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“I don’t think she needs me here,” Jacob said. “You talk to her. I’m going to Chad’s for a bit.”
Kristen rushed into the house and stopped in her tracks. Stacey sat at the kitchen table with a glass of wine in front of her.
Kristen poured herself some and satacross from her.“We need to talk about this.”
“Where’s Jacob?” Stacey’s eyes stayed on her wine.
“He went to Chad’s. It’s just us. How’d you get home?”
Stacey lifted red-rimmed eyes. “Uber.”
The silence went on.
Kristen reached across the table and grabbed her friend’s hand. “Hey.” She shook her arm until Stacey looked up. “You need to talk about this. What’s going on? Why are you making this so difficult?”
“Me? Why do you think I’m making this difficult?” Stacey’s voice was loud, and fury sparked in her eyes.
A smile grew on Kristen’s face. “Good job. We have some feelings.”
She always had a way of making Stacey talk. How annoying. “First, he lied about his money.”
“It’s not his.”
Stacey huffed. “Semantics. Then, when he realized that the doctor I was having problems with was his aunt, he didn’t say anything.” She held up a hand to stop Kristen’s comment. “It was deceptive and embarrassing. I was totally caught off guard and shouldn’t have been.”
Kristen looked up. “Okay. You’ve got one. He should have said something, but he apologized.”
Stacey’s eyes rolled. “Then he told me he hadn’t had a relationship in over a year.”
Kristen rolled her eyes right back. “He wasn’t in a relationship. He kissed a girl.”
Stacey threw her hands up and widened her eyes as if saying, “Hello, same thing.”
Kristen continued. “He wasn’t in a relationship. He didn’t have sex. Not a lie.”
“They kissed and messed around.” Stacey’s voice was more agitated.
“Still, no sex, no relationship.”
Stacey jumped up from the table. “Again, semantics.”Why is she not seeing things my way?
“Not lies.” Kristen leaned on her hands and met Stacey’s gaze straight on. “What’s the real problem, Stace? I don’t see any so far.” She raised her voice. This was ridiculous.
Stacey grew quiet.
Kristen waited.
Stacey’s eyes were starting to glisten, and finally, a tear fell.
Kristen’s heart broke. But she didn’t move. She stood strong.
Stacey stood up tall and wiped it away. “This is why I don’t do relationships.”
Kristen’s voice came out soft. “Why? Because they’re hard?”
Stacey’s head shook. “No. They hurt.” More tears fell, but they were still silent. She grabbed a napkin and wiped her face.
Kristen joined her and leaned against the counter. “They don’t always hurt.”
