Page 28 of Only Ever Yours

Confusion slides over his face, “What the fuck are you talking about, Ellie?”

I hear footsteps from Haleigh walking inside the house.

“You know what, it doesn’t matter… nothing fucking matters, Jay.”

The front door opens, and Haleigh steps out carrying two steaming hot mugs. Her timing couldn’t have been better—I’m about two seconds away from either crying or screaming at him. I don’t want to keep up this fucking game that Jaydon’s playing with me. She spots her brother immediately.

“Hey, Jay! I didn’t know you were coming by,” she says with a surprised smile.

She bends, handing me the hot mug; I silently thank her with a soft smile.

“Yeah, Ryan and I need to go over a few work things.” He replies with a stiff voice, clearly trying to hide the fact that he and I have things that are being left unsaid.

“Okay, well, go ahead inside; he’s in the living room watching football,” Haleigh replies, shooing him with the wave of her hand towards the front door.

I watch him walk towards the front door. Just as his hand grabs the handle, he pauses, turning his head. Then his eyes meet mine, and something passes between us. He’s silently trying to say something, but whatever it is, I have no clue.

It goes along with the rest of my life, though, because I have no clue what I’m going to do.

“Thanks for the tea. It’s just what I needed.” I say, staring into the cup.

Haleigh plops down in the chair right next to mine. “All right, spill… what has you down in the dumps?”

I tilt my head to the sky, taking a deep breath, “My sister… my mom…”

“What’s going on, Ells?” She asks, taking a sip of her tea.

“Well, for starters… my sister is a bitch,” she nods, giggling, “… and my mom took a new job offer.”

“Aww, well, that’s good, right?” She asks with hopeful eyes.

“Yeah, I guess, at least it would be…” I pause, letting out a quiet sigh. “Except the new job is in California.”

Her mouth drops, “What? What does that mean? Please don’t tell me you’re moving.” The desperation in her voice is clear. “You can't move, Ells! I need my bestie here with me!”

“No… I don’t know…” I shake my head, speaking quietly. “I don’t want to, but I might not have a choice. I’m trying to figure that part out. I need to try to find a place to stay and figure out how I’m going to pay for it. I only have a few events lined up for next month and only one for the following month. So, money will be tight.”

“Oh, Ells… I had no idea.” She says softly, her voice full of sympathy.

“I didn’t either until this morning,” I reveal, unable to hide my frustration. “Apparently, Breanne has known about it for several months now.”

“Well, that’s fucked up.”

“Yeah, tell me about it. I could have used those extra months to save up money for an apartment. I’m going tomorrow to look at a few listings I found online earlier.”

“Well, that’s a good start.” She nods slowly. “What about the money part?”

“I don’t really know,” I admit with a shrug, “Until I start getting more clients, I guess I will have to find something part-time to make ends meet.”

“Will your mom help you?” She asks, with the tilt of her head.

I sigh, “No… because she wants me to move with her, and she doesn't have the extra money anyway.” I say, then swallow a quick sip of my warm tea.

“Damn, that sucks…” I nod along as she speaks. “I wish there was something I could do… maybe I can talk with Ryan. I'm sure he will be okay with you moving in with us for a while.”

I hold up my hand to stop her there, “As much as I appreciate the offer and would love to live with my bestie… I can’t impose on you and Ryan. You have a baby on the way, and I wouldn’t feel comfortable imposing on the two of you… I will find something. I have about a month.”

“Okay, well, the offer still stands, if you can’t find anything…” her eyes light up with a thought, “Oh! Earlier today, when I went into town, I stopped by Sprinkles Café. Elaine said she was looking for some help. Maybe you could check with her.”

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