Page 114 of No Greater Oblivion

“Sorry,” Lyss whispers as she sticks her head inside. “I saw the light on. What are you doing up so early?”

“More like I never went to bed. Not properly at least.” I grab the remote and turn on the news but keep the volume muted so the subtitles appear. “Come in.”

Lyss steps inside and closes the door behind her. I notice her hair pulled back in a ponytail and she has makeup on though it’s faded. Although she’s in pajamas, it’s clear she only just got home; her cheeks and nose are still red from the cold.

“Are you okay? Where have you been?”

She climbs onto the bed and hugs a pillow against her chest. “At the hospital with my mom.”

Alarm bells ring in the back of my mind. “Is your dad…”

“Oh, yes he’s fine! Sorry, I probably should’ve led with that. He has a very mild case of walking pneumonia but as you can imagine, Mom freaked out. With his condition he’s at a higher risk for complications so she took him to the emergency room.”

I nod and sit on the edge of the bed, continuing to brush out the last few stubborn knots from the ends of my hair. “You know if you need anything just let me know.”

This time when Lyss flushes with color, it has nothing to do with the cold. Shifting uncomfortably against the headboard, Lyss reaches into her pocket and produces a slip of paper. White-knuckled and trembling, she glides her fingers along the edges of the paper before eventually extending it to me.

“I used your account to make a wire transfer to the hospital and paid the bill. I’m sorry,” she blurts out. “I panicked, and Mom is between jobs right now and I didn’t know what to do because I don’t get paid until next Friday and because she isn’t working, they don’t have health insurance and⁠—”

“Alyssa.” I cast the bill aside for a moment and touch her wrist. “It’s okay. Don’t freak out.”

“I’m going to pay it back,” she insists.

I take a glance at the bill and the number of zeroes and almost laugh. “Don’t bother. You couldn’t afford it anyway.” A thought occurs to me. “How did you pay for it again?”

“Wire transfer.”

“From what account?”

She nibbles on her bottom lip and shrugs. “I don’t know. Whichever account ends in 828, that’s the one I have memorized.”

This time, I do laugh. “If you’re able to memorize that many numbers, then you’re welcome to whatever’s in that account. Seriously.” I give her hand a squeeze. “Especially for your dad. You’re my best friend. What’s the point in having all of this if I can’t share it with you?”

Lyss manages a strained smile. “Yeah. Alejandro should know by now; we’re a package deal.”

I know she means it in jest but just the mention of his name throws me off balance. My chest tightens and my throat burns with the urge to cry all over again. Lyss studies me a moment.

“Hey…are you okay?” she asks. “How did everything go tonight? I meant to call you but I got held up at the hospital.”

“Everything went as planned.”

She tilts her head. “Maybe not…considering the look on your face right now.”

“On a scale from one to ten how shitty of a friend have I been the last year?”

“A solid three point five but after tonight, I’ll bump you up to a seven. If you want to reach a nine, you should buy me the new Dyson.”

“Lyss.”

“Dee, it’s pink!”

“Do you really want me to buy your friendship?”

“Yes.” She chuckles and moves across the bed to pull me in for a hug. “I love gifts. They’re my love language.”

I wrap my arms around her and hold on tighter than I should because I don’t notice when she tries to pull away. After a moment, Lyss smooths a hand down the back of my damp hair before touching my cheek.

“Dee?”