The Favor (A TKB AU)

7. Thanksgiving

"So do we need to grab a cab, or are your parents picking us up?" Sanj asks as we make our way through LAX. His parents are out of the country visiting relatives, so Mom invited him home with me for Thanksgiving.

"My brother's coming. He just said he's almost here." Playing airport chauffeur was probably an order from Mom rather than Lee's idea, but I'm looking forward to putting the top down in the Mustang and enjoying some sun for the first time in weeks. And, I'm just a little curious whether Lee's usual copilot will be along for the ride.

The passenger seat is disappointingly empty when Lee pulls up, though. I guess I shouldn't be surprised—if Elle were tagging along, she'd have told me, but I haven't heard from her today. Or yesterday, come to think of it. A few months ago that wouldn't have been unusual, but ever since her visit we've kept in touch. We don't mention what happened and our messages stay casual, but it's definitely a change. A change I like, because the motley collection of memes Elle sends, with occasional mentions of what she's up to, always make me laugh. We never call, though, and that's probably a good thing. It's one thing joking over text, but actually hearing her might make it harder not to dwell on that weekend.

As it turns out, I don't hear from Elle at all today, not even after letting her know we've reached the house. I do overhear Lee on the phone with her, asking whether Rachel's picking her up, but when I later casually ask whether Rachel is coming over, Lee says she's going to the movies with Elle and Duncan. Which... huh. Elle has never mentioned a friend by that name, and there weren't any Duncans at school last year. I could ask Lee, but I don't. His lectures about butting out of Elle's love life have never been as outraged as hers, but it would still be a bad start to my visit home.

Being home is a little weird. Some moments I forget I was ever gone, and other times it's hard to believe it's only been three months. My room is exactly as I left it, with one exception: I find that sweater I'd lent Elle under my pillows, neatly folded. I thank her for it, but that message goes unanswered, too.

Elle is still absent from my inbox the next morning, and when she and her family show up for Thanksgiving lunch she seems quieter than usual and quickly disappears into Lee's room. I don't see her again until we sit down to eat, but maybe I was just imagining things earlier—soon enough she and Lee are at their usual nonsense and her laugh is as sparkling as ever. She spends most of the meal talking to Lee or my cousin Erin, but she must be paying some attention to me, because she jumps in as I'm telling Mike how busy this week was.

"Did you ever get that paper finished?"

"Of course. Submitted it from the plane." The first draft of my history term paper was due yesterday, and it's possible I've complained about it to Elle a time or ten in the past week.

"And where exactly was the plane by then?" Elle asks suspiciously.

"Landing in LA," I admit with a grin.

Elle shakes her head at me. "Procrastinator."

"Man, is Mom paying you to nag both of us now?" Lee interrupts with a laugh.

I see a brief flash of panic in Elle's eyes, but she quickly recovers.

"Nope. Just making sure Noah doesn't ruin Country Day's reputation before my application gets read. And you know she's never had to pay me to nag you... I boss you around because I love it," Elle snarks back, sticking her tongue out at Lee.

So, Elle didn't delete her Harvard application after all. File that one under interesting news I don't hate. I'm curious where else she's applying, but she's busy talking to Erin again and I've got Sanj to entertain. Elle and I will have to catch up later, but I'm glad she sounds like her usual self. I was definitely reading too much into the lack of messages—she was busy, that's all.