At that, Ava raised a perfect eyebrow. “Really? You’re familiar with Denver?”
“Yeah. We lived near there when we first started out.”
“We—as in the band?”
“Mm-hmm.”
She was silent for a moment, picking up a celery stick. “You know, Dani? I have to say…you’ve really made it work for you. Congrats.”
I could tell this was no different from any of Ava’s childhood compliments that were really insults…but this time, I didn’t care. She couldn’t make me feel insecure or bad about myself anymore. Ava may have become an influencer, butIwas no longer under her influence.
And I felt so good when I realized that. So good, in fact, that what I said next to her was sincere. “You too, Ava. I hope your life is making you happy.”
I had to stop myself from sayingas happy as mine…because I wasn’t sure if mine was.
CHAPTER 26
When Roxy called me that night, I only let it ring once before I answered. We’d just finished washing the dinner dishes and were waiting for the game Grandpa was watching to be over before we played a board game in the kitchen, so my best friend’s timing was perfect.
After excusing myself, I walked to my bedroom. Before I could even ask her a question, she said, “I’m so bummed I couldn’t make it to the bridal shower. How was it?”
“You didn’t miss much.”
“Did you score any awesome gifts?”
“I got a bunch of gift cards and kitchen stuff—like three sets of measuring cups! I put all that stuff in boxes until Braden gets the apartment. But I got some lingerie too.”
“Ooh. Are you gonna let Braden see it now or are you gonna make him wait till the honeymoon?”
“I haven’t decided yet.” But I didn’t want to talk about the wedding. Instead, I wanted to bring up something else I’d been thinking about for a while. “But did I ever tell you about my childhood friend Ava?”
“Yeah, some.”
I proceeded to fill her in on what had happened at the shower with Ava, focusing on how grateful I was to no longer be captive to her domineering nature—and how thankful I was to have a true friend like Roxy. “So I missed you even more than I normally would.”
“I miss you, girl, and I wish I coulda been there…but—don’t take this wrong—I’m having the time of my life on this tour.”
Now seated on my bed, I traced the pattern of the flowers on the comforter with my index finger. “No offense taken. Aside from my grandparents staying the weekend with us, I would have rather been on tour myself. All those people fawning over me—talk about awkward.”
“Yeah, I hear that. One sec,” Roxy said, her phone going silent for a minute. “I just wanted to get into a quieter place.”
“I don’t hear any noise on this side.”
“I meant…I wanted to get away from being overheard.”
“Oh. I sense a secret.”
“Kind of.” An uncharacteristic giggle tickled my ear, making me laugh. When Roxy spoke again, her voice was low. “How familiar are you with MAIMD?”
“I like their stuff. Their first album was a little generic, but this one is pretty intense.”
“Have you ever met them?”
“No.”
I had to strain to hear Roxy’s voice. “Are you familiar with the band members? Like Dean, the guitarist?”
“Oh, yeah. I haven’t met them personally, but I could pick ‘em all out of a lineup.”
