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“Hey, Brielle. Bella, she’s back?” I questioned. I wasn’t going to beat around the bush. I wanted to see her.
“She is. She’s just in the back. I’m not sure if—”
Suddenly, she stopped speaking, and I followed her eyes over to the kitchen door to see Bella standing there, looking at both of us.
I couldn’t tell from the look on her face if she was happy to see me or if she was going to run. Brielle said nothing; she just studied her for a moment. My stomach churned with excitement, and when I was sure she was going to back away and run, she surprised me by taking a step forward and making her way to the table.
“Hey, Asher.” Her voice was soft, and I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed hearing her say my name.
“Bella, you don’t need—”
She looked at Brielle and smiled. “It’s fine. I’m just going to talk to Asher for a few minutes, then we can have our meeting.”
“You sure?” Brielle said, like a protective older sister.
“Yep.” She smiled as she met my eyes. "It’s fine.”
“Okay, I’ll have Benny bring over a hot tea and a refill for you, Asher,” she said as she got up from where she’d been sitting and made her way behind the counter.
Once the tea and coffee had been delivered at the table, Bella smiled at me. “What are you doing in Eastport?”
I’d hated myself for not telling her before she’d left. After she’d gone, I hated myself, and I couldn’t even explain how I felt for not telling her after I’d left her in Columbus. “I hadn’t wanted to say anything until I knew for sure everything was a done deal. The night I’d planned to tell you was the night you told me about your mom. It wasn’t really a time for celebrating. You were leaving. I was going to tell you in Columbus, and once I saw how upset you were I, once again, waited. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about when I’d messaged you. I wanted to tell you I stayed in Eastport, and I opened up a practice here. I hoped that may make you come back.”
“Oh. Congratulations. I’m happy for you,” she answered. I could see she was uncomfortable, and she sat there running her finger around the rim of the mug that sat in front of her. I was quiet. She had something on her mind. I could see it.
“I wanted to respond to you. To your messages,” she whispered.
“Why didn’t you?” I questioned.
“It… it was just too hard. You were too far away. It was so hard dealing with my mom, and I knew if I had messaged you, I’d want you to be with me.”
Now I felt even worse for not picking up the phone. There had been so many times over the last couple of weeks I’d wanted to call. Each time I’d pick up the phone and dialled, I’d hung up before it had gone through.
“Instead, at night, I’d lay in bed, reading over your messages, then fall into a fit of tears. I figured you’d left Eastport, anyway. Once Mom passed and everything was over, I quickly realized I’d moved there and hadn’t even looked for a job. My mom was behind on her rent, and while the landlord was kind enough to allow me to stay there once she passed, he wasn’t as willing to work with me. He’d given me time to find a new place to live, but once the first of the month rolled around, he’d asked that I be gone. I had Brielle come and stay with me for a while, to help me pack things up, and she was the one who convinced me to return to Eastport.”
“Bella, I’m so sorry. Fuck, I knew I should have called you.”
“It’s okay,” she said, placing her hand on mine. “No doubt you were busy with things here. The last thing you needed to be dealing with was my issues.” She shrugged.
“I’m sorry about your mom,” I said, taking her hand in mine.
She looked at me and nodded. “Thank you.”
“Are you back for good?” I questioned. “Or are you planning just to stay here until something better comes along?”
She nodded. “I’m back for good. Brielle offered me my job back, and Sawyer was able to get my condo back. I took it. What about you? Where are you living?”
“Well, at first, I was going to find a place, but the people who I was renting from ended up selling me the place instead.”
“I’m happy for you that things have fallen into place,” she said, growing quiet.
She was talking, and I didn’t want her to stop. I also didn’t want to stop talking. I wanted her to know I was still here, and I wanted her to know I wanted to carry on things from where we left off. She needed to know that she could still trust in me. I cleared my throat. “I’d still like us to be friends.”
She nodded, a look of concern on her face.
“Well, perhaps more than friends. I’d like us to try…” I swallowed hard. “I’d really like us to continue from where we left off.”
Her eyes met mine. She said nothing; she just sat there looking at me. I grew scared that she was about to turn me down.
