Page 7 of Paradigm

Enya opened her door and leaned out, so Arlowe could see only her head.

“I’m calling Sarai and Violet.”

“What’s wrong? Did the app go down or something?”

“Not work-related,” she said and picked up her phone. “Friend thing.”

“Arlowe, what’s going on?”

“Eline just emailed me.”

“Eline?”

Enya suddenly popped out in the hallway.

“Enya! I do not want to see that. Put on some clothes.”

“I’m in my bra and underwear, and you’ve seen me in a bathing suit. Same thing.”

“Get dressed,” Arlowe told her and pointed at her. “I’m calling Sarai and Violet and telling them to get their asses over here because I have no idea what to do.”

“Okay. One sec.”

Enya disappeared again then, and Arlowe picked up her phone and dialed Sarai’s number.

“Hey. What’s up?” Sarai asked.

“Get over here now.”

“What? Where are you? What’s–”

“The house. Now. I need to call Violet.”

“Are you okay?”

“Sarai…” she began and tried to breathe to calm down. “Eline just emailed me.”

“What?” Sarai asked softly.

“Yeah. I need you here.”

“On my way.”

“No Gabi. Is that okay?”

“Of course, that’s okay. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

“Thank you,” she replied and took a deep breath before dialing Violet’s number next.

CHAPTER 4

Eline had worked up the courage to send that email, and she’d gone home feeling like at least she’d done that. She’d then proceeded to look down at her phone, unlocking it over and over again, hoping to see a new notification appear, indicating that Arlowe had replied, but after not seeing one for well over an hour, she decided to get out of the house because she was restless. It was like her apartment could not contain her or the confusing feelings that had come over her the moment she’d realized that Arlowe probably lived only minutes away from her.

She knew that she needed to eat something, despite not actually feeling hungry, so she opted to go out to eat, hoping that she didn’t look like an old spinster sitting in a restaurant alone. Choosing a bar because she could go for some decent bar food and a drink, she parked in the small lot in the back and headed inside. It wasn’t quiet as she’d hoped for because a bunch of guys there were watching a game on the big screen toward the back of the place, but Eline didn’t care enough to look for another place to go, so she just found an empty seat at the bar.

“Hi. What can I get for you?” the bartender asked.

“Can I see a menu?”