“Yes.”
“You’re also Savannah.”
The words landed gently.
That made them harder.
“I didn’t know how to be both here.”
Ellie looked toward the door.
Outside, Captain Pancake barked once.
Probably at nothing.
Possibly at the collapse of my personal life.
“You could have told me,” she said.
“I was afraid.”
“Of what?”
“That everything would change.”
Her eyes came back to mine.
“Everything changed anyway.”
My phone vibrated again.
Sophie.
A preview lit the screen.
We need to discuss the relationship angle before this becomes a larger story. Do not answer questions. Do not post. Do not—
I turned the phone facedown.
Ellie had already seen enough.
“Relationship angle,” she said.
“Ignore that.”
“Can I?”
I had no answer.
She pushed away from the desk.
“I need air.”
“Ellie.”
“I’m not leaving.”
The words came quickly.
