Page 74 of The Man in the Cottage

"You're welcome." She leans over and hugs me, quick and tight. "Now let's order pizza, because I'm starving and you have nothing in your fridge."

"I have things in my fridge."

"You have condiments and half a block of cheese. That's not food, that's a cry for help."

We order pizza—two large, one with everything, one plain for Mona who claims she doesn't like toppings—and eat it on the living room floor while watching a reality show none of us have seen before. The fire crackles. The wine flows. The conversation wanders from work to relationships to that time junior year when Brit accidentally set her dorm room on fire trying to make ramen.

By the time they leave the next morning, hugging me goodbye on the porch and making me promise to call if anything happens, I feel almost normal again. Still tired. Still wary. But grounded in a way I wasn't before.

My phone buzzes as I watch their cars disappear down the driveway.

Travis: How was friend time?

Good, I type back. Really good. I needed it.

I'm glad. You deserve good things.

So do you.

I already have one. She's standing on her porch texting me right now.

I look up, and there he is—walking across the yard from the cottage, phone in hand, smiling at me in the gray morning light.

"Hi," he says when he reaches the porch.

"Hi." I put my phone away. "You're up early."

"Couldn't sleep. Kept thinking about you." He climbs the steps and pulls me into his arms. "You look better."

"I feel better."

"Good. That's all I wanted."

We stand there for a moment, wrapped around each other, the cold morning air biting at our edges. Somewhere in the distance, a bird is singing. The world is still turning. The story is still out there, somewhere, but it doesn't feel as heavy as it did.

"Come inside," I say. "I'll make you breakfast."

"You don't have any food. Your fridge is a crime scene."

"How do you know that?"

"Nicole texted me. Said I need to take you grocery shopping."

I laugh. "Of course she did."

"So? Breakfast out, then groceries?"

"That sounds perfect."

He takes my hand, and we go inside together. The house still smells like wine and pizza from last night, and there's a blanket crumpled on the floor where Brit fell asleep.

"Looks like you had fun," Travis says.

"We did." I squeeze his hand. "Thank you for giving me space. I know you wanted to be here."

"You needed your people. I get it." He pulls me closer, wrapping his arms around me from behind as I look at the mess of the living room. "Besides, Nicole was texting me updates all night. I knew you were okay."

"Of course she was."