Noah, on the other hand, nodded. “I get it.” But when Macey glared at him, he cleared his throat. “But not really. You can get a hotdog anywhere.”
“True. My friends and family are here, though,” said Landon.
“Kira’s here,” Macey pointed out.
“Scribbles…” Noah placed a hand over Macey’s, which held a banana that she squeezed so tight it started to peel.
“What?” She slammed the banana down on the counter. “Are we all just going to stand here and pretend that everything’s okay? That Landon didn’t totally turn his back on Kira, his friends, his family?”
I stepped in front of Landon. “Macey, I appreciate you standing up for me. But Landon and I talked, and we’re okaynow. He apologized.” I lowered my voice. “He feels guilty enough.”
“Oh, he apologized,” she said sarcastically, frantically nodding. “Because that makes up for hurting you.”
“It doesn’t erase it, but?—”
“How do you know he won’t do it again?”
The short answer was I didn’t. But that was the point of trust. You never knew what was going to come out the other side, but you had to hope it was better than what you’d seen.
“It’s fine, Kira.” Landon nudged me to the side before turning to Macey. “She’s right.”
Macey paused. “I am?”
“It wasn’t just Kira I left behind. I abandoned you, too, Macey.” Landon took a few steps closer to Macey, who was now holding a tomato like a lifeline. She really needed to choose firmer fruits. “We were friends for years, and I ruined that too. I’m sorry.”
Noah stood solemnly next to Macey, glancing at her as if to check if she needed support. He was always doing that: letting her handle her problems but assessing and checking for when she needed him.
She sniffed once. “Yeah, you did. I’m still mad at you, but if Kira can forgive you, maybe I can too.” She tossed the tomato onto the counter. “You need to do some more groveling first, though.”
Landon grinned and tossed his eyes to me. “That I can do.”
“Don’t you just love friendship?” Noah poked Macey’s bicep.
“Are you kidding?” Macey turned an eye toward him. “You barely had any friends before you met me.”
Noah wrinkled his nose. “I had a million social media followers.”
“And how many have you gained since we started dating?”
Noah sighed. “Another million.”
“Right,” she said proudly. “Follower count doesn’t mean anything. Not compared to genuine friendships.”
He rolled his eyes and pressed a kiss to her temple.
“That’s our cue.” I grabbed Landon’s hand, then announced to the happy couple, “We’re going to get something to eat. See you guys later.”
They waved goodbye as we headed out of the apartment.
“We’re getting food?” Landon asked eagerly, his voice full of excitement.
As we stepped outside, the sun warmed my face, and I couldn’t help but close my eyes for a moment, soaking in the feeling. I hadn’t been able to do this in a while. “Honestly, I was just looking for an excuse to leave before the Macey and Noah lovefest starts.”
Landon chuckled, a light sound that seemed to lift the air around us. “Perfect, because I’ve got an idea.”
We paused on the sidewalk, the busy hum of the city surrounding us. Sunday traffic rumbled through the streets, cars honking and people chatting on their way to dinner. It was loud. Too loud, almost. I couldn’t help but feel a little out of place in the rush of it all. “What is it?”
“You’re trying to do something that scares you every day, right?” He grinned, eyes lighting up. “Let’s do something right now.”
