Page 18 of Passing Notes

My voice was muffled against Leo’s chest when I said, “No, I’ve given up on that, it’s going nowhere.”

Molly balked. “The hell you’re giving up! His ass needs to be nailed to the wall. Sue him or file a complaint outside of the HR department. Report him to the bar or whatever. Do all that stuff you were talking about after you quit that place and were freshly pissed off. Don’t let him get away with it.”

I stepped out of Leo’s embrace and shook my head. “No, I just want it to be over. I’m letting it go.” The thought of having my own past dredged up was inconceivable. Why would I put myself through that? No, thank you.

She nodded and backed off. “Okay, I understand. It will dredge it all up again and that would suck. If you change your mind, we’re here to support you. Did you hear from Chris again? Is that it?”

“No, and I’m over him.”

“Then what’s with the rage fest?”

“Let’s settle in,” Leo tutted. “I brought you a summer squash and prosciutto quiche, with all the extra Gruyère your heart could ever desire.” Gently he pushed at my shoulders until the back of my knees hit the swing and I sat. “Let us take care of you. You need a good breakfast. You need emergency cheese, and old friends. When your mood is this bleak, it’s essential to keep yourself fed, so it doesn’t devolve into anything worse, trust me. The last thing you need is a prison sentence for killing”—he waved a hand around— “whoever.”

Molly’s family owned the Smoky Mountain Inn. It was uber fancy. Like, if you had a special event to plan, you’d have it there—weddings, birthday parties, baby showers, girls’ trips, you name it. Leo was their chef, which meant this quiche was going to taste like heaven in a pie plate. I was almost distracted enough to forget about Nick for a minute and simply stuff my face.

“Why can’t I be like you, Leo? All grown up and settled, cooking for yourself and other people, just like a real adult.” I sighed, the quiche no longer enough to make me forget about my troubles. “I tried so hard to make it work with Chris. I tried hard to make it work with all my relationships, but no. I failed every single time. I’ve spent all these years adding to my red flag collection and look at you two,” I said, gesturing towards them. “You have Landon, and Molly has Garrett. Even my sisters are happy—Sadie has Barrett and Willa has Everett.” I wrinkled my nose. “What the hell is up with those names?”

Molly shrugged. “Mrs. Becky Lee Monroe is a bit compulsive. Two t’s for all of them. But back to you and names. Chrises are cursed, but I won’t say I told you so, even though I did, like, so many times. I could write an entire book about it, for eff’s sake.” Molly had four exes named Chris, so she should know.

Leo rolled his eyes. “Molly, now is not the time—” Molly was fond of a good rant and once you got her going it was hard for her to stop. But she was great at making me laugh and gave the best soft squishy hugs, so I scooted next to her on the swing and put my head on her shoulder.

“Gah! Leo is right.” She pulled me into her side and kissed the top of my head. “I’m sorry. You deserved so much better than him. You deserve the world, Clara. We’re here to take care of you.” She pulled a small, credit card–sized envelope out of her bra and tossed it on my little wicker end table. “For the new spa. It’s a gift card for an entire day of pampering—mani, pedi, massage, facial, the works.” The inn’s spa was new, and I couldn’t wait to try it. My eyes lit up in spite of my bad mood.

“Y’all! This is too much. I can’t?—”

“Shh. Nope.” She pointed to the cooler bag next to Leo, who was nestled in my little pink Adirondack chair in the corner. “There’s no such thing as too much when it comes to friends. Leo brought you food for the week and there’s more where that came from. We will not allow you to subsist on coffee and angst. No way.”

I couldn’t help the laugh that burst out. “Coffee and angst, huh? Everett has a big mouth, y’all. I can’t accept all this.”

“Shut up. You can, and you will. We love you. You are always, always there for us and you have been since we were kids. It’s our turn to be here for you.”

“Don’t act like you weren’t there for me too back then. We helped each other. I don’t know what I would have done without y’all?—”

“Back then we were three disasters figuring out how to cope with our problems, darling,” Leo said. “Now we’re two happily-ever-afters and a friend in need.”

“I’m so stupid, Leo. Why did I waste so much time on a dumbass like Chris?” But more importantly, why, after all these years, am I still hung up on Nick?

He held up a hand to shush me. “No. First of all, you are not stupid. Wanting to find love, trusting people, and giving second chances are all beautiful things. But my second point is that unfortunately, people who grew up like we did tend to waste a lot of our time trying to make people who don’t deserve our efforts treat us better, instead of just walking away from them and moving on. Forgive yourself for that, Clara.”

“I’ll try. I promise I will.” I contemplated telling them about Nick. I needed to get it out of me. “I want to tell you something. I feel like I have to get this off my chest. But you have to keep it to yourselves, okay?” I pulled out of Molly’s arms and sat straight, scooting to the edge of the swing so I could watch their faces.

They exchanged a glance. “All right...,” Leo drawled as his eyebrows shot up.

“Of course. These lips will remain sealed, just like always.” Molly mimed turning a lock with a key and I grinned at her. “Spill it.”

“Remember Nick Easton? From back in high school?”

Molly’s eyes got big. “You mean hot quarterback Nick who now comes to the inn to play touch football with Garrett and Wyatt and all the rest of their superhot friends who me and Leo totally do not spy on from the kitchen window? The football coach at the high school? That Nick Easton?”

I grimaced. “Yep, that’s the one. So, uh, anyway, we were a thing back in high school, starting the end of junior year and through the entire time we were seniors. We were in love. We were going to run off to Knoxville together after graduation.” Their eyes were wide; their mouths too. “Leo, remember when you dropped me off at the bus station?”

He nodded and was able to pull himself together enough to answer. “Yes, of course I remember that. You didn’t want me to wait with you. I’d always thought it was weird.”

I shrugged. “I was supposed to meet Nick there. He had a football scholarship to UT. We’d been saving up our money. We were going to buy tickets out of town, find a place to rent together, get jobs, and I was going to go to junior college. But he never showed up, so instead of going to Knoxville, I went to Nashville. I left alone.”

Leo’s face fell. “Oh sugar, you should have called me. I would have come back and sat with you or drove you home. I would have been there for you?—”

“I’m sorry. I know you would have. I just couldn’t face it. I had to get far away, and Nashville was as far as I could afford to go and still make it back home if I couldn’t hack it there?—”