“Thanks.” Cedric seemed to resist his natural inclination to snarl and said, “I’m impressed you went from seventh to third. That’s quite the feat across eight weeks.” After complimenting me, he looked like he may throw up.
We moved over to number 2, but before I could get a proper look, my phone buzzed in my hand. Eight weeks ago, I’d set an alarm to call my grandmother so she could celebrate or whine with me.
I hit dial. She rejected my call. I sent her a text instead, letting her know she could call me back when she had a chance.
“I better pack up my office,” I said, my heart a little sore at my loss, but I was not nearly as devastated as I had anticipated.
“Oh crap,” Lincoln mumbled. “Packing. I’m supposed to be packing up my childhood home.” He grimaced and ran a large hand across his face. “New owners are moving in on Monday, and the cleaners are coming over the weekend. I promised my mom I’d have everything out by today.” He shifted on his feet and then met my gaze. There was a heaviness in his deep brown irises that wasn’t there a second ago. “Is there any chance you want to come with me?”
52
LINCOLN
[14 weeks ago]
@pancakesareelite:
Do you have any major regrets?
@theanswerisno:
Starting a chat with you that one time.
@pancakesareelite:
That is SO mean
@theanswerisno:
My regret is not starting it sooner.
I don’t know why I invited Elizabeth along with me. Well, I knew why. I was in love with her, so it was actually all very simple. But I hadn’t thought about it long enough to figure out what state I’d be in while packing up my father’s study.
I didn’t need her to see me unravel. Not now. Not when I’ve only just earned her love. Not when she’d had such a major disappointment to deal with.
She ran downstairs to my truck with her backpack and small box of belongings. I had the white divider in my arms and threw it in the bed of my truck.
“I brought my laptop so if you don’t need my help, I might get some job applications done. You don’t have to worry about me at all. I don’t even need to be in the same room as you.”
My heart dropped right out of my chest because, without me having to say anything, Elizabeth knew. She knew when I was sad or worried. She knew when I was trying to hide it, and even though I managed to fool almost everyone else, I couldn’t fool her.
Like I could never fool Lily. Elizabeth and Lily had morphed into one person. My person. I couldn’t believe I didn’t see it sooner. But with every touch and joke, I could barely tell where Elizabeth started and Lily ended. Everything I craved to know about my online crush, I now knew about Elizabeth.
Her mouth pressed against mine as I lifted her into the truck.
With all the confusion and doubt I often experienced, there was one thing I knew for sure: I was the luckiest man in the whole world.
I unlocked the door, slid my hand around the corner, and turned on the light. The house was empty—naked. A strange feeling stretched across my chest as my fingers grazed against the fading wallpaper.
I gestured to the small open space, aware of how tiny it must appear to someone like her. “This was the living room.” I pointed in the other direction. “Kitchen, bathroom’s there if you need it.”
I turned to face the only room that still had anything in it.
Wordlessly, Elizabeth came up to me, her hands clutching her backpack straps.
“My dad’s study,” I said.
She didn’t say anything. She only dropped one of her hands to find my fingers. And somehow, that simple gesture had me turning the brass doorknob and pushing open the heavy door to reveal thealmost-untouched room.
