72. Friendship
I come back from my thoughts once I hear my phone ringing. I check the caller ID. It’s amber calling. I quickly answer so I can give her the good news.
“Hi, Eleanor, how are you doing today? Have you eaten? Did you sleep well last night?” Amber asks once I answer. This is what Amber has been doing for the past two weeks. She calls me every morning even though she is supposed to be sleeping. I am so grateful to have her in my life. She cares about me greatly. I couldn’t have asked for another person in the world to be my best friend.
“Have I told you before that I love you?” I say, smiling into the phone.
“Eleanor, where is this coming from? Please don’t tell me you want to do what I am thinking. He is not worth it; please don’t hurt yourself. I know the pain feels like it will never go away, but I promise you it will with time. Please don’t hurt yourself,” Amber says, and I hear movement around her apartment. She must be trying to find her car keys to drive over here to come and stop me from killing myself. If only she knew I had no such idea after the fantastic night, I had with Jason.
“Amber, I am not telling you I love you because I want to kill myself.”
“Then why are you suddenly telling me you do. I know you do, but I don’t see why you are saying it now.”
“I am saying it now because I feel blessed to have you as my best friend. You are supposed to be sleeping after working all night, but you put an alarm so you can wake up and call me to check up on me. I felt I needed to tell you that I love you so you know I appreciate you.”
“Eleanor, you don’t need to make me feel appreciated. If I was the one in your shoes right now, I know you would even be spending the night over. We have been friends since high school. We don’t need to thank each other anymore when we are there for each other”NôvelDrama.Org: owner of this content.
“I know. I just felt like telling you. Thank you for being there for me throughout these past two weeks. I love you.”
“You are highly welcome, cupcake, and you sound cheerful today. I am happy about that.”
“It’s all because of Jason”
“Jason!”
“Calm down, Jason didn’t cheat on me. He was framed by his grandmother.”
“Really, are you sure he is not saying it because she said she will split both of you up? Are you sure she framed him, and how would it be possible?”
“I am; I will swing by your place shortly. I will bring the proof of why I believe him”
“Alright, no problem, I will be waiting for you, bye.”
“Bye,” I say, hanging up.
I take a shower and put on a purple floral print long sleeve strappy rompers mini dress. Once I am done putting on my clothes, I drive over to Amber’s place. I park my car in front of her house after a few minutes of driving. I walk over to her door and knock on it.
“If you are Eleanor, the door is open,” Amber shouts from inside her house
“Hey,” I say, turning the doorknob, walking into her home.
“Morning,” Amber says from the kitchen.
“What are you making?” I ask, walking over to the kitchen
“Pancakes, I made some for you. Sit. I am almost done,” Amber says, flinging the pancake in the pan.
“Thank you. How is Evan? I haven’t seen him in a while,” I say, taking my seat on one of the kitchen stools.
“He is doing fine. He thought it would be better for him to stay away till you were better. He didn’t want you to see him and remember Jason.”
“Oh, he didn’t have to, but it was sweet of him.”
“Yeah, it was, and where is the proof you say Jason showed you,” Amber asks, placing a plate of pancakes in front of me.
“Thank you, here,” I say, giving her my phone to watch the video. I asked Jason to send it to me before I came over to her place.
“You are welcome,” Amber says, collecting the phone from my hand. She takes her seat beside me and watches the video on my phone.
After a few minutes, Amber hands me back my phone with a shocked expression on her face.
“Jason’s grandmother is scary,” Amber says,
“I suspected her of being the one behind Tracy’s incident, but I could never suspect her to go through such lengths to split Jason and me.”
“Me too, and what is Jason going to do about it.”
“He plans to speak to her about it.”
“That’s good.”
“Yeah, and why do you think she didn’t tell Jason who Christine really was or the fact that Alex never raped her?”
“I don’t understand.”
“Sorry, I didn’t tell you. She is a con woman. Her real name is not even Christine.”
“Oh, wow”
“Yeah”
“So, why do you think she didn’t tell Jason about it?”
“I think Christine has something on her”
“Really, you think so, a woman like Mrs. Sullivan would allow someone like Christine to have something to use and threaten her. I doubt it.”
“Then it has to be the only other reason.”
“Which is?”
“She didn’t tell Jason because she knew it would crush him. I am sure Jason’s grandmother loves him even though she forgets that her methods of splitting you guys up hurt him too. It’s possible she didn’t tell him because it would have killed him to find out the woman he loved for years was a fake person.”
“You might be right, but I feel she should have still told Jason. He and Alex are no longer friends because of the accusation Christine made against him.”
“It’s also possible she does not like Alex too. I won’t be surprised if that’s the main reason she didn’t tell him.”
“You are right. It’s possible.”
I leave Amber’s place two hours before my dinner date with Jason. I walk into the house, retake a shower before putting on my dress. It’s a white mini bodycon dress with square puff sleeves. I apply some makeup before I step out of the house to meet Jason.
Once Jason and I are seated at our table in the restaurant, I tell him about my plan tonight.
“Jason, do you trust me?” I ask
“Of course I do. Why are you suddenly asking me if I do?”
“Because I need you to trust the decision I make even if they involve you.”
“What did you do, Eleanor?” Jason asks, worried I might have done something terrible.
“I invited Alex to join us. I know you want to apologize to him, but you don’t know how to go about it, so I thought I could give you a helping hand.”
“I feel like I am supposed to be angry at you for inviting him, but I am not. I am actually grateful you did. I don’t think I would have ever gotten the courage to. Thank you, my love.”
“You are always welcome,” I say, smiling.
“What time does he get here?” Jason asks, checking his wristwatch
“He should be here any minute, and a heads up. I didn’t tell him why I invited him for dinner or that you were joining us?”
“Really, why? What if he leaves before I can speak” Jason asks, worried.
“He won’t; Alex is calmer than you, so I am positive he would stay even if he sees you.”
“Yeah, you are right. He was always the calm one between us when we were young.”
“How did you and him become friends, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Our fathers were good friends.”
“Oh, you guys must have grown up together.”
“Yes, we did. I have known him since the time my brain could start storing memories.”
“Wow, so like since you were 4 or 5.”
“5 years old”
“I can see why him being accused of raping Christine really broke your heart. He was like a brother to you. You must have felt truly betrayed that time.”
“I did, but that’s all in the past. I am in love again with the most amazing woman on the earth, and now that I know Alex was saying the truth all along. I can finally get my best friend back. Even though nothing is perfect, I feel like my life is right now,” Jason says, smiling. I am about to speak when someone behind us cuts me off. I am sitting beside Jason so Alex can sit opposite him.
“What did you just say?” Alex asks, a few feet away from our table. He looks shocked to have heard the words Jason just said.