“That’s just it,” Ella said, dropping her washcloth into the bucket of murky water. She needed to rinse the water out anyway. “I don’t know who it was, but I saw the feed. It looked like me. I got set up.”
“It was Stina, wasn’t it?” Chloe guessed. “No wonder you haven’t gone to work since.”
Ella sniffed, glad she’d apparently cried herself out. This was so refreshing, to be able to just discuss this without tears getting in the way. “I think so. I think it was Stina and Pris, but even my dad didn’t believe me.”
“Go to the police,” Chloe insisted, nudging Ella’s knee with the back of her hand.
“And say what? It’s my word against theirs.”
Chloe inhaled, thinking it over. “What about that billionaire of yours?”
Ella winced. She’d told Chloe about the kiss and about the kids’ hospital store with Hawk, but she hadn’t shared the ultimate disgust on his face when he’d left the breakroom after depositing her shoe on the bench.
“He thinks I’m guilty.”
“Seriously? I wouldn’t have pegged him to be that big of an idiot.”
In spite of herself, Ella chuckled and brought her gaze to Chloe’s. A mischievous, piteous smirk was on her face.
“I can’t say I blame him for thinking that,” Ella said. “What else is he supposed to think? He said he wouldn’t press charges, but he never wants to see me again.”
“Yep.” Chloe’s tone was decisive. “Idiot.”
Ella couldn’t laugh this time. “I’ve been trying to get over it. I know it could be so much worse. I could be in jail right now, you know? But I can’t seem to move on. Usually, I can perk right back up. Find the silver lining. This time, I’m seriously sinking, Chlo, and the only way to keep my head above water is to move.”
“Hence the cleaning.”
Ella didn’t deny it. The two roommates sat in silence.
“When was the last time you went outside?” Chloe asked after several moments.
“The day it happened.” Ella was embarrassed to admit.
Chloe pushed herself from the floor. She gently took the bucket of dirty water, dumped it into the sink, and then pulled Ella to her feet.
“Well then,” Chloe said. “Time to get moving. Go on, get some sunshine. Job hunt. Do something other than drive us both crazy here cleaning.”
Ella’s spirits lifted that much more. “My cleaning has been driving you crazy?”
“It’s too obsessive. A little here and there is okay, but sparkling clean? That’s going too far.”
That did the trick. Another laugh crept up from Ella’s chest, lightening her heart along with it. Chloe was right. Ella hadn’t just been cleaning. She’d been wallowing.
She couldn’t stay in here, hiding forever behind a bucket. She’d have to face the world again, sooner or later.
“You’re right,” Ella said. “What was I thinking?”
“You’re a good person, Elle. If he’s any sort of decent, he’ll come around, and so will everyone else.”
Chloe pulled Ella into a hug. Her friend’s embrace washed over her, pooling inside her ribs. She’d needed this. A friend, someone she could talk to, someone who would listen and not judge her.
“I’ve got to get to work,” Chloe said. “Never a dull moment at the paper factory. Otherwise, I’d go with you.”
“Go with me?” Ella said. Had she missed something? “Where?”
“Job hunting,” Chloe said with a wink, bopping Ella on the shoulder before weaving her way out of the kitchen and down the hall toward the door. “Somebody’s got to help me pay rent around here.”
Though she knew Chloe hadn’t meant to be insulting, remorse struck Ella all over again. It was almost January and rent would be due before she knew it. How could she be so selfish?
Ella needed to move on. She needed to compartmentalize Hawk’s accusation—along with the conversation with her dad—enough so she could function again. She’d give herself time to decide how she could deal with it, but that didn’t mean it had to be today.
Someday she would heal and move on, but for now, she would take the new direction. She needed a distraction. A positive twist to an awful situation. Job hunting it was.
There was always some good to be found in any circumstance. That had always been her motto, and thanks to Chloe, she’d been able to finally find the light at the end of this dismal tunnel of gloom and torment. There was still plenty of tunnel to get through. But at least something had begun to flicker again, bringing hope she hadn’t felt in days.
Ella cleaned herself up, showering, curling her hair, putting on makeup. Every step was like a fresh breath, like a final hinge closing the awful door she’d opened after Christmas. That door would still loom over her. She wasn’t sure how to avoid the awful memories, but at least she was trying to move on.
Coat buttoned, boots climbing up her jeans, the comfy, red scarf Hawk had given her secure around her neck, Ella stepped outside her apartment and paused, inhaling the frigid, cool, crisp air.
Sunshine sparkled on the snow, making it glitter. Ella wanted to imitate it, to be able to appreciate its beauty without a rock in her chest. Someday, she told herself with a prayer. Someday.
She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been out, dressed and ready, at a normal hour in the morning. She was awake when everyone else was and it was time she started making the most of it.
“Where to first?” she asked the chilly air. Craving the motion, she decided to hoof it, go along the streets and look for Help Wanted signs.
Ella scrounged around, searching place by place, forcing a smile at every turn. A cupcake shop appeared promising. They scheduled an interview right then. She had stopped by a scuba diving store, but the overwhelming smell of neoprene was bound to make her pass out before noon. She turned around and exited without an application.
Feet aching enough
