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“Alice, please.” I put the glass on the coffee table too loud—it slams and I wince. “Sorry.”
“Girlie pop,” Alice says softly. “Don’t apologize to me. Slam as many cups as you want.”
“I just—” I start nervously braiding my hair, twisting the strands and tugging a bit too tightly. “I don’t think that Davidmeantto be a jerk about you. And I… I don’t know. I don’t know how I am going to fix this, but, God, Alice, you didn’t see their faces.”
“Lewis and his girlfriend?”
I shake my head. “Those kids.”
The boy, in particular, had looked horrified.
“Icarefor David,” I admit. It still stings to think, let alone say. “I care about him, and I don’t want anything bad to happen to him. I want him to be… I don’t know. I don’t want this thing between us, this thing I let happen, ruin his life.”
“He isn’t your responsibility.”
I rest my head on the back of the couch, considering. The crackle of the fake fireplace is soothing. I think about how David looked the other day, that morning I slept over. The softness of his expression, the tenderness of his hands. I think about how my heart feels when he smiles at me.
“I think we’re each other’s responsibility,” I say. “Even if we don’t want to be.”
“Because you slept together?” Alice sounds both disgruntled and disbelieving.
“Because we cared about each other,” I murmur. “Or because we still do.”
Alice is quiet. When I look at her, she’s already looking at me with a frown.
“Be careful, Laura,” she says. “You’re my best friend, and I don’t want to see you hurt.”
There’s a knock on the door. I sit up and squeeze Alice’s hand. “We have that in common.”
I make it to the door, and my stomach flutters. What if it’s David? What if he’s here to thank me or to yell at me or to kiss me or?—
I throw the door open.
I sigh heavily. “Hello, Lewis,” I say, annoyed, and wave for him to enter.
He rolls his eyes. “You could sound a bit less annoyed,” he mutters. He sees Alice and stops. “Oh, hey.”
“Hi, Lewis,” Alice says, sitting up and batting her eyelashes. I roll my eyes.
He flattens his mouth into an uncomfortable smile, and Alice sighs. “I’m making more drinks. Play nice.” She grabs our cups and bounces away.
I go back to the couch, pulling a throw blanket over my lap. Lewis sits where Alice was.
“Nice apartment,” he says awkwardly.
I shrug. “I’ve been here for two years.”
“Wow, that long?” He looks around with renewed interest.
I roll my eyes. “Yeah. Wow, it’s almost like youaren’tsuper involved in my life.”
“Stop,” he snaps. He looks at me with a scowl. “C’mon, don’t act like a child.”
“Don’t act like we’re close,” I counter. “Why do you care who I date? We barely talk except at Christmas.”
“Well, it was just Christmas.”
“Christmas was a month ago, and you didn’t stay for dessert.”
