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I was done with the tears, but my eyes stung, and when I sat by the mirror on the small dresser to rub some lotion, they were puffy. I threw on a pair of fuzzy shorts, matching long fuzzy socks, and a baggy sweatshirt.

“Lee!”

The sudden excitement in Jasper’s voice forced me to stick my head through the door with wrinkled brows. “Yes?”

“Come! You’d never guess who’s here.”

Tossing the towel off my damp hair, I closed the door behind me and started for the box-sized living room. “Is Nana back?”

“Not Nana, but you’d never guess….”

I walked in just in time to see her rise from the couch with the brightest grin and arms widely spread. “Hi, Lena!”

“Oh, my goodness!” My heart felt like it leaped into space, and happy tears sprang to my eyes. “Katya?”

Having her physically present with me felt so surreal. I threw my arms around her before the next words left my mouth. “Oh, my. It’s been, what, three years? What are you doing here? When did you get back?”

Smiling, she tucked her hair behind her ears. “Three weeks ago. And I’m sorry I showed up unannounced, but I tried to put a call through, and it wasn’t connecting, so—”

“You’re sorry? Nonsense, Kat. You know you’re always welcome here anytime.”

I didn’t even have to ask her how she wasn’t wet from the rain. The white bubble umbrella leaned against a vintage backpack on the sofa was self-explanatory. And there was the black-tinted Mercedes she’d had since high school. I could bet it was sitting right outside the building now.

Among the number of people I’d interacted with and come across in my life, if I had to rank those who had the most comfortable lives, there was Jackie, and then there was Katya Yezhov.

She was the queen of luxury and my best friend.

We met in high school, and, of course, it was the cliché situation of randomly meeting and clicking with one of the most popular kids from the elite clique.

She didn’t have to spend nights studying to write a scholarship examination for one of the most exclusive and prestigious high schools in the United States; I did.

She didn’t face problems with making friends; I did.

From a distance, she was that girl with the stereotypical and presumptuous perfect life going for her, and I wasn’t.

I dealt with acne, and she had flawless pale skin; I struggled with being overweight in the judging eyes of society, and she could jog up a hill without breaking a sweat.

Perfect shape. Those were the years when I thought the only thing I had going for me was my outstanding I.Q.

She was taller, prettier, and richer. But we both agreed I was better at statistics—and a handful of other subjects.

Katya once joked that she could command the world to fall beneath her feet, and, at the time, I summed it up as a bluff. But as we advanced in years, I slowly began to believe that she could.

As we grew closer, I noticed her life wasn’t as perfect as it was presumed to be.

She rarely talked about her parents. The little I knew was that her mother died shortly after she was born, and her father hadn’t been present in her life since she was ten years old.

Whoever they might have been, they were undoubtedly influential.

Bending forward to grab her backpack, I led her to my bedroom, with Jaz trailing behind us, holding a tray of scones and three mugs of hot chocolate. I rolled my eyes at his cheeky grin as he set the tray down on the bedside table and eagerly hopped onto the bed.

Between the two of us, I was sure he was happier to see Kat than I was.

Jasper snuggled into the center of the bed, legs crossed, with a scone in his mouth and a pillow wrapped in one arm, while Kat scooted closer to the foot of the bed, curling her fingers around a mug of hot chocolate.

They looked ready to jump into a conversation before I chose the exact moment to interrupt.

“By the looks of that heavy luggage you dragged in here, I want to assume you’re staying till the weekend.”

Resting against the wall, I crossed my legs and wrapped my arms around my body, watching Katya’s eyes light up in the familiar way they did seconds before she laughed.

It was one of the things I loved about her personality: how predictable her mannerisms were, how funny she was, and how free-spirited, kind, wild, and pure-hearted she was in the most unimaginable ways.

Like me, she was simple and down-to-earth.

It was one major reason we connected with ease.

I’d accepted that she wasn’t perfect (I mean, she threw tantrums at random times as if they were freebies, and her temper bubbled worse than erupting volcanoes).

But I had my flaws, and she overlooked mine like I did hers.

Her tinkling laughter followed next. “And they said I exaggerate. It’s a bag packed for one night. Won’t it have been suspicious if I didn’t stay over?”

“So you a re s leeping over?” Jaz chimed from behind her, and when she nodded, they bounced forward to smack their iconic customized high-five, laughing like a bunch of gossiping preschoolers.

Jaz clapped his hands together, forming puppy eyes and a cute pout. “Lee, can I please sleep over in your room too? Pretty please? You know Nana won’t be back tonight, and I’m not sure I want to sleep alone in my room to—”

“Okay, okay. I hear you, and I’m not saying yes because of that cute face.”

Smiling, Katya rolled her eyes and pushed herself further up the bed. “It’s because she knows I’ll fight for you to the death until she has no choice but to say….”

One comment led to another, and in a few minutes, our excited chatters rose to the roof, and we laughed until we cried.

***

The rain cleared up over an hour ago, but the wind was chilly, and it smelled like wet soil and trees.

I tugged on my sleeves and pulled them further above my wrist, but my eyes stayed fixed on the glow of the night, tall, gleaming skyscrapers almost touching the stars.

No hindrance or limitation—just built for perfection. Achieving perfection.

I leaned forward, feeling the cold seep into the fabric from the steel railings I rested on. The heavens knew I wanted to be like one of those skyscrapers, achieving the zenith of my success, thriving without a care in the world.

A will to lead a better life with my mom, Jaz, and Nana.

The passion and desire burned so deeply that I was taken aback by my own tears.

Behind me, the glass doors squeaked, sliding open, and I wiped my eyes before taking a quick glance over my shoulder.

Quietly, Katya positioned herself beside me, leaned on the railings, and gazed out at the horizon. The wind blew again, tousling her hair westward, and she carried the scent of my vanilla and chai spice shampoo.

Minutes of welcome silence passed between us. Her eyebrows wrinkled, and a sudden gloom settled in her eyes, like she could see the same thing I did when I looked beyond the wet neighborhood to the tall, bright buildings in the distance.

“Crying on the balcony, all alone in the dead of the night. Why does this look like a scene from a movie?”

My lips pulled up in a smile. “It probably is.”

“The Titanic ?”

I shook my head. “Of course not. Rose wasn’t a size 12 marketing executive from Los Angeles, moping on a balcony in a sweatshirt and fuzzy socks.

I have no Jack, and there’s no ship.” My smile faltered because I might not have shared any similarities to the fictional female lead character of the classic, but it did feel like my life was slowly sinking.

“That was one of the most historical tragedies ever. Jack drowned, and Rose had to live with such a terrible heartbreak for the rest of her life.”

She didn’t face me, but I caught the apologetic smile she offered. “Perhaps not the best reference, then.”

I looked at her, arching a brow. “ Not the best? Kat, that was a terrible reference.”

I took a quick glance into the room to find Jaz still sleeping soundly, tangled in the comforter, and I heard Katya exhale into the night.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered softly.

“If anyone should be sorry, it’s me.”

Her blue eyes sparkled when she finally faced me. “Whatever for?”

“Not attending your graduation? I saw a few posts on social media, but there was no spamming of pictures from you. I assumed you were mad at me.”

“I have no reason to be mad at you, Lena. Like I don’t already know what you’re going through. That’s why you’re out here, isn’t it? You’re thinking again about how to be the superwoman for them. Since high school, you’ve always been Princess Diana.”

I couldn’t help laughing. “Diana was Wonder Woman, not Superwoman. You’re getting the references wrong on purpose, aren’t you?”

“I might be.” She smiled and paused. “How is she?”

After my mother’s diagnosis, the only person I cried to on the phone was Katya. She hadn’t been there to comfort me, but she checked in with more phone calls whenever she could.

“The same.” The tears stung, but I choked them back. “Nana’s with her right now. I wish I could be there, but deep down, I fear that I might not be as strong as Nana. I mean, look at me, far away from seeing how helpless she looks on that fucking bed, but I’m bawling my eyes out anyway.”

“Oh, Lena….”

She offered her arms out, and I fell into them without another word, holding her with a death grip while I cried silently. Even in the pain, I didn’t want Jaz to hear a single sniffle.

Katya didn’t flinch when I dug my nails into her shoulder, or my tears rolled down her neck. She just stood there, offering comforting pats on my back, silently reassuring me that I was not alone.

“I’m—I’m not…” I heard the thickness of the emotion lodged behind her every word, “trying to give you false hope, Lena, but I believe we’re going to figure out a way, okay?”

Sniffling, I nodded frantically and pulled back to clean my tear-stained cheeks. “Okay.”

“Cheer up. I’m here now, so I’ll be more useful. It doesn’t matter what it takes; I’ll look into getting a list of potential donors and sponsors for the liver transplant.”

“Thank you, Kat.”

She grabbed my hands with a wider smile, the exact type of smile that hinted at something mischievous. “The only way I’m accepting your gratitude is if you come clubbing with me tomorrow night.”

I knew it.

“Kat, come on….”

“You know you want to.”

Honestly, I didn’t want to, but I felt that I had to. Otherwise, I might lose my mind from being anxious. Katya was offering a much-needed temporary escape from my reality, and we both knew I had only one answer to everything when I needed to cool off.

“Sure. Why not? It’ll be just like old times.”