AllFreeNovel
Share Us
One thing going for me? Clancy didn’t vomit again.
• • •
The following day, my luck ran out. The first thing I did when I woke up was hurl into the toilet. And it seemed a virus wouldn’t be the only thing that made me want to vomit today.
Clancy was feeling better, but still home with me, when Noelle called.
“Hey. I’m just checking in on you,” she said.
“Thank you. Unfortunately, I now have what Clancy does.”
“Oh no! Don’t say that.”
“Yep. I got it. The last couple of times she got sick like this, I somehow dodged it. But not this time.”
“Maybe you’re stressed or something, so your immune system was weakened.”
I was stressed, considering all the rumination. But she didn’t need to worry about that. “What’s up with you today?” I asked.
“I’m calling to let you know I’ve decided to go to New York for the weekend.”
My already-sick stomach turned.
I gulped. “For what?”
“I just need to get away to clear my head for a bit.”
“Oh.” I yanked at my hair. “Okay, well, I guess we all need that from time to time.” I paused. “Why do you need to go to New York to do that, though?”
She sighed. “I need to touch base with Jason. He and I didn’t talk much when he was here because Roz was always around. And I think I was mentally exhausted from the hormones or something. I’m feeling a little bit more clear-minded right now, so this is a good opportunity for me to address some things with him.”
I kept quiet, hoping she would elaborate. But she didn’t.
“Well, um, okay. Do what you need to do. You know I’m here if you need to vent.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that.”
“When are you leaving?”
“I booked a flight for tomorrow morning. I’ll come back on Tuesday.”
“Okay. I would offer you a ride to the airport, but I don’t want to get you sick.”
“Yeah, you need to stay away from me.” She chuckled. “Actually, it works out that I’m going to New York since I can’t see you anyway, right?”
“That’s true,” I agreed, massaging my headache.
“I’m sure by Tuesday you’ll be better,” she said. “Maybe we can get together then, and I’ll have a report from the trip.”
“Sounds like a plan.” I let out a long exhale.
“Are you okay? You sound a bit down. Are you upset that I’m leaving?”
“No,” I lied. “It’s all good.”
It wasn’t her leaving that was the problem. I worried he was going to dissuade her from coming back.
• • •
That weekend, Clancy had bounced back, and I felt better, too. I’d just finished having breakfast with her when I dropped her at Mariah’s house.
Mariah stopped me as I gathered my things to leave. “Is everything okay with Noelle?”
Her question jarred me. Mariah knew Noelle had been staying at my mother’s house, but she still didn’t know anything else. I got the impression she suspected Noelle and I were dating, though she had yet to ask me about it.
I cleared my throat. “Why do you ask?”
“I stopped by your mother’s house the other day to pick up the grill you’d stored in her garage. When I pulled up, Noelle was sitting on the front stairs, talking to someone on the phone and crying.”
Crying? I blinked, trying to process this. It hadn’t been me she was talking to, because she hadn’t been crying while we were on the phone.
“That’s odd.”
Mariah cocked her head. “Could you be the cause of her tears?”
“Why would you think that?”
“You know why. I don’t need to tell you again that I’ve always suspected she was more to you than a friend. Now that she’s in town and living at your mother’s house? There has to be something going on.”
Fuck. I had not been expecting this conversation and didn’t have an appropriate response. I’d vowed not to tell Mariah anything about what Noelle and I were doing. But at the same time, I didn’t want to lie. So I kept my response vague.
“Noelle is my friend. We’re not dating.”
Mariah shook her head. “When you finally admit she’s the one you’ve always wanted to be with, you can let me know, and I’ll say, ‘I told you so.’” She sighed. “But in any case, your friend was upset. You might want to check on her.”
My mind was racing. “Did she see you?”
“No. I decided not to bother with the grill right then. I didn’t want to have to talk to her. She and I haven’t spoken in years, and she wasn’t in a good place. I kept on driving and figured I’d pick it up another day.”
“You should’ve just picked it up.”
“Well, that didn’t seem appealing. You’re the one who’s made me feel uncomfortable around her because you always put her on a pedestal.”
“Are we really going over this again? How many times do I need to tell you she’s just a very good friend who I care about a lot? Nothing ever happened with her while you and I were together.”
