“So, did Zayn say what was going on at work?” she asks, leaning back in her chair and glancing my way.
My brows furrow. “Why all these questions, Rya?”
She swallows the lump in her throat. “Well…” She pauses. “You were so upset that weekend you spent at my house, I wanted to make sure everything was alright.”
I smile at her. “Yeah, everything is fine. He’s been stressed. That’s really all.”
“Oh, okay.” She takes a sip of her Aperol Spritz. “I’m glad you two are better now,” she says with a wide grin before facing the windows, staring out into the valley.
I sit here gazing at her, wondering if there is more to her questions. Is something else going on I’m too blind to see? Does she know more than she letting on? The thought of her knowing more than me makes my stomach twist. This is Rya. My best friend. The one who’s been by my side since we were kids. She wouldn’t be hiding anything from me. And Zayn’s my husband; if he had a hard enough time coming to me about his troubles, what makes me think he would go to Rya first. I scoff at myself just thinking about it all.
Rya notices my small scoffand turns to me with a confused look. I give her a small grin, hiding the thoughts turning in my head, and raise my cup, taking a slow sip. Thedrink runs down my throat, shutting out my doubts—at least for now.
“Where are you going?” I ask, as Rya misses the street to go to my house. I turn to look at her, and she has a guilty look on her face.
Her lips are tight as she says. “So…” She tightens her grip on the steering wheel. “Ezra might get mad at me with how much I bought.”
No shit.
He already said something right in front of us in Vegas when she wanted to go shopping a second day, and he’s not one to say things like that in front of us. He keeps their problems to himself most of the time.
“I was hoping if you came home with me, he wouldn’t get so mad.”
“Are you serious, Rya? You’re playing with his emotions, having me there.”
Her jaw tightens. “How?”
I glance over at her. “Because if this is a problem you two have, he has the right to say something about it. You know how he is. He won’t say anything with me there.”
“Come on, Vi. Stop being a goody-two-shoes.”
My mouth drops open. “It’s not me being a goody-two-shoes. It’s about you putting me in the middle of this,” I say as her car comes to a stop. I look out the front window, eyeing her townhome in front of me.
Great.
Something is going on with Rya. She never puts me in the middle of her business.
We walk into her house; both of us have her bags hanging from our arms. I see Ezra watching TV as we pass the living room to get to her room. Rya passes him and I think we’re in the clear of him saying something. But then we make eye contact, and he says, “Please tell me some of those bags are yours?”
I stand frozen in place, not knowing what to say. I look over at Rya as her head hangs low. She slowly walks back over and smiles at Ezra. “Hey, babe.”
Ez remains silent, his gaze shifting between the two of us as the air grows heavy.
Rya drops her bags in the hallway and walks over to him to give him a kiss. “What have you been doing all day?” she asks, probably trying to avoid his questions.
He leans his head back, looking up at Rya standing before him, shaking his head at her.
She pivots around and heads out of the living room toward their room.
I give Ezra a guilty smile as I follow behind her.
Ezra: Hey, do you have time today to talk?
I reread Ezra message a couple times before the pit in my stomach turns. He never randomly texts me asking to talk. With all the questions that have been running through my mind lately, I’m wondering if there is something more going on that he knows.
What could it be?
Violet: Yeah. What’s going on?
