𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐠𝐨, 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫

𝟖: 𝐫𝐮𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐬

"What!?!"

The next morning, Elizabeth decided she had to tell Jackie about what happened with Cole the night before. Keeping it to herself was unbearable. She needed a second opinion—someone to assure her it was just because he was drunk and he didn't actually mean it.

"Then what did you do?" Jackie asked. "I told him to put a bandage on it and left the bathroom," Elizabeth replied.

"And you're certain he was drunk?" Jackie asked. "Positive," Elizabeth confirmed. "That means he didn't mean what he said then, right?"

"I don't know. You know the saying: 'drunk words are sober thoughts.' Maybe he meant it, and the alcohol just brought it out," Jackie suggested.

This wasn't what Elizabeth wanted to hear. She hoped Jackie would agree with her, so she could stop thinking about the whole encounter.

"But if he loves me, why did he break up with me?" Elizabeth asked. Jackie shrugged. "You've said it yourself—Cole is a complicated person," she said.

Elizabeth sighed and flopped onto Jackie's bed. "Men can be so confusing for no reason," she mumbled into the bed.

Jackie chuckled and patted her on the back. "It'll be fine. He might not even remember what he said."

"But I remember," Elizabeth said, sitting up. "And it's driving me crazy."

"Look, why don't we head to The Lark? We'll meet up with Grace and Skylar there, and they can give you their take on the situation," Jackie suggested. "Plus, we can enjoy some coffee and breakfast while we're at it." Elizabeth's stomach growled at the thought; The Lark did serve the best breakfast in town. Maybe Grace or Skylar would reassure her that she was overthinking and that Cole didn't mean what he said. She desperately needed someone to agree with her.

Elizabeth smiled. "A coffee sounds perfect."

"Great!" Jackie got up. "Let's go." She helped Elizabeth up. "Let me grab my keys," Elizabeth said, walking to Jackie's nightstand to grab them.

As they walked downstairs, they found Kathrine in the kitchen, reading a book with a cup of coffee in hand. "Morning, girls," Kathrine greeted them with a smile.

"Morning, Kathrine," Elizabeth waved back.

"We're heading to The Lark for breakfast," Jackie said.

Kathrine nodded. "Have fun," she said.

As the girls were about to leave, Elizabeth heard footsteps on the stairs followed by a groan. She turned to see Cole coming down and into the kitchen, completely ignoring her as he poured himself a cup of coffee. Did he remember what he said? Did he remember last night at all?

"Come on," Jackie whispered, bringing Elizabeth back to reality. "Right," Elizabeth said, following Jackie out the door and to her car.

__

After Elizabeth found a good parking spot, she and the girls walked into The Lark. Elizabeth immediately sensed a shift in the atmosphere the moment they walked inside. People stared at her and whispered as she passed. Were they gossiping about her? Elizabeth wasn't one to involve herself in high school drama, so this was new territory for her. She never thought she'd be the apart of any type of gossip, but she realized that was just a part of life.

Approaching the counter, Elizabeth spotted Grace, Skylar, and Kiley deep in conversation. Their talking died down as soon as they noticed Elizabeth. She expected people to talk, but her own friends? Grace was known to be the school's biggest gossip, but Elizabeth never imagined she'd be the gossip.