Step Family Parody

She stepped down a bit and asked, "What exactly did you hear?" with obvious concern in her voice.

"That Jackie asked you to hang out with me and set me up with Natalie. That you guys planned on getting me laid. Was anything about that night genuine?" I asked shakily.

"Of course it was. First off, you had no right to be eavesdropping on us. I understand if the door was open and you happened to hear, but spying on us through the door is unfair."

"What would have happened if I didn’t? I would be strung along like a puppy believing that you wanted to have sex with me."

"I already told you that I did. Look, I’m sorry it had to happen like that, but aren’t you glad that it happened? I certainly am."

I stayed silent for a solid five minutes before Charlotte tried to speak again, but I calmly said, "Could you please get the fuck out of my room?"

"Noah, I..."

"Please get out of my room!" I said sternly.

It was clear she didn’t want to, but with an empathetic look in her eyes, she reluctantly left me alone. A wave of depression was about to wash over me. I could just feel it. And in what had become second nature, instead of dealing with it, I simply went to sleep.

The next day, I woke up debating whether I should call in sick or not. It was the day before we closed for the holidays, meaning it would be one of the busiest days of the year. Ultimately, I figured having something to do would be better than doing nothing and having unwanted thoughts in my head.

Going to work turned out to be the right decision, as the conversation didn’t pop up in my head once. I even volunteered to stay longer just for that reason. But unfortunately, I had to go back home. As I was walking out, I heard a couple of my coworkers talking about heading out to a bar. It was uncharacteristic of me, but I asked if I could tag along, and they said sure.