Page 63 of Can We Skip to the Good Part?
“Us. I was right there with you.”
“Yeah, well, my duty to my friend certainly outweighed yours.”
“Still.”
“Yeah.” Silence. “Still.”
“What now?” Max asked, squeezing her hand. It was supportive at most and not at all romantic. Didn’t matter. Instinctively, Ella pulled hers back because they just couldn’t.
“You go. I stay.”
Max nodded. “Are you going to answer me when I check on you later?”
“I don’t know,” she said, wrapping her arms around herself. “And I only say that because my brain is not exactly working at the moment.”
“I know.” She tilted her head in the direction of the house. “Let’s get off the street.”
They walked back to the house together with the weight of fifty lead balloons tethered to them, a complete contrast to the spring in their step just fifteen minutes ago. How quickly the world could flip on its end. There was a valuable lesson here, and when Ella returned to herself, she vowed to learn it.
This was bad.This was really bad.
Rachel hadn’t come home from work, and it was close to eleven. Ella knew because she’d checked the time on her phone every time she’d looked to see if a text from Rachel had snuck in without her hearing it.
She’d tried to work. She’d tried to eat. She’d tried to come up with the perfect words to make this whole situation better. Even sitting with a pad and pen hadn’t helped her find them. It felt like her abilities were broken in every sense of the word.
One of Rachel’s friends had posted a photo on Instagram of them at Dirty Little Secret holding up lemon drop martinis.Rachel looked like she’d had a couple, which made sense, Ella having stomped on their entire friendship and all. However, it was late, and she would usually have been home by now.
Even though Ella felt like she’d been run over by a truck with a crying-induced headache and a sour stomach, there was no way she was going to bed until Rachel was safe back home where she belonged. They didn’t have to talk. She just needed to see that she was safely in bed.
An hour passed.
Then another.
Why hadn’t she added Rachel to Find My Friends once she’d moved to town? It seemed like such a stupid thing to miss now. She walked to the front window and stared at the driveway, willing her friend to arrive. Self-recriminations pinged from every part of Ella as she slid to the floor in front of the armchair that had once belonged to Rachel’s grandmother. She’d relegated it to the front room because she didn’t want to get rid of it, but it hadn’t matched the rest of the decor.
It was now after 1 a.m., and something had to be wrong. If this had been one of the romance novels she read for Weepers, Rachel’s car would have veered off the road, or she’d have been kidnapped or robbed. Her victim status alone qualified her for tragedy on a night like this one, but Ella couldn’t let herself think that way. Her mind was already running away with itself when a pair of headlights lit up the entire room. She exhaled, harnessing the relief that came over her.
Rachel. Finally. Relief spilled from her chest to her limbs.
Her heart hammered as she stood at the window, watching her friend exit an unfamiliar car, likely an Uber, and make her way up the walk with a less-than-perfect gait. She’d definitely been drinking, but had done the responsible thing and gotten a ride home. Thank God, Ella wouldn’t be calling hospitals all night. She turned on the small blue lamp and stood just as thefront door opened with a whine. They’d needed to oil the hinges for weeks.
“Hi,” Ella said. “Um, you don’t have to talk to me, but I just want to make sure you’re okay.” She was shaking again, nauseous, too.
Rachel turned at the sound of her voice, and when they made eye contact in the dimly lit space, Rachel went still. “You’re still crying.” The tone in her voice was flat but not combative.
Ella shrugged. “You don’t have to worry about me.”
“Trust me when I say I don’t want to.” A pause. “But I do.”
Ella waited, absorbing the unexpected words.
“I know I can be a selfish bitch.”
“I would never call you that.”
“Well, you wouldn’t be the first. And maybe I need to work on that and become a more thoughtful friend, but I never would have gone behind your back.” She’d said that last part with a bite.
“I know.” Ella nodded, taking in every word and emotion. This was a moment for her to listen, rather than explain.
