Imagining Us

Ch. 32- What are Friends For?

Lena scoffed. "And you trust this Danvers brother?"
"Luka hides his feelings with his smile..his humor, but the truth always comes through... it's like he can't hide it."

Esi saw her friend biting her tongue, probably to keep from saying that Esi thought she'd read Porte correctly too. Look how that turned out. From daily communication to being completely cut off.

"Fine," Lena relented, as if Esi's dinner was dependent on her word.

Esi laughed, completely forgetting about the tension.

"You do know that my decision to go wasn't dependent upon you, right?"

"Don't push it, Elizabeth..." Lena countered. "I can still say no."

Her friend walked towards the bed where Esi's outfits lay against her lavender cotton sheets. She shook her head. Then, she headed towards Esi's closet and sifted through the clothes there.

Lena picked one and held it out.

"Wear this with your knee high boots."

She held up a thick tan long sleeved sweater dress that stopped above her knee. It also clung to her wide hips.

Esi squinted at it.

" Are you sure? You don't think it's inappropriate? Too short?" Esi asked her.

"No...it's fine," Lena reassured her, then she tilted her head questioningly. "Unless you want it to be?"

Her mind flashed to when Luke had first asked her to dinner, when she thought that he was seriously asking her out. The panic that had ensued because her mind had flitted to Porte. To him even though he was no longer communicating with her.

She had felt guilty after. When Esi really thought about it, she had known Luke first, he had proven himself that semester, even when they had a misunderstanding over Andrew. When he had advice that she should have listened to.

Still, her mind had immediately gone to his brother who had neglected their friendship after a few months. Luke was here again, when she thought it was just words—he was actively reaching out, wanting to be her friend.
She supposed that was something else that the brothers had in common.

Still, Esi was a little uncertain as she planned to go to this dinner. She would ask Luka upfront his intentions about their friendship. Becasue she didn't want to invest herself in people who didn't want to invest in her.

"No. I don't want it to be anything," Esi said honestly.
~~~~
Esi shrugged off her robe to slip on her tights and an under blouse to help with the cold.

Layering was so important in this weather. Then, she slipped on her dress, Lena assisting her in keeping her hair intact. She thought about the fact that her friend was already in her pajamas—even before Esi was even home. It was a bit unusual for her to be so static. Lena was always on the go—there was always some activity for her to be involved in. It was as if she had to keep herself busy so that she didn't have to dwell on certain issues.

"You're home early," Esi stated, realizing that her roommate wasn't usually home at this time. "And in pajamas already..."

Lena sat down on Esi's bed and worried at her bottom lip. "Yohan wants to visit next weekend."

"Oh," Esi took in the sadness that lingered in her eyes. "Does he still want to get back together?"

Her friend scoffed. "We'd have to have been together to actually get back there." There was anger attached to Lena's words—anger at herself. Anger at Yohan for the circumstances that they had found themselves in. Anger at promises that were not kept.

"But you were kind of together," Esi said gently, well aware of the weight of her words.

Tears welled in her fierce friend's eyes. "How can I, Esi? How can I even consider it? What happens when he finds out what I did?" She looked at Esi with anguish. "He would never forgive me. He would never want me again. Plus, he left me first ...and it wasn't even that he was my husband because that was just on paper. He was my friend first and he left."

Esi reached over to lay her hand on Lena's shoulder. "Oh babe, no one could understand what you were going through at that time." She ran her hand soothingly across her friend's back. "Yes, he should have been told, but he left and you didn't even know if he was ever coming back. You can't change the past, but only you can decide what happens next."

Lena wiped at her eyes.

"How did the subject change to me?" She groaned. "You need to get going, Westport isn't close."

Esi leaned back to look at her friend. "Are you going to be okay? I can stay...I really don't have to go."

"Girl, please. I'll be fine," she sniffed. " You have on your revenge dress...go do your thing."

Esi pulled away. "It is not a revenge dress!" She exclaimed. "I told you that he's not even going to be there."

"So if he was there, it would've been a revenge dress?"

"I'm not answering that," Esi said as she moved to grab her purse and keys. "Turn off the lights when you're leaving." She blew Lena a cheeky kiss. "Later."
"Byeee. Have fun," her friend wagged her eyebrows playfully.

Esi shook her head and left.

A/N

Enjoy!