Best Friend's Ex Box Set

“I’m going to go cut us some pieces,” my mom said. “I’ll call you guys in when it’s ready.”

“Thank you, Tammy,” he said, watching my mom bounce from the room and into the kitchen.

I stood there for a second and then nonchalantly rambled across the room, my arms still wrapped tightly in front of me. I didn’t want to be too hard on him because I wanted to know why he was there at my mom’s house. At the same time, I felt like an old-fashioned tongue-lashing was in the cards.

“Why are you here?” I asked.

“I needed to talk to you,” Ollie said with patience and calm in his voice. “I knew that if I called you, you might not pick up, and if you did, I didn’t know if you would really hear me.”

“You’re probably right,” I said.

“Well, I knew that you would be over here since you spend every Sunday with her,” he explained. “So, I thought I would just show up, so you would be forced to at least hear me out.”

“Yeah, I don’t just run out on people,” I said snidely. “I was raised to have manners and to face any issues I had head-on, not go running from them.”

“I understand,” he said. “And I deserve that. There’s no question about that.”

“You deserved that?” I asked angrily, stepping toward him. “Ollie Anderson, you deserve that and so much more. I don’t even know what to say at this point. You hurt me really bad.”

“I know I did,” he said, hanging his head. “I just—”

“Okay, guys,” my mom called from the other room. “There is some delicious warm apple pie and milk waiting for you in here. You might want to hurry, though. You know how much I like apple pie.”

Chapter 19

Ollie

I was really glad that I decided to stop off and pick up a pie before coming over to the house. Sure, my mom told me to never show up emptyhanded at someone else’s house, but in reality, I just wanted some kind of distraction so that I could ease into the conversation that I was planning to have with Elana. A pie or dessert of some kind seemed like the perfect idea.

“Did you watch the Packers game earlier?” Tammy looked excited.

“I did,” I replied. “It was a crazy game. I’m just glad they came out of nowhere and ended up taking them at the last second. I was really worried that the Steelers were going to take this one.”

“I know,” Tammy said. “I was out of my chair the entire time. I think Elana was worried for my safety.”

“I considered restraints at one point,” Elana said with an easier look on her face.

“Did you watch the game?” I looked at Elana.

“I did, and forgive me, but I have nothing technical to add to this conversation,” she said. “But let me tell you, I know it’s the kick off of breast cancer awareness, and I know those pink uniforms are for a really good cause, but when Roethlisberger hobbled out onto the field with his robot leg, I swore he looked like an old, chewed piece of bubble gum.”

I slapped my hand over my mouth, trying to hold back a laugh, but it was too late. Milk shot out of my mouth and over the table, the sound of my gasping laugh echoing through the house and breaking the barrier that had been sitting there between us. All I could think about was a giant piece of chewed gum with the Steeler’s quarterback’s head. Instantly, Elana collapsed into a fit of giggles, dropping her fork on her plate and covering her face with her hands. I looked over at her and wiped my mouth with the napkin Tammy had just handed me, snorts and chuckles coming in waves. Tammy chuckled loudly as she grabbed a towel and wiped up the mess, obviously enjoying the fact that Elana and I still couldn’t sit together for too long without bursting into laughter about something. It was really refreshing, and I could tell that Elana had loosened up quite a bit.

We sat there making jokes about the game and eating our pie for quite a while. Tammy stood behind us at the counter, interjecting her commentary as well. The house was once again filled with laughter, and so was my heart. When we were done eating, I cleared the table, rinsing off the dishes and putting them into the dishwasher.

“We need more of him around here,” Tammy teased, looking around at the clean kitchen.

“Thank you for letting me come in earlier,” I said, smiling at Tammy. “I’m probably going to get going here soon.”

“You know,” she said, leaning in and whispering. “It’s about the time that Elana gets going, too. Just figured I would mention it.”

I smiled at her as she wandered into the living room where Elana was putting on her coat. I stood there for a moment, trying to collect my thoughts, realizing that I needed to get her stationary in one spot to be able to talk to her. I walked forward and cleared my throat, catching her attention.

“I’m getting ready to leave,” I said nervously. “Can I offer you a ride?”

“Sure,” she said, after thinking about it for a minute. “That sounds better than riding the bus back.”

I smiled and put out my arm, letting her walk past me first and pausing at the door as she said goodbye to her mom. When she reappeared, her cheeks were flushed, but I didn’t pry, opening the door and walking her out to my car. When we got inside, I sat down and gripped the steering wheel, taking in a deep breath. I had spent all afternoon after the game and the entire drive to Tammy’s house rehearsing the speech that I wanted to give to Elana. Even though I had said it to myself over and over again, I was completely at a loss for words. I turned on the car and headed down the street, still sitting in silence. I had done a lot of things and said a lot of things that had come from a place of grief. I knew, though, that I couldn’t use that as an excuse. Whether I made the choice under duress or not didn’t change the fact that I had treated Elana badly.