Page 33 of When In Doubt

“Station. I’ve got a meeting with Mack.”

I frown, noticing the direction his truck’s parked in. “The station’s that way?” I point toward the opposite end of the street.

Oscar flushes red, a deep crimson staining his cheeks. “I uh… well, it’s mostly on my way.”

A trickle of unease makes its way down my spine and I hate it. I hate that my reaction to a kind gesture is wondering what their angle is.

I just don’t know him nearly well enough to be certain. He seems sincere, but I’ve thought that in the past, and look where it got me.

Neither of us says anything for a long moment. In the end, the silence only gets broken by the shrill sound of my phone alarm.

“Shit, sorry,” I mutter, pressing the side button. “That’s my cue. I gotta go open the store.”

“Of course.”

Oscar gently nudges me aside before closing the trunk and moving to the driver’s side door to open it. I slide past him to get inside with a whispered thanks.

“See you around, Freya.” He turns back to his truck and gets in, but doesn’t start his engine until after I’ve pulled away.

When I do, I whoosh out the air that was trapped in my lungs, smiling as I adjust my rearview mirror.

I run the tip of my knitting needle along the ridges carved into the edge of my desk. The gentle tapping sound is the only noise in the store, aside from the faint ringing of the bell that hangs over the door to Becca’s.

A couple practically falls out of the diner with the force of their own laughter. They head hand in hand down the street. Whatever’s so funny causes the girl to double over, but the guy wraps a firm arm around her waist and tugs her against him, dropping a kiss to the top of her head before they move on.

That pit in my chest notches wider, like the dirt and roots are falling away at the edges, getting sucked in by the force of my loneliness. Without noticing, I’ve pressed my hand to my own waist, digging in my fingers like I can pretend it’s someone else doing it.

My phone buzzes from the desk drawer. I grin, seeing a text from Luci—she always seems to know when I need her.

LUCI

If you don’t call me soon I’m gonna cut microbangs and it’s gonna be YOUR FAULT

Have you replaced me with a new best friend?

I snort.

FREYA

I called you literally two days ago.

When we first met in high school at fifteen, I’d been alarmed by Luci’s flair for the dramatic, constantly thinking she was mad at me and taking her far too literally. Like in tenth grade when she told me she’d never speak to me again after I got an A in a class that she was failing, and then had to come hunt me down in the library where I’d been hiding with my lunch.

But it didn’t take me long to realize that’s just who she is. And honestly, back then, it was nice to have a friend who didn’t speak to me any differently than she did anyone else. Everyone else in my class would either talk to me like I was a toddler, or not talk to me at all. Luci was always just Luci.

Luci

EXACTLY that was TWO WHOLE DAYS AGO

I need you to be the voice of reason on this

Freya

Don’t cut micro bangs, it’ll make your face look really long.

Luci

Oooh, good point