Girl Get Rid Of That Jerk (Williams and Shawn)

Allison never bothered to memorize phone numbers. Everyone important-family, friends—they were all just a tap away in her contacts. Usually, if she needed to call someone, she'd scroll and hit dial. Easy.

She never imagined she'd get stuck like this.

Her phone was dead, Brooklyn's had run out of battery, and Allison had no idea what anyone's number was. Even if she borrowed Willow's phone, she wouldn't know who to call.

Willow looked miserable. "If I'd known there'd be a flood, I never would've asked you to come. My husband and I could have picked you up from Oak Lake."

Allison shook her head. "Don't say that. If you both went to Oak Lake, who'd take care of your son?"

Willow's little boy was only two, and he needed someone watching him all the time. Her in-laws had passed away, and her own mom was too frail to help. That's why Willow had asked Allison to come in the first place.

Allison tried to reassure her. "Seriously, don't blame yourself. This isn't on you. No one could've seen this coming. The rescue team should be here soon, anyway. I already called my dad earlier to let him know I'm okay."

The day Allison arrived, the sun had been shining and the forecast promised more of the same. But on the day she was supposed to leave, it started pouring-like, end-of-the-world rain. No one could've predicted it would last so long, let alone cause a flood.

With no power, Willow started making dinner early, around five.

The rain had finally stopped. The water inside had gone down a little. Last night, it was up to their calves. Now, it just covered their ankles.

Willow found her spare pair of rain boots and handed them to Allison. "I'm so sorry, I only have two pairs of women's rain boots. That's it." She glanced at Brooklyn, looking guilty.

Brooklyn was wading barefoot, her face unreadable. "It's fine."

Allison worried Brooklyn would catch a cold. "Brooklyn, why don't you go upstairs and rest? I'll bring you dinner when it's ready. Don't walk around in the water. You'll get sick."

Brooklyn just shrugged. "This is nothing. Back during training, I had to run five kilometers barefoot in the snow."

Willow stared at her. "What kind of training is that?"

Brooklyn stayed quiet.

Any more and she'd give herself away.

Allison gave her a quick smile and jumped in. "Brooklyn did one of those extreme challenge programs once."

Willow's eyes went wide, totally impressed. "Wow, that's hardcore!"noveldrama

And just like that, the awkward moment passed.

In the kitchen, Allison started helping Willow rinse veggies.

"Allison, how have you been these last couple of years?" Willow asked as she chopped vegetables.

Allison rinsed lettuce, leaf by leaf. "I'm good."

Willow didn't know much about Allison's family-she just thought Allison was a regular junior lawyer. "So, how's the law firm back home? Is the pay in Oak Lake any good?"

"It's alright. About the same as here in Havenbrook."

Willow hesitated, then asked, "After you broke up with that Shawn guy, did you ever date anyone else?"

Back when Willow still lived here,

she'd met Shawn once. She and Allison were out shopping and got caught in a sudden downpour. Shaw showed up to pick Allison up. Willow had thought he seemed perfect-handsome, well-off, and totally matched with someone like Allison.

After Willow moved, she and Allison didn't talk as much. Once, she'd asked if Allison and Shawn were planning to get married, and Aftison just said they'd broken up. Willow never pushed for details.

Now, Allison paused, her hands still in the water, lashes lowered. “I dated someone else. It didn't work out."

Willow heard the sadness in her voice and didn't ask more.

She quickly changed the subject. "For dinner tonight, I'm making chestnut roast chicken and braised pork belly. For veggies, we'll have steamed greens and a cucumber satad. How does that sound?"