We drove back to the cabin in silence while I tried reconciling that Elizabeth and Lily were the same person. My scurrying thoughts only got worse as night fell, because by now, I’d generally be texting Lily or playing games with her.
And I craved it. I missed her, her jokes, and the chatty comfort she brought me.
Knowing there was someone who wanted me to come online.
I was addicted to Lily. And now she was here, in this cabin, and I still couldn’t face her.
Because every time I reflected on it, I wanted to touch her and hold her. I wanted to kiss her until we forgot our names and identities. I wanted to make her smile, the way she used to smile at me. There were so many things I wanted from her, but I wasn’t sure I could have it. It tormented me.
A bang at the front door drew me from my bedroom.
Elizabeth and I entered the hallway at the same time. She stood before me in a pair of pajama shorts showing more thigh than I could handle. She tugged them downward, but it barely made a difference.
I ignored the heat flooding to every organ in my body. Her disheveled hair wasn’t helping.
I averted my gaze and gestured to the door. “Is that for you?”
“Um, no. I haven’t made plans. Maybe it’s for you.”
Laughter rang through the door. A familiar cackle.
“Lincoln!” Rose yelled with another knock. “There could be wild animals out here. Open up!”
I took a few quick steps to the front door and swung it open. Rose and Claire fell inside with William and Dean following.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“It’s game night!” Claire said. Then her eyes narrowed. She was my greatest defender. “And we wanted to make sure you were okay.”
I gave Rose the side hug she bounced around beside me for. “Hello.”
Since the outburst we had in LA, our relationship had shifted for the better.
I grew up with no real friends, bar Claire, and now, somehow, I’d inherited people who would drive for hours to get to me.
Dean walked by, slapping me gently on the back as he did and giving me the wide smile that had won over my best friend’s heart.
“Shaun and Neema are really upset they couldn’t join.” Rose released me and fell into William’s arms behind her.
“Especially Shaun,” William said with a loud laugh. “It’s killing him. I’m gonna text him and say we’re having the best time.”
Such a troll. Always has been. And it was rubbing off on Rose too.
William raised his phone and snapped a selfie of his wide grin, my smile clear in the background and Rose and Claire pulling faces at the last second. “He asked for photos,” William said with a big sigh.
“Is she here?” Claire whispered.
I looked over my shoulder to where Elizabeth had been standing, but she was gone.
40
ELIZABETH
[41 weeks ago]
@theanswerisno:
I think I dreamed about you
