Her brows cinch. “For what?”
“Not doing enough for him. He did so much for me, and I wasn’t there for him.”
“You were enough. I promise.”
“So enough he thinks it’s best if we don’t see each other? I guess in hindsight, I deserve it. I told him to let me go. He was just doing what I asked.”
She sighs deeply. “It has nothing to do with you. He’ll come around. He just needs time to figure himself out.”
I nod only because I don’t want to cry.
“I missed you,”
“Me? It’s only been a few weeks.”
She chuckles. “Yes, you, and it’s been a few weeks too long.”
The tightness in my chest eases. “Missed you too.”
Her face gleams and her eyes sparkle. “Are we okay?”
“We never stopped being okay.” I peer over my shoulder. “Do you want to come inside? Vienna will be here in a bit.”
“You don’t have to ask me twice.” She squeezes past me. “Wait, so does this mean I get to hug you now?”
“Let’s take it easy.”
She laughs, and as she kicks her shoes off by the door, a thought comes to me.
“So, who’s the guy you soft launched on Instagram?” I didn’t know anything about it until Vi told me. I’ve been staying away from social media because I know if I don’t, it’ll lead me to looking up Daniel. “I thought Angel was helping you find?—”
She purses her lips, tucking her hair behind her ear. “He’s not and it’s ah, not real. I’m just using this guy to move on, and he agreed so yeah. Anyway, have you eaten?” She quickly shifts the conversation, not meeting my stare.
That piques my interest, but I don’t get to ask anything because she asks me if I’ve eaten again.
Hmm…interesting.
It’s not long before Vienna is waltzing in my house with food, and once we’re done eating, they sit on either side of me on the sectional, staring at me like they’re contemplating something.
“What?” I take a drink of my water.
“We know,” Vi starts, a warm smile on both their faces. “We don’t tell you we love you or hug you because we know it makes you uncomfortable and that’s the last thing we ever want to do.”
“But,” Pen chimes in. “We love you and we want you to know that no matter what happens, we’ll always be here for you. We’ll always be in your life, and you can’t get rid of us, so don’t even try.”
That catches me off guard. It’s unexpected, making my skitch itch and anxiety whirl in my stomach. It’s not because I don’t believe them or don’t know they care about me, but it’s also for that exact reason.
“Oh.” The bridge of my nose stings. “I-I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything,” Vi supplies, clutching my hand. “We just want you to know that we love you.”
“We really do,” Pen says. “And that no matter what happens, it’s us against it all. You got us for life.”
From my periphery I see her scoot closer and then Vienna does too. I know what they’re doing. A part of me wants to retreat, push them away and believe that these girls, who I haven’t known for long, care about me. But I’d be lying to myself if I really made myself believe that. I know they care, otherwise they wouldn’t be here.
“Fuck.” My voice quivers and the tears that gather spill once they wrap their arms around me. “Dammit. Why are you guys like this?”
“Because we love you, Josefine.” Now Vi is crying.
