Page 52 of Already Falling
Chloe turns to look at me with a smile, then I see her eyes move to Tyler, then back to me, then back to Tyler.
“Hi, hi, Reid!” Chloe says and jumps up, giving me a hug. “Please join our booth. We got the best one in the place.”
I slide into the booth so I’m sitting directly across from Annika, and Tyler sits next to me, across from Chloe. We just stare at each other, smiling for a bit until Tyler clears his throat.
“Oh, this is my friend, Tyler. He works with me at Parker Wellness,” I say.
“Nice to meet you, Tyler,” Annika says, giving him the same bright smile, she gave me. Just as a familiar ache bubbles up, she turns her dark eyes to meet mine, giving me a smirk, my favorite smirk. “How long have you been in Auburn Hills?”
“Me?” I say, pointing to my chest.
She laughs. “You, Tyler, Chloe, anyone really, just so we don’t sit in silence the whole time.” Tyler laughs at this comment.
“I like you better already,” Tyler says, and I kick his foot. He clears his throat. “I mean, I grew up in Auburn Hills, lived here my whole life but went to college in Eugene and lived there after I graduated for like a year, but I moved back about three years ago. So let me know if you need an Auburn Hills guide.”
I see Tyler give Chloe a wink. I think I see Chloe blush a bit but turn to Annika quickly to hide it.
“Why did you move back? Miss it too much?” Chloe asks.
“Sure, you could say that,” Tyler replies with a forced smile.
“I moved here two years ago, right after graduation,” I say, taking the attention off of Tyler so he doesn’t have to delve into his history. “My uncle took me under his wing, and I did some fast-track training. I’m still learning as a PT, but I love it here.”
“Well, Chloe and I just moved here a few weeks ago. I got a job offer, and we decided to move up here,” Annika shares.
“I already heard the short version.” I look directly at her. “What’s the long version?” She gives me a tight smile and squints her eyes.
“The long version is, I hated my major and worked at a marketing firm after college, hating my life, so I went home one day and panicked, applying for jobs in the middle of the night.”
“She didn’t tell me any of this, by the way. She kept it all to herself.” Chloe jumps in. Annika gives her a side-eye and continues.
“Anyway, a few weeks later, I was getting rejection emails, but then one came in asking for an interview. They didn’t bring up the location until after they offered me the job. After talking to my mom for, like, three hours, I decided to go for it.”
“And Chloe came with you.” I nod along, following her story and admiring her ambition to drop everything and chase a dream.
Chloe takes a deep breath. “I didn’t have a lot of options. I’m not going to get into it, but I broke up with my longtime boyfriend, so I was kind of in limbo. It made sense to join Anni.”
I scan my brain from our past experiences and remember the bleach blond guy Chloe dated, wondering if it is the same guy.
“It’s so fun that you live here too, Reid. What a coincidence?” Chloe says.
“I don’t know if it is,” Annika says. “I don’t believe in coincidences. Things happen, shitty or not. I have a feeling we were always meant to come up here.”
Tyler taps his fist on the table. “Chloe! Do you want to go to the bar and order some drinks and snacks for the table?”
“Sure,” she says with a bright smile. They slide out of the booth and walk to the bar.
Annika lets out a sigh and smirks up at me. “Despite the way you and I ran into each other, I’m happy to see you again.”
“Me too.” I smile. “I’m looking forward to our new friendship.”
“Is Tyler your only friend here?” she asks.
“I’ll have you know, I’m very friendly and know a lot of people here,” I say.
She chuckles. “Yeah, I know. Everyone loves you, Reid. You know what I mean.”
“Yeah, Tyler is my closest friend here. Sometimes we hang out with his buddies from high school. Everyone in the town, well, most people in town, are friendly. Don’t tell him, but he kind of feels like an older brother. I go to him for advice and to get a warm meal.”
