I giggled, pulling my knees to my chest. How long would he let this go?
Nope.
Uh… a lady friend?
Naw.
Friends with benefits?
Unfortunately, no.
OMG. You’re such a perv.
Fine, but what if you did have any of the above? Hypothetically.
IF I had one, then of course not. I’d never tell her not to say goodbye to someone she cared about.
Why are you asking?
Are you okay?
I frowned, unsure if I wanted to cross that bridge with Damien. We’d never really talked about Elijah that way. Any time he was brought up, it was superficial, and we moved on quickly, like an elephantin the room.
This seemed like a moment in our friendship, crossing into something more significant. Sharing details like this was intimate, which made me feel a little vulnerable.
I took a deep breath before I began typing, my fingers flying without me thinking about the words.
One of my childhood friends just passed away, and when I told Elijah I wanted to go to the funeral in NC, he freaked out. He told me that if I went, his mom would fire me, and he didn’t think it was worth going home for. He gave me zero support.
Wow. That’s a lot to digest at once.
How can his mom fire you?
Does he not know this friend?
Why wouldn’t he have your back with his mom if she can, indeed, fire you?
There are other words, but I’ll keep them to myself.
I laughed out loud. Somehow, he made me smile, despite the sour topic.
I work for his family’s company. I’m in their finance department.
Ah. I see.
And no, he doesn’t know him. Elijah and I met in college, and Noah had already left for the military by then.
So he was killed in combat?
Yeah.
That’s messed up.
Not only does your boyfriend not want you to go home, he doesn’t want you to attend the funeral of a fallen veteran.
Sounds like a stand-up dude.
Elijah used to be… different. He wasn’t always like this.
