Page 5 of Once Upon a Beast

“Are you sure? You haven’t seen or talked to him in almost ten years,” Ella said.

“My father would have told me if anything had happened to Nic. He’s just shy, that’s all.”

“And a bit of a ladies’ man. Did you hear how Lizbeth Angelo said she had been having a secret affair with him when they met in Ibiza over the summer?”

“Yeah, completely false, Nic hasn’t left New York City in years. Plus, he doesn’t like the beach and would never go there.”

“Are you sure? He might have changed.”

“Do you think that Ara would ever go skiing? Do you see her suddenly taking it up? Do you ever see yourself wanting to go snorkeling?”

“No, never,” Ella said.

“Exactly. There are certainly things about people that won’t change. Nic was never in Ibiza with Lizbeth Angelo. I’m not even sure why that matters to this conversation.”

“I’m just reminding you of who the man is. He hurt you years ago and he never apologized or gave any explanation. You’re a kind person and are easy to forgive others. I don’t want you to go in there and think that he’s the same friend from your childhood. He isn’t. He changed. If he hadn’t, he would have called you, talked to you, been in contact with you.

“Seeing him is going to be emotional. There’s going to be a lot of feelings coming up. If he’s as good looking as he was when we were kids, it’s going to be hard to not be attracted to him. I’m just reminding you that he’s a player, and he’s not a good guy, and that you need to be careful.”

“I haven’t decided if I’m going to go inside or not,” I said.

“You are. You were the minute you got off the phone with your father. If you were honest with yourself, you’ve been waiting for this to happen for ten years. It finally has and you’re going to confront your friend. Well, you don’t confront people, you’re going to see what he and your father so desperately need your help with and you are going to do it. Which is why you called me instead of Ara.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because if you had called Ara, she would have told you not to go in. She would have immediately gotten into a cab and driven over to Nic’s apartment and yelled at your father for even putting you in this situation. She would have boxed Nic’s ears in for being an asshole to you for years.”

“We don’t know what was going on with Nic. He might have a good reason for doing what he did.”

“There’s no good reason for ghosting a friend. Be a man and say what’s going on. He didn't; that’s being an asshole. Anyways, you need to get inside that apartment and you called me to give you reassurance.

“Layla, you are an amazing, strong, funny, intelligent, incredible woman who has done so much with her life and you’re going to do so many other amazing things. You’re going to go into that apartment and you’re going to see what your father wants. If you think it’s something you can do and it won’t change your life and will only make it better, then you will do it.

“You don’t owe Nic anything, not even your time. You’re being kind by offering it today. You don’t need to give him anything else unless you want to. You can do this, you can see him, and when you do, you’ll hopefully get the one thing that you hadn’t been able to get,” Ella said.

“What is that?”

“Closure. You can finally confront Nic and say all the things you want and need to say but you never got a chance to do. Once you do, you can truly move on with your life. You can leave him where he belongs, in the past.”

“I don’t know if I can do that. I have no idea what it’s going to be like to see him again,” I admitted.

“It’s going to be hard, but you’re a resilient woman and you can do it. It will suck but in the end you will be fine. You will do what is right for you and when you’re done, you’re going to come over to Ara’s place and we’re going to talk about it.”

“We are?” I hadn’t considered doing that.

“Yes. Absolutely. Do you think you can drop this bombshell on me and not then fill Ara and me in on what happened after? We’re going to need all the information,” Ella said with a laugh. “Plus, you’re going to need to talk and we will be there for you.”

“Thanks Ella. I’ll call you when I get out and head over to Ara’s.”

“Okay. If you need me before then, all you have to do is call.”

“I know. Thank you, for everything.”

“Anytime. Fearsome threesome to the end.”

At Ella mentioning our nickname we gave ourselves when we were in camp, I knew that I could walk into Nic’s apartment and see him. I would, as Ella said, get the closure I needed.

“Love you, see you soon,” I said and ended the call.