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“Thank you for putting up with me,” she said, yawning.

“You’re welcome,” I said, looking down into her eyes.

“I liked being your fake girlfriend,” she said, her words slurring together a little bit.

I turned and went to get the clothes and her towel. “I liked being your fake girlfriend, too,” I said, but she didn’t hear me.

* * *

Tenley took a quick shower and emerged warm and sleepy. I’d made up a bed for her on the couch and she lay down with a happy sigh.

“Night night, fake girlfriend,” she said before shutting her eyes. I tucked her in and made sure her phone was plugged in to charge before I said “goodnight, Tenley,” and headed to bed myself.

I didn’t sleep for a long time.

* * *

When I woke up the next morning, I was startled because I heard someone in the bathroom. For a second, I was terrified that someone had broken into my house, but then I remembered Tenley coming over last night.

Tenley had spent the night and slept on my couch. How strange was that? I hadn’t even had a warning that she was coming over so I could make sure everything was clean. I guess that didn’t matter now. She wasn’t going to be worrying about the cleanliness in my house when her fucking heart was shattered.

I rolled out of bed and peeked through the doorway. Tenley was coming back from the bathroom, her eyes half closed and her hair absolutely everywhere.

“Mmm,” she croaked at me, lazily waving one hand before she slumped back onto the couch, pulling the blanket up over her head.

“Hey,” I said, sitting down on the couch next to her.

“Mmm,” she said, her voice muffled under the blanket.

“Can I get you anything?” I asked, my own voice rough. I felt like garbage and I needed coffee and food very soon.

“Ughhhhhh,” she said.

“I’m going to make some coffee and breakfast. I have croissants and eggs and frozen breakfast burritos and strawberries,” I said, mentally going through my fridge and freezer.

Tenley pulled the blanket back down and blinked at me.

“Okay,” she said. Immediately I made her a cup of coffee, a glass of water, and heated up a croissant for her to nibble on while I made some quick scrambled eggs and sliced some strawberries.

Tenley ate the croissant slowly, pulling it apart in tiny bits, shoving them cautiously into her mouth.

“How are you feeling?” I asked, keeping my voice low.

“Like shit,” she croaked.

“Understandable,” I said. “Do you need anything for pain?”

“Sure,” she said. I grabbed her some pain pills and slid two into her hand.

Tenley swallowed them down with a grimace and a sip of water.

“Did you want any eggs?” I asked.

“Not yet. I’m going to see if this stays down and then I’ll try again,” she said, sitting back and closing her eyes.

“I’ll keep a plate warm for you,” I said, munching on a strawberry.

“Fuck, Mia. What is happening to my life?” she said, as tears slipped down her face.