In My Rearview Mirror, JACK.HUGHES

TWENTY ONE

"Oh my God, I found this apartment in Brooklyn, and it's cute! Big windows, so much light, and girl, it's like new-new, fully renovated. You'd be obsessed," I say, practically bouncing on place.

Olivia suddenly throws her hands over her face, all dramatic. "Stop, I'm literally depressed. You better promise you'll visit me."

"Ol, chill. Ced's still in the same building as you. You ain't getting rid of me that easy," I laugh, sticking out my pinky for the promise.

Okay, so real talk—at first, I wasn't hyped about moving, but now? I'm kinda getting into it. Like, I started ordering new furniture and everything. Even though I still have a ton of stuff from LA, I'm in the mood for a whole vibe change, you know?

As we head to the apartment (which, lowkey, I'll be moving out of in like two weeks), Olivia suddenly goes, "Rocky, NO." I look down and there's her new puppy, just staring at her with those big-ass puppy eyes like he did nothing wrong.

Of course, Rocky decides to pee right there, marking his territory, while Olivia's trying to act all bossy. Classic.

Anyway, the Rangers are in Seattle playing the Kraken tonight, so I've got the next four days solo while they're on this road trip. I look over at Olivia like, "Sooo, what's the plan for tonight?"

She sighs, rolling her eyes. "Ugh, Matthew's parents are coming over for dinner." Then she smirks, "And if his mom says one thing about my cooking, I swear I'm throwing hands." I laugh, 'cause I can already see it.

Olivia leans in, totally serious. "Last time they came over, his mom literally complained about my carrots. She's like, 'They don't taste organic enough.' Like, WHO even says that? She's obsessed with everything being organic or whatever, and she refused to eat 'em."

I'm dying at this point, 'cause who gets that pressed over carrots?! "Bruh, I've never even met someone so bougie about veggies," I say, barely holding it together.

Olivia shakes her head, still annoyed but kinda laughing too. "For real. I'm just tryna make a nice dinner, and she's over here acting like some food critic, all dissecting my carrots. But like, she didn't even eat them. She said she had 'organic standards' to uphold!"

"Okay, after the carrot incident, I legit started thinking I need to step up my cooking game. Like, who wants to be judged over freaking veggies, right?" Olivia laughs, rolling her eyes at the memory.

"So tonight, I'm going all out. I found this bougie recipe with herbs I can't even pronounce." She grins, totally amused by the whole situation.

"Girl, you could've just called me. I would've helped," I say, raising my eyebrows like duh.

Olivia and Matthew have been together for, like, three years now. They met at some frat party in college, and not gonna lie, their "meet cute" was Olivia accidentally puking on him. Like, is that romantic or tragic? Depends on how you look at it. Personally, I think he's kinda the worst—like, big Karen energy, just like his mom.

"When you tell me these stories, I feel way better about being single," I say, half-joking, but also not.

Olivia laughs, pulling her scarf tighter. "Not all moms are bad, okay? I just got unlucky." She shakes her head, already mentally preparing for the dinner showdown with Matthew's mom.

I kneel down and pet Rocky, her fluffy little troublemaker. He's so cute, but Olivia's right—it's like having a furry toddler. "Honestly, the more I think about it, I could totally just live alone with like, five puppies," I say, scratching behind his ears. "But, for real, puppies are like babies. I kinda regret it, and Matthew doesn't care 'cause I'm the one doing all the work."