“I thought you were out looking for a job?” She asks as I throw pieces of glass into the garbage can.
“I am, can’t you tell? " I motioned to my business-looking attire, which consisted of a Blake blazer, a black mini skirt, and a white lace top underneath.
She clears her throat. “So it’s not going well, I take it.”
“Nope, not so much, and all these places are owned by overweight older women, so they’re all jealous the minute I walk in.” I brush my hair out of my face, feeling sweat come on.
“Are you sure you can’t create a position at the rehab house? It’s not like Colt isn’t a millionaire. I did it for you with that matchmaking company that you refused. I’m glad you did now, since it all worked out for you, but everyone hates me here. And it’s like you have to know someone to get a job. I had no idea people lived like this.”
“It’s definitely not L.A.,” she says.
“You got that right,” I say as i cross my arms over my chest, peering at the main road, watching the cars driving by.
“Why don’t you just go back home?”Abigail says.
“Gee, thanks for making me feel so welcome.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t mean for it to sound like that, but I’m not sure why you’re here exactly. I had no choice because my parents weren’t willing to help me financially. But you, you have all the money in the world. If this is too hard, then I don’t know why you don’t go back home. I’m sure your parents are over the whole car crash thing now.”
I stared at her, debating whether to tell her. I haven’t told anyone, and I’ve watched enough Dr. Phil to know that it’s not healthy to hide the truth.
“It’s not that simple, and I’m tired of being the fuck up,” I say inqoutation marks. “I want to prove myself this time. Prove I can survive without them.”
She stares at me for a beat before saying, “I tell you what, if I offer to buy you another bottle of champagne, will you hear me out with the idea I have for you?”
I flicked my gaze to her. Didn’t she give me a lecture the other day about getting sober if I wanted to stay at her precious lake house?
“You’re willing to buy me liquor?”
“If you aren’t willing to give it up, then I can’t stop you, but you won’t be able to stay at the lakehouse.”
I raise an eyebrow at her, “I don’t want to be the third wheel staying at your house.”
She laughs lightly. “You’re not going to be. Do you want to hear my idea or not?”
Of course, I wanted to hear it; I was desperate, but I didn’t want her to know just how desperate I was, so I played it off by shrugging my shoulders. “Sure.”
“But only if you come with me to this boutique store. I am starting to get stuff for the nursery. And I could use a friend since I have no idea what I’m doing.” She giggles, and I’m taken aback by how she’s glowing. I see what people mean when they say pregnant women glow. She has this overcast angelic aura around her and looks so beautiful and happy.
“You never had any sense of fashion before, so might as well.”
After we finished shopping, Abigail handed me a bottle of champagne and thanked me for coming with her. It was a small gesture, but it landed heavier than she probably meant it to. I knew she didn’t have much—just her sister—and when she told me her mom had reached out, I caught how her voice faltered. Not because she was pregnant, but because she’s marrying an NFL player. That kind of betrayal is a wound you stop trying to explain. I understood. Too well.
My mom and I used to be best friends. Now, we talk like strangers with matching DNA. If someone told me this was howour relationship ended, I would’ve laughed them off. But here I was—grieving someone still very much alive.
What I didn’t expect was the jealousy. That sharp, shameful twist in my gut when I watched Abigail’s eyes light up as she held up a tiny dress. That ache I felt when she talked about her baby girl’s nursery, like she was already painting the walls in her mind. I’d never wanted what other people had. If anything, I was the one everyone else wanted to be.
Tall. Blonde. Pretty. Wealthy. Living in a mansion in one of the most expensive cities in America. I had curated envy like it was art. But none of that glitter mattered today. Not when I saw a different kind of wealth radiating from Abigail—joy, purpose, belonging. She wasn’t just shopping for a baby. She was dreaming. Planning. Building a life.
And me? All I ever planned was how to get away. I looked forward to college not for the degree, but because it meant escaping the house. The house where my stepdad lurked in every shadow, and my mom turned a blind eye. Where meals were measured in shame and silence, I learned it was easier not to eat than to feel his stare track every bite like a loaded weapon.
My mom called me a vampire because I hated bright lights. She thought it was a personality quirk. But really, I just didn’t want to be seen—not by anyone, especially not while I was eating, especially not by him.
Now, sitting alone as the hostess’s ponytail bounced out of view, I scanned the restaurant’s soft, low-lit ambiance—modern and intimate, like a secret kept safely between four walls. It was the kind of place that made you want to exhale. The type of place that made you wish you’d come here with someone who made you feel safe enough to let your guard down. But safety was a luxury I had never been able to afford. And for the first time in my life, being pretty, rich, and envied felt like the loneliest costume in the world. I can hear my mom’s voice so clearly, like it was just yesterday when she said that. She was right; he did change our lives, but I can’t say it was for the better.
“He’s going to change our lives, baby, you watch. He’s our ticket outof our old life. He's going to take good care of us, and he promised to make you a star one day, doesn’t that sound good, sweetheart?”
I yank my phone from my back pocket and check the time—twenty minutes. I let out a sharp breath through my nose, jaw tightening. I already don’t like this manager. People who make you wait like this? They don’t respect you or your time. And when they’ve got authority? It’s worse. They think they’re gods. Like you’re some bug they could squash just to watch it happen.
