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Piper does a double-take. “She does?”
“When I squint hard and don’t look too close.”
Piper laughs. “That makes sense. Ashley would usually show up on my doorstep with an armful of bad ideas, too. Most often, it was a few bottles of tequila. I usually ended up mopping her up off the floor and making sure she didn’t choke on her own vomit in her sleep.”
“Lovely.”
“Not so much. But I’m not sure if that would have been better or worse than this year. At least all the other years, she remembered.”
I pause. “No one has told you happy birthday yet?”
She shakes her head. “I can’t really blame them. It’s been a crazy day. Plus, I just remembered myself.”
“Fuck that. It’s your birthday.” I stand up and pace back and forth across the floor. “When it’s your birthday, someone should… I don’t know. Someone should do something.”
She smiles shyly. “It’s fine. Really. It’s not that big of a deal.”
Usually, I’d agree with her. But right now, I can’t. This feels like a big deal.Piperfeels like a big deal.
“You’re entering into your third decade of life. That’s huge.”
“Okay, relax,” she says, narrowing her eyes playfully at me. “I feel old enough already. You’re making it sound like I’m turning a jillion.”
“Age is just a number. You look incredible.” I eye the long stretch of her leg and try to ignore the memory of that leg wrapped around my waist barely twelve hours ago.
She tucks a strand of red hair behind her ear. “Thanks, Timofey.”
“It’s the truth. Aging is a gift. Some people don’t get the luxury.”
All at once, her smile falters.
I said the wrong thing. Go figure.
“The people in your life own you this much, at least,” I say, papering over my blunder.
She waves me away. “No one owes me anything.”
“Like hell they don’t. Ashley would be in prison if it wasn’t for you. Your grandmother would be in debt. Probably homeless.”
This conversation is taking a turn. I can see it on Piper’s face that she’s uncomfortable. But I can’t stop.
“You deserve so much more than the shit you’ve put up with, Piper.”
Piper stares at me, eyes wide. I expect her to mumble some half-hearted thanks. Maybe blush and shyly turn away.
Instead, tears fill her eyes. “I don’t deserve anything.”
“Yes, you do,” I growl. “You just can’t see it because—”
“Because I’ve been so consumed with my own drama and problems for so long that I didn’t realize my best friend was committing fraud.” She drops her face into her hands, her shoulders shaking. When she looks back up, her eyes are puffy. “I didn’t realize Noelle was in trouble with her company. I didn’t even consider that she or Ashley might be in danger because of my connection to you. And when I found out, I didn’t act fast enough to save Benjamin. I… I fucked everything up. So I’d like to let this birthday slide past without any fanfare because I’m not worth it. Everything is… It’s all my fault.”
She drops her face back into her hands. I can almost see the weight of her guilt pushing her down.
It’s another jarring blow to my reality. Why didn’t I see it before? All the times she tried to tell me the truth, I couldn’t hear it.
No—Iwouldn’thear it.
Now, though, it’s as plain as day. Piper never betrayed me. She never put Benjamin in danger. She is just a woman who is out of her depth and surrounded by vultures and wolves.
