Page 28

You’re fine. I’m fine.
I’m disgusting.
Please, B.
She’ll be here now any second and make this go away, at least for a little while. She has to.
I gag again, retching until there’s nothing left, until I’m hollow, aching, and too fucking exhausted to do anything but crumble against the wall. My face is damp with tears, snot, and whatever else clings to me.
Please.
The front door slams. Keys clatter.
“Nay?” Blake’s voice echoes through my apartment. “Where are you?”
I curl tighter into myself.
“Jesus fucking Christ.” Her boots appear in my peripheral vision. “NayNay?”
I lift my head. Blake stands before me, her red hair a mess, dark circles ringing her eyes, and a silver sequin dress barely reaching mid-thigh.
“You look like shit,” I say.
“Says the girl on the bathroom floor.” She slides down next to me, her shoulder bumping mine. “Wanna talk about it?”
I shake my head.
“Your mom?”
Silence is my only reply.
“Fuck.” She pulls out her phone, thumbs flying across the screen. “I’m calling Brandon.”
I grab her wrist. “Don’t.”
“He should?—”
“He’s drunk.”
Her fingers pause. “And I’m high. Your point?”
“B…”
“Fine.” She pockets her phone, then wraps an arm around my shoulders, gluing me to her side. “This is non-negotiable.”
I huff out a breath and sink into her warmth, letting it wash over me like rain on a parched desert, resting my headon her shoulder as her fingers comb through my hair with such tenderness it feels foreign and sacred at once.
“Remember when we used to hide in your room and smoke pot?” Blake says. “God, we thought we were so cool.”
I manage a weak smile, a fragile thing that feels almost foreign on my lips. “You were the cool one. I was just the nerdy sidekick.”
“Shut up.” She flicks my ear. “You were never just a sidekick. More like the mastermind behind all our schemes.”
“Because you totally needed my help to charm your way out of trouble.”
“True. I was pretty irresistible.” She pauses. “Seriously though, Nay. This shit with your mom… it’s not okay.”
Every muscle tenses like a coiled spring ready to snap. “I don’t want to talk about it.”