Chapter 13
Ellie
A little while after the altercation with Jason, I get home from work and make dinner. I invited Bri over so I could talk to her about Jason. I am sitting on the couch watching TV, waiting on her so we can eat, when finally she arrives.
“Hey, girl!” she says as she comes in the front door.
“Hi, Bri.”
“How was your day?”
“It was awful,” I groan.
“What, Cole trying too hard again?” she laughs.
“No. Worse. Jason was here.”
“What the fuck?” she yells.
“Yeah. Apparently, he just wanted to talk because he ‘misses me,’” I say, making air quotes.
“What a dick. I’m so glad you left that asshole.”
“Yeah, me too.” I sigh.
“Why was he here?”
I tell Bri about everything that happened today. From the text, to throwing up and Cole coming in. Then Jason being in the lobby when I was walking out of work, and then Cole swooping in and saving the day.
“I still don’t understand why you aren’t talking to Cole anymore, Ellie,” she says.
“Bri, I don’t know. There was just too much happening at once. I could not handle it. He’s my boss, what would people think of me. I need to focus on myself and my new job.”
“You seemed so happy. And now you are … well, you are kind of a drag, El.”
“Gee, thanks, bestie,” I say sarcastically.
“You know what I mean.”
“Yeah. I do.” I sigh.
“Why don’t you talk to him? Jordan says he hasn’t been out with their group at all. Anytime anyone invites him, he tells them he’s busy.”
“Wait … Jordan?”
“Oh,” she says with a slight laugh, and her cheeks are turning pink. “Uh, yeah. I ran into him at MD’s a couple of weeks ago, and we started talking, and we’ve hung out a couple of times. He is actually really fun.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I ask, hurt that I feel like I’m missing important stuff from my friend.
“You’ve been having a hard time. I didn’t want to throw my stuff at you, and honestly we’re just friends. He’s fun to hang out with, but that’s all it will be.”
“You know you can always talk to me, right? No matter what I have going on, I’ll be there for you.”
“I know,” she says and leans over and hugs me.
After we watch a couple of episodes of our favorite show and talk for a while, Bri starts to get up.
“Well, you have had a long day. I’m going to go so you can get some sleep.
Text me tomorrow if you end up not doing anything.
Also, think about talking to Cole. You know you want to! ” she says, smiling.
“Bye, Bri. Love you.”
“Love you too, bitch,” she says, walking out the door.
Later, after I’ve climbed into bed, I’m thinking about what Bri said. Maybe I should call Cole. I do miss him. I fall asleep with that thought on my mind.
Cole
After work last night and the drama with Ellie’s ex as we were leaving, I came home and called Jordan and some of the other guys.
They all came over, and we watched some football, drank some beer, and hung out.
I might have drunk a little too much, I think to myself as I wake up and roll over to look at the time on the clock.
It’s eleven in the morning. I haven’t slept in this late in forever.
My phone starts ringing. I grip it and glance to see who it is, and it says “Ellie Girl.” I close my eyes and rub them.
Surely I didn’t read that right. I open them again and look.
Fuck yeah, I did. I hurry to answer it, and in the process, I drop my phone just as I swipe to answer.
“Fuck,” I sigh. I grab it up, and as I pull it to my ear, I hear her.
“Cole? Are you there? Hello?” she’s saying.
“Hey, Ellie Girl.”
“Oh, you are. I thought the call got disconnected.”
“Nope. I’m here!” I say too enthusiastically. Chill out, I tell myself. “So, what’s up?”
“Nothing. I’m just sitting around my apartment. I was—uh. I was wondering if you would want to grab a coffee and talk? We could meet at that coffee house between your place and MD’s if you want to join me.”
Holy shit. She’s calling me and inviting me out with her?
“Uh, Cole?”
“Shit, yes. Sorry. Yes, I can be there in about twenty minutes.”
“You probably have plans. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have called last minute.”
“No. No, I don’t have plans. I’m really glad you called. I will be there!”
I rush to shower and throw on some clothes and shoes and head out the door.
I practically run there. I get to the edge of the building, and I take a minute to catch my breath so I don’t look like a complete loser.
I glance in the window, and she’s sitting on the other side of the shop, scrolling on her phone and drinking her coffee.
She looks at peace right now. Hopefully, that’s good for me. I finally go in.
“Hey, beautiful,” I say as I sit in the seat across from her.
She looks up at me and smiles. Then she gets a weird look on her face and goes running to the bathroom. Everyone watches her run, and I get up and follow her.
I get into the bathroom just as she flushes the toilet. Clearly, she’s been sick again.
“Ellie, are you OK?”
“I thought so. I was fine all last night and this morning. Maybe something I am eating isn’t agreeing with me.”
“Do you want me to ask them for a glass of water for you?”
“That would be great. Thank you so much, Cole.” She smiles up at me weakly, and in that moment, I know one hundred percent. This girl is mine, and there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for her. I go and get a glass of water and meet her back at the table.
“You are getting color back in your face. That’s good,” I tell her.
“Well, this is so not going how I planned.” She laughs lightly.
“It’s all right. I’m just glad I was here to help you. Are you OK though?”
“I’m OK, I’m glad you were here too.” She smiles at me again.
“So, what are your plans for the day?” I ask her.
“Well. I was going to see if you wanted to do something together. But now I’m not sure if I should. I must have some type of weird bug or something.”
“You could come over to my place, and we could have a lazy day and watch movies?” I offer, praying she says yes.
“You know what, that sounds perfect.” She smiles at me yet again. I will never get tired of that smile.
“Well, come on, then, Ellie Girl. Let’s go watch some movies.”
“We should definitely stop and get snacks on the way!”
“Sounds like a great idea to me.” Although, I’m not sure how she is thinking about food after just being sick.
We are walking into the store when her phone rings. “It’s Bri, I told her we could hang out today if I was free. Let me just answer quick,” she says.
“Take your time,” I say. I’m in no hurry. I’m not trying to listen in on her conversation, but there isn’t much else for me to do.
“Hey, Bri!”
“Actually, I did end up having plans … Uh. Cole.” She blushes.
“No. We are going to have a movie day. No, you know I won’t watch that without you!” she says after Bri says something on the other end.
I touch her arm to get her attention, and she looks at me. “Invite her over,” I tell her.
“Are you sure?” she whispers back to me.
“Yeah. It’s OK, if that is what you want.”
She smiles at me again. “Hey, Bri. Would you want to join us? … Uh. Probably, let me ask.” She laughs a little.
“Would you want to invite Jordan too?” she asks me.
I raise a questioning eyebrow, and she whispers, “I’ll tell you later.”
“That is fine. I’ll text him. Find out what snacks she wants.” I text Jordan, and now that I have something keeping me busy, I zone out of her conversation.
Cole: Hey, any reason why Ellie’s friend Bri wants me to invite you to join us for a movie day at my place?
Jordan: Sure, I’ll be there. I’ll head that way shortly.
Cole: That doesn’t answer my question.
Jordan: Of course it does. I told you I would be there shortly.
Cole: You know that’s not the question I am referring to.
Jordan: See you soon.
I guess I’m not going to get my answer from him, since he just keeps avoiding the question about Bri. Ellie is just hanging up with Bri, and we have a grocery cart full of snacks to load us up for the day. We check out and make the short walk to my place.
“So, Bri and Jordan?” I say with a laugh.
She laughs a little. “Honestly, I’m not sure. She says they are just friends, and they have hung out a few times. But it seems like maybe she’d want more than that.”
“Interesting,” I say. “When did that happen? I talked to Jordan just last night, and he didn’t say anything about it.”
“I don’t really know. Bri didn’t say much.”
We’re quiet for a moment before she speaks up again.
“Hey, before the crazies come along, I just wanted to tell you something.” She glances over at me to make sure I’m listening.
“I’m sorry for how I shut you out the past couple of weeks.
It wasn’t right of me. I just freaked myself out and went about everything the wrong way. ”
“Hey, it’s OK. Don’t apologize. I never wanted to push you. I just wanted to know what I did wrong.”
She looks at me with her eyebrows bunched together in confusion. “What do you mean what you did wrong?”
“That last night we were together. Everything was going so well, until it wasn’t. I just can’t figure out what I did wrong for the life of me.”
“Oh, Cole. I’m so sorry. You did absolutely nothing wrong. You were perfect, and that’s what spooked me. Like I said, I just went about it the wrong way. I’m sorry.”
“It’s all right. Don’t worry about it.” I smile at her. I wish my hands weren’t full of groceries so I could pull her into my arms.