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"You don’t know that You said it yourself; you don’t blah If you had saved her that day, she probably would have found another way to do it"

I don’t say anything because he’s right My mother didn’t want to live, not even for ht us in anger ement--"

"Oh, no," I mutter

He pokes hter "Go ahead laugh, but I’ht us in angerwhat you would say to the person you’re angry with if you forgave theiven her?"

I pause for a s I’d say to her I’ve spent countless nights lying in bed unable to sleep as I iine the conversations we’d have if she were still alive

I sit up on the bed and crossto meditate "I would tell her that I love her and that I know she did what she thought she needed to do to o away I would tell her that I’m sorry about what happened to her and hoish I was the one who could have healed her"

Adarabs my hands "What else?"

"I’d thank her for thinking ofcare of me the only way she kne" I bite ing me on "I’d tell her that I miss her so much"

He pullsto be okay," he says, planting a kiss on er heart than anyone I’ve ever aest heart wins"

I pull back to look hiexactly what to say Thank you for lovingto be thankingrid of hteen

Relentless Stor onto the streets of don Raleigh We had planned to walk the half- to happen now Ada deck on Blount Street and we race through the rain tooutside The Pour House Music Hall waiting to be let in for the next show

"I hope you don’t mind, but I invited a couple of my buddies from Duke," Adam says as he opens the door for er than me so don’t hesitate to punch them if they come on to you"

"Isn’t that your job?" I say as we approach the hostess

"I’h as I pull o for the bad boys?"

The hostess leads us to a table and I i at me from the back of the roo table She bolts out of her chair and we run to each other as if we haven’t seen each other in four years instead of just four weeks We hug and I yelp as she lifts me off the floor

"Happy birthday!" she shouts

"Save sorowls as she puts me down

"You’re just so hard to resist in your wet T-shirt" She hooks her ars me to the table

Adam’s two friends are there and so is Eddie Adam and his friends do a secret handshake before he sits on the end of the table next to his buddies and I sit across from him next to Senia

"Claire, this is Rolly and Ian," he says, pointing a thuuy, possibly taller than Adam and built like a linebacker Ian is almost as hot as Adam, with his perfectly syh he’s a bit scrawnier By the time dinner arrives, I’ve learned that Rolly and Ian are stepbrothers who also happen to be best friends Their parents got o and now they share a doro and they h their wall

Rolly’s chubby cheeks pluement so he’s all better now"

"She already knows about that," Adalass of water and pushes it across the table toward o out to eat so it’s second nature to hilass and accept his glass

"Yeah, but does she know about the time you threw Mike’s laptop out the ?" Ian asks, his eyebrows perking up

"Let’s not go into all the shit the Incredible Adae" Adauys expression

I se fro such a tyrant into the person he is now We’ve been so busy trying to fix h into his pain

The rest of the dinner is fun, and I actually have my first sip of alcohol e all toast to ood mood, so she allows ne cocktail, which is just chairl," Eddie says, raising his glass and we all follow suit

Adairl who stole my heart and my water"

My first sip of alcohol isn’t so bad, but Adalass Within two sips, I’ warrazes his shin His left eyebrow shoots up and I wink at him He reaches for my drink and slides it across the table so it’s next to his empty bowl

"I think you should stick to water" I slide rabs it under the table "Look at the ti before we miss the show"

After we settle the check, Ian and Rolly head home and we head next door The crowd outside The Pour House is thinning as people hustle inside to get the best view of the stage at this intimate music hall The outside of The Pour House looks like any dive bar The inside is dark and croith soe I’ve been here once before to watch a local indie band called Death Puppy, which turned out to be three nerdy hipsters perfor an acoustic set of their ht?" I ask as a pushy crowd herds us toward the bar