“Did they find out what happened?” Serena gets impatient.
Bree smiles at her. “There was nothing to find out. That’s the thing. They swept the entire place and found nothing. No injuries on the victims except for minor bruises on a few because of the fall. No gas leak, no nothing. So, they took them to the hospital. Cami told me they’ve already been discharged and are perfectly healthy. They only remember hearing a loud grating noise, then it’s all blank.”
We all stare at her, waiting for her to continue.
“What? That’s it?” Elliot breaks the silence.
Bree shrugs. “We don’t get updates once the emergency is handled.”
“This is going to keep me up at night,” Serena grumbles.
“People hate open loops, Bree. That’s just storytelling 101,”Elliot complains.
Bree pouts, throwing herself back against the booth and folding her arms across her chest. “You all can go back to your flirting. I prefer being the fifth wheel over criticisms of my storytelling abilities.”
“I liked it. Good story, Bree,” I assure her.
She narrows her eyes suspiciously. “Whatever.”
The food arrives at the perfect time, just as Serena starts telling everyone about the time I got stuck in a fence chasing a perp.
“The food is great. Isn’t itsogreat?” I start.
“So he was hanging upside down because he thought he could jump over a twelve-foot fence,” Serena continues as if there was no interruption. Everyone, including Elliot, is ignoring the food, leaning over the table towards Serena.
“You’re all being rude to the chef, just so you know.”
Elliot shushes me as Serena continues. “We had to call a fire truck to rescue him. Wasn’t it Matt who carried you down?”
“He didn’tcarryme down,” I grumble. “He just cut my pants because they were stuck in that stupid broken fence. I climbed down myself. And just so you know, I’ve scaled wallswayhigher than that stupid fence. It was the fence’s fault!”
Elliot mockingly pats my arm. I let him because it feels nice despite the condescension.
“Wait,Mattrescued you? How does he not have a framed picture of the moment on his living room mantle?” Sloan asks.
“Because unlike some people, he knows what stories are sacred and shouldn’t be shared with everyone.” I shoot Serena a glare, in case the statement was too subtle.
Sloan pulls her plate closer. “Nah, doesn’t sound like Matt at all. What did you bribe him with?”
I sigh, then take a big bite of my burger. I don’t have to answer anything. I definitely don't need to tell them that I now have to bring dessert to our parents' every time we go over for dinner while Matt gets all the credit. That’ll just openthe can of worms that holds the power to change this dynamic forever.
“Hey, did Elliot tell you guys about this man who brought a wild leopard to the clinic?” I throw Elliot to the leopards. Turns out I don’t enjoy condescending pats all that much.
Elliot’s eyes go wide around his spoonful of spaghetti. Everyone looks at him.
“No,” Sloan says.
Elliot swallows the food in his mouth. “Yup.” He takes another bite.
Food forgotten, Bree, Sloan, and Serena blink at him, waiting him out. They deserve it for bringing up and encouraging my embarrassing stories around Elliot.
Elliot continues to eat.
“Then what happened?” Serena prompts loudly.
I laugh, and she glares at me.
“Oh, I called animal control. They took it.” Elliot goes back to eating.
