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Which has me spiraling aboutwhyEzra has the power to upset me. What a fucking mess.

I open the damned thing anyway.

Asshole:Are you going to ignore me all day?

I feel my chest heat in anger, my fingers already tapping across the screen.

Me:Ignoring you implies you’ve said something to me, which you haven’t.

Asshole:I was waiting for you to text me.

Me:Oh? Was I supposed to glean that from you sneaking out of my apartment this morning?

Asshole:I didn’t sneak out. I wanted to give you space to process.

Me:There’s nothing to process. It was an accident. We just fell asleep. It wasn’t a big deal.

Asshole:Dani.

Me:Ezra.

There’s a pause as I watch the dots pop up and disappear over and over again, and I am loath to admit how tightly I grip my phone, how closely I watch them as I wait for his reply. It takes him a full minute to finally respond.

Asshole:Let me know when you’re home. I want to call you and talk about it.

Me:I don’t have anything to say.

Asshole:Don’t be stubborn.

Me:I’m not being anything.

Asshole:Fine. Let me know when you’re home, so I can call to go over the list of interrogatories.

I clench my teeth. He really is an asshole, pulling this. He knows it’s not something I can refuse. Not with our first court date looming. Now it’s me typing and erasing a dozen times before settling on:

Me:Fine. Work only.

Asshole:Sure thing, Dani.

I’m just starting to seethe at his blasé tone, one I can sense through text, can practically hear the sigh following, but Bianca’s voice interrupts what was surely going to be an incoherent response.

“I hope you’re hungry,” she says kindly, holding a tray of something that smells delicious.

I stow my phone back in my pocket, but not without squeezing it too tight for the briefest of moments. “Starved,” I tell her.

“But no work while we eat,” she tells me sternly. “We will practice your questions after.”

I can’t help the quiet laugh that escapes me. “Fine, fine. You’re the boss.”

“Powerful woman,” she teases.

My smile is bright, even if thoughts of Ezra are still lingering at the back of my mind. “You’re goddamned right.”

Fifteen

Ezra

Sour Patch:Fine. Work only.