let's don't go there

Bom didn't know where to begin. How was she going to get through this?

Cody left her on New Year's day. He was going back to North Dakota. Just like that.

Yes, they'd had a fight. She winced, thinking of his harsh words. She nursed her bottom lip now, thinking it was only a few words about Joon. How they'd once or thrice been together. She thought Cody knew.

She swore she'd told him long before, but it evidently didn't hit him until now that she was...

THE MOST WORTHLESS THING ON EARTH.

Oh, he'd came so close to hitting her, but instead he'd danced about in an emotional seizure of sorts. She thought he might foam by the mouth. He was that angry.

It was the last she'd heard from him. No phone calls. Nothing.

A chill spun up her spine. What if something had happened to him?

It was such a miserable time. But Brian kept calling, talking how he needed to help this so called brother of his, Jay.

"I dunno what's going on with him," Brian was out of sorts and she knew he didn't need to listen to her problems about the rent and the heat.

She wouldn't dare call home. After all, her parents were happy that she might get married soon. She couldn't put a damper on their new year.

So she did her best to keep upbeat at work. She still wasn't taking any classes, but no one was hiring fulltime, either. Wasn't she just a college student?

Bom could sense the downward spiral of her life. She'd be back at her parents. They'd certainly think something was terribly wrong with her.

And she didn't want to go back home, either. She liked being on her own. Except, she actually wasn't. Evidently.

Honestly, she'd never really thought of Cody being her bread and butter, or whatever. They were in love. Were.

She heard the snow plow out and about. Bom pushed her messy hair back and hugged herself more in her old sweater. Maybe she was coming down with something. Possibly, she'd been sick for a few now since Cody had been gone.

A knock came to the door. It was Brian, and he was with a baby.

Bom felt an awakening as if a brand new day was here. He let the toddler down who ran right to the coffee table and slid the magazines to the floor. He plopped his soft belly across the table and looked back at Bom as if she better do something about him.