“Nina,” she whispered, coming into the apartment when I stood to the side.
“Hey, Lynnie.” My voice rasped, mostly in surprise.
She sat on the arm of the couch, close but not too close, twirling her thumbs. For a moment, she just looked at me—and I looked back. Happy to see her yet unsure how to show it. When we were kids, each other’s company was enough to smooth the cracks between us. Now, Lynnie had grown up to be a hugger, and I’d learned to keep people at arms’ length.
When she avoided my gaze, I deflected by saying, “I’m behind on posts for Reality Bites, I’ll get on those soon.”
“Nina, I’m not here for that.” Her voice went quiet. “I’ve never thought of myself as your employer. I haven’t managed to show you that.” She hesitated, then blurted, “Goddamn, Nins, I’m so happy you’re okay.”
She folded into me then, wrapping her arms around me tight. The familiar mix of her hair product and coffee dragged me back to being sixteen, sitting cross-legged on my bed with the person who’d understood me best until I lived the unthinkable. She sniffled into my neck while I patted her shoulder, awkward and stiff.
She muttered something into my shoulder, her body jolting as her sniffles turned into sobs.
My chest burned. This was Lynnie, the girl who cried for over an hour when Macaulay Culkin got stung by bees and died. She used to be the safest person I knew. And yet, there was this unspoken barrier between us we couldn’t seem to get past.
She pulled back and twisted the strap of her bag. “I wanted to see you. I couldn’t—” She winced, cheeks flushed. “I really don’t want to lose you again.”
I stared at the table, tracing the corner of the blanket and rolling it. Silence stretched, heavy, my lungs catching at the edges, the faint hiss of the nebulizer still ringing in my ears.
“I don’t really know how to let people in anymore,” I admitted. “You can’t pretend I’m the same person I was when we lost touch at seventeen, assume I’m just going to pour everything out the way I used to.”
Lynnie leaned forward, hand hovering just over mine—no contact unless I wanted it. “Maybe we could just get to know each other now.”
Slowly, I let my hand drop until my fingers brushed hers enough to let her know I wasn’t shutting the door on her. Lynnie’s shoulders shook in a whimper, but she didn’t push it.
We stayed that way for a long minute, her hand warm under mine, before I finally pulled away. “I’m wiped,” I said.
She nodded, standing and slinging her bag over her shoulder. “We’ll be in touch?” she asked, a little tentative. “Maybe you can work from Reality Bites soon?”
“I’d have to bring Linc. We’re business partners now.”
She smiled and nodded at that. I wished she’d squealed the way I knew she wanted to. Maybe there wasn’t that much distance between us after all. I smiled at her.
The daysafter the attack turned into weeks. I’d spent them with Lincoln almost exclusively. He slept more nights on the couch than at his apartment. The constant worry about finances in the back of my head couldn’t shake that it was wasteful, but we were at a standstill. Professionally, Lincoln and I had shifted to full partners, legalities included, and we’d gotten BrightMark officially signed with Clean Slate Branding & Strategy.
Today was a break in our routine. The courtroom smelled faintly of polish and old carpet, a faint smell of bleach made my chest tighten even when my breath stayed steady, a day for chaos I didn’t want to relive. Witness testimony during this hearing would determine if Natasha should be charged with battery or assault. Carmen was getting off the stand, and Lincoln gave my knee a short squeeze, as he knew he’d need to take the stand next. I’d been granted the opportunity to give a deposition to avoid stress triggers to my health. I perched on the edge of my seat, inhaler tucked into my sleeve, watching Lincoln stand before the judge, back straight, teeth grinding.
Lincoln began, voice steady but sharp, slicing through the quiet hum of the room. “I was present during the incident that took place during the BrightMark summit. I can confirm that Ms. Reyes was physically harmed as a direct result of Ms. Dabrowski’s actions.” He paused, eyes flicking to me, protective, sharp, fully focused.
The judge leaned forward. “Mr. Carter, can you clarify whether you observed intent to cause harm?”
Lincoln’s jaw tightened. “What I saw was deliberate. I have no doubt about it. Did she hope Ms. Reyes’s attack was as bad as it was? I don’t know. I don’t care. She continued to take action in the face of increasing distress. She knowingly put Ms. Reyes at risk.”
Her defense attorney cut in, voice dripping with condescension. “Objection, Your Honor—how could Mr. Carterassessthat Ms. Dabrowski saw this increasing distress?”
Lincoln’s blue eyes snapped up, cold as steel. “Ms. Camacho has already established that she knew of Ms Reyes’s condition. And shedid it anyway. Call it what you want, but don’t pretend it’s harmless stupidity. That’sintent.”
The lawyer blinked, faltering slightly, but he pressed on. “Isn’t it true, Mr. Carter, that you have a long-standing personalrelationship with Ms. Dabrowski? That, perhaps, your testimony today is more about your feelings than the facts of the case? After all, you have done some questionable things of your own admission…”
Lincoln smirked, dark and uneven, deepening his dimples. His voice was low but fierce as he leaned just slightly toward the table. “I think the fact that I had unsatisfying sexual relations with your client and feelings for Ms. Reyes only proves that she had a personal vendetta against Nina Reyes.” Lincoln’s dimples deepened. “I’m well versed in strong-arming people. Your tactics won’t erase what happened. No matter how much she wishes to call a few boring fucks a relationship. Your client endangered someone’s life. End of story.”
“Mr. Carter, you must refrain from?—”
“You call what we did fucking?” Natasha shouted, standing from her seat, her voice cracking and echoing through the chamber. “You think you get to lecture me after all the texts and jokes atherexpense? I had nothing, no promotion, no acknowledgment. I did what it took, I even blew that old fuck off.” She slammed her hand on the table, head tilting to the side, where Curt sat next to Silas. “Iwantedthat BrightMark contract. So, yeah, I made sure everyone saw she couldn’t handle fucking pressure so everyone realized what I bring to the table! Because none of you ever did!”
Her words brought up all those times he’d used her words as jabs in meetings so vividly I almost thought he would side with her and lash out at me the way he’d done before.
His gaze locked on hers, unwavering. “Natasha, if you wanted someone paying attention to your work, maybe you should have stopped sucking dick and spent more time, I don’t know,doingwork.” He looked back at the judge. “I believe that comment leaves no doubt about her intentions.”
