Camila focuses on the spot, trying to see if Miso threw up a hairball, but there’s nothing. She makes a mental note to get her hairball supplements.
“You scared me,” Camila says, crouching to pick Miso up, who immediately starts purring. With Miso safely in her hands, she walks them to the couch in the living room and throws on a show.
Camila tries not to, but she can’t stop checking her phone for any new messages, desperately waiting on one from Valeria, and being disappointed when the only one that comes through is from her mom, reminding her of their lunch plans for Sunday.
As if Camila’s day hadn’t been bad enough.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
VALERIA
When Valeria makes it home from work, she is fully expecting Brooke to have left her a note—the way she has so many other times—telling her she needs space. Thankfully, this time, she finds a bouquet on her doormat and a note from Brooke, saying she’ll stop by after dinner with her parents.
Valeria grabs the flowers and hugs them tightly to her chest, letting them be the beacon of hope they truly are. Had Brooke found her with Camila a few months ago—maybe even a few weeks ago—she would have disappeared. Now, Valeria can see she’s trying, and that means the world to her.
When she walks through the door, she makes quick work of changing into her favorite pajamas and reheating leftover pasta from last night’s dinner. Then, she heads into the living room and reaches for her computer to call Camila. Valeria hadn’t messaged her—not because she hadn’t thought about it, but because a text felt ... insufficient. Too small for something like this. And the brief moment she’d had to check her phonebetween appointments she’d spent responding to her mom’s rapid-fire questions about what had happened at lunch. She hadn’t answered them, though. Not completely. Just enough to satisfy, enough to get her to let it go and move on without hinting at how serious the argument with Brooke had been.
Calling Camila now feels like as good a time as any.
Valeria hits the FaceTime call button on her computer and waits, suddenly feeling a little self-conscious. She’s never called Camila before, let alone FaceTimed her. Thankfully, she doesn’t have much time to sit with the awkwardness because Camila picks up after the second ring.
Valeria sighs, thankful Camila is still picking up her calls.
“Hey,” Camila answers, but her face is nowhere in sight; instead, Valeria is staring at a beautiful chandelier. Camila adjusts her phone, and Valeria sees blurry streaks of ceiling light and a flash of knuckles before Camila comes into view.
“Hi,” Valeria replies. “How are you?”
“I think I should be askingyouthat question,” Camila says before worrying at her bottom lip.
“I’m okay.”
“Just okay?”
“Yeah. Things with Brooke are fine; I’m worried you and I aren’t.”
“Why wouldn’t we be?” Camila tilts her head slightly before furrowing her brows.
“Just everything that happened today. Every time we hang out, I bring a little dramatic flair into your life. I don’t mean to, I hope you know that.”
“I do,” Camila says almost immediately. “And beforeyou even try, you don’t need to apologize to me on her behalf.”
Valeria smiles, a soft one that could almost be mistaken for a frown. “How’d you know that’s what I was going to say next?”
Camila shrugs. “Lucky guess.”
The line goes silent for a few seconds. Valeria almost hates how predictable her behavior around anything Brooke-related is. That even Camila—who’s basically a stranger, someone she’s only known for weeks—can pick up on it.
“I like you, Valeria. I think you’re a good person, and I want to keep being your friend, but I don’t know that Brooke and I will ever be on those terms. I’ve been nothing but cordial, and she has been everything but that. I understand if that feels like too much drama for you to handle and you need to end this friendship.”
Valeria’s stomach turns painfully. This is the conversation that always waits at the end of getting close to someone new. She hates having to choose between Brooke and everyone else. She’s done. She doesn’t want to keep living in this loop.
“What? No, no, absolutely not. Brooke needs a little time to adjust to the fact that you’re in my life now. I haven’t made a new friend in years, so it’ll be an adjustment for her.”
Camila gives her a tense smile and nods. “Let’s hope she adapts quickly, then, because I don’t enjoy disliking her. I’m sure there must be good parts of her in there somewhere, maybe deep, deep inside.”
Valeria laughs, but before she can make a joke about it, she hears Miso coughing, almost dry heaving.
“Are you okay?” Camila asks, looking down at Miso. “Isthat noise normal? It’s the third time she’s made it tonight.” Camila turns to Valeria, her eyes getting wide with worry.
