Page 58 of The Friendship Variable
Ryan glances up at Zach, and Zach gestures between us.
“You can stay and finish helping Claire after I leave, right?” Zach asks.
“Yeah, of course,” Ryan says. “I figured this would take all day, so I didn’t make other plans.”
His words are a clear dig at Zach, who doesn’t seem fazed at all. “Awesome.”
“But what about your truck?” I ask Zach. “We can’t fit everything in my car—or in Ryan’s.”
An awkward silence fills the space.
“Aaron has a truck,” Ryan offers. “My roommate. I can call him. He’s off work today.”
“I’m off workeveryday,” Zach says. He’s trying to brag, but that’s the last thing that would make Ryan jealous.
“Cool.” Ryan pulls out his phone and taps on the screen, then holds the phone to his ear and disappears into the kitchen.
My cheeks flame with heat, embarrassed that Ryan is witnessing this exchange with Zach. He already doesn’t like Zach, and now we’re just adding more fuel to the fire. “There’s no way you can reschedule?” I ask Zach softly.
He shakes his head. “Sorry, babe. But at least you’ve got Ryan and his friend. You’ll be fine.”
I want to protest more, but Ryan comes back out of the kitchen, phone in hand. “Aaron’s coming with his truck,” he says. “He’s bringing his girlfriend Pam, and they’ll both help.”
“They don’t need to,” I protest, instantly feeling guilty for ruining their day.
Ryan shakes his head. “Aaron says this is pick-up truck tax. Everyone asks for his help, so he’s an expert at moving. Besides, I’ll need another guy to help me move the furniture.”
I look around my apartment, overwhelmed at the idea of how many trips up and down the stairs Ryan will be taking to move my stuff. “I’m so sorry.”
Ryan just grins, then reaches down and lifts a box of throw blankets. “It’s all good. That’s what friends are for.”
Zach leaves half an hour later,right after Aaron and Pam arrive. There’s a brief chaotic moment with saying hello and goodbye, but Aaron and Pam get to work right away. They’re all smiles, laughing and joking with Ryan as they pass each other in the hallway, but I have such discomfort at seeing them walking around with boxes and bags of all my belongings.
“Sorry again,” I say to Pam as we pass each other in the hallway. She has two big bags of my clothes, and the sight of her struggling fills me with guilt.
She shakes her head and gives me a warm smile. “It’s what friends are for,” she says, echoing Ryan’s words.
“Yeah, but you’re not my friend.” I immediately regret the words as they leave my mouth, but she doesn’t take them as an insult.
“You’re Ryan’s friend, and Ryan’s one of the best people I know. If you’re important to him, you must be ‘good people,’ too.” She walks past me with the bags, not letting me argue with her anymore, and I head into my bedroom to grab a few more bags of clothes.
Her words hit me hard.Good people.That’s what I want to be known as. A good person. Is that my reputation?
A lot of who I am is wrapped up in my family, and I know people respect my parents asgood people.But what about Zach? Does he have a reputation for being a good person? He’s not disliked, per se. People enjoy being around him because he’s fun and outgoing. But is he known for being selfless and considerate?
My eyes catch on Ryan and Aaron lifting the heavy mattress off my bed, and they grin at me as I move out of the way so they can carry it through the doorway.Now those are some good people, I think to myself. The kind of people I want to surround myself with. The kind of person Zach says he is.
But he’s not here.
CHAPTER 25
Ryan
It’s been an exhausting day.Even with Aaron and Pam, we barely finish moving all of Claire’s items into her new place by seven in the evening. She hasn’t unpacked anything except for some bedding so she can sleep, but she’ll have a lot more work to do tomorrow. At least we got all her furniture and boxes moved from one place to the other.
In unison, Aaron, Pam and I plop down onto Claire’s couch, exhausted but satisfied.
Claire looks at us all sitting on her couch and grins. “I’m going to get food for us all. That’s the least I can do. Is pizza okay?”
