Chapter 6

By the time Nora finally ended her phone call and stepped back into the living room, Claire was still there. She sat with Elliot, talking about something. The moment Nora walked in, Elliot still looked a little upset. But after a moment of hesitation, he brought up the contact name again. "Have you finished talking with your best friend? You really shouldn't save someone under a name like that on your phone. It's a bit much, don't you think?" Nora shot him a look of genuine surprise, not expecting him to still be hung up on that. She simply nodded, not bothering to clarify whether she was answering his first question or the second—or maybe both. Elliot seemed to take her nod as agreement, and his mood finally eased a little. Claire, on the other hand, was watching every flicker of emotion on his face, and her expression shifted along with his. She honestly hadn't thought Elliot would care about Nora this way. In her mind, he was supposed to be totally indifferent toward her. "It's still early," Claire suddenly said with a bright, practiced smile. "Nora, Elliot, why don't I treat you both to dinner and a movie tonight? I just want to thank you guys for putting up with me lately." Nora saw right through it. Claire's invitation was just an excuse to show off how close she was to Elliot and how caring and attentive he could be with her. Thinking of this, Nora shook her head. She had no interest in playing along with Claire's childish show-off. Besides, she needed to get back to her hometown soon, and there was still a lot she had to take care of. But of course, Claire wasn't going to let her bow out that easily. When Nora declined, Claire's eyes immediately filled with tears as she turned to Elliot, putting on a pitiful act. "Elliot, do you think Nora's still mad at me? I know I was out of line recently and did some crazy things. She has every right to be upset. This is all my fault..." As she spoke, her voice got more and more trembly, and her eyes turned red. Elliot immediately looked pained and gave Nora a silent look of disapproval, as if blaming her for making things difficult. Nora let out a long sigh. She could tell that if she insisted on saying no, Claire would probably burst into tears and put on a full-blown scene. Then, she'd end up looking like the cold-hearted villain in the story. In the end, she got dragged out the door with the two of them. It was around dinnertime, anyway, so the three of them went to a seafood restaurant that Claire had picked. After they got settled in a private booth, Nora cast a long look at Elliot. He avoided her eyes and turned to Claire, who was looking at the menu. His gaze softened without him even realizing it. Elliot had every reason to feel uneasy. He knew perfectly well that Nora was allergic to seafood, yet he still brought her to this restaurant just because Claire wanted to eat here. When the food arrived, Nora sat with nothing but a glass of water in front of her, while Claire happily dug into a plate of shrimp that Elliot had carefully peeled for her. Claire looked over at Nora and asked, "Nora, are you really not going to try any? The seafood here is amazing." Nora couldn't help but let out a mocking laugh. She was about to reply when Elliot quickly changed the subject, dropping another plate of shrimp in front of Claire, who squealed in delight and immediately forgot about her earlier question. After dinner, Claire dragged them both to the movie theater. She browsed through the movie options for a while before choosing a horror film. It wasn't until Nora sat down in the farthest seat by the aisle that she realized exactly what Claire was up to. From the very first jumpscare, Claire kept reacting dramatically. She accidentally grabbed Elliot's drink, then clutched his arm every time something scary came on screen, softly whining about how frightened she was. Eventually, she left her seat and slipped right into Elliot's arms. For a second, Elliot looked startled and almost pulled away. But when he saw the tears in her eyes and thought of Jonathan, he gave in and let her stay there. Just then, he glanced up and met Nora's eyes. She had seen everything, but her expression remained calm. "Nory..." Elliot tried calling her by her nickname, something he almost never did. He was just about to explain, but she turned her head away, focusing on the screen, as if she hadn't seen a thing. The explanation got stuck in Elliot's throat, leaving him awkward and uneasy, but another small yelp from Claire quickly drew his attention back. He pushed down the strange feeling in his chest and gently comforted her. Hearing his soft, reassuring voice, Nora couldn't help but let out a quiet laugh.