sarah, it's not a serious surgery. I think it's surgery for a stye. Justin wanted to be with her after she got back from surgery, so he drove right over there this morning."

"Well, I wish he'd answer the phone so we'd be less worried," I grumbled.

I understood why Justin left, but I was irritated that he couldn't let us know what was going on when we came all the way over to San Francisco to see him- to make sure that he was ok. He couldn't tell us, but he was going to spill the beans to Sarah? The girl who left him for another guy and moved all the way across the country? Really?

Needless to say, I was a little more than irritated, but I'm trying not to sound like I'm being unreasonable in Justin's time of need.

"Well, should we head over to Morgan Hill to see him or no?" I asked Henry. Henry shook his head no.

"I don't think that would be a good idea," Henry said, fiddling with his pen. "He didn't want us to know about his grandmother in the first place, so I don't think he wants us there with him."

"Yeah, that sounds logical," I said to him with a sigh.

"What's wrong, babe?" he asked me, pulling me into a hug. "Is everything ok?"

"I'm just a little irritated at Justin," I said to him. "Why did he say something to Sarah and he didn't say anything to us? It just doesn't make any sense."

"It makes perfect sense, Courtney," he said, kissing my forehead. "He didn't really talk to me or Adam about any of his problems over the years, I'm not sure if he talked to you about his problems, did he?"

"No, not really," I mumbled.

"I'm not surprised," he said. " Sarah has been his go-to person for years. He can't just stop going to her just like that. It's going to be a gradual process before he can quit her cold turkey. "

"You're right, Henry, you're always right," I said, giving him a kiss. "My pride.. I'm just a little hurt."

"I know, Court," he said to me. "How about we go get some lunch and stop by Union Square for a little bit? Get a smoothie? That always cheers you up."

Henry is incredible, always knowing what would cheer me up. I got a phone call from Justin later on that day, letting us know what the situation was and letting us know that we shouldn't worry. He's going to be home in a couple of days. I think Henry and I are going to stay a couple extra days here in San Francisco.

Search

Ring.. Ring.. Ring..

It seemed that the phone rang for an eternity. I bit my lip nervously. Henry can't be right about this. He can't. Justin is perfectly fine, he's just.. He's just.. He's just driving home right now and can't answer the phone. That's right! He's driving! He doesn't have a hands-free headset and he can't answer the phone!

I felt myself getting more and more nervous, trying my best not to completely lose it and break down.

"Come on, Justin!" I exclaimed, nervously. "Pick up! Pick up!"

To my relief, I heard Justin's voice.

"Hey."

"Hey, Justin! I was-" I started to say.

"I'm not available right now, please leave your name and number and I'll give you a call back as soon as I can."

Crap. I got his voicemail. He didn't answer! He didn't answer! A loud beep interrupted my freak out session and it took a couple seconds to realize that it meant that I was supposed to leave a message.

"Hey, Justin," I said into the phone. "Please please please pick up the phone. Henry and I read your note and I'm extremely worried about you. I just want to make sure that you're ok. Please Justin, I just need you to call me back."

I reluctantly got off the phone and looked at Henry.

"What do we do now?" I asked him. He shrugged. "There must be something we can do!"

"I guess we can call everyone that we know who knows Justin to see if he's mentioned where he was going?" he suggested.

"That's a great idea!" I exclaimed, happily. I kissed him on the cheek and practically ran to the elevator.

I knew the only reason why Henry even suggested that to do this was because I was so distressed. I think that he thought that if we put the effort in and tried, that it would somewhat calm me down a couple of notches. I think he may be right.

So, two hours and countless phone calls later, we were still at square one. No one we talked to knew where Justin was. We called his parents. We called Adam. We called his friends from work (we had to get their numbers from Justin's parents). No one we called had heard from him.

I sighed. This was starting to look hopeless. I can't believe that Justin didn't call us back within those two hours. What if something horrible did happen?

"Court, did you hear me?" Henry asked me, breaking through my thoughts.

"No, I'm sorry, I have no idea what you said," I said to him. He rubbed his eyes and sighed. I knew that he was tired of all the calling with no positive results.

"I asked you if we were going to call Sarah," he said. "She might actually know where he is."

"Sure, if you want," I said, shrugging. I didn't feel like talking to her. I put my head down and tried to rest.

"Hey, Sarah, do you happen to know where Justin is?" I heard him ask.

"Uh huh, ok."

"Really?"

"Ok, I'll talk to you later. Thanks, bye."

"What did she say?" I asked him.

"I know where Justin is," Henry said with a smile.

Cry for Help?

Henry took a deep breath before he looked down at the note. I watched as his facial expression changed from being curious to being worried. I resisted the urge to yank the note out of his hand and read it myself. I was trying to keep myself calm by looking at the wall art that was hanging in the lobby.

"What is it? What does it say?" I asked him after he had looked up at me. He shook his head and just handed me the note. More like, threw the note. Something in the note obviously caused him to be worried about Justin.

I found a seat in the lobby and sat down. I was curious of what's in the note, yet, I didn't want to know. So many questions came rushing into my mind, causing a headache. I tried to filter them out as much as possible, the only ones that I could decipher in that mess of thoughts were the ones as followed...

Where is Justin? Why did he check out without telling me or Henry? Why didn't he answer the phone last night and just leave us a note this morning?

Nothing was making any sense to me. I took a deep breath and silently read Justin's note.


Courtney and Henry,

Sarah and I had a nice long talk about everything. At first, I was angry at her because I thought that she had cheated on me. But, she reassured me that nothing had happened between her and Sean while we were together. She claimed that she and Sean had officially became a couple the day after she left me.

She signed a 12-month lease with Sean. The plan is for her to attend community college in New York and for her to look for a job in New York. Her parents have cut her off financially because she left me at the alter, which is surprising because they didn't like me very much. She sounded like she was ecstatic about living in New York and the excitement of a new relationship with someone who wasn't me.

I tried to understand her side of the story, why she had decided to leave me, I'm not sure that I completely understand her point of view. She said that we were in a rut, but I was constantly trying to come up with new things for us to do. Apparently, my efforts weren't enough for her to stay. Apparently, my love for her wasn't enough to make her stay.

Maybe it was for the best that we went our separate ways. I still believe that she is the love of my life. I don't know if I can ever find love again after Sarah and I'm not sure if I can handle that reality.

I just wanted to say goodbye.

I hope your relationship goes better than mine did.

Justin


I didn't know what to think. I was more confused than ever. What did the note mean?

I looked at Henry and he was tapping his fingers on the coffee table nervously.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" he asked me.

"What are you thinking?" I asked him.

"That he's going to kill himself!" he exclaimed quietly so no one around us could hear.

"What?" I exclaimed loudly. I got looks from various hotel guests in the lobby. I smiled, apologetically and quietly said "What?".

"He sounds depressed in the note," he whispered. "More depressed than ever. Just the tone of the letter."

"Ok, the tone is really depressing, but I don't think he's going to kill himself!" I told him. "I'll just call him, he has his cell phone on him."

I grabbed Henry's cell phone and dialed Justin's number.

Ring.. Ring.. Ring..

Sorry, Everyone :(

Hi everyone!

I'm really sorry, but there's not going to be a post today. I have a job interview today and I'm incredibly nervous about it. I haven't worked in almost two years and haven't been interviewed in three. So, I'm a nervous wreck and totally freaking out.

I have friends who are telling me that I'm going to do fine and I'll get the job, but that's causing me even more stress. Because, if I don't, I don't know.. I think I'm completely over-thinking it.

No, I know I'm completely over-thinking it.

The manager called me today and was like.. "Interview tomorrow." That's not enough time to prepare for an interview!

I really need this job because I've been stressing over being a broke college student and needing money for grad school (even though it's 3 or 4 years away) and moving out to another city. Also, money for tuition when I transfer next year.

I'm completely rambling now. But, what I'm trying to say is that I'm sorry that there's no post today, but I promise there will be a post tomorrow. Since I'm going to count this as a Fast-Talking Friday post. :)

Again, I'm really sorry!

Forgetful

*Hey guys, my internet is being a little weird right now, so hopefully this posts! Oh, the posting schedule is kind of up in the air for now. I think I'm going to try to catch up on the missing posts if my internet allows me. :) *

I smiled when I woke up the next morning. I had opened my eyes and the first thing I saw was Henry's adorable face. I don't know how you couldn't smile at that. I carefully untangled myself from the blanket and tiptoed my way into the bathroom for my morning shower.

After I stepped out of the shower and made myself a nice hot cup of coffee from the coffeemaker in the hotel room, I was wide awake. I recalled that we had tried to get a hold of Justin last night by calling his room and had gotten no answer.

Then, I realized something and mentally smacked myself.

He had Henry's cell phone.

I could have called Henry's cell phone last night to try to get a hold of Justin. I felt like an idiot. Court, you were exhausted and you weren't thinking straight. I told myself. I laughed to myself at my behavior. I was trying to justify myself.

Apparently, I laughed a little too loudly because Henry had stirred and started mumbling.

"Court?" He asked me, half asleep. I watched him as he peered at the alarm clock. He let out a big groan."It's 7 in the morning, come back to bed."

"I will," I told him. "Well, after I call your cell phone for Justin. I can't believe I didn't think of it last night!"

"I called both his phone and my phone last night," he said with a yawn. "He didn't answer. Come back to bed."

"We make a good team," I said with a smile. He took my hand in his and kissed it. "Should we be worried?" He shook his head.

"He's a big boy, Court, he can take care of himself," he said. I slipped under the blanket and snuggled up next to him.

Henry quickly drifted off to sleep as I laid there wide awake and thinking about what he had said. He was right, Justin is a big boy and he can take care of himself. Slowly, I felt myself drifting back into dreamland.

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

We woke up around noon and ordered room service. I had a major craving for pepperoni pizza and Henry was chowing down on his chicken salad with no dressing. I giggled as he handed me the rose in the vase that came with our meal.

"Only the best for you," he said, grinning. I playfully hit him on the arm and he pulled me in for a kiss. "We should go check on Justin." I nodded in agreement.

I think as each day passes, my love for Henry starts leaning more and more in the romantic direction. I found it nice to not have to worry about just loving him as a friend and not as a boyfriend. Actually, just scratch that. I realized that I'm starting to sound like a crazy person.

We went down to Justin's room and knocked on the door. We waited for a minute with no answer. I knocked again and again, there was no answer. We shrugged and went down to the lobby. We asked the receptionist if he could call Justin's room for us.

"I'm sorry, but it seems that he checked out of the hotel this morning," the receptionist with a name tag that read "Bill" on it.

"Bill, are you sure about that?" Henry asked him. "That can't be right."

"No, it says on here that he checked out at 6am," Bill said to us. "Oh, wait a minute, there is a message that he left for the two of you."

He handed us a manila envelope. Henry looked at me and opened it carefully.

Inside, he found his cell phone and what appeared to be a letter.

He took a deep breath and opened the folded piece of paper....

Sound of San Francisco

After we closed the door and left Justin alone to talk with Sarah, Henry and I had decided to get something to eat. It was more for me than him, because I had left the burger he had brought me inside Justin's hotel room. Supposedly, it was a really good burger. I'm saddened by the fact that I won't be able to enjoy it.

We took the elevator down to the lobby (not until after we enjoyed the view of the city from the window at the end of the hallway). I told the front desk of the hotel to let Justin know that we were going to be back later, at night, because we were going to explore the city (and find a hotel room for ourselves) a bit before returning to Justin's.

Since we weren't really familiar with the streets of San Francisco, we had gotten ourselves lost. Somehow, and don't ask me how, we had ended up in Chinatown. It was insanely crowded there (no surprise, really) and we couldn't find a space to park on the street.

We ended up parking in the parking garage we had found, it was underground this cute little playground where a lot of little kids are playing. It was pretty adorable sight to see when we got off the elevator. Henry took my hand in his and we headed off into the unfamiliar territory of Chinatown.

It's not really unfamiliar in the sense that I haven't been there, it's just that most everything is written in Chinese or has something written in Chinese and that throws me for a loop. Also, the people that speak Chinese throw me for a loop too. I was so lost in my train of thought that I had almost ran into another person. I should really start paying attention to where I was walking.

We ended up in a really tiny alleyway and I was starting to get the creeps. That is, until I started to smell this wonderful aroma coming from this store. I don't know if I could call it a store. I looked up at the sign, it read: Golden Gate Fortune Cookies. I thought it was a really original name.

We walked inside and it was really crowded. I was confused as to what this place was. It looked like a factory! This really nice Chinese man held out a bin of what looked to be unfolded fortune cookies. He explained that this was a place where you could see the fortune cookies being made. It was really cool to see how fast the woman was folding the cookies that were coming off the machine.

"Do you two want a picture?" he asked us. Apparently, they were charging a small fee for a picture. "Cute couple!"

"What do you say, honey?" I asked him. "Do you want to talk a picture?"

"Sure, why not?" Henry said, shrugging.

We posed for a picture. It ended up looking really nice, with the lady who was folding the fortune cookies in the background. Funny enough, it was the first picture taken of us as an official couple.

I knew that it was a tourist place, but I couldn't help but fall in love with it. We ended up buying a bag of the non-folded fortune cookies, along with the picture. My stomach started growling, signaling that it was time to eat.

I was surprised to find a sushi restaurant in Chinatown. Since my stomach was not being cooperative, we ended up eating there. One chicken terriaki bento box and a full stomach later, we were merrily on our way back to Justin's hotel.

"Court?" Henry asked me while I was driving.

"Yeah, sweetie?" I asked him.

"How do you feel about staying at Justin's hotel?" he asked me. "It'd be easier so we wouldn't have to search for another one."

"Sure thing," I said to him.

We booked a room at Justin's hotel. Before we headed up to the 5th floor, we stopped by Justin's room and knocked on his door. We didn't get an answer and assumed that he was at the bar again, trying to pick up another girl. Henry looked at me and I shrugged.

We went to the fifth floor with our things and settled in. While Henry took a shower, I asked the front desk to call Justin's room. The phone rang a couple of times, but there was no answer. I hung up and sighed.

Hopefully, tomorrow, Justin can let us know what was going on. I was extremely exhausted and needed to sleep, for now.

Telephone

Justin and Henry came in a few minutes after I had broken my phone. Justin looked at me confused and Henry started to pick up the remaining pieces of my phone. I will remain nameless of my cell phone carrier who provided me with a non-durable phone. I sighed.

"What happened?" Justin asked me.

I sat on his bed, then jumped up realizing what went on last night on the bed and made a face. Justin shrugged, apologetically, and offered me the chair. After plopping down on the chair (which was really nice, I think it's mahogany?), I debated with myself whether or not to tell Justin what was going on with Sarah or to wait until Sarah tells him herself. I highly doubt that Sarah would tell him herself though.

So, after a minute of debating with myself, I decided to tell him.

"I talked on the phone with Sarah," I said, quietly.

Justin looked speechless. It took him a couple of minutes to regain his voice and all he could say was "Really?" I nodded.

"Well, how is she?" he asked me, his eyes filled with pain.

"She's fine, Justin," I said, trying to reassure him. "I don't know how to tell you this."

"What? Just tell me," Justin said, somewhat sadly. "It can't get any worse."

Oh man, you don't know how wrong you are, Justin. I thought. It's ok, Court, you're doing the right thing by telling him. Sarah's not coming back. She's too scared to tell him herself. You've got to do it because Justin deserves an explanation. He deserves to know where Sarah is.

"Justin, Sarah's in New York," I said, hesitantly, to him. Justin looked at me in disbelief. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Henry's jaw drop.

"What?" Justin yelled. "She can't be in New York! Why is she in New York?"

Again, I hesitated on telling him exactly why she was in New York. I reminded myself that he deserves to know everything, after what Sarah put him through.

"She's there because she decided to move in with this guy named Sean," I said, softly. "I'm so sorry, Justin."

He sat down on the floor and put his head down. It was painful to watch him like this. Henry sat down next to him and was patting him on the back.

"Everything is going to be ok, man," Henry said to him. "You'll find someone better than her."

"No one's going to be better than Sarah," he said, sadly. "She's perfect in every way. There's no one else I'm going to love more than I love her. She's the love of my life and my soul mate. I don't know what I'm going to do without her. I don't know if I can function without her. I miss her so much."

I couldn't help but turn away so I could roll my eyes at what Justin said. I feel for him, I really do. Honestly, it's not the end of the world when someone breaks up with you. Sure, it'll take awhile to get over that person, but you're going to find someone else who you'll love even more.

Henry looked at me, asking for help. I shrugged. I didn't know what to say to make Justin feel better. I don't think anything I could say could make him feel better.

A loud noise startled me, but I realized that it was Henry's phone.

"Who is it, Henry?" I asked him. He pulled out his phone and looked at the caller ID.

"It's Sarah," he said to me. Justin looked up and stared at the caller ID on Henry's phone.

"Let me talk to her," Justin said, reaching for the phone.

Henry looked at me as if asking me what he should do. I shrugged and he handed the phone to Justin. I motioned to Henry that we should leave the room and let Justin and Sarah do their talking.

All we heard of the conversation was Justin's "hello?".

I Couldn't Be So Annoyed

What the hell? I thought. This can't be happening. I'm in a dream and when I wake up, Justin and Sarah are married and are blissfully on their honeymoon. Sarah didn't run off with some guy to New York. Justin and Sarah are still that perfect couple that we know and love.

As much as I wish that was true, I knew the reality. The couple that I looked up to all of these years had broken up with no sign of reconciliation. I wasn't sure how I was handling this. They had been the picture perfect couple. Listening to Sarah talk about how she got bored of him because they were in a rut, made me afraid that it was going to happen to me with Henry.

"Are you coming back to Beachside?" I asked her, concerned.

I mean, how much stuff did she bring with her to New York? From what I saw, she left almost everything here. I really hoped that she was coming back to Beachside to at least gather her things. Then maybe, just maybe, she can talk to Justin about this whole thing and possibly explain herself to him. He deserved to hear an explanation.

"Umm, I don't think so," she said, after a minute. "If I go there, I know that Justin will try to talk to me. I don't know if I can handle that. I really hurt him, Court, leaving the way I did. I'm really sorry for what I did. I just.. can't face him. Courtney, can you pack up my stuff for me and ship it here? I already Facebook-ed you my address."

The last thing I wanted to do was to go over to her house and pack up all of her stuff and ship it to her. But, I wanted to be a good friend.

"Yeah, ok, I'll do it," I told her. "Justin deserves an explanation at least."

"I know," she said with a sigh. "Thanks, Court, it means a lot that you're doing this for me."

It dawned on me that Sarah owed more than one person an explanation. She had invited Taylor to the wedding so he could talk to me. My question was.. talk to me about what?

"Speaking of explanations, why would you invite Taylor to the wedding?" I asked her, with a bit of anger in my voice.

"What?" she asked me, confused. "Oh, right! That!"

"Yes, that!" I said.

I knew that had come off as a tiny bit rude, but I didn't really care. I was really frustrated with Sarah and her actions.

"He told me that he was in love with you, but that you wouldn't give him the time of day," she said to me. "He seemed really sincere. I mean, really, I think the two of you are perfect for each other."

"Well, I thought that you and Justin were perfect for each other," I said to her. I was being a little brat, but I didn't care. She really deserved this.

"I understand that you're mad at me, Courtney, I deserve it," she told me. "But, it's not like you're seeing anyone. Just give Taylor another chance, will you?"

"He showed up to the wedding drunk and yelling," I said to her. "So, I don't know how perfect he is for me."

"It's not like you have any better options!" she exclaimed loudly. I moved the phone away from my ear. "Who else are you going to get with? Logan? He slept with Haylie! Who's to say he's not going to do it again?"

I was extremely angry. She did NOT tell me that I didn't have any better options so I have to pick Taylor.

"For your information, I'm not single," I said, rudely. "I've been seeing someone for a while now. I was going to tell you after the wedding, but since the wedding didn't happen.. I guess I'm going to tell you now. Henry and I are together. Deal with it."

I hung up and tossed my phone at the wall, shattering it.

Crap.

Checking In!

Hey guys!

Thank you for all your support! Sorry that I've been MIA, I just got back from my vacation in San Diego a couple of hours ago and I seriously didn't have internet for awhile (the horrors!). I don't know if it's possible, but I'm definitely more in love with that city than I was before. :)

So, I have good news! My boyfriend and I got back together. YAAAAAAAY! :)

It's been awhile since I've written anything, so I'm not sure if I can get back into the swing of things. So, it'll be interesting to see what happens. But! There will be a new post coming soon!

Thanks, Alicia for the shout out! :D

Hey guys,

I don't know how to say this, but the blog is going to be postponed indefinitely. My boyfriend of almost two years and I broke up and I'm not in any state of mind or mood to write anything right now. I'm really sorry about this, I feel really bad because a lot of the blogs are gone and I made a commitment to you guys. I'm really sorry that I can no longer honor that commitment.

J'et