“Shitty and shittier.” I nibble on a bite of toast, making sure it isn’t going to upset my fragile stomach.
She slides my phone across the table. “Now that you’re sober, you can have this back.”
I don’t touch it, like it’s a slug or a snake or something equally slimy and gross. “I don’t know if I want it back.”
She sips from her coffee, watching me over the rim of her mug. “Are you going to talk to him?”
Rubbing my temples, I avoid her gaze. “I don’t want to.”
“You should give him a chance to explain.”
“I know what I heard, Liz.”
“I know.” She drops her feet to the ground and leans on the table. “But I also don’t think I’m wrong about his feelings for you. Which were very, very real, despite whatever else happened. Maybe he went into your relationship with ulterior motives, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that his feelings for you were fake.”
I shrug and chomp down on another bite of toast. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Okay.” She stands and heads into the kitchen, coming back with the pot of coffee. “Do you want to go do something today? I cleared my schedule.”
I hold up my mug for a refill. “That was very nice—andout of character—of you, but I think I just want to be alone.”
“Are you sure?”
I nod. I know Liz means well, but I need some time to sit and process everything that happened the night before. I need to figure out how we went from making plans to shack up to breaking up in the course of a few hours. And I need to let myself wallow a bit. And probably eat some more ice cream.
Liz swigs the last of her coffee and gathers up her stuff. “I will be checking in on you throughout the day, so you’re going to have to turn on your phone. And if you don’t respond to my texts, I’m coming back.” She smooths down my hair in a gesture that feels like my mom, and that’s definitely a compliment. “If I come over here and see you’ve gone all Bella Swan sitting in that chair and staring out the window for months on end, I will call in reinforcements.”
“Aye, aye, captain.” I accept her hug, squeezing her tightly. “Thank you for coming over.”
“Literally anytime.” She blows me a kiss and heads out the door.
I push myself out of my chair and lock the door behind her. Not that that will keep him out.
I trudge back to the table, my cell phone staring up at me, glaring like I just stole the last parking spot at the mall on Black Friday. Picking it up gingerly, I hold it away from my body and make my way to the couch, burrowing back under my safety blanket before I power it on.
It takes a minute, but after I punch in my passcode, the text chimes start and don’t stop.
Grayson:Hey, where’d you go?
Grayson:It’s been way more than 15 minutes, let’s go home.
Grayson:Okay, I looked everywhere in this house, where did you disappear to?
Grayson:Ems, you’re starting to freak me out. Where are you?
Grayson:The valet guys said they think you left? Did you leave? Why did you leave?
Grayson:Ems, seriously, please just text me and let me know if you’re okay.
There’s a break in the messages, probably when he texted Liz and she told him I was home and safe. My heart feels like it’s being punctured by a thousand tiny needles, but I keep reading his messages. They start up again early this morning.
Grayson:Emmy, please. I don’t know what happened, but I just want to talk to you. Please call me.
Grayson:Whatever it is, I can fix it or explain or apologize. I just need you to talk to me.
Grayson:I love you, Ems.
Grayson:Please call me. Anytime. I’m here and I want to talk and figure this out, whatever it is.
