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“No, probably not,” I agreed, still laughing. “Here.” I handed him a plate stacked with my homemade goodness. “You need to replenish your life force.”
“You cooked all by yourself.” His brows rose in surprise. “I’m impressed.”
“I have a pretty decent home economics partner who taught me a thing or two,” I replied, moving to the table with my own plate. “He’s an asshole, but he knows his way around the kitchen.”
“So, this home economics partner,” Joey said, following me over to the table. “Is he your friend?”
My heart flipped in my chest. “He was.”
“Was?”
Nodding, I sank down on my chair and took a bite or toast. “He used to be my best friend.”
“What changed?”
“We had a fight.”
“Is that right?”
“Uh-huh. He broke my heart.”
Pain flicked in Joey’s eyes. “Molloy.”
“Joke.”
Relief flooded his features when he swallowed my lie. “Well, I hear this partner of yours feels shit about the fight the two of you had.”
“Does he now?”
“Yeah.” Joey nodded. “He misses his friend.”
My heart flipped. “He should miss her. She’s amazing.”
He smirked. “He wants her back.”
“She never left.” I swallowed deeply. “She just needed a time out.”
“Good.” He nodded. “Because if she did leave, he wouldn’t like it.”
“He wouldn’t?”
“No.” His green eyes locked on mine from across the table. “He wouldn’t.”
Exhaling a shaky breath, I reached across the table and laid my hand, palm up. “Nice moves.”
He stared at my hand for a long beat before slowly placing his hand on top of mine. “Nice everything.”
FOURTH YEAR
I’LL BE WITH YOU
SEPTEMBER 2ND 2002
JOEY
Holdingmy breath under the water, I remained motionless with my hands gripping the sink, until my lungs turned to fire in my chest and my thoughts became muddled and blurry.
That shitty human survival instinct instilled in all of us, the one that programed us to search for oxygen, forced my face to the surface of the water.
