Chapters (59)
- COVER
- About the Author
- DEDICATION
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- Acknowledgments
- THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING
‘It’s just you two?’ I said instead, voice shrill. Al was wiping down the counter now, trying not to stare, but quite obviously listening to our every word.
‘Yes, just us,’ Ellie said. ‘He’s back at the Airbnb because he had to finish up some work, and I came into town to get a beer. The proper bar had awful Yelp reviews, so now I’m here.’ Her eyes shot daggers at me. ‘That’s my story. Now what about you? Why aren’t you in Seattle?’
Sweat pricked the corners of my forehead. I had to stay calm and think. ‘Sit down,’ I said, pulling out the chair next to mine. ‘Have your beer. I’ll explain.’
Ellie looked bewildered, like she’d just woken up from a strange dream, but she hung her coat on the back of the chair and motioned to Al. ‘Two IPAs,’ she said. ‘Please.’
‘You got it,’ Al said, pretending this was normal, like she was not watching her pseudo–writing mentor being grilled about her whereabouts, being exposed as a liar, right before her eyes.
Ellie pressed both hands to the counter. ‘I don’t understand,’ she said, her voice cracking. ‘Do you hate me or something?’
‘No,’ I said. ‘God, of course not. I love you.’
‘Then why?’ Ellie asked.
A bell dinged from the kitchen, and Al returned, delivering my eggs, a dish I’d had so many times. Now the smell made my stomach turn.
‘I didn’t know you had a boyfriend,’ I said as my mind spun, trying to think of what I could possibly say to her, how to fix this. Al handed us two sweating beers, her eyes searching mine for answers.
Ellie took a gulp and set the glass down hard. ‘Yeah,’ she said. ‘I have a boyfriend. His name’s Andre, and we met on Tinder, and I thought it was just going to be a hookup, but look, here we are.’ Her voice was suddenly cutting. ‘And he’s great, not that you give a shit.’
‘I do give a shit, I swear. I’m sorry,’ I said. ‘I know I haven’t been the best about –’
‘You haven’t been the best about anything,’ Ellie said, her eyes turning glossy. ‘I just, I don’t understand. You and Davis broke up, I mean, it’s weird and it’s unexpected, but okay, it happens, but then you don’t even want to talk to me? Why? Because I’m his sister? Not to mention, you change your number? God, I’m your best friend. I knew you long before he did. And now you’re here, and I feel like, I don’t know, like I’m going crazy.’