More Than Friends Read Online Free PDF

feet. She fled down the hall toward the bedroom.
    Melanie stayed on the couch, uncertain what to do next. Would Kendall try again to convince her that they could work it out? If she did, could Melanie stick to this decision? She leaned forward and rested her elbows on her knees, fighting her rising panic. She’d been barely twenty-six when she and Kendall got together. If she’d had any idea who she was back then, she certainly wasn’t the same woman now. Now, her identity felt so wrapped up in who she was with Kendall. Who was she without her?
     
    *
     
    Kendall paced the bedroom, fighting the suffocation rising in her throat. Melanie’s words played on a loop in her head. I can’t do this anymore. Something is wrong. She’d had similar thoughts but always had been able to excuse them as the growing pains of a long-term relationship. Hearing Melanie say the words with such resignation and finality ripped something inside her.
    She drew short panting breaths, nearly hyperventilating. What was supposed to happen now? Certainly they’d had fights, but she’d never actually envisioned them here. She couldn’t think, couldn’t even find room to feel while surrounded by the home they shared. She grabbed a backpack from the closet, jerked open a drawer, and shoved a fistful of clothes into the bag.
    As she strode down the hallway, she steeled herself against seeing Melanie. But the pain hit her like a two-by-four as she descended the stairs and saw Melanie sitting on the couch cradling her head in her hands. She summoned anger in order to resist the urge to comfort Melanie, when what she really wanted was to hold her and tell her they could fix whatever was wrong. This situation was Melanie’s fault and she refused to feel sympathy for her.
    She looked away in avoidance but in her periphery caught the motion of Melanie raising her head. She shoved her cell phone and wallet into her pocket, then picked up her keys.
    “What are you doing?” Melanie stood and moved toward her. Kendall forced herself to concentrate on frosting over her pain before she raised her gaze. She guessed she was successful when Melanie flinched and took a step back as their eyes met.
    “Leaving. I’ll come back for more of my things later while you’re at work.”
    “You don’t have to do that. I—I can sleep in the guest bedroom and we’ll figure things out in the morning.”
    She shook her head. “I need to get out of here.”
    “Kendall, it’s,” Melanie glanced at the mantle clock, “three a.m. Where are you going?”
    “I don’t know.” What do you care? Does it matter anymore? Do I matter? She wanted to fling the words at Melanie as if she could also hurtle the pain away.
    “This is as much your home as mine.”
    “I can’t be near you right now,” she snapped. Melanie flinched again, as if she had struck her. And for a moment she wished for the relief of such a physical reaction. But, dark as her emotions might be, she would never raise a hand to Melanie.
    Instead, she headed for the front door. When Melanie whispered her name, she froze and let the soft cadence of Melanie’s voice wash over her, allowing herself this one last bit of warmth. She wanted to turn and run into Melanie’s arms. But sadly, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d sought shelter there. They’d grown further apart than she’d even realized.
    Straightening her shoulders, she made herself move through the door and took a tiny bit of pleasure in slamming it hard behind her.
     
    *
     
    Evelyn stepped out of the shower, toweled off, then slipped on a thick, white robe. She wound her hair up inside another towel. She’d watched the sunrise while running five miles. In the early hours, autumn gave ground to the impending winter. Later the air would be warmer and humid, but as she ran, she pulled the crisp, cool air into her lungs. She liked starting her days with the endorphins from a good run still pumping through her system.
    Ever since