Mason would have a fucking fit if he knew.
That’s when I get a whiff of myself. Or is it all the leftover take-outboxes and dying flowers I’m smelling? Either way, I’m unable to remember the last time I showered, and that’s enough of a motivation to get my shit together.
I spend an exceedingly long time in the shower, and once I’m out, I start a load of laundry and take a trash bag to the various take-out canisters scattered around the flat. I wash my sheets next and do a deep clean of all the surfaces.
When everything’s been put away or pitched, I discover that somewhere along these past few days, I’ve lost a sock, my favorite fork, and my retainer.
Again.
Once the clean sheets are on my bed, my stomach rumbles for something other than takeout. I check my fridge only to find a half a carton of spoiled milk, some butter, and a quarter jar of jam. Even my bread has gone moldy.
“Great,” I mutter.
There’s a knock on my door just as I try to psych myself up into going to the store. It’s probably another flower delivery. As if the dozen vases of wilted flowers I just pitched aren’t enough. I’m not sure I can take much more of things dying.
But when I open the door, there are no flowers. Instead, there are several bags of groceries being held by a glaring and exhausted-looking Chloe. “Ten days is too long, dude.”
My mouth opens, but I’m too stunned to say anything. When Chloe pushes past and unceremoniously drops the bags on my counter, the first thought that crosses my mind is that I’m supremely glad I cleaned and showered.
She faces me with her hands on her hips and waits.
“Hi,” I finally manage to croak. I thought my tears were all dried up, but here they are, threatening to spill once again. I’ve never been more glad to see her in my life.
Her expression softens, and she crosses the short distance to pull me into a tight embrace. One I return with strength I didn’t know I had left. “We’ve been worried about you.”
“So you flew to England?” I ask, my face pressed into her shoulder.
“So I flew to England.”
She holds me for an eternity, never once loosening her grip.Chloe has always been closer with Jules, but that doesn’t mean I don’t consider her one of my best friends. And even with all the ways Jules knows me, there are some parts that Chloe seems to get on a deeper level. Or maybe it’s not deeper. Just different.
Where I seem to cut Jules with my broken pieces, Chloe seems immune to my jagged edges. And she proves it by showing up time and again. It makes me realize how much I’ve been taking her for granted.
“I’m glad you’re here,” I whisper. She gives me another squeeze, and I finally let go and wipe at my eyes.
She takes me in. “On a scale of one to ten?”
“A three,” I tell her honestly, way too tired to lie. She’d be able to see through it anyway.
“A three?” She frowns. “That’s not good, Alex.”
I shrug because I kind of thought a three was pretty good, all things considered. “Maybe tomorrow, I’ll be a four.”
“Or you could be a two.” She rubs at her face and takes a deep breath. “Okay, go sit. I’m going to make you something to eat.”
I don’t fight her on it, mainly because I’m hungry and also because I can tell by the tone of her voice that she’s not messing around. She doesn’t say anything else, just gets to work cooking something that smells an awful lot like her famous chicken parm meatballs.
My eyes feel heavy and dry. At some point, I must fall asleep because the sound of Chloe placing a plate on the coffee table wakes me. Sure enough, when I open my eyes, there’s a plate of meatballs with marinara and a side salad. “Thanks, Chloe.”
She sits beside me, and we eat in silence.
“I ran into Simone a couple days ago,” she says once we’re done.
“Yeah?” I push my plate away, full and tired all over again.
“She said she offered you her spare room.” Her tone seems more curious than accusatory, but I still tense like she’s exposing some kind of secret. “You gonna take her up on it?”
I let out a long breath. Simone moved into her own place a couple months ago, and a few days after Mason, she was quick to offer me a place to crash if I decided to move back to Virginia.
