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Not that her friends were unaware of her history with Jake Davis She’d met Cora in her third year in LA, and Brooklyn a couple ether for five years These women had seen The Breakdown of 2012, when she’d hit rock bottoh it to a whole ne She’d lost the only acting job she’d been able score in five long years, lost her sorta-boyfriend, and lost her apartment in the space of a week It was in the otten the drunkest she’d ever been in her entire life and confessed everything

About how she’d been so crazy in love with Jake the entire tih school How they’d been each other’s firsts How they’d planned a perfect future together

And how she’d dumped him on his ass the first hiccup they had, because she was sure he was going to hold her back from her destiny

Jessica snorted Destiny She’d been a little twat Knowing that now didn’t ot away More like the one I kicked to the curb

“Oh, good Lord, you have thatsound “Cora, come talk some sense into her!”

Footsteps padded upstairs and then Cora’s head appeared over the balcony Her dark eyes took in their positions—Jessica still wanting to flee and Brooklyn standing in her way—and huffed out a breath “You’re going, end of story If it will make you feel better, you can pretend I forced you”

Considering Cora could be downright scary when she wanted to be, there was some truth to the statement

Jessica wasn’t backing down this tiet it”

“Wrong Out of all of us, I know all about having to face down your past on a daily basis I e You will, too”

Okay, ritted her teeth It didn’t es “Y’all cannot seriously expectto eat my humble pie when the situation calls for it, but this is just tooa boyfriend I am almost thirty years old and have two roommates I haven’t accomplished jack all that I said I would when I blew out of toith two ers in the air”

Cora sainst her blood red lips “I thought your therapist said facing down your past was an important part of your journey”

“I have faced down my past I’m reformed That doesn’t mean I want to be thrown to the wolves so I can play a damn martyr”

Brooklyn laughed, her long brown hair swinging in its ponytail “A martyr You have such an inflated opinion of yourself”

“Shut it” She turned a pleading look at Cora “Let’s just pretend this never happened, okay?”

Cora’s expression turned conte back to Catfish Creek It’s going back alone”