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Then we were pushing each other while trying to climb out and fell into it again.
We burst out laughing and have been inseparable ever since. Astrid is the only one who’s never judged me for being a troublemaker, for being too flashy and fickle.
She says she understands I’m doing it for a reason. I’m acting out for a reason, and she’s there to listen.
I could never find a more loyal friend than her. She’s my ride or die. The one I would go to a survival game with and know we’ll both come out of it riding our unicorns toward the sun.
Muse’s music lowers in volume and she asks in a serious tone, “What is it? Are you okay? Should I fly to New York and beat up whoever is bothering you?”
“Easy there on the violence, Bug. This isn’t the Vikings.”
“The world would be much easier if it were, just saying. So? What’s up?”
“Why do you think something is up?”
“You sound weird.”
“What are you, my mother?”
“Well, I am a mother, so I have a different gut feeling. Speaking of mums, yours kinda misses you. It’s okay if you call for more than a minute per decade.” I can imagine the eye roll without having to see it.
Old pain resurfaces, but I clamp it down. “She has her favorite son with her and that’s not me.”
“How can you say that, Dan? You chose to go to the States and Zach chose to stay.”
“I chose to go to the States after she chose Zach. But my mini family drama isn’t why I called.”
“Then what is?”
“I want to ask you something, but I won’t unless you promise you won’t be mad.”
“Why would you ask about something that will make me mad?”
“Just promise you won’t be.”
“Fine. What is it?”
“Have you…heard anything about Nicole since she left?”
There’s a pause on the other end and I grip the phone tighter. “Astrid?”
“Why are you asking about her all of a sudden?”
“Just tell me. Do you know anything about her?”
“She cut me and Dad completely out of her life. You know that.”
“Surely Uncle Henry tried to get in touch with her at some point? He didn’t hate her as much as he hated her mother.”
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
“You sound annoyed right now, which means you’re hiding something.”
“Maybeyouare.”
“What?”
“Why would you ask about Nicole after eleven years of closing down any conversation I try to have about her? I thought you said she wasn’t important when I asked about that summer party. What changed, Bug?”
