Elise groaned as she set the heavy box down in the kitchen, her long ponytail swinging with the movement. She shook her arms, trying to get some feeling back into them. Harper’s new fifth-floor apartment was high enough to offer beautiful views of the park across the street, but it was a long walk from the parking garage to Harper’s front door.

“I need a water break.” Out of habit, Elise reached toward the cabinet left of the sink. But it was empty, and she glanced around, frowning at the unlabeled boxes lining the counters. Opening each one seemed like an insurmountable task, especially now that she was aware of how thirsty she was. The sink was right there, and she wasn’t above drinking directly from the faucet. She held back long enough to ask, “Do you know which of these has your cups?”

Harper set her box on the countertop dividing the kitchen from the rest of the open-concept apartment. Using the sleeve of her gray t-shirt, she wiped the sweat away from her forehead. Most of her dark hair was up in a bun, but several unruly strands stuck to the side of her neck. “Nope. But my water bottle is somewhere in the living room. If you can find it, you can drink first.”

Elise hesitated, wondering if it would be easier to find glassware or the mint-green bottle Harper brought everywhere.

“It has ice,” Harper said, leaning against the countertop, and that made it an easy choice. It was cooler here in Pineview, but it was still summer, and Elise’s shirt was damp with perspiration.

She sidled between stacked boxes, careful not to bump anything. She’d opened the windows earlier, but the apartment still smelled slightly stale and unfamiliar. Nothing like Harper’s apartment back in Eastport, which had always smelled like vanilla and clean laundry. She stepped around plastic containers holding Harper’s clothes and spotted the bottle half hidden behind the couch.

“Found it!” She bent down to pick it up. There was a new holographic sticker on it, placed directly above Harper’s old company logo. Elise raised the bottle and pointed at it. “This is cool. Did they give it to you, or did you make it?”

Harper grinned wide enough to reveal the tiny gap between her two front teeth. “Theirs was boring. Once my printer is set up here, I’m going to make extra and pass them out.”

“I’m sure everyone will love it.” Elise unscrewed the lid and took a long sip, savoring the ice-cold water. She passed the bottle to Harper, who took several gulps. “Ready to tackle your car?”

Harper wiped at her chin with the back of her hand. “I’m not fighting my car.”

Elise groaned at the bad joke. “Really? You knew what I meant.”

“I know.” Harper set the bottle down, then stretched out her arms. Something audibly popped, and they both winced.

“Remind me again why your fancy new boss at TI-Tech didn’t pay for movers?” They’d given Harper great benefits and a big salary bump, so it seemed unusual that they wouldn’t offer her a relocation package, too.

Harper rubbed her shoulder and suddenly became fascinated with something on the floor. “So, uh.”

Elise narrowed her eyes. “Harper?” She was using the last of her paid time off to help Harper move. If Harper was about to tell her that she declined the money so they could spend time together…

“Technically, they didn’t pay for it.”

“Uh-huh.” Elise reminded herself that Harper was her best friend in the entire world, and that murder was definitely still illegal. They could have spent their final few days together on a real vacation, but instead Elise was doing manual labor.

“They didn’t! They gave me a signing bonus, which is completely different. And it’s not like I used it on something bad. It barely covered my first and last month’s rent on this place. You wouldn’t want me to be homeless, would you?”

Elise pressed her lips together and fondly shook her head. “You’re something, you know that?”

Harper smiled. “But you love me.”

“That’s debatable.” Elise folded her hands across her chest, but it was hard to stay mad at Harper, especially when Elise would have used the money for the same thing. Granted, she would have told Harper about the plan. And she would have also asked her brothers to help. “Let’s go before I change my mind.”

Several trips later, Elise collapsed onto the couch and flung an arm over her eyes. She was in good shape, but a full day of lugging boxes and furniture into Harper’s apartment was exhausting. Her legs were jello, and her lower back ached. She felt ancient at thirty.

Harper sat beside her. “Pizza?”

“And dessert. After today, I need a slice of cheesecake. With strawberries on top.”

“Anything else? Want me to run downstairs for some hard lemonade?”

Elise propped herself up on her elbows and squinted at Harper. “I think you want hard lemonade.” Even her abs rebelled against her, and she lay back down with a defeated groan.

“It’s awesome, though, isn’t it? And they’re open late. I’ll never have to drive to a store again.”

“Show off,” Elise said, a little jealous that Harper could walk down a few flights and be in a grocery store. “Too bad you don’t cook.”

Harper playfully rolled her eyes. “Yeah, whatever. It's still convenient for snacks. Did I tell you that TI-Tech provides lunch?”

Elise sat up, wrapping her arms around her legs. “You didn’t.” She was happy for Harper. She was. And it sucked hearing how great Harper’s new life was, especially when Elise was going back home in a few days. It wasn’t that she hated her life in Eastport, but it had become routine. Predictable. She wished she could experience some of the adventures in store for Harper.

“So, I don’t even need to cook. I can live off takeout and catered lunches.” Harper unlocked her phone. “One veggie, one Hawaiian coming up. I’ll order enough so we can have some for breakfast.”

Elise grimaced at the thought. She hadn’t eaten pizza for breakfast since she was in college. “Or I can make something.”

Harper lowered her phone and raised her eyebrows. “Need me to add a salad?”

Elise waved her question away. “Nope. But we’re having omelets for breakfast.” Her stomach could handle a few greasy meals, but there was no way she could eat like Harper for the rest of her trip. “I’ll make a list so you can pick up ingredients while you’re downstairs getting lemonade.”

“If you say so.”

As Harper ordered their meal, Elise glanced around the chaos. They still had a lot of unpacking to do, but it would go quickly now that everything was in the apartment. Half the boxes had neat labels—at the start of their packing, they’d been determined to place everything in the right container. By the end, they were tossing miscellaneous items anywhere that had space.

With all of Harper’s belongings surrounding them, it was hard to ignore that this was real, that it wasn’t a weekend trip, and at the end of it they’d both go home to Eastport. Elise chewed at her lower lip, hoping the physical sting would distract her from the ache in her chest.

“It’ll be here in thirty minutes.” Harper looked up from her phone, then frowned when she saw the expression on Elise’s face. “What’s wrong?”

“Everything is starting to feel real, you know?” Elise drew in a shaky breath. “I’m so happy that you’re starting a new part of your life, but I’m really going to miss you.”

Elise wasn’t sure what she’d do now that Harper wasn’t a short car ride away. The last time they had to communicate exclusively by texts and phone calls—a time she liked to pretend never happened—she had felt adrift, like their friendship had only worked because of their proximity. Harper’s brief move to Richmond had been a terrible experience for them both.

They’d make it work this time, though. They had to. Elise wouldn’t lose Harper just because of a little distance.

“I’m going to miss you too.” Harper scooted closer and placed a hand on Elise’s knee. “But my offer still stands. If you find something here, this place is big enough for the two of us. At least for a few months.”

Elise’s stomach churned at the thought. Eastport wasn’t much, but it was all she’d ever known. It was where she grew up, where her family still lived. It was home. She wasn’t brave like Harper, who could crash and burn, brush herself off, and still try again. She’d always been more cautious, unwilling to try if she knew there was a good chance she’d fail the first time.

And as much as Elise wanted this move to work out for Harper, what if it didn’t? Harper had only lived in Richmond for three months. At least Harper was moving for the right reasons this time. A job wouldn’t break up with her and leave her heartbroken. Still, Elise wasn’t going to make any life-altering decisions until she knew Harper wasn’t going to move back home within a year.

Elise forced a smile, not willing to let her personal doubts get in Harper’s way. “I don’t think your apartment has enough space for me and your gaming control center.”

Harper watched her for a moment, head tilted. “You know I’d make room for you.” Her voice was softer than normal.

Elise pressed her lips together, trying to ignore the prickling of tears. She’d been so good this weekend, keeping a brave face for both of them. “I know.”

Harper’s eyes were slightly narrowed, and Elise hated that she could read her so well. 

“It’s not going to be like last time.” Harper wrapped her arms around Elise and squeezed her tightly. It was a little hard to breathe, but Elise didn’t pull away. Harper smelled like her mint shampoo, and it was grounding amidst the unfamiliar smells. “We’re going to chat all the time. Constantly. You’ll be sick of me.”

Elise inhaled shakily. “Yeah, okay.”

“I’m serious. I’m going to text you constantly. You’ll have to mute me. Just like that time I liked Steve.”

Elise let out a small laugh and pulled back enough to see Harper’s face. “I only muted you because you sent me poems about his eyes.”

“They were great eyes.”

“Unlike your poetry.”

“Hey!” Harper elbowed Elise in the side. “My poetry was amazing. Too bad the only good thing about Steve was his eyes.” She scooted back to her own cushion. “Anyway, the next time you come up, I’ll show you all the best trails and restaurants. It’s going to be an adjustment, but we’ll get through it.”

“We will,” Elise agreed, feeling slightly better. Together, they could get through anything.