Page 56 of Escaped
“Niantes?”Chelle hissed the word.“Who is this guy?A first responder?”
“No.”Chelle knew nothing about how I’d departed the wilderness and had likely assumed I’d needed search and rescue to help guide me down.Little did she know what Eli and I had been through, and based on how fractious our meeting felt, she was never going to discover those harsh realities.“You met him, actually.Perhaps you remember our tour guide.”
“Eli?”She practically spat out his name, the venom in her tone reinforcing my worst fear.
Shedidhate him.Shewouldn’tapprove, and I was going to be forced to defend my feelings for the man who’d become the center of my world.
“You remember him.”Attempting to keep my tone even, I ripped open the packaging and draped my tea bag into the large cup.
“How can you be in love with him?”she snapped.“He’s the reason James and Miles are dead!”
Her voice rose theatrically, as though she expected the server and other customers to rush over and offer a round of applause.
“What happened to them wasn’t his fault, and we both know it.”My voice was low as I poured the steaming water over the tea bag.“He tried to save Miles, but he and James couldn’t help themselves.They didn’t listen to Eli.They thought they knew better.”
It might have been a low blow to fire at the woman still grieving for the moron, but I couldn’t just sit there and listen to her biased recriminations.Eli was far from perfect—in ways Chelle would never know—but he hadn’t been culpable for her boyfriend’s fate.
“What?”She recoiled as though I’d slapped her face.“How can you say that?”
“I’m telling the truth, Chelle.”I blew out a breath, mentally counting to ten before removing the teabag.“I was there too, remember?Iknowwhat happened.Eli didn’t push either of them.He asked them to come away from the edge on numerous occasions, but they didn’t listen.”
“You’re blaming James!”Chelle’s face reddened.“I can’t believe this, Erin.You’re supposed to be my friend, yet you come in here and blame the man I loved for what happened.”
“The fall was an accident.”Neither man would have plummeted if they’d just taken Eli’s advice, but it didn’t seem as if Chelle was ready for that truth.“I’m just saying, James didn’t help things, that’s all.”
“Andhepaid the price,” she retorted.“Not you, and certainly not your preciousEli.”
“Yes, James paid,” I concurred, simultaneously rueful to have upset her and irritated by her unwillingness to see things from my point of view.I’d hoped my initial fears about her reaction would prove to be unfounded, but apparently, I’d been right the first time.Chelle was close-minded and shut down to any version of events that wasn’t her own.“And I’m sorry for that, Chelle.Nobody wanted this to happen, least of all me.”
“You never liked him!”Her tone was accusing.“There’s no point in denying it now.”
“I’m not denying it.”Shit, even by my own low expectations, the conversation wasn’t going well.“But that doesn’t mean I’d have chosen this outcome.I’m your friend.I want you to be happy.”
“How can I be happy?”Tears brimmed in her eyes.“I’ve lost everything!”
“You’ve still got our friendship… if you want it.”
I considered getting up and going around the table to comfort her, but the hard light in her eyes dissuaded me.Chelle had been through a lot in the last few days.I could relate, but rather than permitting the trauma to unite us, she seemed content to allow it to tear us apart.
“I don’t know what to think now you’re with Eli.”Scorn radiated from her voice.“It feels like a betrayal, Erin.”
“A betrayal?”I glanced up from my steaming drink.“Are you fucking joking?”
There was nobetrayal.I hadn’t deceived her by being with Eli.In fact, I was telling her about my feelings for him the very first time I’d seen her since our affections had bloomed.
“You’re with the man who, at the very least, was negligent over James’ death, and you’ve chosen him over me.”She wrinkled her nose as though I was leaving a bad smell.
“I didn’t choose who I fell for,” I countered, sensing my irritation growing.“Eli and I have been through a lot, and we can’t help the way we feel.”
I’d anticipated Chelle’s derision of my new relationship, but somehow, nothing had prepared me for the way her contempt would make me feel.She’d decided Eli was the villain, which, by association, meant I was one, too.She’d been my friend for longer than I cared to recall, yet we were allowing men to come between us.The whole thing was tragic.
“Why are you being such a cow, Erin?”Her hand rose to cover her face as fresh tears welled.“I need a friend, but you give me this instead.”
“I’m being honest.”I could already sense where the discourse was headed, and there didn’t seem to be an eject button.Accelerating toward disaster, we were going to crash and burn unless one of us could evoke a miracle.“I thought that was what real friends did.”
“Fine.”Her jaw tightened as she stood up.I watched as she came to stand by the side of my chair, conscious that perhaps I should implore her to sit back down and stay yet unable to muster the enthusiasm.If she wanted to go, then she should leave.Perhaps her premature departure was the short-term reprieve our friendship required.“Thanks for your honesty.Enjoy Eli.”
She strode away, and I resisted the urge to shout after her or follow.Maybe she needed time to think on what we’d said.Maybe she was just hurting so much that she couldn’t rationalize my feelings, or perhaps, the juncture was the beginning of a new direction for us both.
