Page 20 of Margins

Cassidy is seeing someone

Sorry

you can ignore this sorry

The call notification is immediate, and when Alex answers, he doesn’t even have a chance to say hello before Elijah is talking.

“You don’t need to apologize at all, and you definitely don’t need to do it twice.”

“This is stupid,” Alex huffs.

“Which part?” Elijah asks softly.

“Take your pick. Being bothered by something that was inevitable. Not knowing how to do the same thing myself. Sitting on my bedroom floor whining to you about it.”

Elijah is quiet for several seconds, though Alex can hear him moving and he wonders whether he’s somehow said both too much and too little, but then there’s a small sigh on the other end.

“Inevitable things can still suck, you’re better at that than you think you are, and I wouldn’t have called you if I didn’t want to hear whatever you have to say, whiny or not,” Elijah says. “Do you want me to hang up so we can do this over text instead?”

And no, that’s not what Alex wants at all, actually. “Come over for dinner tomorrow night.”

“Tomorrow—wait, what? Isn’t Elena there?”

“She—yeah, sorry, if you don’t want—forget I said anything.”

“Not what I meant,” Elijah growls. “Of course I want to, but I also know your time with her is limited and I don’t mind waiting until next week if you honestly want me to forget about it. I just—don’t assume I don’t want to see you.”

“Because you do?”

“Because I do.”

“Then come over for dinner with us,” Alex says. “And let me know if chili is okay with you.”

It is, of course.

Alex’s only problem is that, while chili is easy to make, and the first thought he’d had when he’d extended an accidental invitation, he doesn’t have all the ingredients on hand, and beyond that, he’d love to be able to make some cornbread too. So, after he picks Elena up from school the next day, he tells her they have to make a quick stop at the store before they head home. She’s fine with it—loves going shopping with him, actually—but she brings a nearly insatiable curiosity with her, and he finds himself shaking his head at the apple that didn’t fall very far from his tree.

“I haven’t heard of Elijah before. Do you work with him?” she asks as they grab a basket just inside the door.

“No, I met him at the garage sale where I bought your books and games.”

“Oh. So, he’s a brand new friend?”

“Um, brand new, yeah,” Alex agrees. “Just a couple of weeks, I guess. Does it bother you that I have a new friend?”

He can’t figure out why it would, but there’s a lot he can’t figure out these days, and it feels like the right thing to ask. Or maybe not. Elena scrunches up her face like it’s the weirdest idea she’s heard, her curly hair a mess in a ponytail that had looked much better that morning.

“Why would it bother me? I have new friends all the time.”

“Ah, yes, that’s true, isn’t it? And probably why we get emails about you being a bit of a chatterbox in class?”

Elena rolls her eyes as Alex puts a can of crushed tomatoes into the basket she insists on carrying. “Yeah, but you and Elijah would probably talk during class, too. It’s what friends do.”

“Maybe you’re right. He and I do like to talk a lot.”

“What do you talk about?”

Alex warms, everything about it more noticeable in the cool grocery store, and tries to focus on finding the beans he needs. “Well, we talk about our jobs and our families—”

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