Page 53 of Claimed By The Other Brother

"It'sour gift," Jane interrupts.

"We're not taking no for an answer. You need fun. You need to forget Miles and remember who the hell you are."

Tears prick at my eyes.

"You guys didn't have to do this."

"Yes, we did." Sarah leans over and hugs me.

"You're our best friend. We love you. And we're not letting you sit in this apartment drowning in self-pity for another week."

Jane joins the hug.

"Besides, we're coming with you."

I pull back, surprised.

"You're coming?"

"Of course we're coming," Sarah says.

"Did you think we'd send you to New York alone? We're in this together."

The gratitude is overwhelming. These women. My friends. The people who show up when everything falls apart.

"Okay," I whisper. "Okay, let's go to New York."

Jane grins. "That's our girl."

Later, after we've finished the wine and binged two episodes of some reality show I'll never remember, Jane and Sarah follow me into my bedroom.

"Alright," Sarah says, flinging open my closet.

"Let's pack you properly."

Jane pulls my suitcase out from under the bed.

"We're going out every night. You need sexy dresses and cute shoes."

I watch them rifle through my wardrobe,pulling out options, debating what I should bring.

"This one," Sarah holds up a black dress I wore to a work event last year.

"Definitely this one."

"And these heels," Jane adds a pair of red stilettos I've worn exactly once.

They pack for me like I'm a doll, and I let them. It's easier than making decisions right now.

"We leave tomorrow morning," Jane says, folding a blouse into the suitcase.

"Car picks us up at seven AM."

"So get your head together," Sarah adds, zipping my suitcase closed.

"Because we're getting you out of this apartment and into a city where no one knows what happened."

They finish packing, making me promise I'll be ready when the car arrives. Then they hug me goodbye and head back to their own apartments. I'm alone again in the quiet. I look at the packed suitcase sitting by my bedroom door. New York City. Five days away from Chicago, away from the memories, away from Miles. Away from the ghost of Dax that still haunts every corner of my thoughts.