“Video games,” I murmur.
“Video games?” Maeve repeats. “Really? Are you a gamer?”
“I used to be, kind of,” I sigh. “Cozy gaming was a way I relieved stress. You know, running restaurants, planting gardens, and all that. I used to do it all the time.”
“Why did you stop?”
I inspect a speck on the comb, relieved when I realize it’s a piece of cat dander. “They reminded me of my old pack,” I admit. “The memories were too painful.”
Maeve is quiet for a moment. “You never talk about them,” she says. “But if you ever want to, you can.”
I nod, staring at Ginger’s orange-striped fur. “They passed away in a car accident,” I say to the cat, refusing to look at Maeve.
“Oh my god. I figured something had happened, but no one ever said anything,” she whispers. “Oh my god, I’m so, so sorry?—”
“It’s okay,” I interrupt her.
“No, it’s not! How can that be okay? That’s horrible, truly horrible.”
I chew my lip as the familiar sensation of tears prick at my eyes. “You’re right, actually. It wasn’t okay.Iwasn’t okay.” I swivel my chair to face her and am relieved to see only kindness on my friend’s face, not pity. “It was really hard. It’s still hard, even now. It’s why I was so adamant about not dating again. But then, the scent matches happened, and suddenly I’m playing video games again.” I chuckle weakly.
“And they know?” Maeve asks.
“They do. They know everything.”
Maeve rolls her chair back and shakes her head in shock. “Wow. Oh, I kept bugging you all the time about having a pack! I’m so sorry, Blair.”
Ginger squirms in my lap, and I let her hop off me and roam around the reception area. “You were right, though. I was stopping myself from enjoying my life. I was never, ever going to date again. I didn’t expect I would find my scent matches this quick.”
“I can’t believe it’s Travis,” Maeve sighs. “It’s like something out of a fairy tale. You liked him this whole time, and then his roommates are your scent matches, too. It’s like they were waiting for you. It’s so romantic.”
I can’t believe it’s Travis, either.
I can’t comprehend how insane the set of circumstances are that led me to them.
“You’ve been a good friend, Maeve,” I say, swiveling in my chair to face her. She’s still running the flea comb gently on Pumpkin’s belly, her lips pulled into a wistful smile. “I should have told you everything earlier. I don’t trust easily, though. I have a small friend circle, and it takes a while for me to let anyone in.”
“Am I in the special circle now?” she asks as Pumpkin leaps off her lap to join Ginger. Her eyes are wide and hopeful, and it’s impossible to tell her no.
“Of course you are.”
Her grin is so wide that dimples appear. “You and Piper are my closest friends, too. I usually feel out of place with most people, but the cats and you two help.”
“You fit right in, Maeve. We need your energy and passion here. You’re super personable, too. What do you mean, out of place?”
“Eh.” Maeve shrugs and turns back to the computer on the desk, suddenly busy with whatever website she opened. “I can go into dark places sometimes. It can get hard to pull me out of them,” she says, her attention focused on the screen. “But you two don’t judge me for that. Neither do the cats.”
I frown. “You do a good job hiding it,” I say softly.
Have I been that terrible of a friend that I haven’t noticed what’s been going on with Maeve?
I’ve been so wrapped up in my own scent match drama that I haven’t been as privy to my friend’s mental well-being as I should have been.
Maeve glances back at me. “Get that concerned look off your face,” she says. “It’s always been like that. But this rescue helps me, a lot. Even Avery notices the changes.”
All this time that Maeve was trying to be so helpful, so sweet, and so talkative, she was struggling as well.
“I haven’t been a good friend,” I say. “I’m sorry I haven’t trusted you as much as I should.”
