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“Sweetie, come out,” Diane said gently. “The guys feel really bad. You don’t have to say a thing. Just come eat the delicious pancakes you made. Everything’s out on the table, and Eric brought every juice under the sun.”
She smiled, despite her hesitancy to leave the bathroom. That wasn’t surprising. One time, he’d brought a dozen varieties of oranges to their house, and they’d made a party out of it. Another time he’d gone to Mexico during the break and bought one piece of every kind of Mexican candy he could find. She laughed at the memory.
Everything was fine. She knew every person in the front room, and she couldn’t really be upset at the guys for not knowing the full extent of her scar. Carefully, she opened the door into the split bathroom, not wanting to slap the back of Diane’s heel with the door.
Diane fixed her hair while she looked at her in the mirror. “Everything okay? You must’ve been shocked.”
Holly opened the door all the way when she found a clump of powdered sugar in her hair. “I’m a mess.”
Diane laughed. “Glad we’re back to priorities. We’ll start eating, and you can come out when you’re ready.”
“Thanks, friend.”
Diane was the perfect match to Holly’s hesitancy. And so was Aimee. Holly wouldn’t get outside the apartment half the time if it weren’t for them. But other than cooking, what did she do for them?
She cleaned off her face, brushed her teeth, and brushed back her hair. Instead of changing her shirt and hiding her scars, she decided the sugar added charm, and she headed into the front room where everyone was eating at the table. Eric looked ready to break into tears. She flashed him a smile to let him know it was okay, and he pulled out the seat next to him. “Come over here.”
She nodded and sat down. The guys looked at her expectantly, and she knew it was safe to tell her story. “I’m sorry if I scared you all,” she said, waiting until every guy met her gaze. “The scars on my face are only a start to my injuries.”
“Was this all in the fire?”
She nodded. “Yep, it looks kind of scary, huh?”
“No.” Eric’s voice was quiet as she turned to him. “I admit it surprised me, and it made me sad that we didn’t know the extent of your injury, but it doesn’t make you any less beautiful.”
Her heart tightened as she accepted his words. Others around the table nodded.
“Thanks, everyone. How are the pancakes?” she asked.
Her question seemed to break the unspoken tension in the room, and the sounds of clicking knives, scraping forks, and happy eating warmed Holly from head to toe. Eric made her drink six types of juice before she finally decided pineapple-orange was her favorite.
“We have a winner,” he said, cheering.
Aimee shot them a glance from across the table, and Holly realized she hadn’t said much.
“You’re quiet,” Holly said.
Aimee shrugged. “Not much to say since the guys got here.”
“Oh, the door.” Holly glanced at Aimee, hoping to draw her into the conversation. “Who answered the door?”
Aimee’s cheeks pinked as she glanced Eric’s way. “No one, I think. Diane, did you open the door?”
The guys looked around at them in confusion. “Who cares who opened the door?” Cameron asked. “What are you three talking about?” He looked at Diane. “Didn’t you wave us in?”
Diane’s face burned red as she looked back and forth between Holly and Aimee. “I wasn’t ready,” she admitted. “I hadn’t brushed my teeth, and they were there altogether, so I wasn’t sure who I would—”
“It’s fine,” Holly said, saving Diane from embarrassment. Diane was already fanning her face. Sometimes she got more embarrassed than Holly. “I think it’s okay to wave people in through the window.”
“What are you girls talking about?” Justin called out, getting all of their attention.
“Nothing,” all three of them said.
“I mean,” Aimee started, “you’ll find out soon if—”
“Should we clean up and go out?” Holly grabbed her plate and gestured for her roommates to drop the subject and get moving. “Didn’t it snow last night? Let’s go up to Old Main Hill on campus.”
When the guys went home to get ready, Holly dressed in thick winter wear and then headed to the hallway closet where all of their winter things were kept in a box. She slipped on some snow pants and added a scarf underneath her thick winter coat for good measure. By the time she and her roommates were all bundled up, they looked like walking mini marshmallows ready for a s’more.
