Ella rushed to unbuckle her seatbelt and nearly rolled out of the car, hurling.

"We haven't even started drinking yet," Charlie complained as she rubbed Ella's back.

Kinda glad I didn't eat much today... Ella wiped her mouth with a tissue. "Isn't this your house?" Ella looked over at the two-storey, double-garage house with a garden near the front door. She had come over a few times, but Charlie always wanted to go somewhere that wasn't her place, so they rarely went there. "Why are we here?"

"So we can drink and not worry. Besides, I also have a freezer full of ice cream."

"Look, I'm not really in the mood—"

"Don't give me any of that." Charlie pushed Ella towards her house. "We want to know what happened, and we'll do whatever we must to get you talking, even if that means getting you piss drunk."

"Oh my gosh, I've already told myself I wouldn't be doing that anymore. I'm too old for it, anyway."

"But you're more open when you're drunk."

"But if we're all drinking, then you guys probably won't remember what I say."

"Kyra is going to be here, and you know even if she drinks too much – which she never does – she still wouldn't be drunk. That mama is immune, I say!"

"She can hold her liquor, can't she?"

"Indeed." Charlie dragged Ella into the living room, where Alice and Kyra were already waiting.

"Aren't you busy making supper at this time normally?" Ella asked Kyra.

"My eldest has agreed to make supper for me and told me to enjoy my night," Kyra explained. "I am a bit worried, but they are the most responsible of them, and my husband will be home soon enough, anyway. Now, how about you sit down and we get to drinking?" Kyra patted the seat on the couch between her and Alice.

"I don't think this is a good idea." Ella tried to back away, but Charlie gave her a push forward, and Kyra caught her, sitting her down with her hand on her shoulder. "I'm not in the mood to drink..."

Charlie vanished into the next room for a moment and came back, rolling in a cart full of bottles. "Time for our own mixtures," she cheered and pulled out a mixer. "So, what should we start with?"

Ella sighed, leaning back on the couch as she stayed silent.

"How about we make it fun?" Alice pulled out a pair of dice. "Going across for the numbers, we'll just roll to see what to mix."

"I imagine getting some wonky mixes... Let's do it!"

Kyra gave Ella's shoulder a squeeze. "Sometimes it's good to have some silly fun like this with your friends."

"Isn't that what got me into the mess with Leon?" Ella wiggled her left ring finger around.

"Don't you like him now, though?"

"What?" Ella frowned.

"Between what I've seen and what I've heard from the others, you are way more comfortable around him than your past boyfriends."

"Am I?"

"I mean, I admit I thought Nathan would work out... but you two seemed a bit off. You seemed better with Leon until Alice ran her mouth... then things changed again, so—"

"Your turn!" Alice handed Ella the dice, making a face as she drank her drink.

Ella stared at the dice as her friends chanted 'throw' all around her. "I'm not doing this." She went to put the dice down, and Alice knocked her hand.

"Oops, looks like you get one and six."

"Isn't that a seven?"

"Not when we're lucky to even get one throw of the dice from you."

"I didn't actually—"

"Too bad!" Charlie set the drink down. "Drink up, missy."

"You know they're not going to back down," Kyra whispered to her. "At least indulge them a little; they're worried... and so am I."

Ella chugged down her drink. "Ah..." It had an unusual mix of flavours and burned going down.

"Uh... you didn't look at what it was, did you? That was a strong one." Charlie cringed.

"Ugh... what was in that?"

"Next!" Alice handed the dice to Kyra to continue it. She ended up rolling the same number twice, and they fought over having two shots of the same thing or three different things in one, by splitting the number.

How can I feel buzzed off one drink? What the hell did she give me? Ella leaned her head on Kyra's shoulder, and Kyra stroked her head.

"There, there, girl. We're all here for you. Now, can you tell us what happened?" Kyra asked.

"Alice was right..."

Kyra and Charlie both looked at Alice, who was frowning, trying to remember what she'd said.

"I ruined Bruce's life. I hurt him so much... I wasted his time... If it wasn't for me, he could've been married with kids and had an easier ride getting promotions."

"Sounds like that jerk is blaming you for his misgivings." Charlie slammed a bottle down after chugging a chunk of it. "What an ass!"

"Watch your mouth," Kyra warned her, too used to saying it to her husband around the kids or her eldest kid.

"Sorry, ma'am." Charlie made a zipping motion across her lips. "I'll try to contain myself while you're here."

"Thank you."

Guess I really can't handle much alcohol, anymore...

"Alice and Bruce are both right... What kind of scum dates people for years and throws them away as soon as marriage comes into the picture? A severely damaged person, that's who." Ella sighed.

"The first one wasn't your fault; he was a cheater," Kyra said. Among other things.

"But what about Justin? What about Bruce? What about Nathan? I've run away every time, and they're good men..."

"At least you didn't agree to marry Nathan and then run away," Alice said. "Ow!" she yelped as Charlie punched her in the arm.

"You're not helping." Charlie slung back another drink.

"What?" Alice pouted. "I was trying to help."

"The lot of you are drunk already, aren't you?" Kyra sighed. "Such lightweights. Look, Ella." Kyra wrapped her hand around Ella's. "We can all admit you've had issues in the past, but there's no saying what would've happened if you stuck with any of them, and playing the what-if game will only make everything worse. You don't know what might've happened, and there's no way to know. For all you know, you could've been miserable. Could you have gone about it a different way, yes? But you didn't, so how about thinking about the future instead of the past, or rather the present? Think about Leon. He's your future—"

"What if I mess him up, too? He's so young and innocent... I could destroy him..."

"If you don't want to destroy him, then stop running away!" Kyra snapped at her. "He's stronger than you think, and you'll never truly be able to outrun your problems!"

Ella flinched back, her eyes wide as she stared at Kyra.

"Give him a chance. I think he deserves that much."

"And if I don't actually love him?"

Kyra exchanged a look with her drunken friends. "Why are you deciding that before you give him a chance? But I'm also certain he'll chase you even if you run away. And I don't mean in the crazy Sebastian way, but in a way that you'll know he's waiting for you with open arms."

"How are you so sure about him?" Ella's words slurred. "I'm not sure... even after him telling me we met when we were younger."

They all froze and turned to her. "What?" they asked in unison.

Ella gave them a brief summary of what happened when she was fifteen.

Alice squealed. "Oh my gosh, this just got way sweeter!"

"For once, I agree with her." Charlie chugged on another bottle of unknown alcohol. "How can you not fall for that story? And why haven't we heard about this incident before?"

"It didn't come to mind..." Ella shrugged. It hasn't been long since I found out.

"Ugh! I feel so bad for him now! He's been pining after you since he was an elementary school kid, and you haven't thought of him at all."

"I probably did when I was fifteen... because I was worried about him, but life moves on."

"But this is totally fated!" Alice cheered. "You saved him. Now it's his turn to save you!" She threw her hands into the air and fell back on the couch, unconscious.

"And she's out!" Charlie laughed. "And girl, your life is complicated, but I don't think it needs to be. How about you learn to relax and go with the flow? This Leon fellow seems like a keeper." She chugged on another bottle and sighed, closing her eyes.

"And they're both out." Kyra looked at Ella. "It's hard having such an active, anxious mind, isn't it?"

Ella nodded.

"You understand that Bruce shouldn't have taken his pain and anger out on you, right?"

"I deserved it..."

"Ella..." Kyra combed her fingers through Ella's hair. "You hurt him, yes, but that doesn't mean you're to blame for everything that's happened to him since then. He stayed stuck in the past. You haven't even talked to him in years, so it's not like he's being reminded all the time. It says more about him than you that he's like that."

"You don't get it? I did break him!"

"You obviously didn't want to live your life with him, so you had to end it eventually."

Ella went silent.

"Same with the others. I think you need to be a bit kinder to yourself and realize the real reasons you didn't want to marry the other ones. Was it really because of your father? Because of Sebastian? I think there's a reason for each one, and I think it wouldn't have worked out, anyway."

"How do I get this out of my head? How do I stop running away? How do I stop hurting people? I don't want to hurt Leon." Ella teared up.

"The only way to stop running is to summon your courage to face the situation head-on."

"How...?"

"Confront your past issues."

"Are you telling me to confront all of them?" That's terrifying.

"I'm not sure I want you anywhere near Sebastian, so maybe a letter to him and then burn it. For the second one..."

"Well, Justin actually has a wife and kids now, and even happily asked to meet for coffee..."

"Not sure you have to worry about him, then; he moved on and seems fine. Bruce made you cry and left you like this, so I'm not sure he deserves an apology or anything."

"I did apologize already..."

"Then that leaves Nathan."

"Nathan... I ended up talking to him, but it didn't feel like anything got resolved." He's still such a sweetie, and I think I hurt him the most. But if our talk last time didn't leave it feeling resolved, what will? Maybe I just need to know he's doing okay now.

"He's probably the only one you have to deal with before you can truly move on with Leon." Technically, Sebastian was the bigger issue.

"How do I not mess up with Leon?"

Kyra shrugged. "Trust him. Talk to him. Be open. It's all I can suggest, really."

"Kyra, you're always so amazing." Ella hugged her tightly. Hopefully, I can manage to follow your advice.

Ella's phone rang, and she sat there staring at Leon's name as it continued to ring.

"You're not going to answer?" Kyra asked.

"I've... kinda been avoiding him."

"And we just agreed you'd try to talk to him openly, right?"

"But... I'm drunk right now."

"That should make it easier."

"'Should' being the keyword here."

"Have some courage." Kyra snatched her phone and answered it.

"Ella? Thank goodness you've finally answered. I know the girls were going to talk to you or something today, but I haven't heard from you, and you're not back... and it's pretty late," Leon rambled on.

"Aren't you just sweet?" Kyra said.

"Um... Is Ella there?"

"She's right here..." Kyra looked at Ella, who was waving her hands frantically, not wanting to answer her phone. "Unfortunately, she drank too much and fell asleep. All of them did." Kyra sighed. "Lightweights, the lot of them."

Leon chuckled. "Okay, as long as everything's alright."

"Maybe you should come and pick her up. I'm sure she'd be more comfortable in her own bed than on the couch."

"Ah, okay..."

"I'll text you the address."

"Thank you. I'll be there soon." They both hung up.

Ella stared at her with her mouth agape. "How... how could you?"

Kyra smiled at her. "This is what you get for not answering your phone. Now, let's grab blankets for these two."