And now... now it’s the four of us.
Holly, with her spark.
Aurora, with her softness.
Maggie, with her fire.
And me, with all my chaos.
It doesn’t matter that I’ve only known Holly for a short time. Or that Aurora and I really only started fixing things last year. Or that Maggie takes a little longer to open up to them the wayshe does with me. None of it matters. Because friendship always deserves a chance. And honestly? This is all I’ve ever wanted—a group of girls I can trade secrets with, share clothes with, cry with, scream at horror movies with.
“You’ve got Sam wrapped around your little finger, Mag,” Holly laughs after Maggie tells us how Sam hired professional photographers to come to her dance school because she couldn’t afford one for the recital album.
Maggie just shrugs with a tiny grin and drops her head onto my lap like it’s her rightful pillow. I scoop up a bite of my strawberry cheesecake, and without hesitation, she grabs my wrist and eats it right off the fork.
“Hmm.” She chews, frowning. “I hate strawberries. But that’s actually good. Steve can really bake.” She says it like it’s no big deal, grabbing the remote to fast-forward the episode.
I try to keep my face neutral, pretending I’m not both shocked and secretly glowing inside. “Yeah... totally.”
Aurora giggles into her mug—tonight’s one has Miley Cyrus as Hannah Montana printed across it. She never goes anywhere without one of her mugs. At this point she could open a whole store.
Then my phone goes off, Christina Aguilera’sWhat a Girl Wantsblaring through the room.
“It’s him!” I squeal, already smiling as I scramble for it. I hit speaker before I can even think.
The girls immediately burst into laughter.
“Hey, baby,” Vincent’s voice comes through, low and a little rough, and my heart flips over.
“Hey, baby!” Holly, Aurora, and Maggie yell in unison before I can even breathe.
I shoot them a glare, flipping them off while laughing. “Seriously? Can you let me live?”
“Nope,” Holly chirps.
“It’s too funny,” Aurora says sweetly, dunking another cookie into her tea.
“Why should I? You’re not my boss,” Maggie deadpans, eyes still glued to the TV.
Vincent’s laugh crackles through the line, warm and unguarded. “You all sound like you’re having fun.”
“We are,” I admit, cheeks already hurting from smiling. “How are you? Did you get to talk to your parents today?”
And just like that, the chaos quiets, and we slip into our rhythm. He tells me about his day, his therapy, the things he’s been working on. Every so often, the girls jump in, tossing in questions or jokes like they’ve known him forever.
“Tell him you miss him more than oxygen!” Holly stage-whispers, obviously loud enough for him to hear.
“Shut up,” I hiss, throwing a pillow at her. She only laughs harder.
Aurora leans closer to the phone, her voice soft but firm. “Are you eating properly, V? And don’t lie.”
“I am,” he promises, his voice warm but tired around the edges. “They make sure of it here. Three meals a day. Real food. Balanced. You’d be impressed.”
“That’s whatthey all say,” Aurora mutters, but her lips twitch into a smile.
Vincent chuckles, then adds, “Actually, I even cooked this week.”
The girls all gasp like he just revealed he robbed a bank.
