Page 81 of Friends That Heal Us
“Ow.” He laughs, rubbing at his side.
“I didn’t hurt you.”
“You hurt my heart,” he says, rubbing at his chest with a puppy-dog face.
I give him a small smirk. “Sure.”
“My heart is sensitive, you know.”
I lean down to his chest. “I’m sorry, sensitive heart,” I say before sitting back up. “Is that better?” I ask, catching Ezra’s growing smile.
“Much.”
I shake my head and shove him lightly. He grabs onto me and pulls us to lie down, and my head lands on his chest. He squeezes his arms tightly around me.
I let out a breath. “I needed this.”
“What?”
“This,” I say, waving my hand around. “I forgot what fresh air felt like.” I chuckle.
“I’m glad I could steal you away.”
“Me too.”
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
VIOLET
“How areyou liking the job so far?” I ask Liv as I sit down in front of her. Both of us are resting after our morning and afternoon rush.
We usually get a small rush during the morning and lunch hours, and then it calms down. I’ve been keeping an eye on how busy we get during the day, to see what hours we should be open. I’ve noticed the busiest times are morning and afternoon. Closing late afternoon would be a big help to me. I would have more time to bake, and not have to be here twenty-four seven, like I have been lately.
She finishes chewing her bite before speaking. “I love it. I don’t think college is where I’m supposed to be.”
I chuckle a little, knowing that’s how I felt the moment I stepped foot into college. It felt like high school all over again, learning about something I’ll never use.
“I’m glad. How have your parents felt about you not going to school?”
She smirks and shrugs her shoulders. “They think this is a phase I’ll grow out of.”
“Do you think it is?”
“Maybe. I don’t know. How can someone know something like that? I don’t want to live my life thinking about the future. I would rather live my life in the moment. If that’s me going back to college tomorrow and dropping out the next day, then so be it.”
“Life’s too short to be forced into something that doesn’t feel right.” I take a sip of my coffee, glancing at her.
“Right. I wished my parents thought like you.”
“At least you’re being responsible and paying them back for the semester they paid for. That has to mean something to them.”
Her eyes meet mine. “They told me it does. But sometimes I don’t even feel like I should pay them back because they forced me to go to college.” She rolls her eyes. “I didn’t want to, and they knew that.”
“Maybe this will show them you’re still trying to figure out what you want to do.”
“Hopefully it does, because next time I’m not paying them back.”
I let out a laugh. If I could go back in time and be young and carefree, I wouldn’t hesitate. Sometimes I miss when I was younger. And what’s sad is I couldn’t wait to grow up and be an adult, and now that I am, I wish I had enjoyed the simple things in life more, back when my life was simpler. Here I am, thirty and starting all over. At least I’m starting over with experience.
