“I’m sorry,” Lizzie whispered as she fell into step beside Hope.
“Stop apologizing.” Hope nudged her with her elbow. “I already told you two you had my blessing.”
“That doesn’t mean you wanted to see me tongue-chumming your ex in the middle of the hallway.”
“No,” Hope said honestly. “But it does mean that what I feel when I see it is happiness for you.”
Lizzie gave her a small smile, and then spoke a little louder, “I’m not a huge fan of surprises.”
“Considering the surprise you just gave us all today, I respectfully ask you to shut up and tolerate this one.” Hope grinned.
They stopped at the grand double doors that led into the dining hall. She readied the three of them and then ceremoniously pushed the doors open.
“Surprise!” came a chorus of happy voices.
Lizzie’s jaw dropped as she looked around the hall. She didn’t know when they had found time to hang streamers and balloons - although she suspected that magic was involved - but the room looked fantastic. She couldn’t have done it better herself. She glanced around the long, decorated table, spotting a myriad of familiar faces - Finch, Jed, Alyssa, MG, Kaleb, Cleo … all her friends.
“What’s all this?” she asked, eyeing them nervously. Their grins were mischievous. She could tell they had something more planned.
“A party.” Hope’s smile was kept carefully reserved, like she was trying not to show how excited she truly was. “Something to help you remember.”
Lizzie furrowed her eyebrows. “I wasn’t the one who lost my memories.”
“No, but you were the one who forgot how much you mean to all of us. Without the help of dark magic.” Hope passed two glasses over her shoulder to Lizzie and Landon. Neither of them asked what the liquid was inside the glass. “I officially propose a toast,” she said, handling her own glass. “To Elizabeth Jenna Saltzman.”
“To Elizabeth Jenna Saltzman.”
Glass clinked off each other softly in the big hall.
“I’ll go first.” Finch stood, still holding her glass high in front of her. Her eyes settled on Lizzie. “Lizzie Saltzman, we weren’t great friends before. Mostly my fault. But I always thought you were cool and a little intimidating and very fashionable. And I’m glad we’re friends now.”
Cleo stood next. “Lizzie Saltzman, I have always admired your bravery and your confidence and how much you care for the people around you …”
It went on and on, around the table. Everyone had kind words to say, things they missed about her, ways their lives were worse without her in it. By the end of it, her cheeks hurt from smiling so hard.
Hope cleared her throat, last but not least, standing tall. “Lizzie Saltzman, you are my best friend in the entire world. You have a way of making everyone around you better. It’s something I was always envious of but that I have grown to admire about you instead. It’s my favorite quality of yours. You’ve always tried to be better, even when everyone thought it was impossible and never gave you a chance to change. You’ve made us all better people along the way. Especially me.”
They raised their glasses a final time before they tipped their glasses back. Lizzie watched them. She’d had no idea how much she meant to people - and how many qualities of hers they had been able to come up with that she had no idea even existed in the first place. Seeing herself through their eyes was certainly a lot different than seeing herself through her own, hypercritical eyes.
She smiled. She had a feeling things were going to be just fine, no matter how things shook out in the end.
Everything was going to be okay.
She lifted her glass to her lips, finishing the rest of its contents. Her throat flushed with warmth but it was nothing compared to the warmth radiating from her heart.
YOU ARE READING
Without Me
FanfictionLizzie's dreams of being a superhero had gotten her into messy situations before, but nothing like this. She sacrificed her life during the final showdown with Malivore but what life she sacrificed wasn't what she was expecting.
