The words were out before I could stop myself. Not even two weeks ago, they replaced me, and somehow I still agreed to being at their beck and call.
“Okay, text me when you’re here,” Rory said just before the call ended.
With traffic, it took me thirty minutes to make it to the local theater, where Rory and Andrew were. They didn’t even have the decency to thank me for making the detour to pick them up, and honestly, it made me feel dumb for helping them at all. There was something in me that compelled me to help others. That voice always got me messed up as a kid.
I let them know in the group chat that I’d be a little late, but by the time I finally got there, it was way past little. I called Lola to let her know I was outside the building, seeing as there was no way for me to get in since I didn’t live there. When the phone went to voicemail twice, I had to stomach the thought of asking River to let me in instead. Before I could press on her contact, the door swung open.
River’s arm pressed against the door, holding it open for me with the slightest smile. “You’re so late we didn’t think you’d show.”
My heart dropped at the sight of him. A few moments of awkward silence passed before I realized he was waiting for me to walk in.
Silently, I entered, and he let the door shut behind me. He spoke as we headed for the elevator. “Lola has found at least ten sources already, and since you took so long to get here, she’s been pestering me about searching quicker.”
I pushed the button to call for the elevator. “She’s really on top of their work.”
“Yeah,” he agreed, his tone monotone. “How much have you found?”
I stiffened when our arms brushed against each other. “I’ve found two promising articles, and I’ve read through them completely. There are a lot of good quotes and examples.”
Stepping into the elevator, River pushed the button for floor five. “She’ll love that. I found three articles, but between you and me, I skimmed two out of the three.”
River kept quiet for the rest of the ride, making the faint hum of the elevator the loudest sound between us. When we made it to the room, Lola greeted me with a sudden hug, practically kissing my feet for finally showing up.
As the three of us worked, River and Lola effortlessly went on tangents about irrelevant stories and jokes, only to lock back in seconds later. While it was working for them, it was distracting me. Being the type of person who needed dead silence when working did not fare well with group projects.
River also interfered with my focus just by being himself. I wasn’t sure how long Lola and River had known each other, but the way they bantered and joked was like people who had known each other for years. They pushed each other’s buttons, insulted each other, but it was always apparent that it was just the way they bonded.
Could there be something going on between them?The thought made my stomach churn.
The growl of my stomach interrupted their laughter, practically causing Lola’s jaw to hit the floor. “I thought that was thunder outside.”
River eyed me with a playful grin. “I’m guessing you’re hungry.”
I had meant to eat before I arrived, but then Rory called, and it slipped my mind. While my mind didn’t notice, my stomach sure did. “A bit, but I can wait.”
“Or,” River drawled. “We can all eat now.”
“I don’t want to ruin the flow.”
“You’ll ruin the flow if all you can think about is how hungry you are,” he replied with a yawn. “That’s why I’m not focused; I’m too hungry.”
Lola hopped off her raised bed, shaking her head as she put on her shoes. “You know, if you weren’t athletic and cute, you would struggle in life.”
“I could say the same for you,” he quipped.
She smirked, amused. “I volunteer to grab food because if anyone here needs a break, it’s me. You guys keep working.”
Lola was out the door before telling us where she was picking up food from, leaving me with my ex-bestfriend with amnesia.
Naively, I thought we would stay productive until Lola returned with the food. It was like I’d forgotten who was sitting next to me. Save for the fact that his mere presence distracted me, River’s humming ofTwinkle, Twinkle, Little Staras he spun around in the swivel chair made it near impossible to do anything productive.
Fed up with the concert, I shut my laptop forcefully. “Must you do that?”
“Does it bother you?” he asked calmly.
“Yes, actually, it does.”
River pressed his lips into a line. “You realize we are ahead, right? We probably don’t even need to work on this right now.”
