Page 84 of Written in the Stars
I’ll give you a call and we can plan something. Answer, please!
Love you bunches,
Xoxo Jane and Daniel
P.S. I looked up my natal chart online, and apparently my moon is in Leo. That’s good, yeah? You give friends and family discounts, right? –D
Oh god, someone was absolutely cutting onions in the next apartment. Elle sniffled and laughed and shrugged when Margot cocked her head.
“You gonna take them up on dinner?”
“As far as apologies go, that was basically perfect. Which kind of pisses me off because of course Daniel and Jane would make the perfect apology.” Elle rolled her eyes, but was mostly kidding.
As hurt and irritated as she’d been, she hated the tension, hated not answering their texts and calls, but she’d reached her breaking point on Thanksgiving. Daniel and Jane acknowledging her feelings was a weight off her shoulders, the validation more of a relief than she could have expected. Not everything was magically resolved, but it was a start.
Margot stared over the rim of her mug. “How about your mom? Still avoiding her?”
“I’m not avoiding her.” Elle pinched a velvety petal between her fingers. “I’m ignoring her calls. There’s a difference.”
Margot frowned. “Elle—”
“Don’tElleme like that, like you’re disappointed.” Elle tossed the card on the counter. “All Mom’s messages have beenbusiness as usual. Asking if we’re still on for brunch. If I’m coming to the next family dinner. It’s like Thanksgiving never happened and I can’t do it. I can’t keep acting like nothing happened. Like I’m not hurt.”
“You need to talk it out. Just the two of you. It’s good you finally said something, but you barely scraped the surface of the issue, babe, and nothing was resolved. I’m not saying you should act like it never happened and I’m not saying you need to forgive her unless you feel so inclined, but you can’t keep sending her to voice mail. What are you going to do when it’s Christmas? Have another fight where nothing gets fixed? Not talk?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ll figure it out when the time comes.”
Margot sighed. “And you don’t feel like this is avoiding the situation?”
Elle didn’t say anything.
“Fine.” Margot set her cup in the sink. “We won’t talk about that. Let’s talk about this dinner with Daniel and Jane. Are you going to take Darcy?”
She didn’t know. She’d just gotten the card. She hadn’t thought about it, hadn’t hadtimeto think about it. “Maybe? If she has time.”
The holidays were hectic enough; add in Darcy’s mom drama and studying for her FSA exam... Elle didn’t want to push.
It’s why she’d bitten her tongue last night when she’d beentempted to rainbow vomit her feelings all over Darcy. Caring about someone,lovingsomeone, wasn’t supposed to be a secret, it was meant to be shared. That was the beauty of it, the whole point, only Elle couldn’t imagine a confession of that magnitude going over well this soon, not when they had yet to even define their relationship.
Not that Elle was worried. Notreally. Darcy knew what Elle was looking for. She had told her in no uncertain terms on that first failed date—was it still a failure if it brought them together in the end?—that she was looking forthe one. And there wasn’t a doubt in Elle’s mind that Darcy was it.
And she’d tell her that. Contrary to whatever Margot thought, Elle wasn’t avoiding anything. All right,maybeshe was avoiding Mom, but not this. This was good, great,amazing. She just didn’t want the first time she told Darcy how she felt to be when Darcy was upset about her mother or stressed about her exam. There was no rush. Not when there was no longer an expiration date looming at the end of the month. Not when this was something Elle wanted to last.
Chapter Seventeen
December 13
DARCY (4:57 P.M.):
ELLE (5:02 P.M.):drops of jupiter by train?
ELLE (5:02 P.M.):it’s a great song
ELLE (5:02 P.M.):one of my favorites
DARCY (5:04 P.M.):Popped up on my playlist on my way to work this morning.
DARCY (5:05 P.M.):It made me think of you.
