Page 94 of Finding You
Jacob was curled up on my couch wearing headphones and watching some neon-colored cartoon on his iPad. Maggie had made significant cleaning progress and was now vacuuming, Emily was pouring mimosas into plastic champagne flutes she must have brought with her, and Cece was flipping golden slices of French toast on my stove.
I was overcome with affection for this group of wild, loyal women. They hadn’t known me long but embraced me as one of their own. They weren’t perfect and neither was I, but together, we were unstoppable. I got choked up.
“You okay, sweetie?” Nora asked, carrying a trash bag.
I nodded. “Thank you. For everything.”
“Like it or not, you are one of us, Elsa. So get used to it.”
I smiled at her.
“Now I have to get back to your closet.”
“What?”
“I’m cleaning it out for you. So much drab black and lots of sad undergarments.” She proceeded to head back into my room with the half full trash bag. I didn’t even want to ask.
* * *
As nice as it was to have the coven show up for me in my time of need, we were definitely squeezed in my tiny apartment. Cece had outdone herself cooking brunch, and we all took seats on the couch and on the floor surrounding the oversized coffee table.
Cece made me a plate piled high with French toast and crispy bacon. “I think this might be the first meal ever cooked from scratch in this apartment,” I told her appreciatively.
She patted my head. “Speaking of this apartment. Do you moonlight as a serial killer? This place is creepy as fuck.”
“Is there a secret room with a wall covered in photos and bits of string?” Emily added.
I laughed for the first time in weeks. “Stop, guys. I’ll admit it’s a bit…sterile.”
“You barely have furniture,” Nora said, gesturing around the room with her slice of bacon.
“I cleaned out your fridge,” Maggie said solemnly. “Scary.”
“You didn’t have to do that,” I said.
“Yes, I did. It was for the best.” She shook her head and downed her mimosa.
After putting away an impressive amount of bacon and our second bottle of champagne, I worked up the courage to ask. “So I love you guys, and I appreciate all the help. But what are you doing here?”
“We are here to support you, to love you, and hopefully to drag you back to Havenport,” Emily said in her singsong voice.
I loved them. But they didn’t get it. “Guys, I can’t go back. I appreciate everything you’ve done and what you are trying to do. But I can’t ever go back after what happened with Declan.”
“Tell us what happened. We’ll be the judges,” Maggie said.
“He sent me away. Basically broke up with me and said it was for my own good.” I started to tear up.
Nora’s face was bright red. “Are you shitting me? He told you what was good for you? That is some mansplainy bullshit right there.”
She looked at Jacob. “Sorry,” she whispered to Emily.
“Don’t worry. Those are noise cancelling headphones. You can let it rip,” Emily replied.
Cece poured herself some more mimosa. “I don’t get it. He is clearly in love with you.”
“He’s not.” I scoffed. It hurt, but it was the truth.
“Yes he is. He def is. I have inside info,” she said.
