“How are things with Logan?” She sets her wine glass down on the coffee table. She sits back on the couch, making herself comfortable.
“Honestly,” I start, remembering this afternoon. “We’ve never been better. I don’t know what it is, but I feel like we’re in the best place we’ve ever been.”
A slow smile spreads across Abby’s mouth. “That’s great.” She leans forward again, picking up her glass. She tilts it back, swallowing nearly half the glass in one gulp.
“Between my new job in Tacoma and this fundraiser tonight, it feels as if everything is falling into place for us.”
Abby’s violet eyes gaze into mine for a few moments. It’s hard to tell what she’s thinking. The silence swells inside the four walls surrounding us, the moonlight peeking through the living room curtains.
She unravels her legs, sitting on the edge of the couch. The sudden and abrupt change in mood is palpable. I can taste her bitterness on my tongue. It fills the air, the energy quickly dwindling.
“What’s wrong?” I lean forward, placing my hand on her back.
She faces me, her full purple painted lips forming a smile. “Nothing,” she sighs, pulling herself to a stand. She walks over to the French doors leading to the back yard. She turns around, still grinning. “It’s such a beautiful night. We should sit around the fire like we did the first night I came over here.”
I wince. “It’s kind of chilly tonight, isn’t it?”
She rolls her eyes. She crosses the room, grabbing my hand, pulling me up. “That’s what the fire is for, Lena.”
She laughs, releasing my hand.
“I guess we could. Let me go grab a sweater.” I point to the upstairs as Abby heads back to grab her jacket. She slides it on quickly, heading toward the back door.
“Okay. I’ll meet you outside.” She opens the door, disappearing into the moonlight.
I head upstairs to my closet, grabbing the first sweater I can find. I still wasn’t able to find the maroon sweater Abby had given me. Guilt seeps into my chest, hoping Abby didn’t remember I had it, asking for it back.
I shrug into my favorite black sweater and meet Abby outside.
She’s sitting on the bench in front of our electric fire pit. She’s already turned it on, the warm orange flames reflecting across her face. A cigarette is perched between her fingers, a trail of smoke floating into the air, disappearing into the night. She lifts the cigarette, taking a drag then blows the cloud of smoke back out.
The flames flicker on top of the shiny rock bed of the fire pit as I sit beside Abby. The bench isn’t as large as the couch so when I sit down, my thigh rests against Abby’s.
“Do you know what I was thinking of the other day?” Abby asks.
“What?”
“I was thinking of the coffee shop in Providence. The one you and I would always go to down the street from campus.”
I sigh, tilting my head. “The one with the bookshelves filled to the brim with old books. I loved that place.”
“I can still smell the old books if I think about it.” Abby laughs under her breath.
Memories Abby and I shared at the coffee shop come to mind. It was some of the only pleasant memories I have of that place.
“You’re right, I can smell them.” I laugh again, enjoying this moment with Abby.
The flames continue to flicker, warming the space in front of us. I lean forward, resting my elbows on my knees and raise my hands to the heat.
“We had a lot of fun times there, didn’t we?” Abby asks.
I glance over my shoulder, catching her as her bottom lip pouts. She’s looking down at me, her eyes saddening. She misses Providence as I once did. But unlike Abby, for me, Providence holds more bad memories than good. Enough to make me never want to turn back the hands of time. I was only looking toward the future. A future with Logan.
“We did.” I give her a reassuring smile. The moonlight reflects off the strands of her silver hair, her pale skin glistening from the heat of the flames.
Abby finishes her cigarette, putting it out on the concrete patio. Afterward, we head back inside and watch a movie, digging into the popcorn she brought with her.
Halfway through the movie, my eyes slowly close, whisking me away with sleep. Sometime later, I crack open my eyes. The movie is no longer playing, the home screen from our TV glowing through the dark space. My head is resting on Abby’s. I don‘t remember falling asleep on her. I must have scooted my way over to her side at some point and laid my head down on her.
Her hand is on my head, threading her fingers through my hair. She stops, sensing I’m awake.
I sit up, brushing the hair from my face. My head is heavier than it was before. I’m more tired than I was before I fell asleep on the couch beside Abby. I run my hand down my face, willing myself to fully wake up. I open my mouth, my tongue peels off the roof of my mouth. It feels like I’ve eaten a cotton ball. “I’m sorry,” I croak out. “I must have fallen asleep.”
“That’s okay.” Abby grins.
“I missed the ending of the movie.” I pout, knowing it was a movie I’d waited to watch until Abby and I could see it together. Moisture has finally returned to my mouth making it easier to talk.
She shrugs. “You didn’t miss much. It ended on a cliffhanger, but it didn’t even make sense.”
I pick up my phone, reading a text from Logan saying he was about to finish up. It’s near midnight.
“Logan should be home soon.” I give Abby a closed lip smile.
“Okay, okay...” She sits up, sliding the blanket off her lap. “I can take a hint.”
“That’s not what I meant, Abby. I’m sorry.”
She spins around. “Don’t be sorry. I was joking, Lena.” She laughs, gently pushing
