Page 26 of Apparently, I’m Torture

My chest squeezed painfully; air barely moved through my throat. I swallowed bile down, and repeated lyrics under my breath.

Both Mia’s hands were on my upper arms now, squeezing rhythmically, and I shut my eyes and focused on the feel of it. Her voice joined mine and we sang together.

“Jump up, make a sound, hey, stomp your boots, turn around. Start now, make a change, gonna make that sound.”

“Uh. Is everything… okay here?”

My eyes flickered open to find Stacey’s wary blue stare on us.

“Everything is just peachy,” Mia drawled, taking her touch from me and folding her arms. “Except Lilly’s computer isn’t working again. Where’s Shawn?”

Stacey frowned and hugged her notebook to her chest. “He’s meeting with the educational board. They’re working out exactly how much money might be portioned into his initiative.”

Stacey softened as she spoke and her shoulders relaxed, curving into her notebook as if it could hug her back. “But maybe I can take a look?”

I wasn’t in a position to turn down help, so I nodded and followed Stacey back to my desk, sparing Mia a single backward glance. She looked down at her bottle of whisky and bingo card, disdainful. I almost laughed. Poor thwarted Mia. Did she really want a drink that badly? I almost wished Shawn would show up just so she could play her game.

“So, how’re you going with your tasks?” Stacey asked as I sat and logged in. “We’re on a strict timeline.”

“I know,” I ground out, trying not to take my frustration out on her. It wasn’t Stacey’s fault things were crumbling underneath me. “I haven’t started yet. By the time things were working last week, I had to leave.”

“So… you haven’t done anything yet?” she asked, and I could hear the judgement in her voice. “That’s not like you. The Lilly I remember was always on top of things.”

I snapped my glance to her. “The Lilly you remember was a pushover.”

“A pushover?”

“Yes. I was drowning back then.”

“You were drowning?”

“You know I was. You practically held my head under.”

Horrified, her stare widened until I could see the whites of her eyes. “Lilly, I would never do that.”

I rolled my eyes. “I meant it metaphorically.”

“So… you were metaphorically drowning? How did I…” Unsure of how to finish that sentence, Stacey trailed off.

“Stacey, you know I never would’ve dated Trevor if you didn’t force me to. And now I’m stuck working for him.”

She put her hand to her chest. “And you think that’s my fault?”

“Yes.” The urge to stomp my foot resurfaced. How was she not getting this? Were Mia and I living in some alternate reality where Shawn and I were never friends, and Stacey never manipulated me into dating Trevor?

Was I in the wrong here?

She spluttered, paused, then shook her head. “Let’s refocus here. You’re not connecting to our files?”

Stiffly, I dropped my shoulders a notch and nodded. “Or my email.”

She bent over me, and I caught a whiff of the overly sweet perfume she wore. I bet it was the same one she practically bathed in five years ago. Bubble-gum sweet, just like she pretended to be.

“I don’t think I can fix this. We better wait for Shawn.”

Panic gripped me tight, snapping my spine straight. “When will he be back?”

She shrugged. “I’m not sure. It’s an important meeting. Can you do anything else in the meantime?”