Chasing Memories

[28] Fragments

    The car shunted to a halt outside the apartment building, its lonely pair of headlights flickering across the empty car park. "Back before sunset! And it only took running a couple of red lights," Cadence announced as she pulled her car key free. Turning in her seat, she raised her eyebrow through the dim cabin lighting at the two passengers stunned in the back. "Not even a round of applause? Yikes. Tough crowd."

    Too stunned to undo her seatbelt, Natalie's bewildered stare reflected the messy contents of her friend's mind. Elise's last talk with Cadence had buried a ruthless knife between her ribs, and it had taken a series of sleepless night to even begin sealing the wound. Seeing the girl again, however, twisted that knife and revealed just how futile it had been to try and heal without the best, and only, treatment for her deep pain. As awkward as the wordless drive to the flat had been, Elise could not deny how amazing it felt to share a space with her best friend again.

    Natalie shifted in her seat as she looked over at Elise. "She was the one looking for you while you chatted with James," she whispered, visibly unsure about Cadence's attentive gaze. "I didn't know you knew her. I'd have told you sooner if I did."

    "It's alright, Natalie," Elise said with a smile, tapping the back of her friend's hand and flicking her head towards the building. "You go say hi to Robin. I think me and Cade need to talk."

    As the car door shut behind Natalie's back, Cadence drummed her fingers on the back of her headrest. "Ah, real sneaky, killer. This is the part where we drive off and party hard back at the cabin, right? Squeeze in one last night of freedom before the grump lands back tomorrow?" she asked, waiting for the glow of Elise's smile to brighten up the car's dank interior. When the response never arrived, Cadence stilled her fingers and dropped her smile. "Only kidding. I'd never get between you and your cute new girlfriend – well, not unless you wanted me to."

    "She's just a friend." With a sigh, Elise left the car and swapped into the front passenger seat. Her nerves relaxed as soon as her weight settled into the chair, and the pale curves of Cadence's hand were near-impossible to resist taking in her own. In the familiar comfort of her usual seat at her best friend's side, the stagnant words that had swilled around the basin of her gut now flowed like spring water from her lips. "Cade, I'm...sorry."

    "Sorry for what?" Cadence asked as a sluggish confusion dragged on the ends of her words. The keen twinkle that often reigned in the corner of her eye returned, though the pensive clouds that obscured its glimmer revealed it sparkled more with hope than confidence. "Did you get into trouble without me? Chill, I won't hold it against you...much."

    All plans that Elise had cobbled together for her apology fled from her scrambled mind. Before she could devise new ones, she threw herself into Cadence's side and hugged her, the irrepressible warmth that beamed from her friend's skin restored to her memory. "I'm sorry for going after Melody like I did in the hospital. I should've realised she still meant a lot to you," she said, choking down a rogue sob before it burst from her throat. The cold, metallic taste of sincerity coated Elise's tongue, yet a single breath of Cadence's sweat-tinged sweetness more than overwhelmed the bitter steel. "You were right, I wasn't listening to you. I was a shitty friend. I pissed you off, and that's never okay."

    "Relax. I was never pissed off with you, Ellie," Cadence answered with a shake of her head, her soft hairs weaving a breeze to cool Elise's flushing cheeks. "I know you were just looking out for me back there. You're still totally jumping to conclusions about Mel, but she'll come round when we get the truth out of Flo, right?"

    Elise let her gaze drop to the vehicle floor. "Cade..."

    "Where are we headed, killer?" Cadence asked, beating the top of her steering wheel with her flattened palms. "Straight to the cabin, or is it finally time for our sunset beach adventure?"