Chapter 4

Ellie returned to her apartment and laid down on her sofa. She turned on her TV and flipped to the news. The first story was about a murder that happened just a few blocks from her building. Then they talked about another mass shooting in the Midwest. Then the potential for the war coming state side. She turned the TV off feeling worse than when she started.

She looked at the clock, it was 3 PM; several hours until she was supposed to meet up with Griffin. So she grabbed her laptop and tried logging in to her email. After a few moments of loading, the email app asked her for her username and password. Both fields were filled, but when she tried again, she got the same error.

She grabbed her phone and found Rod's secretary Marie’s contact. She placed a call.

"Wickman Interiors, this is Marie."

"Hey Marie, it's Ellie. Is the email server down again?"

"No, Ellie. I locked you out of your account. You're supposed to be on vacation, remember?"

"But what if I miss an important email?"

"Relax, Ellie. I'm forwarding all your emails to Rod. You don't have to worry about anything."

Griffin held his phone out in front of him, trying to perfectly frame a selfie with Ellie and the game on the table. His cheeks were flush and there were two empty wine bottles on the table. "Say 'fuzzy pickles!'"

Ellie looked up from the game, a candid look of surprise on her face. The selfie turned out blurry, with nobody being captured in a flattering light.

Ellie replied "Fuzzy pickles?" A nonchalant chortle escaping her body. "Why fuzzy pickles?"

Griffin leaned in over the table, "wouldn't you like to know?"

"I do! You've gotta tell me!"

Griffin says, "okay. It's a quote from my favorite video game."

Ellie playfully slaps at his shoulder, "shut up! You're such a nerd!"

"You love it," Griffin replies, recoiling from her slap and feigning injury. He stood up straight, towering over Ellie and rotating his arm as if his shoulder was sore.

Ellie clambered onto the table, "well, I do like nerdy men." She deliberately emphasized like, acknowledging (and dismissing) Griffin's use of the word "love." In her haste to meet Griffin eye-to-eye, she lost her balance and fell into his chest. Ellie was not as drunk as she was letting on, but she also made the decision several months ago that she wouldn't hook up with Griffin sober. It absolved her of the guilt she felt for leading him on.

As her face was buried in his shirt she decided she was drunk enough, tonight. Looking up at him their eyes locked, but she quickly closed hers. That was a little too intimate. Her hand moved to the back of his neck. She pulled him close, their mouths about to meet.

"Ellie," he whispered softly, about to say something else. She caught his lower lip between her teeth to stop him.

"Let's go to the bedroom," she said, sensually.

"Wait," he said, ineffectually. Ellie moved aggressively, pressing her lips into his. Griffin returned the kiss, giving in for just a moment.

Ellie's free hand moved to his belt buckle but Griffin stepped back. "Ellie, what are we doing?"

Griffin watched Ellie roll her eyes. "I thought we were having fun, Griffin," she bristled.

Not wanting to offend, Griffin nodded his head in agreement. "No, we totally are. But I mean that's not enough, right? We have something special, here. Undeniable, in my book..."

"Griffin, if this right here isn't enough for you, then I don't have much else to offer."

"I feel like that's not true."

"It's all I'm willing to offer, then," She said, coldly. "I don't want a relationship. I don't want a family."

"I don't think that's true, either."

Frustrated, she said "you can leave, then."

So he did.

You want to know how he's needy? Griffin just said that this FWB relationship isn't enough for him and then he stormed off and left me here with all this food. - Ellie

He didn't really say any of that, nor did he storm off.

I'll be right there. - Brittany

Within minutes, Brittany was at her friend's door, but not before Ellie could finish off a bottle of wine and start in on another.

When Ellie answered the door, Brittany could tell she was drunk. She slumped forward into Brittany's arms. Ellie was a small person, but Brittany was smaller so she struggled to get Ellie to the sofa.

Halfway across the room, Ellie asked, "Do you want some food? Or some wine?" She slovenly contorted her body to make for utensils and a wine glass.

"It's okay. I'll get some food. You just sit on the sofa," Brittany gritted her teeth, prepared to wrestle Ellie onto the couch. To her surprise, though, Ellie just went with it. After laying her down on the sofa, Brittany went to the kitchenette to grab a plate and a bottle of wine.

"Brittany," Ellie started, "you're a good friend." Ellie was in a rare place. She didn't have work or sex to distract her from her feelings. She didn't have the capacity to lie to herself right now, nor the constitution to deny her emotions. So she used what physical strength she had left to fight back her tears. But it wasn't enough.

Brittany rushed over to her inebriated friend. "Thank you El. You are too."

"No, I'm not. You're right. I put my work ahead of everything else," her sobbing growing louder. "I'm so sorry. You were so right."

Brittany was silent, considering the right thing to say in this moment. "Truthfully, girl? I didn't say any of that just to make you feel bad. I called you out because I wanted my friend back."

"I've missed you, Brit," Ellie sat up and hugged Brittany. "Are you gonna get drunk with me?" She asked.

"Yes, girl. I'm definitely going to get drunk with you."

An hour later Brittany was drunk, too. "Can you just tell me why you're not into Griffin? Like, honestly. He's cute and he really likes you."

Ellie thought about it for a minute, "He wants a family and I don't."

"But can you honestly say that you don't want a family? I mean, you'd be a great mom."

"I'd be exactly like my mom. And I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy, let alone my own child."

"El, your mom is a riot. She's kind. She's sweet. She's chill. I would've killed to have your mom as a teenager."

"Yeah, but she was also overbearing and condescending and..."

"Wait, you're mom's not perfect? Holy shit. You're right, you'd be exactly like her," Brittany's sarcasm was effortless. Ellie reached over and slapped her arm playfully. "So is that really it? You don't want a family and Griffin does?"

"I don't know," Ellie says, quickly reclining in retreat. "Maybe I just don't want to give my time away for free?"

"Wooow... 'Cause that's healthy."

"Shut up!" Ellie exclaimed. "Why aren't you in a relationship, then?"

"I haven't met the right guy."

"And you think Griffin is the right guy?"

"He's funny, he's nice, and he obviously loves you."

At the word "love," Ellie feigned a dry heave. "Love. What a scam."

"And he's loyal."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Brittany hesitated.

"What? You know something, don't you?!"

Brittany pantomimed zipping her lips.

"Oh no. You're not gonna get away with that. You have to tell me!"

"I heard..." again, she hesitated. "Look. I'm not going to tell you how I know this. But since you guys started hooking up, he's deleted his dating apps and hasn't slept with anyone else."

Ellie's gut dropped. "Why?" She asked, already knowing the answer.

"Because he's loyal. And he cares for you. And you probably shouldn't take that for granted."

Ellie tried to shake off her drunkenness and stand up, "I've gotta break things off with him." She started pacing around the room. "I don't have the time. I don't have the energy. And he shouldn't be wasting his time on me."

"Girl, you're fucking crazy. You're worth it. You're worthy of..."

Ellie wasn't listening. Her fight-or-flight response had kicked in, this time submerged in a tub of wine. She kept murmuring to herself until Brittany stood up and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"We need to get you out of the city for a while," she moved herself into the path of Ellie's distant gaze. "Hey!" she shouted, snapping her fingers in front of Ellie's face. "If you could go anywhere, where would you go?"

Ellie made eye contact with Brittany for a moment, but it was too intimate so she looked away. "Maine."

"Maine? What? Like Stephen King Maine?"

"Yeah," Ellie replied, still lost in thought.

Brittany shrugged and sat Ellie down. She pulled out her phone and opened up AirB&B.

"Holy shit. Maine's actually a state? I really thought Stephen King made it up." She scooted herself closer to Ellie and showed her some of the places for rent. "Oh, look at these cabins." She began to read the listing aloud:

Rent one of our beautiful, rustic cabins nestled in a serene, secluded 10 acre forest retreat. Renters have free use of any of the accessory buildings on the property including the dining hall, the greenhouse, and more. Complementary breakfast every morning made with fresh ingredients from our chickens and our garden.

Brittany was worried the experience would too close to "roughing it." But as they flipped through the photos together Ellie fell in love. The cabins were beautiful, made with lumber that could have been sourced from the very property they were built upon. And the insides were charming, warm, and cozy. These cabins spoke to her soul.

"There." She declared. "That's where we're going."

Brittany's head snapped to Ellie, "really?"

About The Author:

B.E. Waites

B.E. Waites is a New England-based author. They're also a gamer and an amateur photographer. When they're not writing, they work in the public health sector.