Eliza couldn’t help but be grateful for this week away, even if it wasn’t how she envisioned it. Even if she was still really sadabout how things were left off with Lachlan. She knew the one person who she could talk to.
Her mobile began vibrating on the table. She answered with a sigh, and an excited “Hello?” from her best friend came through before she could even put the screen to her ear.
“Hey,” Eliza’s voice cracked.
There was a beat of silence on the other end of the line. Then, finally Piper’s voice again, this time clipped and worried. “Oh no. What happened?”
Eliza guffawed, “Seriously? All I said was ‘hey.’”
“You’re my best friend,” Piper reminded her. “I know your ‘hey.’ This is a sad ‘hey.’ So, spill the tea. What’s wrong?”
Eliza glanced at the tree. The colored lights blurred together behind fresh tears. She swallowed down what felt like shards of glass, her throat tightening as she managed to say, “He left. For real this time.”
The house even helped him pack up his things. The house had known he was ready to go.
Piper sighed heavily. The kind of heavy breath that said everything. “I’m so sorry, Eliza.”
“It’s okay.” She wiped her nose with the back of her hand. “I just feel so stupid.”
“You’re not stupid. You let someonein. Do you know how rare that is for you? What he did says more about him than it does about you.”
“It feels like a dream. Like I made it up,” she murmured. “Like it never should’ve happened.”
“You didn’t make it up. Just because it ended fast doesn’t mean it shouldn't have happened. Maybe it was to help you get back out there again and not be so hung up on Davis. Never liked that tosspot, by the by,” Piper added in, (as if she hadn’t told Eliza before). “Anyways, you were there. He was there. Theflying gingerbread dragon, on the other hand, I’m not so sure about ...”
Eliza gave a half-smile. She’d told Piper about Puffcake, but she didn’t believe her, even with a picture to prove it. Eliza swore up and down it wasn’t AI, but Piper still was unconvinced.
“It just sucks. I was starting to trust him. It felt like maybe it was the start of something good. It felt so different from Davis.” Eliza swallowed hard. Her hands shook all over again, and she tossed a hand towel aside in frustration.
“I know,” her friend said softly. “You deserve better. You always have.”
“Why are you so good at this?”
“Because I’ve had practice. Rememberthe Great and Tragic Banana Bread Incidentour freshman year?”
Eliza laughed despite herself. “First off, I thought we both took an oath to never speak of that ever again. And second, if weweregoing to speak of it, that was different. I set the entire oven on fire in food tech. I wasn’t crying over some dumb boy.”
“And still, I was there for you. Just like I’m here for you, now,” Piper said.
“Thank you,” Eliza blinked back a tear.
“Always.”
Street lights flared to life and came beaming in through the kitchen window. But it was almost midnight—the street lamps were already supposed to be aglow. Eliza’s heart took a leap in her chest, but she didn’t dare pull the curtains back for fear that she wouldn’t see what she’d hoped for. Her heart simply couldn’t take it. At this point, it might’ve been more realistic if it were Santa Claus who visited the cottage than Lachlan.
He was already well on his way back home by now.
“Do you think he was going to tell you before he left, if it hadn’t been for you confronting him?”
“I don’t know,” Eliza shrugged. “The house packed up his things in front of me and let him leave, so I’m assuming it knew he was planning on it. Just didn’t know how to properly tell me.”
Bang!
A car door slammed shut outside. Puffcake snapped his head up from inside his mixing bowl bed.
“House?” repeated Piper. “What do you mean the house let him leave?”
Eliza didn’t answer right away. She stayed frozen in her spot, mobile still pressed to her ear, heart racing in her chest. Her eyes flicked to the door—still unlocked.
