Page 41

Why'd you stop? a text from Clementine asked.

Stop what?

The quiz.

What do you mean why did I stop?

You didn't answer the last question.

Bewilderment and frustration turned to annoyance in an instant. I'm not sure why I bothered anyway. Why did you have my name on some random thing like that?

It's not random. I made it for you to answer.

What?

I made it for you.

I don't understand. I swung my feet off the side of the bed, and sat up properly then.

I made that for you, but I wasn't sure what you were into. So, I hoped you'd see it while looking through my photos, she said.

When I read her words, I could feel my own face turn into a narrow-browed frown. I didn't like being tricked or duped or feeling stupid, and this fell right into that category to me. I said nothing for a while, then replied, Okay.

Are you going to answer the last question?

No.

I felt it looming then, the sensation of numbness trickled down from the top of my head, over my face, and down my shoulders like a veil of nothingness. The only emotion that I felt belonged to anger tethered to nothing. It soured my features, brought tears to my eyes, and tightened my hands to fists. I wanted to break something, lash out, or take a red can of paint and deface an enormous white wall with remnants of my rage. I hated when I felt like this, when the destructive urges took over. I imagined myself a tornado, rampaging through a quiet, picturesque town, only to turn around and look back at the wreckage left behind me. All I did was leave wreckage behind me and nothing in that rubble was salvageable.

Including my phone that I let fly against the brick wall.

I didn't know how much time passed at that point before Tati appeared in my doorway. She wore a silky kimono bound at her waist with her black hair down long over her shoulders.

"We're gonna watch horror movies and eat ice cream. Wanna join—" She paused when she noticed my phone on the floor, then looked back at me. "I recognize that face."

"No, you don't."

"Yes, I do." She dropped down to sit on the bed beside me. "Meltdown face. Want to talk about it?"

I shook my head.

"Horror movies and cuddles?" She nudged me with her shoulder.

I shrugged.

"'Kay. C'mon." She linked her elbow with mine then led me into the living room.

Wyatt waited for us, barefoot and clad in only a pair of loose-fitting basketball shorts, in front of the coffee table filled with three different pints of ice cream and three spoons. As soon as I appeared, he handed me the non-dairy Phish Food belonging to Ben & Jerry's. I smirked when I accepted it and dropped down on the sofa after.

"Are we going zombies, dystopia, or gore tonight, ladies?" he asked, while helping himself to a Chunky Monkey.

"Wrong one." Tati snatched the pint from his hand then replaced it with a Half Baked. "This is your vibe."

"Listen here, babe." He took it, sat beside me, then tore off the top. "I am whole baked, thank you very much."

We all laughed at that, and I felt the prickling sensation that often accompanied the fringes of me waking up from the sense of overwhelm that shut me down to begin with. Tati sat on the other side of me and draped her legs over my lap so that her feet ended up in Wyatt's.

"I'm down for this cuddle puddle," he said, while licking the spoon. "Also, I'm calling shots on zombies. Cool?"