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It was Rhian "Hey, hon, can I call you back on my break? I’m late for my shift"

Rhian sniffed down the line "Okay"

My heart stopped Rhian was crying? Rhian never cried We never cried "Rhian, what’s going on?" The blood pounded inwith ht Rhian and James were solid Unbreakable

Fuck

"What happened?" Oh God, had he cheated on her?

"He proposed"

Silence fell between us as I tried to understand what she was saying "Okay He proposed, so you dumped him?"

"Of course"

What was I rowled "How can you of all people not get it, Joss? That’s why I’et it!"

"Well I don’t, so stop yelling atin my chest for James He adored Rhian She was his entire world

"I can’t e ruins everything"

And it suddenly dawned on o area This was about Rhian’s parents I knew they were divorced, but that’s all I knew It had to be so worse, for Rhian to turn her back on James "He’s not your dad You’re not your parents James loves you"

"What the hell, Joss? Who the fuck is this and what has she done withtoo h," I hed in relief "So you think I’ve done the right thing"

"No," I replied honestly "I think you’re scared shitless But fro to change yourdown the phone to one another, feeling that connection between us, that relief that there was soht about the reality of this, Rhian?" I finally whispered "James with someone else I mean?"

A choked noise crackled down the phone

My heart broke for her "Rhian?"

"I’ve got to go" She hung up And so up to cry We never cried

Feeling a deep melancholy settle over s before she did anything she’d regret For once, I wished I wasn’t so broken, so Rhian had a best friend as strong and not afraid to love, to hold up as an example of as possible Instead, I was her excuse that she wasn’t being irrational I was her enabler

"Joss?"

I glanced up over at Craig "Yeah?"

"A little help, please"

"Oh sure"

"You fancy a quick shag after work?"

"No, Craig" I shookhim out, too depressed to even banter with him

Sunday rolled around before I knew it, and I was so preoccupied withmy calls, and too afraid to talk to James in case he put another crack in my heart with his heartache, that I didn’t have a prayer’s chance in hell of coet out of dinner with Ellie’s family

Instead I was bundled into a cab with Ellie, dressed in celebration of the hot day in reen silk cae and stopped literally five minutes later outside an apartment that looked a lot like ours

Inside, I was unsurprised to find the Nichols’ hos, and a cozy collection of clutter that reot it froreeted me with a very French kiss on either cheek Like Ellie, she was tall and beautiful in a delicate way For soh Ellie had told me her mom had moved to Scotland when she was four

"Ellie’s told me so much about you She said the two of you have becolad I was a little worried about her when she said she was taking on a flatmate, but it’s all worked out nicely"