“Have you been talking to her?”
Blythe’s question was met with silence.
“Have you?” Blythe asked again.
“Define talking to her.”
“Jesus. Don’t play semantic games with me. When did you last talk to her?”
“Last night.” Ricki had been driving with one hand, but now she gripped the steering wheel with both.
“So you’ve been talking to her this whole time, and—”
“No.”
“No, what?”
“No, I haven’t been talking to her the whole time. Last night was the first since I last told you.”
“How did it happen?”
Ricki switched lanes and accelerated around another car.
“I’m in the car with you,” Blythe said. “So going faster won’t get rid of me.”
Ricki slowed. “I went out for a drink with my coworkers.”
“To Twilights?”
“Yes.”
“Why the fuck would you do that?”
“It’s where they wanted to go.”
“And you couldn’t have suggested somewhere else?”
“Fine. It’s where I wanted to go, too.”
Blythe wanted to yell and ask Ricki if she was trying to destroy her life, but getting any more heated wouldn’t help the situation, so she took a slow breath. “Why?” Blythe asked in her calmest voice.
Ricki shrugged, and Blythe saw red.
“If you’re trying to destroy yourself, I’m not going to just sit around and watch it happen.” Blythe knew it was the wrong thing to say, but she couldn’t hold her tongue any longer.
“Should I stop and let you out?” Ricki’s tone was as angry as Blythe felt.
“Wow! You’ve talked to that narcissistic bitch twice, and you’re already threatening to throw me out. Didn’t you learn anything from last time?”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
“Stop playing dumb. She almost destroyed our friendship.” Ricki started to speak, but Blythe held up her finger and pointed. “No, don’t tell me it’s not true. You know better. She tried everything in her power to turn you against me. And it almost fucking worked.” Blythe’s words caught in her throat. Through her emotions, Blythe said, “You almost threw me out.”
“But I didn’t.” Ricki’s words came out barely above a whisper. All the anger in her seemed to have dissipated with Blythe’s outburst.
“If she hadn’t left you, would she have succeeded?” Blythe kept the pressure on, not letting Ricki off the hook. It had been one of the worst times of Blythe’s life, feeling her best friend slipping through her fingers with no way to stop it.
Ricki tossed her cellphone onto Blythe’s lap.
