mess. Dirty clothes were thrown on the couch, em

essly on the floor, right in the middle of the entr

eeking of a cloyingly sweet,

k, Ava?" he scolded, not even looking a

worried. He l

saw a smudge of bright re

It was a crowded elevator, okay? Som

lked to our bedroom and pulled o

uneasy. He followed m

It was an excuse. "But Chloe and I were the only ones who saw you... you know, lose contro

ht was so absurd, so monstrous, that I couldn'

"comfort" me. "It's better this

stom ringtone. It was Chloe's voice

e call in the bathroom, his voice low b

phone. A new notific

of her, sitting in Liam's chair in h

making the boss smile. Wonder

ady liked it.

e to track you down and h

cked it up again, and dialed t

el the reservation for the

packing m

l smiling from his call. The smile

doing? Where a

p," I said, m

arm. "No, wait, Ava, don't be like this. I'll clea

up the clothes and trash, a d

ust stay.

architectural convention was in

aid. "One m