Anywhere else is hollow

 

There were a thousand things to get done, but Frankie was over and Megan found that to be a great distraction. This move to the upstairs of the pizzeria was hard work and her bones let her know. She wanted to curl up on the couch and fade into it.

"So how are you?" She was all smiles. After all, she'd made Cori presentable again with a new haircut and there were plans of painting the ugly walls of Melvin's old place along with gutting the sink in the kitchen. Thanks to the help of Mario who knew a thing or two about those kinds of repairs.

"Not bad," Frankie told her. He'd brought fruit and a bag of seasoned popcorn from Megan's favorite shop, Trader Joe's. He seemed to know what she liked.

She sighed with happiness as she dug into her personal stash. She watched him plop down on the couch with his phone in hand. He was in the middle of something she knew.

"Are you still..seeing that Heather girl?" She wanted to know. She'd meant to ask but had been so busy. She didn't want to be one of those fluttering friends who were so sporadic with friendships, but so much was going on lately.

"I guess so." He shrugged as if he was a bit put off.

"What happened?" Megan felt a bit alarmed. She thought she knew everything going on with Frankie. It was her duty to report every little bit to Hope and even Tori. They might not talk to him, but they wanted to know too. Or so she assumed.

"Oh, nothing...I guess."

"What are you guessing at? Why haven't I met her? What's going on?" Megan set up and scooted closer to Frankie on the other end of the couch. Her chin was practically resting on his shoulder.

"We haven't actually met." He was even lipped but looked a bit sad as he pulled a strand of his long hair behind his ear. He slightly blew a breath of frustration. "We only text."

"Why haven't you met?" She thought they'd been in contact way over a month. "Couldn't you at least go out for coffee?"

"Well, we can't video chat. Something is wrong with her phone and..and she works a lot."

"Where?"

"I'm not sure, exactly." He sighed.

"Well, I would give up on this girl." Megan was a matter of fact. "Did she even send you a picture?"

"I really like her," he said as if there was already a solid connection even with so many holes and questions in their relationship. Frankie passed his phone over to her of a girl winking in a bed, another in a peculiar position with her phone and a drink.

Megan squinted hard. It almost made her stomach turn. She shook her head, now as she took a closer look at the photos on his phone.

"What?" Frankie looked at Megan blankly.

"I think you're in love with a sex doll." There she said it. She hated to burst his bubble, but somebody was taking Frankie on an internet ride.