Page 23 of Already At Risk
“DID YOU WATCH THE video I sent you?”
My childhood best friend asked the question beneath her breath as though someone would automatically know that the video in question was, in fact, like watching aMagic Mikeshow where they didn’t even start with clothes.
“I did, El,” I huffed as I trudged through the parking lot at work, pushing my legs to go faster than they wanted to move. “And then I didn’t fully close out of it, and it started playing in the middle of my first meeting with my new lawyer.”
She gasped. “Oh my God,Nat.”
“Tell me about it,” I grumbled.
“What did he do?”
“Nothing, actually.” Which I would forever be grateful for. “He acted like it wasn’t a big deal.”
“Oo,” Ellie cooed. “A mature man who is comfortable in his sexuality. We like that.”
“I think that’s a bit of a stretch to be able to confirm, but?—”
“I don’t think so,” she cut in. “I’ve decided I like him. Approval granted.”
“I didn’t realize I needed your approval.”
“You always need my approval, didn’t you know?”
I rolled my eyes with a laugh, holding the phone away from my ear as Ellie sneezed three times in a row. She’d always had terrifying seasonal allergies but also refused to get the medication I told her to take for it. “Listen,” I said when she seemed to make it through the burst of sneezes. “I’m headed into work. Is there another reason you called aside from the video?”
Aka the very thing that had created the most mortifying moment of my life.
“Yes!” Ellie exclaimed, and I could easily envision the way her eyes lit up. “Work is sending me to Boston in a few weeks, so I get to come visit.”
“Really?” My heart leapt into my throat. I couldreallyuse some time with my best friend right now. “Oh my God, that’s amazing, El. What are the dates?”
“Um…third weekend in June, I think.”
“That’s—oh.”
Shit.
I could really use a visit from my best friend anyotherweekend than that one.
“What?”
“Nothing.” I shook my head with a grimace, wishing I’d played it cooler so as not to risk the chance that Ellie wouldn’t come. The timing could definitely be better, but I’d still make it work. “We’ll figure it out. It’ll be great!”
“Natalie,” she said, a warning tone in her voice.
Damn.
“My family will be in town that weekend, too, that’s all,” I admitted.
A slight pause.
“Family, meaning…”
“Yeah.” I cringed. “My parents and Theo and…Sully.”
Ellie was silent on the other end of the phone at the mention of my youngest brother, the one who just happened to be her ex.And not only were they exes, but they’d also broken it off on terrible, rotten, no-good terms. Mysterious ones, too. No one in my family really seemed to know what happened, not even me. Before their split, we’d all assumed they were going to get married;thatwas how perfect they were together.
Sighing, I went on to explain, “Noah bought Gemma a house, is going to surprise her with it, propose, and then invite everyone over for an engagement party. It’s a whole thing.”
