23. CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 23
ARI
“ W ho was that?” Meg asks over the rim of her coffee cup as Sophie shuts the door behind us and I slide off of her back. Larry is at the window, hands on his hips, watching Ethan back out.
I look between the two of them, then at Sophie, who won’t make eye contact with me. “Oh, please. Like you don’t already know.”
Meg chuckles and sets her mug on the coffee table before strolling over to Sophie and pulling a folded up bill from her back pocket, handing it over. “I have to say, I really thought it was going to go south.”
“What the hell?” I watch Sophie take the money. “You made bets?”
Meg raises her hands in the air and shrugs. “I thought it was a bad idea. I didn’t think you’d want to be railroaded like that. But clearly …”
As she trails off, I look over at Larry who is leaning over, into the window, as if he’s waiting for the dust to settle from Ethan’s tires. “Clearly, what?” I ask, then realize what she’s insinuating. “Oh, no! We didn’t … It’s not like that. We’re just friends.”
Meg and Sophie share a look, and Sophie says, “See?” Meg nods.
“See what?” I ask.
“Oh, nothing.” Sophie heads toward the kitchen. “Just that I knew you would pretend like you didn’t want to see him when in fact your panties are melting.”
Larry coughs and turns around. “For goodness sake, Sophie.”
“Oh, please, Lars,” she yells from the kitchen. “There’s no kiddies here.” At the moment, the Millers aren’t housing any foster children. Well, none other than Sophie and me.
Deciding I’m not going to win this conversation, I settle my arms into my crutches. “Sorry I didn’t call or text. I really was surprised to see Ethan, and we had a lot to catch up on. He owns a house in Hilton and—get this—Fonz lives with him.” Meg and Lars don’t react. “You knew that, too.”
“Don’t hate us,” Meg begs.
“I thought this whole thing was a disaster,” Larry counters, standing before me, looking uncomfortable. “You going on a date, dredging up your past. You’ve come so far. I just hate to see you revisiting painful times.”
I smile. “I don’t hate you guys. And it wasn’t a disaster. Actually, it may be exactly what I needed. I didn’t realize how much I missed Ethan.”
My foster dad scratches the back of his head. “Was he, um … I mean, did he ever … I just want to make sure—”
“He’s not Sean or Axel,” Meg cuts in. “Ethan never hurt you, right?” She looks at me and I shake my head.
“No. Ethan was my saving grace when I was growing up.”
Larry relaxes. “Good. That’s good.”
Sophie comes out of the kitchen with her own mug of coffee in hand. “Awe, Lars, you getting all protective on us?”
He rolls his eyes and leaves the room.
“Oh, he totally is.” Meg picks up her mug and clinks it with Soph’s then turns to me. “So, tell us everything.”
After filling the ladies in on my night with Ethan—and them absorbing all the details—I slowly and ungracefully make my way downstairs to get in some work hours. But it’s difficult because my mind is elsewhere.
I’m about two hours in when a text comes through from a number that’s not saved, and I realize it’s Lizzie.
Just making sure you survived your date
I save her number in my phone, then text out a reply.
Haha thanks. I survived. In fact, it ended up being a long-lost childhood friend that my new friend set me up with
Wow, that sounds really odd when I type it out.
I see three bubbles pop up before a response comes through.
Any chance you could meet for lunch today? I would love to chat some more with you. We were shocked by your visit yesterday, and now I have so much more I’d like to know about you
I can meet for a late lunch, maybe around 2 p.m.?
I’ll have to call an Uber to meet Lizzie in the city. No way in hell am I asking her to come pick me up. Maybe I could bring Sophie along.
Would it be alright if my bestie joins? That way I don’t have to get an Uber
The response is immediate.
Of course! I’ll have my BFF join as well. Wanna meet at my office, then we can just go someplace nearby?
I send the thumbs up emoji, and she sends her work address. Now I need to see if Sophie is even available.
“Soph!” I yell at the top of my lungs.
“What?” she hollers back down from upstairs, where I assume she’s watching TV.
“Wanna go to lunch today? I have to meet some people and I need emotional support!”
“You mean you need a ride!”
I wince. “Well, yes, that also.”
There’s a pause. “Is one of these people a single, tall, dark and handsome prospect who’s into full-figured women with an attitude problem?”
I smile. “Yes!”
“Liar,” I hear back. Then, “Fine.”
“Love you!”
“Yeah, yeah.”
***
Sophie pulls the car into a spot on the street that’s diagonal from the ROC Record. “Kinda cool Lizzie’s a newspaper reporter,” she says as we both unbuckle and get out of the car.
When we enter the lobby, I see Lizzie hunched over a reception desk talking to a blonde woman, and her face lights up when she sees me. “Ariel!” She starts to raise her arms like she’s going to hug me but seems to rethink it and instead just comes to stand next to us awkwardly.
“Hi, Lizzie.” Immediately I gesture to Sophie standing next to me. “This is Sophie, my ride or die.”
Sophie rolls her eyes. “I’m her ride, period.”
“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Lizzie, I’m, uh …”
I quickly jump in. “Lizzie is the wife of the guy who ran me over with his truck.”
Lizzie winces then seems to regain her composure. “I cannot deny those allegations.” Her shoulders hunch around her neck as she looks back at the blonde who just picked up a phone call. “Here, let me give you a quick tour.”
Lizzie leads us into a mess of cubicles. “So, this is what we call the bullpen. That over there is Zack.” A young man swivels around in his chair and gives us a salute. “He and George, who is out at the moment, are fellow reporters. Our photographer should be in any minute, and over there”—Lizzie points to a woman in a room on the other side of a glass window—“is our editor Cherise. And back there”—she points to a door to a back office—“is where our graphics guy, EJ, works. I don’t think he’s in yet.”
We make our way back up to the front office where the blonde is zipping up her jacket. “Did she tell you ladies I’m her better half?” She winks. “I’m Dee.”
As we finish some more introductions, a middle-aged guy with a camera slung over his shoulder comes through the door. “Howdy, ladies.”
“Monty,” Lizzie greets him. “This is Ariel and her friend Sophie.” She gives me a guilty look before adding, “I kinda filled Monty in on your visit yesterday, and he was the one who told me to reach back out to you.”
“I’m her voice of reason.” Monty throws an arm around Lizzie.
“Oh, please,” Dee scoffs. “Let’s go, ladies. I’m so hungry I could eat a giant cock right now.”
My eyebrows shoot up and Sophie chokes on her own spit. Lizzie giggles nervously as Monty mumbles, “Oh, brother.”
“Sorry,” Lizzie says with a blush. “I should have warned you about Dee’s mouth.”
“Oh, no need,” Sophie says with a smile. “I like her already.”
Dee points at Sophie and smiles back. “Thank you!” Then she turns to Lizzie and me, “Shall we?”
“Godspeed,” Monty yells over his shoulder as he heads toward the back of the office.
We go to a little bistro one block down from the ROC Record offices. The four of us are finishing off a plate of nachos as Lizzie describes the night of the accident. It’s weird hearing it depicted from another point of view. Chilling. I can’t imagine what it must have been like for Knox and his friend when he hit me. Lizzie said they had “gone through something” that night, and that he was distracted and thought all this time it was his fault.
“No.” I shake my head. “I stepped right out into the roadway. I also had a bad night, I guess you could say. And I was also distracted.”
Lizzie twists the napkin in front of her. “Is that why you never pressed charges or went after monetary compensation?”
I lock eyes with her. “It wouldn’t have been the right thing to do.”
Lizzie tips her head. “It wouldn’t have been wrong, either.”
We fall silent as the waitress brings our lunches over.
“Anyway …” Lizzie lifts the top piece of bread off her sandwich and plucks off the tomato. “I was just wondering, is there anything we can do for you? Knox and me? Like, can we give you rides to and from physical therapy?”
I shake my head, but Sophie blurts out, “Yes.”
“Soph!” I shriek around a mouthful of food.
“What? She asked. “She clearly wants to help. Right?” Sophie gestures to Lizzie, who is nodding aggressively.
“Yes, absolutely! Please. It would make Knox and I feel better to do something—anything to help.” Lizzie reaches out a hand and places it on top of mine on the table. “This may sound weird, but the whole situation may have made Knox and me even stronger, and I feel bad that it came at your expense.”
“It didn’t,” I reply instantly.
Sophie shakes her head at Lizzie. “It really didn’t. This girl’s life was pretty fuuuucked up.” She hooks a thumb in my direction. “I would almost say the accident also made her life better. Now she lives with me—kind of—and that asshat boyfriend of hers fell off the face of the planet.”
The table falls silent, but for only a moment, as we finish our lunch.
“OK, this is too much bonding for me.” Dee wads up a napkin and drops it on her plate before pushing it away. “Who wants to hear about my date last weekend?”
After hearing the horrific details of Dee’s date with a banker and a blow up doll that left imagery in my mind I will never be able to erase, Lizzie picks up the bill and we head outside. As we walk back toward the ROC Record, all three ladies slowing their pace to keep up with me, I tell Lizzie I’ll be in touch about taking her up on her offer to drive me to PT, and even my regular therapist.
After saying our goodbyes, Sophie and I are waiting to cross when I hear my name being called and turn to see Ethan running up the sidewalk toward us.
“Hey! What are you ladies doing here?”
“Ethan,” I say, surprised. “We just had lunch with someone. What are you doing here?”
“I’m headed into work.” He points up the sidewalk, toward the direction we just came from.
“You work around here?” Sophie asks.
“Yeah. You got a minute? I’ll show you.”
I look at Sophie and she nods. The three of us make our way back to exactly where we just came from. Sophie stops and pulls her eyebrows together. “You work here?”
Ethan nods. “Yeah. Come on in.” He opens the door to let me, then Sophie pass through.
“Here?” I ask again, pointing at the floor to accentuate my point. “You work here ?”
“Uh, yes?”
“Ariel?” I hear Lizzie’s voice and turn to see her once again hunched over Dee’s desk.
“You know EJ?” asks Dee, her head tilted to the side.
Ethan looks at Lizzie. “Who’s Ariel?”
“Who’s EJ?” I ask Dee.
“That’s EJ.” She points at Ethan.
“And that’s Ariel.” Lizzie points at me.
“No, this is Ethan.” I stick my thumb toward him, and Lizzie’s eyes bulge.
“ That’s Ethan?!” She throws a hand over her mouth. “Wait.” It comes out muffled. “Is this Ari?”
“Yes.” Ethan nods. “Well, Arlene, but she goes by Ari.” Lizzie darts her eyes to me, but doesn’t say anything.
I bring my hand up to my forehead. Holy shit . “Ariel is what I go by now, Ethan. After the accident I changed it. And I took the Millers’ last name. I go by Ariel Miller now. Well, but still Ari.”
Ethan stands with his mouth open.
“Is your real name Ethan?” Dee asks.
He nods. “Ethan James, but Cherise kept calling me Edward or Edgar, so I just shortened it to EJ.”
Dee throws her head back and laughs. “Well, what an unexpected twist of fate this is!”
“Seriously,” Sophie adds.
“Wait.” Ethan shakes his head, then looks at me. “How do you know Lizzie?”
She and I share a glance, and Lizzie scrunches up her face and lets out a little, “ Oooo .”
“I’ll take this one.” Sophie raises a hand as if in class. “Lizzie’s husband is the one who ran over Ari.”
Ethan pulls his head back dramatically. “Knox?!” he shouts, and I see Zack and an older guy in the bullpen stand up and look our way. “Knox was the one who hit you?” I shrug and nod sheepishly.
“Wh— Did you know each other before the accident? How long have you been friends? How did I not know this? How … Why … I can’t …” He puts his hands on his head in exasperation.
“We met yesterday,” I explain. “I looked Knox up while I was in recovery and I wanted to reach out to him, which I did right before our date—”
“ Ohmygod the date!” Dee exclaims.
I’d nearly forgotten we have an audience. And since during lunch I filled the ladies in on my date with Ethan, they’re completely up to speed. “Lizzie texted today to offer me some support, which I’m going to take her up on,” I say.
Ethan is breathing heavily.
Lizzie has her hands over her mouth and looks like she may cry or puke.
Dee has her elbows on the counter and is resting her chin on her fists as she watches this shitshow unfold.
Sophie puts her fists on either side of her head and makes a rumbling sound as she pulls them away and splays her fingers, as if her head is exploding.
“Fucking Knox,” Ethan bites out, then looks up at Lizzie. “Was he drunk? High?”
Huh?
She darts her eyes to me and shakes her head but says nothing.
“How did he hit someone who was crossing the road, then? If he wasn’t under the influence?” Ethan presses.
Lizzie remains silent and keeps her eyes locked with mine. A moment passes and Ethan curses under his breath, his hands on his hips and his head hanging down. “Sophie, are you giving Ari a ride back home?”
“Yeah.”
He nods. “Ari, I’m going to call you later.” Without looking at any of us again, he turns and storms toward the door.
“Where are you going?” I call after him.
“I’m going to kill that asshole,” he says as the door slams behind him.
Oh shit.