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Holly thanked her and gave her a side hug when Cambria stood and held out her arms. Things in her love life still might be in chaos, but her professional life was roaring. Her classes were arranged—perfect for what she needed—and her best friend would be picking her up the next day and moving her back to their old apartment. Things would be different without Eric in the apartment across from her, but she would cling to all the normal she could.
When she got home, she ate the last of the noodles Eric had bought her and finished off the milk. Her money would kick in the next day, and she couldn’t wait to splurge on meat and real cheese.
Eric called right on time, just as she’d packed up the last of her things and was sitting on her sheets, one of the only unpacked things in the house.
“How was your last day?” he asked.
Her lips twitched with a smile as she turned the screen to see his video call, but his video was turned off. “Decent, but I’m missing you. Is your camera on?”
“Oh, it’s dark in my room, and I don’t want to disturb anyone.”
“I thought the other interns left for school already.”
“Oh, these are the ones who decided to stick around. There’s only a handful.”
“Ah, I see.”
She gave him a rundown of the results from her tough meeting, and he praised her for handling it so well when the dad got aggressive. She sighed and leaned against her pillow. “I miss you too much. How was your day?” She was still a little hurt that he’d adamantly refused a visit from her, but it had been nice to work a few days at the office, pay included. She technically could assist only until she had completed her license, but the date of her test was soon.
“It was fine as always. I cleaned, I packed things away, and I’m shipping things off tomorrow.”
It was his usual answer. “I wish you were shipping yourself instead of cheese. How am I going to buy my books without you there?”
“I gave my roommates strict instructions to pamper you wildly when you return. I’ve paid for enough of their dinners that I should have some heavy IOUs. Anyway, I gotta get going. My day starts way too early tomorrow, and I need to be ready.”
She sat up straight. “Is something happening?” She couldn’t remember him mentioning anything big.
“No, no, of course not. Just the normal grind of the day. If I don’t sleep well, the next day drags.”
She relaxed against her pillow. “I know how that goes. Okay, well, get some sleep. I miss you loads.”
“Me too. Night, sweetie.”
The phone clicked, and Holly frowned. Thank goodness for technology. She couldn’t have lasted without seeing his face or hearing his voice. Tomorrow would be a weird, hard day without Eric, and all she wanted was to get it over with.
The next morning, Diane knocked on her door just as she finished stuffing her bedding into a box. Holly opened the screen door and squealed. “There you are.” They hugged each other for a long minute. Other than Eric, she and Aimee were the only people Holly had kept in touch with.
“How was the drive?”
“Long and boring, and I’m ready to see Cameron.”
Holly fisted her hands on her hips. “Wait a second, last week you told me you weren’t even going to talk to him. He hasn’t called you in a few weeks.”
“Yeah, but then he called last night, and we talked while I drove here. I’m ready now. I think I’m ready for a full relationship that doesn’t allow for dates on the side.”
Holly smiled and squeezed Diane’s side one more time. “That-a-girl. You two are too cute to give up on each other.”
“Are you ready to do this?” Diane said, scanning the boxes behind her. “It looks like you have more stuff.”
“Right? I don’t know how that happened.”
They started dragging things to Diane’s car, and in no time were heading up to the apartments. Holly glanced at the time and bit her lip. If they didn’t go to the bookstore soon, it would be mobbed with crowds. “Should we stop by the school first? I want to beat the crowd.”
Diane pressed her lips together and shook her head. “I’ve already talked to the apartment manager, and she wants us to check in now.
Holly frowned. Their apartment manager had never been that picky before. “If you say so.”
By the time they reached the apartments, signed up for keys, and started unloading the van, Holly had looked in the direction of Eric’s old apartment a dozen times.
