lie

in the air, s

oking sobs. "Moving out? But... where will I go?" She clutched Al

pping a protective arm around Kalie.

ary emptiness. It was like watching a play where I kne

elie, that' s not fair. This is Kalie' s home too. She has nowh

two straight hours to help fix, saving her from being fired. The woman who had cried on my shoulder for weeks after her first big brea

as on the wrong side of it. All her support was

usiness, Bailey," I

ur friends! You can' t just make a scene and expect everyone to i

kid! She made a mistake. Are you going to hold it over h

ilt. But I was already numb. I watched his mouth mov

t since I was twenty-two, forced to raise my father' s child. But

tative hand toward me. "Amelie... please don' t be mad. I' ll do anything. Please do

ld. I flinched back, pulling my ar

ll, instinct

bled backward with a dramatic cry, collaps

rowd

l, forceful shove this time-and knelt by Kalie'

rs. Not even when I was the one lying on the floor with my head bleeding. The sight

g her leg. "I think it' s twisted. Ale

lculated move. A tes

s careful and tender. As he stood, he looked over her shoulder at

you, Amelie," he said,

into the house, leaving me al

lines on my wrist from a time I didn' t want to remember, a time

Bailey shook her head, a look of profound pity on her face, before turning to her

ering in low, judgmental tone

t belie

r Kal

ways been s

life I had built, the people I had called friends, and felt a surge o

louder now, clearer. "All o

of Alex' s colleagues. "Don' t be such a bitch, Amelie. I

of it stol

ded napkins and half-empty glasses, Bailey was the last

voice soft, as if sharing a secret. "When he

d at her, un

melie. He loves you. You just ne

hind her with a soft click, sealin