Taking Shots (Assassins, #1)(161)
Elli smiled, rolling her eyes, “It’s your desk Harp, thanks for letting me use it. I’m almost done.”
“Take your time,” Harper said taking a sip of her coffee, “So how are things over at the headquarters?”
“Good, doing a lot of paperwork, trades and junk like that. Jakob came in to sign his contract last week. That was probably the highlight of my week.”
Harper nodded, “Yeah, he said he saw you, he also said you looked tired, which you do.”
Elli looked up at her. Harper wasn’t there to visit, she was there to talk. Shit. “Um, well, I haven’t been sleeping much.”
Not like she could if she tried. Her DVD didn’t put her to sleep any more, Shea ruined that for her.
“Why not?”
“Harper you know damn well why not, so just let it go. I’m okay.”
“You don’t look okay, Elli.”
“I’m fine.”
“Why do you lie to me? I’ve been your best friend since we were five; I know you’re not okay.”
“I’m fine,” Elli said a little sharper than she meant too. Harper glared over at her, and Elli just shrugged her shoulders, “I’ll be okay, it’s just gonna take some time.”
“I don’t know why y’all are doing this to yourselves, it’s not healthy. You can’t sleep or eat for that matter and Shea drinks himself to a stupor!”
Elli’s head shot up, “What?”
“Shit, I wasn’t supposed to tell you that,” Harper said her face turning red with guilt.
“Well, you might as well go on with it.”
“Jakob has had to go get Shea a couple nights a week, when they are home, from the bar; Jakob says its kinda scaring him.”
“Shea’s drinking?”
“Yeah, a lot, apparently.”
“Wow,” Elli was shocked; Shea took such care of his body. No wonder he was a little slower lately, Elli was probably the only one to notice, but he was lagging, and the drinking was the answer to that.
“Yeah, so here’s my thing, why don’t you just call him, try to work something out. It’s obvious y’all aren’t doing good apart.”
Elli took a deep breath, shaking her head. “I don’t want him back; I don’t want to talk to him. I’m fine. I’m getting over him.”
“You’re such a liar, Elli!” Harper stood up, slamming her coffee cup on the desk, causing Elli to scoot back some. Harper was kinda crazy sometimes, and just in case she started swinging, Elli wanted to be able to dodge them.
“I’m your best friend, Elli, and I have seen you a total of two times out of work, when you are here, you don’t even talk, you just lock yourself up in a office and do paperwork. I can’t even talk to you because I’m scared I might say something to upset you, or piss you off.” She reached into her pocket, pulling out something shinning. When she slid it on her ring finger, Elli knew it was an engagement ring. “I’m engaged, have been for a month, and I couldn’t find a way to tell you. How is that fair, Elli? We are best friends. Aren’t we supposed to be able to tell each other things without worrying about the others stability, cause now that I told you, I’m worried you might go home and kill yourself.”
Elli shook her head, standing up and coming around the desk, “I’m not going to kill myself, Harp, have a little more faith in me, but I am going to knock you senseless for not telling me!” Elli took Harper’s hand in her, taking in the beautiful of the ring that Jakob had probably spent months picking out. It was gorgeous, but not as gorgeous as Harper. “It’s beautiful.”
“Thanks, it’s a little earlier than planned, but, um.” Harper looked down at the ground, then back up at Elli, “But I’m pregnant and we wanted to be engaged before we tell our families.”
She was pregnant! Oh, come on!
“Wow, gosh Harper! This is crazy,” Elli gushed, trying to keep the tears at bay, she couldn’t cry or it would prove Harper right, that Elli was a basket case and Alder should probably hide the knives before Elli got home. Harper was pregnant and gonna be married before her! What the hell!
“Yeah, you’ve hid yourself from everything, El, like I’m pregnant and Jodi and Derrick are having a boy, and Trice and Walter are adopting a baby, and you don’t know any of that because you won’t return anyone’s calls, and when you’re around me, you shut down, only talking about business.”
Shit, all that stuff happen in two months!
“This has got to stop, Elli. You’ve lost so much weight, you aren’t sleeping, and you’re a mess.”
“I’m fine.”
“You say your fine one more time Eleanor Rey Fisher, I will knock you stupid. I know you’re not fine.”
“Harper, you’re being dramatic. I’ve closed off some, so what? I’m okay.”
“If you were really okay, Elli, then why are there two boxes full of home decorating magazines in the lobby that you have yet to take home.”
For the first time, Elli actually wanted to physically hurt her best friend. How dare her bring up them boxes! She knew how Elli couldn’t even look at them with feeling like her heart was breaking all over again. The day they came in, Elli cried for hours beside them, it was also the day she decided to start working over at the headquarters full time.