Page 42 of To Catch a Firefly

“Locked,” a voice calls out behind me.

I turn, and there’s Ellis, approaching at a steady pace. He’s still wearing his dirty jeans and work shirt, the logo on his breast pocket showing a smiling piece of corn. There’s a baseball hat on his head, and he gives me a smile that just about stops my heart.

Beautiful.

I stand aside as Ellis pulls out a small keychain from his pocket. He unlocks the door and then throws it wide, waving me forward. Heart thudding, I step inside the silo, only to come to an abrupt halt not two paces in.

“What…” I say.

The silo is completely transformed. Shelves curve around the entire expansive shell, atop which sits a collection of glass far more extensive than Ellis used to have. There’s a big wooden table near the middle and a rack of various tools beside it. And, most notably, toward the back of the round space is what looks like a massive brick oven. A kiln, I realize, as awareness snaps into place.

“The parrotfish,” I say, stepping forward. Ellis moves into the silo behind me. “You made the parrotfish.”

He nods when I find the wherewithal to look back at him. There’s a curious expression on his face. He’s likely wondering how I knew about it in the first place. Because he never told me. He never told me about any of this.

“What…thefuck, El?” I snap, a little harsher than I mean to. “What is this?”

Ellis rubs the back of his neck. “Glass studio,” he finally says.

“How…” My voice fails me. “How long has this been here?”

He holds up two fingers and then three.

Between two and three years. He’s been crafting glass art foryears, and he never said a word about it. What thehell?

And why didn’t I notice? Have I really been that absent?

“Why didn’t you tell me about this?” I ask, voice hoarse.

He shrugs, andoh, that rankles.

“I thought we didn’t have secrets,” I say, even though I know we’re not kids anymore, back when a pinky promise meant more than anything. Even though IknowI have no right to feel this hurt.

Ellis’s eyes drag up to me slowly. “You and Dani,” he says simply.

It feels like a sucker punch. “You and the girl from work,” I spit.

Ellis flinches.

“Fuck,” I mutter, turning away. I rake my hair back, eyes prickling.

Why did he keep this from me?

“We’re…not what we once were,” Ellis says from behind me, closer than I expect him to be.

I shake my head quickly because no. We’re not. And I didn’t realize until right this moment exactly how much we’ve changed. How much we’veallowedto change.

“But we’re still…” he says.

And I nod.Yeah. “Me and you,” I answer.

Except if neither of us are what we once were, what does that makeus?

Chapter 15

Ellis

“Luck,” I say quietly.

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