Across the city, Eric sat in his brother Edward's kitchen, mindlessly picking at a bowl of instant noodles.
The cheap ceramic bowl looked completely out of place in the expensive kitchen.
He had been staying at Edward's house since he left Hailey's apartment the previous morning.
He couldn't bring himself to return to his own place. The silence there would bring back too many memories.
Edward's house felt safer, more neutral. A place where he could try to sort through his messed up thoughts.
The noodles were plain and flavorless, but Eric couldn't bring himself to care about food.
He twirled them around his fork without much interest. His mind kept replaying yesterday morning over and over.
He kept seeing Hailey's face when he had called her "just a stand-in." The way her expression had crumbled.
Part of him felt sick about it. But another part of him felt justified.
She had made him wait all night while she was out with another man. She had come home drunk and disheveled.
