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“I can understand why you’d feel left out.” Roger steepled his hands and leaned back in his chair on the small screen of my phone.

“I’m not sure I can,” I said, brushing my hair out of my face and trying not to see the extra pastel streaks I’d added while attempting to add some pizzazz to my cupcakes after Horst dropped me off at the café the night before.

I guess I needed his fairy dust to make my magic work, after all.

“I know he’s been friends with Cass for longer than he’s been friends with me. That’s not the problem.”

“But...?”

“It’s just...” I turned to look out of the window of my apartment. From there, I could see the harbor, the water sparkling with the early rays of the sun as it lapped against the harbor wall. The faint cries of seagulls drifted in.

“You’re afraid she also got a BFF necklace from him?”

I laughed. “No, nothing like that.” Although I didn’t know that for certain, did I?

Horst could be out there doling out little half-heart necklaces like there was no tomorrow for all I knew.

He certainly wasn’t wearing his half of the necklace he’d given me.

“I just wish he would tell me what’s going on. ”

“Have you tried using your big-girl words and asking him?”

“Yes.” I swallowed. “Sort of.”

“Ooh. I do like a good ‘sort of’ answer.”

“I mean, I did ask him if everything was okay.” I watched a small sailboat set off from the harbor, the people onboard just little colorful dots from my vantage point.

“I didn’t say, ‘Hey, I know you’re super worried about some dastardly average- height, average-hair color dude in a cape, so why don’t you tell me what’s going on. ’”

“Hmmm.” On the screen, Roger pursed his lips, deep in thought. “Why do you think you’re letting him get away with not telling you more?”

I turned away from the window and made my way over to the couch. “I guess I wanted him to want to tell me about it, you know? Because that would mean he felt like he could confide in me.”

And that was the problem. He knew something was going on. I knew something was going on. But if he wasn’t ready to share his burdens with me, were we even really friends? Or was whatever was between us just about sex?

“I want to go back to your feelings about seeing Cass with her sister,” Roger said. “Because I think that’s important.”

Pancake waited for me to get settled on the couch, then leapt up, impressively nimble considering his bulk. He climbed right onto my lap, putting one foot directly onto my stomach. I grimaced.

Maybe everyone was right. Maybe he could stand to lose a few pounds.

“Why would that be important?” I asked Roger, forcing myself to focus on what he had said.

“Because I think your relationship with Destiny is at the root of most of your current issues, and seeing a healthy pair of sisters probably dredged up a lot of feelings.”

“I fail to see how my relationship with Destiny is impacting how I feel about whatever is going on with Horst.”

“No?” He tapped his fingertips together.

“You spent a lifetime feeling like she meant more to you than you did to her. And then, once you lost her, you discovered that she had somehow acquired a dangerous magical object she had no business having in her possession and that she told you nothing about. Do you really not see the parallels between that relationship and the one you’re currently fretting over? ”

Okay, when he put it that way...

“But Destiny was my sister. Horst is my...whatever. They’re two very different relationships.”

“Of course they are. But your feelings and experiences with Destiny have given you a need for extra reassurance. To feel wanted and included. That’s going to bleed over into any other relationship you have for the rest of your life.”

I sighed. Destiny was gone. It had broken my heart when she died, but I’d assumed I’d put our complicated relationship behind me. I didn’t want to carry the weight of that for the rest of my life.

“So what should I do to fix that?”

“Great question. What should you do to fix that?” Roger asked, leaning forward and fixing me with kind eyes.

“I pay you so you can tell me how to fix my head.”

“No, you pay me to point out what’s really going on in that head. You’ve got to figure out the solutions.”

I blew out a breath. “Fine. But I’m paying you less for this session since I’m having to do half the work on my own.”

He chuckled.

Like I was joking.

(I was joking. But I was tempted.)

“Glory, I can’t give you an easy fix for decades of feeling unworthy and unlovable. But I can tell you that it’s okay to have needs in a relationship. And in a healthy relationship, it’s okay to ask for what you need.”

“We’re not in a rel—”

But he held up one hand to stop me. “The nature of your relationship with this Pied Piper character doesn’t matter.

Because whether you’re in a committed romantic relationship or just a good friendship, the mechanics are the same.

Romantic partners do things for each other.

Friends do things for each other. They’ll fill your cup up, not drain it.

And if you’re spending time with someone who only drains your cup, you know you need to end it. ”

I sighed. “I hate it when you use therapy-speak.”

“And yet, you keep paying me.”

“Because you won’t let me quit therapy,” I said.

“Because you’re not ready to quit therapy.” He wriggled his nose. “When you’re ready, I’ll be the first one to tell you.”

For as much crap as I gave him about stringing this along, I really did believe him.