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When we reach the airport, I’m a bit more sober—at least, I think I am I hand the driver a wad of cash and make irl behind the counter looks bored as she chats with a burly guy in a security unifor: Wanda

“Can I help you, sir?” Wanda asks

I blink a few tiht sober h?”

Chapter Two

Claire

I NEVER WANTED TO BE like ht I had escaped that fate But life has a lovely way of re you that you are no better than anyone else—even a dead heroin addict

It wasn’t until three weeks ago I finally understood that being likeShe may have brutally removed herself from my life when I was only seven years old, but she left behind a foundation for ht me how to keep myself safe, which really came in handy as I was shuffled froht years after her death And, of course, there’s the enorh I have no interest in ever clai a dime of that money

So I guess things could be worse, but it’s hard to i statistics ho in Florida Of course, judging by the tone of the conversation we just had, it doesn’t see his words and the sound of his voice makes my stomach stir

“I’ll be there in six days You can congratulate me then”

His voice was husky with exhaustion and it only makes me miss him more I want to be there with hi catch-up This is the price I pay for taking my sophomore year off from UNC

I glance at the alarhtstand betweenout with Eddie in a couple of hours The sight of the stack of photos on the nightstand makes my chest ache

Chris caail on his way to the airport He could have e the actual photos in case I wanted to put theet under ain

When he left, I laid the photos facedown on the nightstand so I wouldn’t feel that longing every tihter’s face But seeing the pictures turned facedown is just as jarring It fills uilt that I’m certain has become part of my DNA by now

Against htstand and lie back on ail—I don’t even know her last na above her; soail Knight in my mind She’s a piece of Chris, and one look at her soft blonde hair and pouty lips and it’s apparent that she’s a piece of s to us

The process of an open adoption is ht it would be The only thing that needs to be hashed out is the actual agreereed to send us pictures and eet to know her They’re just not sure whether they want Abigail to know us

The second photo is a close-up and she has Chris’s dark eyes I trace the curve of her eyelid and I can see the way it turns down slightly at the corner, just like Chris's

My phone buzzes as it vibrates on the nightstand I lay the photos on the nightstand and pick up the phone, hoping it’s Adam with a joke text to pull me out of this funk It’s Chris

Chris: Just landed in London I got a voicemail from Tasha They want to meet us on Tuesday I’ll be back by then

Tasha Singer is the lawyer Chris hired to handle the adoption I think it’s funny that her last naer Chris thinks I’ll find her name less funny when I finally meet her He claims she’s the hottest thirty-two-year-old he’s ever met He thinks this stuff makes me jealous, but it doesn’t

I love Chris Nothing will ever change that But it’s not the sao It’s the kind of love shared between friends who know each other’s deepest secrets The kind of love shared between friends who’ve forgiven each other’s worst sins

Me: OK I have class from 7-2 Will be in my dorm by 3

Chris: I’ll pick you up outside your class at 2

Me: Fine

Chris: Don’t take that tone with et I still remember all your most ticklish spots

Me: Stop being a jerk And stop textingto study

Chris: Goodnight, Claire-bear

I don’t respond Why would I respond to that? He’s baiting me

I finishthe text for ot to be the worst class I can possibly be taking right now, but it’s prettya superstar social worker

I open Public and Private Faes when the dores inside, her dark waves flying She tosses her purse onto the desk and collapses facedown onto her bed Her skirt flies up and her panties are showing, but she doesn’t seem to care as she buries her face in the pillow

“What’s wrong?” I ask as I set down the textbook and sit up

“Ugh!” she groans “I’m so stupid!”

Even though the pillow led sound in her screa

I get up froe of her mattress I rub her back and she mashes her face even harder into the pillow

“What happened?”

She shakes her head then flips over onto her back “He’s been fucking someone else, that’s what happened”

“Eddie?”

“Don’t say his nausts me”

Senia and Eddie have been together for almost seven months now, but I never would have suspected Eddie for a cheater He’s always been insanely jealous and possessive I always assuot bored of his clinginess

“How do you know he’s been…?”

“I found the fucking textI love yous!”

She covers her face with her hands and uy since I’ve known her Even when she was a shy fresho, she’s always kept her head about her when it came to relationships I’ve always admired her ability to compartmentalize her emotional life Her relationships never affect her studies and school never affects her social life I’m the one who quit school when my personal life becaether It’s not like her to fall apart like this

Then I think of what she just said “What text es?”

“I was trying to look up times for that new Jack Black movie and a text caross He’s a fucking pig”

My ht, Claire-bear Or the text about knowing my ticklish spots Would Adam flip out if he saw those?

I spring up frorab my phone off my bed

It takes a while to scroll all the way to the botto with Chris, mostly about adoption stuff, but there are some texts from him that could be construed as flirty

“What are you doing?” Senia mutters

“Trying not to be a fucking pig”

“Are you cheating on Adam?”

“What? Hell, no I just want toon et under my skin”

Senia sits up and cocks one of her perfect eyebrows “Are you really that afraid of Adam’s jealousy?”

“I’s”

She shakes her head before she lies back down on her stoet drunk tonight”

I look up from the screen of my iPhone, which I will probably have to trade in soon because I can’t afford the data plan without my job at the café

“I’ll be your designated driver”

“We don’t have to drive We can take a cab Please drink with ht” I stare at her for aYou can drive”

We decide to go to an Irish pub near campus Eddie never wanted to take Senia to this pub, so we’re certain on’t run into hiether this year, especially considering they’re both chemistry majors

Not sharing any classes together was awhether to take their relationship to the next level after the first few dates But Eddie’s intensity was also a huge turn-on for her He matched her intensity and wits, ounce for ounce I was so certain that Eddie and Senia would one day get et enough of her feisty attitude or five-foot-ten Amazonian body

But appearances can be deceiving

We enter the pub and I’m hit with the stench of beer and testosterone Social Distortion is blaring and people are yelling to be heard over the music and each other Apparently, the hostesses don’t work Friday nights People just come in and sit or stand wherever they choose The booths and tables are all full There’s a small area near the back of the pub, about the size ofto the ht in here for this place to have a nightclub feel, but the atmosphere is total chaos

I’ve been to plenty of clubs and parties with Senia, but I have a bad feeling about this place

Senia leans over the bar to order her first drink—a gin and tonic with a liles her ass Senia has never had a probleuys Her model-perfect features and athletic body that she spends hours sculpting at the gym are really just bonuses She oozes sexuality while I probably ooze “too much subtextuality”