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I was naked and dripping wet fro on my bathroom

"Goddamnit, Peach," I muttered, then pulled my fluffy pink polka-dot robe aroundher headless brooap between our houses and back into her bathroom I threw theopen and sat on the radiator

"We’re not twelve anymore, Peach," I said "You can call me on the phone"

She leaned her elbows on the sill of her open"Have you talked to Millie lately? Oh, and I’m out of conditioner"

"Just a minute" I reached underfull of hotel toiletries I kept there I pulled out a little bottle of conditioner and tossed it across the six feet between us; she caught it handily

"No, I haven’t talked to Millie," I said "I’ve been a little distracted since the Confessional You haven’t talked to her?"

"No," she said "And Nick said she hasn’t shown up for work"

"She’s missed three days of work? Why would she?" I shot Peach a look "You didn’t tell hinant look "About her being in love with him? No! What kind of friend do you think I am?"

I stared her down for a moment, and she deflated a bit

"Okay, fine, yes, I told hi But I told hi to her, and he didn’t, I swear He didn’t get the chance" She nibbled her lip "I’ve left, like, ten es on her phone She hasn’t called me back Have you tried to call her?"

"No," I said, feeling a twinge of guilt I’d been so wrapped up in ht much about Millie Not that there was much real drama with Tobias at thethe other person doesn’t exist I’d also used a fair a - tequila causes hallucinations, right? - so I just hadn’t had much left to worry about Millie

"I’o by her house later"

I grabbed a towel off the rack and scrunchedto go dry my - "

"Why don’t you coo to CCB’s for waffles"

I sighed "I can’t I’ve given up waffles Just until I get the pudge off Do you kno et contact fat just froed; Peach had never had to think about calories a day in her life "Have you talked to Stacy?"

I felt myself stiffen at the ave me a sharp look "You should cut her soo"

I felt a stab go through me, and I toweled my hair with a little too much vehemence as I said, "It doesn’t matter It’s over I’m not upset"

"Okay, whatever you say But she didn’t kno you felt about Tobias back then, and she feels really bad about it"

I stopped rubbing the towel against my head and stared at Peach "Oh, please She does not Stacy has never felt bad for anything she’s done, ever" I continued toweling ain "And it doesn’t rown man who can do what he wants Neither one of the to feel bad about" I pulled the toay fro to hurt

"Well, at any rate, you can’t go to Europe now," she said carefully

I raised my head to look at her "Oh, no? And why is that?"

She stared atapart Millie’s upset and none of us knohat’s happened to her You and Stacy are fighting"

"We’re not fighting," I said through gritted teeth

"Look, Millie’s grandmother is dead Your ht as well be dead And Stacy’s mom is a nutcase We’re the only fa to just leave and let that fall apart?"

I narrowed my eyes at her "Is that what this is about? Are you etting oing to be here for ?"

"Of course, I’ll be here for your wedding," I said "They have airports in Europe, you know Have you picked a date?"

Peach straightened up and stared ather statement like a blow "December twentieth"

"Wow That’s fast Butsure Okay I’ll be back for the wedding"

Her o and co to help ers "Nick Stacy Millie A thousand wedding planners in the regional phone book And your parents are in Florida, Peach They’re not dead You’ve got people"

"I need you I can’t put on a wedding without you, you’reI have to a sister You have to stay here until I get o then January and February are too cold, and it’s even worse in Scotland in the winter We can talk about it again in April"

"I bought ust"

"Get a refund"

"It’s nonrefundable"

"I don’t understand why you have to leave all of a sudden like that It doesn’t ht about explaining it to her, invokinginto space for hours I know he left her on October fifth only because she spent that day crying in her room every year But I couldn’t tell Peach all this because she wouldn’t allow reat in a lot of ways, but she would never understand what unrequited love did to you No one had ever turned Peach down in her life

"It’s just so I need to do, Peach"

"Well, I don’t understand why"

I huffed in frustration "You don’t have to We’re not fahbors So just back off"

Immediately after I said it, I wanted to take it back, but I couldn’t Silence edged into the space between us as Peach stared down at the ground below, quickly swiping tears away froain

"I’et married once, Liv Europe will always be there" And with that, she closed herand left her bathroo of toiletries on ether in a blurred luize later Millie would be fine, we’d all see to that, and Stacy and I would iron over whatever was tense between us Tobias and I were already getting back to norot on that plane, Peach would accept it, too It was about as likely as a winged unicorn flying overrainbows, but there was a chance

At the h, I was too tired to think about it, so I stuffed the toiletry bag under my bathroom sink and went to take a nap

It was a little after seven at night when I woke up, although with the sun being out so late in the summer, it took me a moment to realize it was still Wednesday, , wrist resting on my forehead I supposed I could eat, but it was hard to work up any enthusiasy to do was go back to sleep

Just as I’d closedI shot up in bed and my heart raced as I tried to rememberhadn’t I locked the door? Not that anyone in this neighborhood needed to lock their doors with Peach and Ginny Boyle around, but stillI thought I had

"Crap," I said, trying to decide what to do Maybe whoever it ould just steal my television and leave me in peace I really didn’t care; it was an old TV, and it’d saveit I closed ination, but then I heard ured I had to at least check it out

I grabbed ot to the foyer at the bottom, I heard a sound in the kitchen, and relaxed a bit as I realized it was probably just Peach We’d traded house keys years ago, and she had no boundaries It would be just like her to let herself in if she needed sugar or eggs or so the bat in my hands, but a little lowered "Is that you?"

The kitchen door flew open and Davina stepped out, her bright peacock-colored skirt whirling around her I screa a bit of her drink on the floor She took a breath and raised one hand to the wall to steady herself as she laughed

"Oh, baby, you scared the hell out of me" She looked down at the floor and said, "Crap, I spilled," and then flew through the kitchen door, leaving it swinging in a wake of blue silk and lilac scent

I stood in my foyer for anotheropen and I shut it Adrenaline shot throughheart, and I went into the kitchen, where I saw Davina placing a second glass of scotch down on my tiny linoleum table, presu a sponge off the sink "I’ll be right back"

She disappeared, hu as she cleaned up the spill on the other side of the kitchen door, then calass in the air