AllFreeNovel
Share Us
When I arrived at the restaurant, Ella was seated at a table near the front window, and she waved to me through the glass as I approached. As soon as I stepped inside, she was on her feet, crossing the room to reach me. She wrapped me in a tight hug and squeezed me for longer than normal.
“I missed you so much!”
“I missed you, too,” I stammered.
Ella had always been an affectionate and loving person, far more than I was, but this was excessive, even for her. Was she being overly nice before she lost her mind and yelled and screamed at me for keeping such a secret from her? Or was it possible she was completely unaware still? Either way, this day was not getting any easier.
We sat down at the table, and there was already an open bottle of wine on there, alongside two full glasses. Ella saw me spot the wine and smiled sheepishly.
“Sorry, I hope you don’t mind,” she said with a shrug.
“I have to go back to work after this. You know I don’t drink during the work day.”
“Oh, one glass won’t hurt you.”
I smiled at her and convinced myself she was right. A little bit of alcohol in my system might actually make this all a bit easier.
“So, tell me everything about the trip,” I said as I started to scan the menu.
Ella was silent for a long moment before I finally looked up at her. She was watching me with an expression I couldn’t quite figure out. Her lips were pursed and her eyebrows were raised. I knew she was waiting for me to say something, but my mouth immediately went dry.
“I think there’s something else we should talk about first,” she finally said.
“Oh, um, what’s that?” I asked, my heart pounding in my chest.
“Grace, come on.”
“What?”
“I saw the picture.”
“The…picture?”
I knew that feigning innocence wasn’t going to help me now, but I couldn’t seem to get any other words out.
“The picture of you and Dylan. I saw it right before he called me that night.”
“You did? Why didn’t you say anything about it?”
“Because…I didn’t know how I felt about it yet, and I wanted some time to process before I said anything. I really didn’t want to say something I was going to regret later.”
“So, how do you feel about it?” I asked slowly.
It’s like everything was moving in slow motion. As I waited for Ella to respond, I looked around and saw the people around me moving as if they were underwater. Everything was slow and precise. I was certain I was in a dream, but as I looked back towards Ella, I was hit with reality.
“Before I tell you how I feel about it, why don’t you tell me how all of this happened.”
“How all of what happened?”
“How you ended up on vacation with my brother’s tongue down your throat. And why you felt the need to lie to me about it.”
I took a deep breath and prepared to tell her everything. I dove into the story, starting in Miami, and I didn’t stop until I reached the wedding in Mexico. As I was speaking, Ella listened intently and didn’t say a word. She sipped her wine and picked at her salad. When I was finished, she didn’t say anything for a long time.
I was worried she was going to walk out on me. Or start yelling. Or crying. I had no idea what was going to happen, but my heart was pounding in my chest. I took a long sip of my wine and set the glass down, waiting for her to speak.
“Can I ask some questions?” she finally asked.
“Of course.”
