Page 106 of The Secret Of Us

P.S. I still like talking to you the most.

38

IZZY

SIX MONTHS LATER

“It’s definitely a shape,”Amelia says, staring down at the mug of coffee I’ve placed in front of her.

I huff out a breath of frustration. I’ve been working here for months but still haven’t figured out how to do latte art. Every time my friends visit me, I use their drinks as practice, but it always ends up looking like I’ve just thrown the milk in.

“You’ll get it soon!” Chloe says cheerfully as she pats my hand.

I quickly make her drink, not even bothering to try anything new, and pass it over the counter to her.

“Avery, is it okay if I take a quick break?”

My boss—and Violet’s best friend—scans the room quickly. There’s a few tables of regulars but overall, it’s a pretty quiet Friday afternoon. It’s strange to think that I know who comes here enough to recognise them. When I started working here after abandoning my solo travelling plans, I didn’t see myself staying longer than a few weeks. But I’ve been here for over half a year already, and I can’t see myself doing anything else right now.

I’m in a very fortunate position where I actuallylikemy job. Making a few coffees or serving food might not be the hardest thing in the world, but it makes me feel fulfilled.

I like that I know the old guy who comes in on Wednesdays only drinks cappuccinos and has half a slice of cake.

I like that I know there’s a mother who comes in with her kids after school on Mondays because she thinks they deserve a treat for starting the week.

I like that I can see a love story forming in front of me between a girl who sits in the small corner table by herself every other day and the boy who only used to visit once a week but now matches her schedule. They’ve started talking to each other recently, and that corner table looks a little more cosy now with the two of them there.

It might not be a meaningful job to other people, but it means a lot to me. I enjoy interacting with all these people, getting a glimpse of their lives and being part of it in this small way.

“Sure, take however long you need,” Avery says, and I thank her before rounding the corner to join my friends.

We make our way to one of the tables near a large window, the sun still shining in the sky as summer starts to roll in. Amelia and Chloe sit on one side of the table and I sit opposite them. They’ve got their drinks in front of them, but I’ve already had three coffees since starting work today, and I know if I have another, I won’t be able to sleep tonight.

It took me a while to get my sleep schedule back on track. When I came back home, I spent many nights wide awake staring at the sky and thinking about everything that had happened in the past year, from making the decision not to go to university to quitting hockey, travelling alone for a few weeks, and most importantly, meeting Noah.

That one still feels like a dream. It’s been over a year since we last spoke, since I found him sitting outside my room and then he broke down in it. A year since I held him, felt him underneath my fingertips and knew that he wasn’t a figment of my imagination. A year since I had to come to terms with the fact that I have no idea when—or if—I’ll ever see him again.

“Have Isaac and Violet decided when they’re getting married yet?” Amelia asks, stirring some sugar into her coffee and getting rid of the blob of milk I so lovingly drew out for her. “I need time to prepare.”

“Prepare what exactly?” Chloe says. “It’s not your wedding.”

“Okay, but it’s our best friend’s sister’s wedding?” Amelia says, holding her hands up like Chloe missed something obvious.

“Don’t you mean brother?” I ask her.

“I love Isaac, but I simply cannot be involved in any part of the wedding that Luke plays a part in.”

“He’s notthatbad,” I say, averting my gaze as the incident from a few weeks ago comes to mind.

“Izzy, he threw up on me when we all went to the seaside because he somehow forgot that he gets travel sick.” Amelia shudders, the memory still fresh in her mind, it seems.

“Okay, I’ll let you have that one. And to answer your original question, they’re thinking about next year so you’ve got plenty of time.”

“That’s so exciting!” Chloe says gleefully. “I’ve never been to a Pakistani wedding before, they look so fun!”

We talk more about the wedding as I explain to them all the different days and events. I’ve spent so much time talking about it with Violet, and it’s strange to think that they’ll be getting married soon. My brother is finally getting his happily ever after, and I couldn’t be more excited for him.

But the more we talk about it, as my friends comment on how cute their relationship is, I can’t help but think about the boy who I thought I’d get mine with. It’s foolish for me to keep imagining all these things with him, but that doesn’t stop me from doing it. I constantly replay the time we had together in my mind. When it’s late at night and the loneliness feels like a physical ache in my chest, I imagine him coming back to me. But he still hasn’t.

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