Chapter Eighteen
Eighteen
Elsie
Elsie,
It was good to hear that you are settling in and are sleeping okay. Oz is going to be a dad, huh? That’s cool. Tell him congrats for me. And his wife, Winslet, correct? You know I’m terrible with names.
Set life is crazy. It’s thrilling, but the anxiety levels are through the roof.
At least for me. The filming has officially begun, and the high that comes with it is surreal.
I can’t wait until you get to come experience it.
You will love Koralee. She’s over costume design.
She reminds me a lot of you. Same quirky sense of humor, her hair is your exact color, and if she didn’t hiccup at the end of every laugh, that would sound like yours too.
I’ve told her all about my best friend, and she looks forward to your visit.
We are rewatching Stranger Things together in the evenings. It’s fun to start from the beginning. She actually got to be on set a few times for it. Her stories are so badass. I’ll let her tell you though.
I asked Oz about your classes and the possibility of you doing them online.
He said it can be traced. So, for now, you are going to have to drop out.
I know it affects your scholarship, and you need that, but I’m hoping the DEA can talk to them or something.
I’d think they could help you keep the scholarship.
It’s the least they could do. Considering.
I miss you. Thinking about you daily and can’t wait to hear back. It helps to know you’re okay.
Love ya,
Calvin
I folded the letter back up and left it with the last one in the top drawer of the dresser.
I had read it several times now, but not known how to respond.
There was nothing to tell him that I wanted to write in a note that others would read.
But last night had given me something more than my loneliness to report.
I’d had an evening where I wasn’t weighed down with heaviness and sorrow.
Taking a piece of the stationery that Winslet had given me, I sat down to write a letter for Oz to scan and send to Calvin, or however they were doing it. I wasn’t really sure.
I knew Calvin well enough to recognize his interest in Koralee.
When he liked a girl, he talked about her a lot.
He also spent time with her and assured me I was going to like her if I hadn’t met her yet.
Typically, I did like the girls he dated.
His taste had improved since high school.
Or I had stopped being jealous of the females he was with.
Calvin,
Stranger Things again? I don’t think I could survive it another time. The first was enough. But I’m happy to know you have found someone who will sit through it with you and enjoy herself. Just don’t go replacing me. Your best-friend slot is filled.
In all seriousness, I can’t wait to meet her. She sounds great. I’m glad you found someone to spend time with that you also work with.
Things are going well here. I mean, I don’t get to leave the house, and honestly, that is starting to make me feel caged in.
The house is massive and very nice, as you know, but I’m not used to being indoors all the time.
Although the alternative is terrifying. I worry if I will ever be able to go anywhere again and not feel on edge.
Change of subject before I get too dark. I don’t want to think about that. Not right now anyway.
Last night, I helped Forge with the bookie thing he and Oz do.
Oz was gone for the night, and Forge needed an extra set of eyes on things.
It was a lot of fun. Other than having to learn the lingo, I think I was good at it.
I understood what was happening in the game and on the spread.
You forcing basketball on me all those years came in handy.
If I can use my knowledge with numbers and balancing to help them, it will make me feel much better about all they are doing for me.
I know it is because of you, but I still don’t want to be a burden to them.
Oh, one more thing: I have seen your cousin naked. Forge. Not Oz or Kash. It was … impressive.
With love,
Elsie
I was smiling when I finished it. I wished I could see his face when he read that last line. Folding the note, I tucked it into the envelope and left it on the desk until I went back downstairs.
Breakfast had been lively with Hawkins back.
He showed me his new toys he’d gotten on his trip and a picture of him sitting on the horse that had won.
Winslet and Noa gave Halo a full recap of the party to celebrate Winslet’s pregnancy.
But Forge didn’t show up, and I found myself disappointed by that.
Oz came in to get something to eat and complimented my work last night.
He’d said he hoped I’d do it again. Which meant he’d talked to Forge this morning, so he wasn’t still in bed.
The niggling feeling that he was avoiding me was bothering me.
I hadn’t flirted or done anything to make him feel as if he needed to avoid me, had I?
He’d laughed at my comment about his monster penis.
Maybe he’d changed his mind and was offended now?
I was overthinking this. Just because he hadn’t come to breakfast didn’t mean it had anything to do with me.
He probably hadn’t thought anything more about me or last night.
The sound of a rapping on the door had me spinning around to look at it before going over to see who it was this time.
My heart rate sped up as I reached it. Thinking it might be Forge. He had mentioned the basketball games today and asked if I wanted to help. Maybe it was him?
When I opened it, the instant smile that lit my face at the sight of Forge vanished just as fast. He wasn’t smiling. In fact, he looked like he would rather be anywhere else. Had I made a mistake last night on his spread? My stomach sank, and I waited for him to say something.
“Hey, you busy?” he asked, his eyes flicking past me to inside my room, then back again.
I shook my head.
“I, uh … you want to go for a walk? Get out of the house?”
Why did this sound like a breakup? We were barely friends.
“Is something wrong?” I asked.
He shrugged. “No. I just thought you might like some fresh air. It’s warm today. Spring is trying to show up. Sun’s out.”
Although I still felt as if something was off with him, I nodded. “Sure.” Going outside sounded wonderful. I needed a change of scenery.
“We kicked the heat on in the pool. Should be good to swim in by tomorrow,” he told me.
I opened my mouth to say I didn’t have a bathing suit, but there were two in my closet with tags still on them.
Winslet had put them there when she brought me clothes.
I’d not thought I would be using those, but swimming would be nice.
Especially if the view was going to be a shirtless Forge, then I was interested.
“Let me get some shoes on,” I told him before going to the closet and picking out a pair of silver Adidas shoes, which had also been new when left in my closet. I happened to love them. Whoever had picked them out had good taste.
Slipping my feet in, I bent over to tie them, then turned to walk back out to go with Forge. He was leaning against the doorframe, looking at his phone.
He glanced up at me, and the smile on his face appeared forced. “Ready?”
I was starting to wish I hadn’t opened the door.
“You sure that everything’s okay?” I asked again, hesitant to go with him.
“I swear. Sorry, I’ve just been dealing with some work stuff. Sometimes, life gets”—he paused—“dark.”
I wanted to ask if he meant dark, as in cut people’s fingers off, but I didn’t. Although that might get a laugh out of him. He was tense about something. I didn’t know him well enough to read his moods. He might have gotten bad news about his mom.
He stepped into the hallway, and I followed him, then closed the door behind me.
“Oz was impressed with your work last night. He was happy to hear you wanted to do it again,” Forge told me.
“Oh, good. I did enjoy it. I just finished telling Calvin about it in my letter.” I paused and glanced back toward the room. “I probably should have gotten that to give to Oz.”
“It’s fine. I’ll get it later and make sure it is sent to Calvin,” he told me.
I didn’t want to give it to Forge. What if he read it? I’d mentioned his penis. He’d probably like that though. He was cocky. It would stroke his ego.
“You still up for tonight’s games? It’s warm enough to watch them out back. Bane is grilling steaks. It’ll be a good time.”
“Yeah. I’m up for it,” I told him. “I might be a little more nervous with Oz there, but I will get through it.”
Forge chuckled. “Oz won’t bite. He likes the indoor screen anyway. He’ll be watching the games he is covering in there. We will watch ours outside.”
That sounded less stressful.
“So, y’all split the games up most of the time then?”
“Yep. He used to do it all on his own, but I liked it and understood the lingo, so I started helping, and we were able to broaden our spread.”
I followed him down the stairs and then the hallway that led to the great room. It seemed we were going outside through the French doors instead of the front door. I assumed it was a security thing. Keeping me hidden, although the main gate was back far enough that the house wasn’t visible.
It was much quieter than when I had gone up to my room earlier. We hadn’t passed anyone else, and the great room was empty. Forge opened the glass door and stood back for me to exit. It was warm. Spring was almost here.
Thoughts of Mom came flooding in, and I took a deep breath. I hoped, one day, I could remember her without the deep void that would stretch out in my chest like a night sky with no stars. She’d want me to have fond memories. And both my parents deserved to have their lives remembered. Cherished.
“Not a fan of the sun?” Forge’s voice brought me back from the ache.