She answered on the second ring. “Hey, Em, everything alright?”
I didn’t think about the time. It was nine. Late-ish.
“My apartment flooded,” I said, voice breaking. “Pipe burst. The ceiling collapsed. I—” My throat closed. “I don’t haveanywhere to go tonight. I’m stuck outside. I don’t… I don’t know what to do.”
“Oh, honey.” I heard muffled voices in the background, laughter fading as she spoke. “Okay. Everything is fine. We’ll figure it out. Where are you?”
“Outside my building. I think. There’re sirens. I can’t see anything. It’s raining so hard.” My throat closed, and I swallowed a sob. My parents’ words repeated back to me, along with my brother’s.Are you sure you can handle living in the city alone?
Should you really be trying this?
God, I wanted them here with me to help so badly, but they’d hold this over my head. Tell meI told you so.
“Stay where you are,” she said firmly. “We’re all together. Sloane, Oliver, Noah, and Miles. One of us will come get you. Is there somewhere you can can find cover?”
Panic laced my words before I could stop it. “No, Ivy, I can’t ask that. I’ll find a hotel. I’ll call an Uber. I shouldn’t have called you. I’m sorry, I’ll?—”
She must’ve covered the phone because I heard her say my name again, but a different voice cut in, deeper, familiar.
“Em?”
Noah.
I froze, heart tripping over itself. “Hello,” I managed.
“You’re outside right now?” His tone was calm, but underneath it was something sharp. “In the storm?”
“I-I-I had to get out of the apartment. I-I’m gonna get a cab. Uber. Something,” I said, my voice finally breaking into a sob. “I d-didn’t mean to interrupt anything. I’m s-sorry.” I hung up, my eyes squeezing shut as tears came. This was mortifying. I didn’t want the entire crew to know how naïve I was, how foolish.
My phone buzzed, Noah’s name popping up. “Noah, it’s?—”
“I’m coming to get you right now.”
“No, it’s okay, R-really.”
“Emily, stay the fuck where you are and share your address with me. I’m in my car now, so stay on the phone with me.”
“What about Miles?”
“He’s passed out and has four people who are actually more helpful in an emergency than I am. Address. Now.”
I tucked myself further into a nook in the alley and sent him my location with shaking fingers. Sassy whined and shook her fur, getting my already soaked clothes even more wet. “Wait, Noah. I can’t!”
“You can’t what?”
“I have my dog!”
“Okay?”
“She’s wet. We’ll ruin your car.”
“Emily, I don’t give a shit about my car. You’re outside in a terrible storm. Destroy my car for all I care.”
My teeth chattered as the rain came down even harder. I thought about my room, my stuff. I’d just moved in there too. And of course, Noah was here, coming to help. At least he already thought of me as a hot mess.
“Hey, are you okay?” he asked, his voice softer.
“Fine, yeah.” I swallowed and wrapped my arms around myself, ensuring Sassy’s leash was safe in my hands. “Just rattled. It happened so fast.”
