AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Please hydrate,” she said.
I gulped the water down and got up, still feeling a little bit buzzed from the hot cocoa as I headed downstairs with Layne. Joy was already in the kitchen by the stove.
“That smells good, what are we having?” I asked.
“Ravioli lasagna,” she said.
“Sounds perfect,” I said, stretching my arms over my head and hearing my spine crack a little bit.
My phone had a new message and I looked at it to find a picture of Lark sitting on the couch with a sleeping Clementine.
Just wanted to check in. He’s been good the rest of the day and has eaten again and had some watershe sent.
That was a relief. I hadn’t been that concerned, but you never knew with cats. Animals had a habit of throwing a wrench in your plans when you least expected it.
Neither Joy or Layne asked me again about Lark, although they did ask for updates on Clementine. We all settled in for more comfort movies, and thanks to the naps, we were able to stay up late having more hot cocoa and making each other laugh too much.
Before we packed up and went back on Sunday afternoon, we took another walk. I’d gotten a message that morning while I was still asleep from Lark with a Clementine update that all was well. I told her that we’d be back in the afternoon and I’d take over cat duties from her.
It wasn’t that bad, but can you ask him not to scare me like that next time?She sent.
I’ll see what I can do, but no promisesI responded.
* * *
“Have you been a troublemaker?”I asked Clementine immediately when I got back, and he greeted me at the door.
He meowed loudly and wound himself around my legs as if he hadn’t seen me in a year.
“You scared poor Lark, you dumbass,” I said with an affectionate voice.
“He did,” Lark said, getting up from the couch. My breath caught in my chest as she walked over to me. It seemed the cat crisis had thawed some of the coldness she’d put between us.
“How was your trip?” she asked, leaning against the kitchen counter.
“Good,” I said. “We did a lot of reading and watching movies and eating and drinking. Couldn’t ask for anything better with your two best friends.”
Lark nodded and worried at her bottom lip.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“About what?” I asked, untying my boots and shucking them off.
“About treating you like you’re not here this week,” she said. “I think I was trying to give you space and took it a little too far.”
“I was trying to give you space too,” I said. “That’s what you asked for.”
Was she changing her mind? I tried not to get my hopes up at the prospect.
“I did, and that’s still what I think is right, but it didn’t mean that I needed to stop talking to you or acting like you weren’t in the same room. I’m sorry for that. I hope we can go back to being roommates again.”
I mean, we’d never really been roommates to begin with. We’d slept together even before we’d moved in, which was always going to be a strange dynamic.
I wanted to argue with her. I wanted to point out how wrong she was. I wanted to set out all my reasons why we could absolutely have a physical relationship and be fine as roommates.
But I didn’t say anything like that.
“Yeah, we can,” I said. The wordsI missed youstuck in my throat. My weekend had been a good and welcome respite from my life, but still. I had missed her, even though we’d been in touch.
