AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Thirty-Two
I wish I had a camera.
The look on Alice’s face when she opens the door, and then when her eyes fall to Theo’s hand in mine, is nothing short of priceless.
“What’s this?” Her mouth spreads into a wide grin I’m sure I’ve never seen on her before. “Are you guys back together?”
I glance up at Theo, letting him take the lead on this. I’m not sure “back together” would be the right way to describe it, but it’s not too far off. Besides, Alice doesn’t know the truth of why we really started seeing each other, so from her perspective “back together” makes sense.
Theo meets my eyes with a shy smile, brings our clasped hands up to his mouth to kiss my knuckles, and says, “Something like that.”
“I’m glad.” She claps him on the shoulder, the contact only lasting for a second before her arm falls back against her side. “Come on in. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
The door is held open by a cardboard box, and her welcome mat is gone. Inside, a stack of boxes block the couch and what appears to be kitchenware wrapped in old newspaper covers every surface of the granite countertops. I get to work helping Alice pack up in the kitchen while Theo loads her car with the boxes that were previously packed. He picks up each one easily, without so much as a grunt except for when he adjusts the wide TV box against his shoulder. Before long, sweat beads his forehead, his skin glistening.
“When are you leaving?”
“Next week,” Alice says, grabbing an empty box and a roll of tape. “I’m staying with Christine in the meantime. The goal is to move all my stuff out of here by the end of the day.”
“So soon,” I say. “You must be excited.”
“I’m more stressed at the moment. Aside from Theo, I couldn’t get help from anyone last minute, so I’m really glad he brought you. Christine helped for approximately one hour before bailing on me yesterday. But I’m sure excitement will follow once I’ve gotten everything taken care of.” She stares at the stack of boxes taking up her living room. “There’s no way all this is going to fit in my car.”
“Will you need a second trip?”
“That’s what I was trying to avoid.” She heaves a sigh. “I need to get out of here today.”
I stare at her for a long moment. “That bad, huh?”
She sends me a knowing look that speaks for itself. No wonder she took the TV. She’s taking almost everything, if the empty cabinets are any indication.
“Car’s full,” Theo announces, watching us stare at the stack of remaining boxes. “Are you really taking all of this with you when you move?”
“Of course not.” She crosses her arms over her chest. “I’m just taking what’s mine.”
“Does that mean you’re giving away any of this stuff?” he asks. “Can I call dibs on the espresso machine?”
He elbows her side playfully, and she waves him off, shaking her head but smiling with exasperated fondness. There’s something about seeing them interact together that clicks something into place for me. This must’ve been how they were together in high school, teasing each other the way lifelong friends do. There are no more longing looks on Theo’s end, no visible trace of the feelings he has for her.
Is it possible that he’s gotten over her?
She’s moving across the country next week, and he’s not a wreck the way he was the night of her engagement party. Instead, he’s happily helping her pack and calling dibs on whatever she’s leaving behind. He did exactly what he told me he would, didn’t he? He let her go.
“Maybe I shouldn’t, but I kinda feel bad for Ben,” he says, eyes sweeping the bare apartment. “You’re not leaving him with much, are you?”
She shrugs, but I don’t quite buy the careless motion of her shoulders. “He’s lucky I’m leaving him the sectional.”
“He is lucky,” I say. “It’s a lot nicer than mine.”
“My neck can speak to that.” Theo rolls his head in slow circles, startling us both when his neck cracks with a loud, crunching sound. His eyes cut to me in playful accusation. “I couldn’t do that before spending one night on your couch.”
I’m about to roll my eyes and call him dramatic when Alice’s face morphs.
“When did you sleep on her couch?” She glances up at him, confused. He stills, eyes trained on the floor as he realizes the mistake he’s made.
“Um.” I’m still racking my brain for a way out when headlights beam through the blinds, and the low rumble of a car engine sounds outside. It’s just my luck that my way out of this conversation includes him. “Is that who I think
it is?”
