Page 20 of Rewriting the Story

Oliver: Did you seriously just say that?

Grant: What? He’s an author, Ol. I’ve literally shown you his books in stores.

Oliver: Forget it. Henry, can you hop on a call?

Henry: Sure.

Four seconds later, my phone is ringing, and three faces show up on my screen. Oliver and Grant look how I remember them, but I forgot how terrifyingly suave Leo looks.

“I’m just here for moral support,” Leo says in the accent I almost forgot about. Has it really been that long? “Nice to formally meet you again, Henry.”

“Yeah, you too,” I say, my guard still up. “No offense, but it’s been a long time since we’ve talked. I can’t say I’m not a little nervous you’re reaching out to me out of the blue.”

“And we apologize for that,” Grant says. “Not only does life have us all extremely busy, but we regret pulling away from you after everything that happened.”

Everything. I don’t know how one word can carry such weight, such meaning as it does in that sentence. One word cannot sum up how heartbroken I felt—and still feel—about what she did to me at the airport. I may be a writer, but there will never be any combination of words I could string together that would adequately tell the story of how I felt watching her walk away from me.

“It’s okay. I didn't expect you guys to hang around me after…” I trail off, not wanting to say it. “But why are you contacting me now?”

“Well, Oliver here is getting married, and before you ask, yes, you heard that right. Mr. Freeze is the first of us to get married.”

I can’t help the smile that forms on my face. “Paige is a lucky girl,” I tell him. I knew they were both still dating Hads and Paige because I see their posts on social media. Nowadays, it’s so easy to stay connected with people because of the internet, and I wasn't going to remove them from anything. Hads, Paige, Grant, Oliver, and Ella didn't do anything to me. I have no reason to hold anything against them.

“I’m the lucky one.” Oliver smirks.

“The stone has officially cracked,” Leo jokes, and Oliver merely tilts his head as Leo, Grant, and I laugh. I can’t help it. The first time I met Oliver, I thought he was going to stab me—especially since he was in the middle of solving a murder case with Paige.

“Why am I friends with you guys again?”

“Because our girlfriends are all best friends. Therefore, we have to be best friends. It’s just how it works, Ol,” Grant reminds him. “And my girlfriend is your sister, so realistically, you’re stuck with me for life, buddy.”

“Great,” Oliver says in the most monotone voice ever.

“Well, I’m entirely sure the only reason Ella would marry me is to be able to say Alissa is her sister-in-law.”

“And because she loves you,” I tell him. “She does, right?”

“Most days, yes, although I do piss her off a lot.” He smirks at the rest of us. “But that’s basically foreplay.”

“Is this the reason you called me?” I ask. I don’t necessarily have to rush back to writing, but I do want to get some words in before my afternoon walk. I try to keep the same routine every day. That used to help when I was in a funk, but I’m not sure how to dig myself out of this one.

“No,” Oliver says as he adjusts his phone. “I wanted to invite you to whatever shenanigans Grant has planned for my bachelor stuff.”

“Henry, you’re not going to want to miss it. I’ve truly outdone myself.”

“Mate, you say that every time you host, or really anytime you do anything,” Leo reminds him.

“And have I been wrong yet?”

Leo searches his head for an answer. “No, I guess not.”

“Leo, don’t encourage this,” Oliver tells him. “He still wants to do a blood oath, and I wouldn't put it past him to lock us all somewhere during these festivities to get it done.”

“So, what does this entail exactly? I’m on a pretty rigorous writing schedule.” I’m not, but they don’t know that.

“Laptops are welcome, Hen. Can I still call you that?” Grant asks me, and I nod. “Okay, good. Basically, we’re hitting a few different spots in Virginia for a week before we meet the girls down in Virginia Beach for the actual wedding.”

Oh. That isn't at all what I expected. “I don’t know, guys.”

---