The Love Hotel

Chapter 3

Rochelle woke the next day feeling quite fresh. She was still full from her meal the previous night. Alice had gone all out, sending her a good steak with mashed potatoes and even some wine. Rochelle was so grateful that she had someone like Alice in her life. Alice wasn’t even really her friend, or rather they had never really made it official that they were friends. She had always been a boss to Rochelle, and in spite of this she had taken the initiative and made it so that her employee would not have to think about anything but her own head while she was recovering from the trauma of discovering her boyfriend had been cheating on her.

She was completely and utterly fresh and she felt like she was ready to tackle the day. Seeing Seth with that man had made her realize she had been living a lie. It had ended up being the straw that broke the camel’s back. Hence, in a way she was glad it had happened. At least now she would no longer have to keep living the lie she had been living for so long.

She thought about the things she had to do today. She had thought about them the previous night. She had thought about the fact that she would have to do a number of things before she could well and truly be rid of all of the aspects of Seth that still permeated her life. She did not quite want to do these things but she didn’t have a choice. And in spite of the fact that she did not exactly want to do these things, she was not afraid to do them and that made her feel proud of herself. It made her proud of the fact that she had become so strong in the face of adversity and she had done it so quickly. She was completely and utterly ready to face every single thing she would have to in order to get the results she needed today.

She sighed and got up. She decided to spoil herself just a little more and have a fancy breakfast at one of the restaurants downstairs. She had a busy day ahead of her. She needed to call Seth and tell him she was coming to pick her stuff up. This was not going to be an easy phone call, and she was sure that even when she went there he was not going to stop trying to get her back. She had a feeling he was going to try and make her stay with him just a little bit longer. She was dreading this. She did not want to have to fight him today, not after fighting so hard to get the mental peace that she had managed to regain such a short time ago.

Hence, in anticipation of the stress she was going to have to go through today, Rochelle decided to treat herself to a nice breakfast before she left.

She went and took a shower and got dressed. She was very cautious about what she was about to wear. She did not want to seem like she was trying to get Seth to take her back, so she decided not to look too pretty. She decided to just wear a t shirt and jeans, something comfortable and casual, something Seth would not be able to look at and think she was dressing up for him in any way. She was done with all of this nonsense. She was done with men assuming everything women did, they did it for them.

She looked at herself in the mirror. She looked quite nice. She had taken a day off today in order to get all of the various things she needed to get done finished so she could move on with her life without having to worry about all of the things that were going on in her previous life, the life she had left behind the moment she had left that apartment, the apartment she had shared with Seth for so very long that she could not even remember doing anything else.

She went downstairs and got herself an omelet and some toast. She wanted a nice breakfast but she wasn’t exactly rich and now that she only had her own money to depend on, she decided she was going to have to cut back a bit on her expenses. She had a nice breakfast and it wasn’t as expensive as it would have been if she had gone all out and spent as much money as she had wanted, and this was a good thing because it allowed her to feel less guilty and feel good and full at the same time.

She walked out of the hotel. It was a lovely day, the kind of beautiful day you heard about but never really got to experience. That was New York for you, one day it would be cold and wintry and the next day it would be a beautiful day, sunny and warm but not too warm, and just windy enough that you would get a cool breeze that would help dry off your sweat without messing up your hair.

She called Seth as she strolled outside. She had not wanted to do it in the hotel. She had wanted to do it outside. She had wanted him to hear the noise of the street, wanted him to know that she was outside and okay and not moping in any way.

Seth answered. Rochelle felt like her heart was caught in her chest. “Hey,” he said.

“Hello,” said Rochelle, as curtly as she possible could. She was not going to let him think he could be familiar in any way with her. He had lost the right to any and all familiarity when he had fu*ked another man. He did not get to do this. He did not get to do whatever the fu*k he wanted, he didn’t get to simply cheat on her over the course of two years and then act so casually that someone listening in would feel like nothing was wrong at all. She was not going to allow him to do that. She was not going to allow him to get off that easy this time round.

“You don’t have to be so formal,” said Seth, sounding uncomfortable. This made Rochelle feel good. She wanted him to feel uncomfortable. She wanted him to feel as uncomfortable as she could possibly make him because of all that he had done to her, because of the way he had utterly destroyed her.

“Yes I do,” she said shortly. She was not going to engage in pleasantries with him. She was not going to talk about anything except the very thing she needed to tell him in this moment. She was going to get to the point and be done with it because talking to him was making her anxious. She couldn’t help but think about how long she had spent with him. She couldn’t help but think of all of the good times. She couldn’t help but think about the fact that he had done so much for her, and she knew all of this was just her old self not willing to let go, the old self that had allowed Rochelle to get walked all over.

“Listen,” said Rochelle, “I didn’t call to make small talk. I called to tell you something. I am coming over to get my stuff. All of it. And I would really appreciate it if you weren’t there while I did it. Put the key under the welcome mat as you leave. I will come, take all of my stuff and leave and that will be the end of that.”