Sleep was scarce last night. I got three hours of sleep. Emily's news kept me awake, even after she went to bed and stopped texting me. What would I do without her?

Wait. What was I thinking? Why was I being so selfish? I should have been happy for her. She had talked about starting a family with Dylan. Only, I didn't think it was going to be this soon.

A lot was happening at once. Emily was pregnant, Dylan proposed, and then he asked her to move with him back to his hometown. There was a better-paying job there waiting for him. They could use the money for their growing family.

Thinking my closest friend wouldn't be around was still a little scary. Emily made work more enjoyable. She also liked to hang out outside work when Dylan was busy with something else.

Gray crossed my mind. I wondered how he was going to take the news. Emily said she was going to tell him today at work. She had to give Vince a two-week notice anyway.

I lay in bed and stared at my ceiling. The sun came from behind the clouds, and the light hit my window blinds. I wasn't used to my blinds being closed. I jolted up and crawled out of bed to the window. I slowly lifted the bottom of the blinds and peeked through the window.

All the windows in the building across the street were hard to look into in the daylight. I was trying to remember which windows were in Gray's apartment. I closed the blinds again and got ready for work. I was happy that I didn't have to worry about a window in my bathroom.

Later that day, Emily and I went to have lunch in the break room. We saw Gray and Alex sitting at one of the tables. It was rare to see Gray having lunch in the break room. I saw him there two other times the entire time I worked there. Charlotte mentioned Gray used to use the breakroom all the time until a few weeks after I showed up.

The two times I did see Gray in there, he sat with one of the Senior Researchers on Dana's team, Alex. Emily had told me before Alex and Gray were friends, even outside work. As far as she knew, Alex was Gray's only other friend.

Emily and I walked over to their table. Alex smiled up at us. I haven't talked to him much before, but he seemed nice, especially compared to Gray. Alex had a cheerful demeanor.

"Hey, Emily. Hey, Ella." Alex greeted us.

We both smiled back and sat across from them.

"It's nice to see you in the break room again Gray." Emily laughed.

Gray gave his typical response. "Mhmm."

He had a book sitting on the table with the cover facing down. His eyes widened as he looked at me and then down to his book. Gray then quickly put it into his bag.

"What book are you reading?" I asked.

"Nothing you'd be interested in." Gray muttered.

I studied his face as he couldn't look me in the eye. I looked over at Alex, who looked like he was trying not to laugh.

"What is it?" I laughed.

Gray quickly stood up from the table and walked out of the breakroom.

"Gray! Wait! I have to talk to you!" Emily got up to follow him.

I looked back at Alex.

"Why is the book such a secret?" I asked.

"He's a private person." Alex smiled.

"So, you're not going to tell me?" I pouted.

"Nope." Alex laughed.

The two of us stayed in the breakroom and ate our lunches. I brought a banana and some yogurt.

"That's all you got for lunch?" Alex asked me.

"Yeah, I'm trying to cut down on eating. I don't need it. But Emi gets mad if I don't eat anything at all."

"You can eat whatever you want. You don't need to worry about something like that." Alex frowned.

"That's what Emily says too. But she doesn't get it. She's tiny. I'm not."

"You have no idea how pretty you are, do you?" Alex stopped eating and stared at me.

I blushed. "What?"

"You're a pretty girl. Don't stress out about losing weight you don't need to lose." Alex looked over my shoulder and continued eating.

I heard footsteps behind me and turned around. Gray came back, and he looked upset. Emily must have told him the news.

Gray stormed up to Alex and almost growled at him.

"Lunch is over. Let's get back."

Alex sighed and took the last bite of his sandwich. "Alright, alright." He said with a mouthful.

They started to walk through the breakroom.

"So, what did Emily want to talk to you about?" Alex asked Gray.

Gray glared at him. "Why don't you ask her?" He then looked back at me with a hurt expression.

I felt my heart ache a little. I wasn't sure how Gray would take the news, but I didn't think he would be this upset.

Gray stormed out of the breakroom. Alex stayed in place and looked over at me.

"You know what's going on?" He asked me.

"Um, yeah. Emily is quitting. She and her boyfriend are moving, having a baby, and getting married. I just found out last night. It's a lot all at once." I frowned. "We're going to miss her."

"Oh, I see." Alex frowned and slowly walked out of the breakroom.

There was something more to all of this. I wondered what Alex knew about Gray and Emily.

When the workday ended, Gray was the first one to leave. It was very unusual. I gathered my things at my desk and noticed Dana and Charlotte walking up.

"Hey, Ella, we're thinking of throwing a going away party for Emily before she leaves. Do you want to help us set it up?" Dana asked me.

Charlotte looked sad. "I wouldn't call it a party. It's going to be sad."

"I know. I'm really going to miss Emi." I said.

"We'll make it fun. It has to be fun. It might be the last time we see Emily." Dana stated.

"Aw! Why do you have to say it like that?" Charlotte cried.

I laughed. "Dana's right. We'll make sure everyone has a good time."

We all stopped talking when Emily walked up to us.

"Do you guys want to hit up The Black Cat tonight?" Emily asked excitedly.

I smiled at her. "I'm game." I needed to spend as much time with her as possible.

Dana and Charlotte glanced at each other.

"Let's go!" They said in unison.

Later that night, we met at our favorite bar, The Black Cat. Dana brought Steve with her. Emily knew about their dating from me, and Charlotte didn't seem surprised. She told me she had expected Dana and Steve to be together but didn't want to say anything since Dana kept it to herself.

"I notice these things around the office." Charlotte whispered to me as we sat at the bar.

"I know. You were the first one to tell me about Garrett flirting with Chloe. I should have listened to you more."

I took a swig of my dangerously fruity drink. It was all alcohol but went down like Kool-Aid.

"Aw, sweetie, it's over now." Charlotte patted my shoulder. "I know there's someone else out there for you."

"Yeah, right. I have no social life." I chuckled.

"You'd be surprised. Like I said, I notice these things." Charlotte took a sip of her drink.

I was about to question her more, but Emily came up and wrapped her arm around my waist.

"Let's dance, Ella!" Emily cheered.

I laughed and chugged the rest of my drink. There was no way I could dance sober. I admired Emily for still being this fun and outgoing without drinking.