"No?"
"You've opened up to me." I pull him closer. "Thank you for that."
He kisses the top of my head and plays with the ends of my hair. We lie like that while the afternoon goes fully dark outside, talking about nothing consequential — school, theories, something about the philosophy of game theory that he knows more about than I expected, and that leads us somewhere interesting for a while.
It's easy.
That's the thing about Beckett. He's so easy to be near that I forget, sometimes, the things I'm not supposed to forget.
He leaves at five.
I check my phone the second the door closes.
Cody still hasn't responded to my text. No call back. Nothing. I stare at his name in my contacts, and unease spreads through my bones. Did something happen to him?
Me: Hey. Still haven't heard back. Hope you're okay.
I put the phone down.
Pick it up.
Put it down again.
On the fifth check in twenty minutes, it rings, and I grab it so fast I don't look at the screen before I answer.
"Hello?"
"Hello? That's how you answer?" Maeve's voice, warm and laughing. "What happened to ‘hi, best friend! I missed you so much?’"
I exhale. "Hi, best friend. I missed you so much."
"Better. Okay, so how was last night? Did you sleep over? Don't lie to me."
I laugh. "No. It wasn't like that."
"Oh, he's still recovering, I see." She sounds genuinely sympathetic and also genuinely nosy, which is the most Maeve combination possible. "I was sort of hoping you'd stop by on your way back to UW."
"He's at his dad's house. I was still far."
"Okay, good," she says. And then, without pausing for breath, she dives directly into the drama of Penelope and Julian because, apparently, Julian has started texting Elena, and it's a whole situation. And Maeve has opinions about every layer of it.
"And Ryan?" I ask when she pauses.
"Oh, babe. Ryan is in Mallorca with some friends. He posted a story."
"Mallorca."
"I know." She sounds equal parts impressed and offended. "Without telling anyone."
I smile, sitting on my bed in the dark with my coat still on the floor where Beckett dropped it. Maeve continues, and in this moment, everything feels right. I don’t know how I’ll break it off with Cody, deal with Beckett, or make progress with Theo, but it’s all hopeful.
Then there’s a knock at my door. Maybe it’s Beckett, I assume.
"Maeve, hold on. Someone's knocking."
I kick the jolt of dread that rips through me.
Maeve says, "Maybe it's your roommate. Call me back."
