Invisible String

Chapter 8 - It's Nice to Have a Friend

My mouth curved up, "Yes, you've done an outstanding job. Thank you."

"Not a problem."

The food arrived shortly after we got comfortable on the couch and we ate quietly while watching some sitcom on Netflix. We continued watching for an hour or so after eating and didn't say more than a few words to each other. When the next episode was over, I turned off the TV.

We sat in silence.

Finally, tired of it, I said, "What happened last night... well, I want to forget about it."

"Hannah," he reached out and touched my leg. "You can't ignore it and act like everything is normal the next time you see her."

"I don't want to talk about this."

"Han." He watched me get up, and I walked away into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water.

"Do you want one?"

"Yeah." He rubbed the back of his head. "But you can't avoid it forever."

I ignored him, tossed him a bottled water, then sat in the recliner. "What are you doing here, Alex?" He looked surprised that I'd asked him. "You weren't supposed to be here until tomorrow."

"I know."

"So why did you come back early?"

"Because I could. There wasn't much left for me to do there and I thought my time could be better spent here." He turned his head and examined me for a few seconds, then asked, "Did you not want me to come back when I did?"

"No," I said, leaning forward, my elbows on my knees. "It's not that... it's just... I kind of wish I could have had a chance to talk to Sandra alone before you got here. Get this whole mess sorted out. I just... I don't like how things ended between us. I don't like that she left."

"And she did that because I came?"

"No," I said, shaking my head. "I think she probably would've left regardless. She was embarrassed."

"Well, maybe you should call her. Talk things over. These things, they don't just go away, Hannah. She has feelings for you. You need to address it."

He disentangled himself from me and looked at his phone.

"I have to go meet with the label and recording studio out here to get some times set up." He stood, bent before the chair I was seated in and kissed me gently on the lips. "I should be back in just a couple of hours. You should call her while I'm gone. Really talk to her."

I sighed and leaned my forehead against his chin. He maneuvered so my face fell against his chest and he wrapped his arms tightly around me.

"I know it's not going to be a fun conversation for either of you, but it needs to happen. If you want to keep your friendship with her, you've got to talk. She's probably feeling pretty rejected right now," he said, pulling back he lifted my chin to look in my eyes. "I know I would've been heartbroken if you had told me you didn't feel that way about me when I showed up at your doorstep the other night."

"What is it with these goddamn romantic gestures all of a sudden?" I whined, but he smiled, and it caused my lips to curve up, too. "I mean, seriously. Where were you guys over the last six months?"

"Busy," he said, brushing hair from my face. "But it's no excuse. I should've done this the second you ended things before. I should've moved out here, made a better effort to give you what you needed."

I looked away, embarrassed that he'd just admitted to doing all of this for me. "You can't just move out here for me, Alex."

"I'm not," he said, then kissed my forehead. "Trust me. I said I should've done that a year ago for you. Now, I'm doing it for both of us."

He kissed my lips one more time, then fully stood and checked his pockets for his phone and wallet.

"I'll see you later, Hannah." He brushed his fingers along my shoulder as he passed by. I stood to follow him to the door and kissed him before he slipped out. Before I shut it, he said, "Good luck. I know you'll make things right with her. She'd be an idiot to lose you altogether."

I grimaced, then shut the door and locked it.

I returned to my bedroom and sat on the bed. It took me a while to decide what to do, but after a lot of deliberation and arguing with myself, I knew he was right.

It took a few rings for her to answer, and when she finally did, her voice was weak. She'd obviously been crying. "Hannah, I'm sorry. I never should've–"

"No, stop, Sandy."

"You shouldn't forgive me."

"Are you kidding? Of course, I forgive you. You're my best friend. You have been for way too many years for me to end our friendship over this."

"But–"

"No, you know I love you. It's not in the same way, I know. But I do love you. You mean so much to me and what happened last night was obviously because of the alcohol and–"

"I should've been smarter about it. I've been holding on to it for so long, I lost control, and I was stupid. It didn't work like I'd intended."

"Obviously," I laughed and I could practically hear her smile through the phone. "Listen, I needed to clear this up with you because I'm not mad at you. I need you to know that. I'm still a little shocked. But I'm sorry that I... ."

"Don't feel the same? Don't be. I get it." She quieted for a moment. "Thank you for calling, Han."

"Of course, and as far as I'm concerned, what happened is done and over and we are going to move on and I'll see you for my birthday?"

"Yes, I will be here."

"Alright, well, I'll see you in a few months."

"Sounds good. Goodbye, Han."

"Goodbye, Sandra."

I ended the call and set the phone on the bed beside me.