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“What happened to you? Who did this?”
“Don’t worry about it.” He backs away and my hands fall to my sides.
“I do worry. I’m worried about you.”
“Why, because I’m an addict? You assume I’ll resort to using just because someone died?”
His harsh tone stuns me. “No. I’m sorry. That’s not … that’s not what I meant. I just—”
“Save it.” His office door slams shut, the click of the lock like a shot to my sternum.
As if the rollercoaster of emotions I’m on this week isn’t enough, Joe’s texts come in more frequently.
Joe: Please answer me.
Joe: How’s New York?
Joe: When are you coming back?
Joe: I miss you.
Joe: Do you miss me?
Joe: I ended things with Brianna.
Joe: Let’s talk. Don’t throw everything away.
I toss my phone onto the couch cushion beside me. “That last one kills me. As if I’m the one who walked away from what we had. Does he actually believe that? Or is he trying to get a reaction out of me?”
“You should block his ass,” Mallory says.
“Or talk to him,” Charlotte chimes in. “Closure will help you move on.”
“The idea of rehashing everything he put me through …” I shake my head. “I don’t think I can do that.”
“Plus, he’ll just feed you more excuses.” Mallory rolls her eyes as she crams a handful of Doritos into her mouth. “He doesn’t deserve to explain himself.”
I can tell Charlotte disagrees. She always looks down at her lap and tucks her hair behind her ear when she stops herself from saying what she’s thinking.
I sigh, flopping back onto the couch. “Honestly, I don’t even care about Joe right now. I’m too worried about TJ to think about much else.”
“He’s still not talking to you?” Mallory asks.
“No, but trust me—the slamming door speaks volumes.”
“He’s just going through a hard time,” Charlotte says. “He knew Kimmie for a while. He was her sponsor. That’s gotta feel awful.”
“I know. I just wish he’d let me in. Help him.”
Mallory stands, brushing orange crumbs onto the rug. She pauses and looks at me. “I’ll vacuum later, I swear.”
I laugh and shake my head, knowing I’ll get to it before she does.
“Why don’t we stop sitting around and wasting time talking about stupid boys? Let’s go do something.”
Charlotte holds her hand up. “I don’t want to go to a bar.”
“So we won’t. Let’s do something different.”
