Page 77 of Midnight Ink

Or ours, but my best friend looks like she’s about to bolt. Fair. It is rough looking. “You know I’m a huge advocate for crazy, but you do realize how insane this is?”

“I know.” The floor needs to be redone, the walls, the um . . . well, everything. Besides all the repairs and equipment. “There’s an apartment upstairs.” I nudge her. “It’s a studio, but I’d let you have the bed if you want to move in with me.”

“So I can listen to you bang your boyfriend? No, thanks.”

“I can bang him quietly.” She snorts. “Seriously, you always have a place upstairs if it gets too much at home.” She sighs. I know talking about serious shit makes her itchy, but the problem is, Anna deals with a lot of serious shit she doesn’t talk about. She keeps it inside and lets it fester like a wound.

She’s been my ride or die basically my entire life. I know how she deals with her problems. Or how she used to. Lately she’s switched out razor blades for tattoos. A release I can get behind. After I found her the last time, when she’d taken it too far, I begged and cried for her to stop.

I think she’s listened to me.

I didn’t want to tell her parents that was how she dealt with their neglect and abuse. She begged me not to tell them, but I would break that trust to save her life.

I throw my arm around her, pulling her against me, surprised when she sinks into me. She wraps her arms around my waist. I feel like a shit friend. We haven’t hung out much lately. Between us both working and Ian, I don’t see her much even though she lives right next door.

When I hang out with her I like one-on-one time. It’s one of the reasons why she hasn’t even met Jamie yet. Not that I think they won’t like each other, I just like hanging out with her alone. She’s still my number one.

“What are you thinking about?” I murmur a kiss into her hair. Bright pink now. Silky soft still, and I have no idea how she keeps it so healthy with the amount of dollar-store dye it’s seen.

“Thinking about where Ian’s going to hide your body.”

I chuckle, kissing her one more time. “This is it, Grems. It’s our dream.”

“Sometimes dreams can dress up like nightmares.” She slips out of my arms and grabs my hands in hers. “Ian is going to kill you.”

“Oh, he’s going to fucking kill me.” I laugh. “It was a steal.”

“Like it was stolen and abandoned, because that’s the only thing that makes sense.”

“I’m not saying it’s going to be easy.” I’ve known Anna since kindergarten when her mom and dad moved into the trailer next to us. For the first time in my life I wasn’t alone. My mom, she’s okay, she just wasn’t ready to be a mom. She’s never known what to do with me. I didn’t make it easy on her, I know that, but meeting Anna . . . that was fate. Just like Ian. Anna has always been by my side. I’d die for this girl.

She’s my world in the most incredible and platonic way possible.

“Madds.”

“Trust me.”

“Oh, babe, I trust you. What I don’t trust is that Ian won’t strangle you.”

Yeah, my man will be an issue. “He’ll be fine.” I hope. “Or he’ll leave me and you’ll have to nurse my broken heart.”

“I’d sooner eat it still beating.” She looks up with a grin. “Ugh, don’t say it.” She fake wretches. “Don’t do it. Please spare me.”

I wiggle my brows. “I love him, Grems.”

She bends at the waist as if she’s going to hurl all over the chipped linoleum floor. She takes a deep breath, fanning herself. “I know you do. I love that you’re in love. Even if I find it disgusting. Seriously, you couldn’t have at least tried with women? Men are ugh.” Her face twists with a grimace.

“Sorry. I’m just so madly in love with you that no other woman will do.”

That makes her laugh and she shoves me off her. “You’re an idiot.”

“Yeah, well, we’re about to see if I’m an idiot with a broken heart.”

I watch her kick her shoe on the dirty floor. “He better not hurt you,” she says softly then looks at me. “I like Ian. I really do, but . . .” She shakes her head. “He better treat you right. You deserve the world Maddy.”

“Oh my god, Anna.” I tuck her into my arms. “You are into me.”

She rips her body away from me. “And we’re done here.”