Coffee Shop | Elizabeth Olsen

6: Park Bench

"Want some of my muffin?" I offered and she smiled nodding, I sat it between us and we broke pieces off eating quietly just enjoying each other's company. How was it I came over to comfort her and she ended up listening to my problems again? She's magic.

"Are you sure you're okay?" She nodded swallowing her food. "You seemed really sad that's why I came over instead of texting you and teasing." "I told you it was just a sad book." "I've read that book," I tell her. "It's not sad." "Well, Elizabeth maybe I thought it was. Maybe I have a softer heart than you." She tried to joke with me. "Can we talk about you for two seconds?" She sighed. "It's Ria's birthday today... So I'm just not in the best mood." She says before softly smiling. I was grateful she told me instead of lying to me as she has been in the past. "Is there anything I can do?" I asked. "I'm good, really. I just. It's her 21st so we had plans... It's silly because we made these plans when we were 18 in our dorm but I just." She shrugged. "What were your plans?" "We were meant to be in going to broadway tonight and then to a cocktail bar and then we had Bali booked for tomorrow." "Wait you actually had it booked?" "Yeah, she was a planner, she liked to know what she was doing when and she planned this and we saved a lot to pay for it from our jobs at the coffee shop. She was really excited. She spoke about it all the time." "What show were you seeing?" "Westside story... We cancelled them and the trip ages ago. It didn't seem right to go without her." I nodded listening. "Her older sister was going to come with us too but she's not spoken to me much since Ria passed. Mum said it's probably because I remind her of Ria. We were joint at the hip." She chewed her lip momentarily. "We either stayed at her house or mine never apart... Her family even moved to Malibu when we moved so we could still attend the same school. We even spent Christmases together." This is the most she's told me about herself, given it was about another person and not herself but she was actually talking to me which was nice. "How did that work?" I asked wanting to hear her talk more. "Our families were close, we had been friends since Pre K so they stayed over with us and we had Christmas together, both families one house. Me, Cassie, Ria and Becca would share a bed and then Ria's Parents would take Cassie's room. And the boys would have their own rooms. It was great we'd bake dessert and our parents made the dinner and we'd go for our sunset swim at the end of the day." I smiled as she smiled reminiscing. She sipped her tea again and looked around at the people passing. 

"I should go." She says standing up putting her book in her bag. "Thank you for the tea." She smiled. "Maybe we could hang out sometime... Whilst we're both in the same state." She nodded. "Text me." I wanted to stay and talk, to hear her talk about herself more but I think I have pushed her enough for one day. I stayed sitting hiding behind my sunglasses as she walked off. A lady was struggling to carry her bags and keep her child close to her as she cut through the park and Nell stopped and helped her. Sweet girl. 

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"Are you stalking me, Olsen?" She quirked an eyebrow as I stood in front of her. I chuckled before taking a seat. "Just on my daily escape," I say pulling my coat closed so the wind didn't hit my chest. "Two days in a row? That bad huh?" She asked turning her body to face me slightly closing her book. "Yeah, kind of. They mean well it's just really overwhelming." She nodded. "They don't know the extent of everything. We didn't just disagree over a set of curtains, it was way more than that but they don't understand." I explained. "What did you tell them exactly?" "Just we weren't doing so well and I wasn't happy so I ended things." "Then how do you expect them to understand the gravity of the situation if you haven't given them even a section of the picture?" She asked simply not judging me or forcing me to go tell them. "They're my sisters they're meant to be on my side." I pouted. "They are, they want you to be happy and they've only known Robbie to make you happy." I sat and thought about her words for a moment. "You're way too smart for a 21-year-old." She shrugged.