I was glad that coming back to the Cobblestones had shown me it could be different.That people could be far away but stay close in my heart.
The pitter-patter of small cat feet sounded on the floor and a blur of orange darted through my vision as Balthazar raced through the kitchen and made a beeline for the window.I just saw the end of his tail before he jumped out, leaving me with lots of questions and no answers.
If I didn't know better, that seemed like a guilty run or an escape.
Something thudded downstairs and I sat up, wondering what I just heard.It wasn't odd to hear the occasional thud or creak, that was likely our resident ghost.But the noise...that didn't sound like a ghost.What did Balthazar do?
There was another noise, this one unmistakably the sound of footsteps.Was someone in the shop?Did someone break in because they knew I was here on my own?
My anxiety spiked as I got up from my seat, looking around the kitchen for a weapon.There was a thick cleaver in the knife block that we never used.
Before I could get it, a voice came up the stairwell.
"Hello?It's me!"
My body relaxed at the sound.Faye.It was just Faye.
"Up here," I called back, wondering what she was doing here or how she'd gotten inside.Had I forgotten to lock the coffee house?I didn't think so.
I moved towards the noise, meeting Faye just as she reached the top of the stairs, her hand sliding up the smooth wood of the rail.
"Balthazar let me in," she said, offering me a sweet smile.
That explained Balthazar's guilty run.
"For a moment, I thought you were a burglar," I said, pausing in front of her so I could pull her in for a well-needed hug.
She held me tight."I heard you had a run in with my pawpaw."
I nodded in her hair."Hmm.She reminded me not to hurt you."
"That wasn't her place."
"She's just concerned about you, I think," I said, not sure why I was defending Mrs Li.Maybe because I knew she was right.Because even though I hadn't known or done it on purpose, I had hurt Faye.I hadn't even been around to seehowmuch I hurt her so I only had Mrs Li's warning to go off.
If Mrs Li was warning me, Faye must've been very upset.
Faye let go of me and brushed a strand of hair out of my face."I'm okay."
"Are you sure?You're not worried I'm going to hurt you again?"
"Well, it's always a possibility.Before you protest, that's just life."She leaned in to press a kiss on my lips."But you didn't hurt me last time.I got hurt, but it wasn't your fault."
"It was.I hurt you because I had feelings for someone else and I neglected our friendship."Guilt twisted my gut into painful knots."I'm sorry, I really am."
"Thank you for saying that but I promise I'm okay."She gave me a soft smile."Yes, it sucked when you fell in love with Agatha but I was also glad to see you happy.And it's not like I didn't have many chances to tell you how I felt, I just wasn't brave enough.That's on me."
While I could see the logic in that, it didn't do much to alleviate the guilt in me.
"And our friendship?—”
Faye cut me off."The reason it lapsed was as much on you as on me.I also didn't maintain it.It was...hard being your friend when I harboured secret feelings.Especially when you and Agatha hit a rough patch.I tried to be a good friend but I constantly worried that I was giving selfish or biased advice.It was really hard."
The heavy feeling in my stomach got even heavier.I hadn't even considered that I'd relied on Faye for relationship advice and how awful that would've been for her.
"Why didn't you stop being my friend?"I asked.
She gave me a confused smile, as if that never once occurred to her."Because I wouldn't have been able to tell you why and I didn't want you to be upset.We were best friends, after all."
