Chasing Memories

[12] Rain

    Another scoop of glass shards tinkled into the bin, and Elise tossed herself into the sofa's plush embrace. "How can one bottle break into so many tiny pieces?" she asked, wiping a slick layer of sweat from her brow. "I'm sorry, Cade. I don't usually make my friends tidy up after my silly mistakes."

    "Chill, Ellie. Do you really think I've never cleaned up a broken bottle or dozen before?" True to her word, the coffee table shone after Cadence's thorough scrubbing, its exquisite polish beaming at Elise from below its clutch of trinkets. A satisfied smile took root on Cadence's face as she disposed of several surface wipes in the same bin. "How'd you get Roomie to let me back in, anyway?"

    Robin's door stood dormant. Not one sound had squirmed its way out of the room to Elise's ear during the clean-up, the unfamiliar absence kneading its claws along the back of her neck whenever her mind distracted itself. "It's less that he's letting you stay and more that he's too tired to argue against it, I think," she said as she rubbed away the latest imagined pricks over her skin. "I wouldn't push it, though. He's only this quiet when he's furious."

    Falling against the kitchen counter, Cadence shrugged and shoved her bottle of lemonade to one side. "Fine, we'll keep it clean. I've never gone hard on hard tap water before, but there's a first time for everything, I guess." She peered out of the window and sighed at the relentless downpour that battered against the glass. "Including drowning in my own car trying to find food, apparently."

    "Sorry, but you'll have to save that first for another time." Elise peeled herself from the sofa and shuffled over to the freezer, pulling out two frozen pizzas from the upper shelf. "Pizza. Tea. Films. Don't say I don't know how to look after my guests."

    "Yeah, if your guests are like fifteen and this is their first sleepover," Cadence groaned as she pushed the ice-cold boxes into Elise's chest. "Want to do each other's nails and gossip about our crushes too?"

    "Want to sail through the streets in your crappy car? Just roll your windows up – oh, wait."

    Cadence shut her eyes and shook her head, releasing a small, exasperated laugh. "Guess I'll get started on our pillow fort."

    By the time Elise fell back into the sofa, she was more than ready to melt into the rising tide of steam that swirled before her. Fresh hits of sharp kitchen herbs struck her nose as she bit into the oozing, earthy warmth of the mushroom and pesto pizza. As the cosiness threatened to send her to sleep, a zingy sip of her fiery lemon and ginger tea perked her right back into the moment.

    Cadence kicked back into the sofa beside her, taking a sip of her own tea before setting the mug down with a sceptical expression. Despite the drama that preceded it, the moment Elise spent watching her friend at ease in her flat was surreal enough to stop her in her tracks. Inviting Cadence into her home had seemed unthinkable even earlier that day, and yet it had been familiar enough for Elise to make the offer without hesitation, and she defended her friend just as instinctively. Even after so much time, playing Cadence's faithful sidekick still felt so right.

    "Uh, Ellie?" A quick prod struck Elise's side, and Cadence's distant voice reached her in the deep pools of her thoughts. "As happy as I'd be to eat all this food by myself..."

    "Right!" Elise dragged her consciousness back into the room to find half the pizza missing, her own first slice still squished between her fingers. At some point during Elise's daydream, Cadence had swapped the plate on her lap with a fleece blanket that she kept rolled-up between her legs. A flicker of embarrassment flew along Elise's nerves as she finished her slice. "Sorry for spacing out on you. I guess I've got too much on my mind."