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“She didn’t want to, but…yeah.”
“God. Okay, I’m going to text her and see if she’ll come over. Maybe we can figure out who sent it in.”
I went back to watching the TV and contemplating how horrible my life was at the present moment when Julia showed up in my apartment.
“Hey,” she said tentatively.
“Come on in,” Emery said.
“Is she…”
“A wreck but not mad at you.”
Julia deflated. “Thank God. That was the hardest thing I’ve ever done at work before.”
I dismissively waved my hand and then turned back to the TV. She was just doing her job. I couldn’t blame her. I was busy blaming myself and Landon for this catastrophe.
“Did it say who that email was from?” Emery prodded.
“No, it was anonymous.” Julia frowned. “I thought it was weird, but there were enough different images that we couldn’t think that they had been doctored. Then, Heidi agreed that they’d gone away together.”
“I didn’t know you were going to fire me if I said yes,” I muttered.
“I know. I’m sorry. I feel like the worst friend ever.”
“How is Landon taking all of this?” Emery asked.
I frowned and glanced away. I hadn’t asked about Landon. I hadn’t even checked my phone to see if he had texted or called. My fury was building again, and I didn’t know if I could handle seeing him when I was like this.
“I have no idea,” Julia said. “He was in some meeting for the higher-ups all day. I never saw him.”
“Does he even know?” Emery asked. “I mean…he has to know, right? You ran this by him first?”
“I…I don’t know. I thought that everyone had done what they were supposed to do in this situation. It wasn’t my job to follow up with Landon. I mean…I thought he had already been questioned.”
“Heidi, you should probably text him.”
I shook my head. “No.”
“He might not even know.”
“I said no,” I spat.
Both girls stilled. They could feel my anger from where they were standing next to the couch. I couldn’t seem to get it under control.
If Landon and I had just waited, if we had listened to everyone else, if we had done the smart thing and stayed away from each other, I never would have been in this situation.
Emery and Julia shared a meaningful look, but they didn’t say anything further about it. They just put on Mean Girls and brought me ice cream. We were only twenty minutes into the movie when my front door sounded like it was going to be broken down.
My eyes shot to Emery’s. “What did you do?”
She gave me an innocent look. “Who me?”
“I hate you.”
“I know. I love you, too, buttercup.” Emery nudged Julia, and they both headed to her room.
Slow and creaky, I eased my body off the couch and wandered to the front door. I felt like I’d aged a lifetime in the few hours since I left work. I turned the doorknob and found an irritated Landon standing at the entrance.
