Mariella woke up to the sound of Nancy’s high-pitched giggle and the smell of 3-in-1 coffee, as her two best friends slept over last night as they got home to her apartment past midnight.
The night before had been a marathon of interrogation attempts. Elliot and Nancy had refused to leave her apartment, insisting they needed “debriefing for emotional closure.” They had cornered her on the couch with face masks, chips, and an unreasonable level of energy for two people who had spent hours waiting in a coffee shop earlier.
But Mariella had stayed tight-lipped. Mostly.
Now, the morning light poured into her small Sampaloc shared apartment, illuminating the crime scene of last night’s gossip session, open chip bags, three coffee mugs, and Elliot half-buried in a blanket burrito on the floor
