Forget Me Not

Now I was sipping a gin and tonic because we needed something stronger than wine, as Alyssa stretches out on my couch with a bowl of popcorn in her lap.

“So, you told him everything and…?

I scoop my hair off my neck and into a ponytail on the top of my head. “And he didn’t take it well. I mean better than he could have but I think the whole situation has him thrown.”

“Well, it should. It stunned me when you told me he slept with someone.” She stuffs a handful of popcorn in her mouth and crunches loudly.

“You and me both.” I take a sip of my drink, wondering if I should tell her everything that’s been happening between us knowing that she’ll probably have a lot to say. I take a long sip, the gin burning my throat all the way down and my eyes water at the strength of the drink. “Jesus, Lys is there any tonic in this?”

“A splash.” She shrugs as she swirls her straw around her tumbler. “I need honest Liv.”

“I need to not be hungover tomorrow,” I tell her as I think about the conference call I should probably be on at eight am.

“Why? Aren’t you on “taking care of my sick husband” leave or whatever?”

“I’m technically still working, but…”

She scoffs. “God, I want your job.”

“No, you don’t, you’re saving lives and you love your job!”

Her eyes narrow and she shakes her head. “I’d love my job with your salary and work-life balance more.” She chuckles and rubs her forehead. “I’m off tomorrow and as much as I love you, I wish I was spending tonight sleeping and-or sleeping with my husband.”

“I didn’t invite you over, Lys.” I snort into my drink before scooping a chip around the guacamole that she’d whipped up.

“I’m half kidding. Though I am coming off an eighty-hour work week.” She takes another sip and burrows herself into my couch. “But Wren is so worried about Bennett, that asshole.”

“Lys…”

“I wasn’t in love with the idea of him coming here to live with you, you know.” She takes a long sip and I hear her obnoxiously get to the end of her drink.

“Could have foo

led me,” I reply, sardonically. It only took Wren seven minutes to get Alyssa on board with the idea, and while she was hesitant, she did believe I was the best choice of caretaker while Bennett got better.

She pours more gin in her glass, foregoing the tonic this time. “Wren did make some good points. Everything aside, Bennett doesn’t trust many people.”

“But I don’t trust him, Alyssa.” I remind her. I’m glad that he felt comfortable here and with me, but what about my feelings?

“You surely still love him.” I hate that Alyssa can read my emotions even when I’m desperately trying to hide them.

“Precisely why I don’t need him in my house,” I blurt out, followed by a sigh when I realize I’ll need to explain what I mean. “He’s already getting in my head.”

She bites her bottom lip and takes another sip before letting out a breath. She stares off into space and purses her lips before looking at me, and it looks as if she’s nervous to say whatever it is she’s thinking. “Do you miss him?”

I ponder her question as I look down into my drink not wanting to speak the three letter word sitting on the tip of my tongue. The three letter word that welcomed Bennett back into my life.

“Yes.” I look up at my best friend, her mocha colored eyes full to the brim with warmth and comfort and I don’t see an ounce of the usual sass or snark that I usually see. I just see my best friend, that I’ve known for years. The woman who was my college roommate for four years, my best friend, my maid of honor, and at times I felt like my true soulmate. I loved her even when I didn’t, and I knew she only had my best interest at heart, especially when it came to the man that had broken mine

She moves closer to me, engulfing me in a hug and resting her head on my shoulder. “Wren said he was a wreck when you left the hospital. He kept asking him what happened, but Wren said he needed to talk to you.” Her voice is quiet and timid, and unlike how she usually sounds. “I just don’t want to see you get hurt again.”

“I know, Lys.”

She perks her head up and looks at me, sadly. “But I also saw the way you two acted just in the ten minutes I saw tonight. I saw the spark that’s always been between you. The way he looked at you, like you’d disappear if he didn’t constantly have his eyes on you. Like you were the most perfect woman in the world and he was lucky to be in your presence.” I shift my gaze towards her, wondering where this sudden change of heart has come from.

“You saw all of that in the few minutes you were around us?”

“Your chemistry could stop anyone in their tracks. Watching you two together is like…witnessing magic.”