I glanced over my shoulder to see him scowling at me. He titled his head down so that his hoodie shadowed his eyes.
Suddenly I wasn’t in the mood for hot chocolate anymore. My stomach felt like it had flipped over. “Right.” I placed the milk on the counter. V looked upset. Why? And why did I even care? I grabbed a pan to distract myself and turned on a burner. “You have to do it on the stove.” My voice came out as a whisper, like the past was trying to catch back up with me.
It wasn’t V I was upset about. It was the reason why I preferred it on the stove. That was the way Miles’ mom had always prepared it for us. The two men around me started to blur away in a memory. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, willing the memory to go back to where it belonged.
“No, I like it just the way it is,” I said and pulled my hot chocolate away from Miles.
“I know, but I’m telling you it’s better with whipped cream.” He stared at me like I was the dumbest person on the planet.
I was not an idiot. And he was being mean again for no reason at all. “It’s better with marshmallows…doofus.” It was the strongest insult I could think of off the top of my head.
He laughed.
I tried not to let the sound make me smile, but I felt the corners of my mouth lifting.
“Have you ever even tried it with whipped cream?” Miles asked.
I started tapping my heels against the wooden stool. “No.”
“Then you stop being a doofus.” He moved the can of whipped cream closer to my mug and I pushed it away.
He glared at me.
I glared back.
“You’re a ridiculous human being, Summer.”
For a moment I just let myself be happy that he had actually acknowledged me by name. “At least I’m a good human.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Miles set the whipped cream down on the counter.
“I care about all animals. I follow my parents' rules as best as I can. And my dad says I’m the sweetest person in the whole wide world.”
Miles laughed.
“And I’m actually nice to everyone.” I crossed my arms in front of my chest. “Unlike some people,” I added under my breath.
He laughed. “Just try it, will you? And I’ll try the stupid marshmallows.”
“Never.” I lifted up my hot chocolate with marshmallows and took a huge sip. “It’s hot!” I started fanning my mouth. Ow. I stuck out my tongue and Miles took the opportunity to spray a huge dollop of whipped cream on my tongue.
It immediately cooled my mouth down.
“Good, right?” He stuck his tongue out and squirted some on it.
I laughed and some of the whipped cream flew off my tongue and into my hot chocolate. I looked down at the ruined beverage.
“Trust me, you’re going to like it.”
I looked back up at Miles. He was already sipping his hot cocoa like it wasn’t scalding hot. And he was smiling. I really did like his smile. Maybe a little whipped cream wasn’t the worst thing in the world. Especially if it made him this happy.
“You okay?” Eli asked. His hand on my shoulder finally pulled me back to the present.
“What?” I shook my head and turned off the burner. “Oh. Yeah, I’m fine. Actually, I want to try it your way. Microwaved milk and all.”
“Yeah?”
I nodded. “I’m sure it’ll be great.” If I had been willing to try it Miles’ way, I could try it Eli’s way. Miles had been right too, hot cocoa was really yummy with whipped cream.
Eli started pouring milk into the mugs again. “Do you want any, V?” he asked.
When V didn’t respond, Eli turned around. “Huh. Guess he’s not a big fan of hot chocolate.”
I looked back too, and V was gone. “I guess not,” I said.
Chapter 8
Monday
Our daily meeting was about to occur. Liza and V would brief me on whatever small updates there were, most likely keeping out important details they didn’t want to divulge. And I’d feel hopeless. I took a deep breath. I could feel myself sinking back into the darkness.
For a moment it was like Eli had fixed me. The memory of Miles had shaken my new resolve, though. It didn’t help that Eli’s hot chocolate wasn’t very good. It was decent, but it was nothing like Mrs. Young’s. I missed her. Would I ever see her again? Most likely not. I shook the thought away.
“Hey,” Liza said and sat down beside me.
She usually never sat near me. Her seat of choice was right next to V. I took it as an olive branch. “I’m sorry about last night,” I said. “I know you’ve given up a lot to be part of this and that you were forced into it. I really appreciate that you’re here.”
“You seem to be in a much better mood.”
I shrugged. “The therapy session actually helped.” I knew it was more than that, though. It was Eli. Why was I suddenly doubting everything?
“Good. And just for the record, I’m happy to be here. Spending this much time with V has been so nice.”
“Mhm. How is that going by the way?”
She smiled. “Amazing. Today we went for a walk in the snow. Well, actually more of a stroll on the roof, but it was very romantic.”
“Cool.” I drew out the word to make it not sound cool at all. I cleared my throat. “Has he told you anything about who he is? Or his past or anything?”
“Look, I know you two had a fling, if that’s what you’re wondering. And I’m totally okay with it. There doesn’t need to be any awkward tension between us. Especially because it’s over.”
“Is that what he said?”
She shrugged. “He didn’t have to. You guys have been ice cold with each other for months. Thanks for stepping back. I know you knew I liked him. I really appreciate it.”
“Mhm. He’s all yours.”
She smiled and pushed her glasses up her nose. “For the record, the only thing I had to give up to be here was my apartment. You were right.”
“I didn’t mean any of that. I was upset.”
“But it’s true," said Liza. "And I’m sorry about everything you’ve lost. I really am, Summer.”
I nodded. I didn’t really know what to say. It wasn’t just V that had been cold toward me recently, it was her too. This was the first time it had ever felt like we might be friends.
“Hey,” Eli said as he sat down across from me. “How are you doing, Liza?”
“Good. I like your glasses,” she said with a smile. Her cheeks turned a little pink.
Maybe we weren’t great friends yet. I was pretty sure friends weren’t supposed to get jealous of each other. And I was certainly a little jealous now. She wasn’t allowed to like V and Eli. But wasn’t that what I had been doing?
God, what did I even know about friendship? The closest friend I’d had recently was my college roommate Kins and it had been months since I had spoken to her. She thought I had moved away. Maybe jealousy between friends was a normal thing. I smiled to myself. Maybe I was finally becoming normal.
V walked into the room and the floor immediately lit up blue. I wasn’t sure how Athena knew that it was him, but she treated him like a rock star. He sat down across from Liza and dropped a folder on the table.