She turns to him. “I’m sorry, I just got off work,” she explains.
Jules says, “That’s cool. Me too.”
“You have a reservation for two at Mr. Chow’s. Give them JP’s name, Jules!”
Jules waves at me without taking his eyes off of Crystal.
They drive off, leaving Max and me on the curb in descending twilight. Finally, something went right. I might not have woken up to a pristine fairy tale, but I think I just gave one to Crystal. I hope.
47If anyone needs a makeover, it’s me.
48Looks like I’m a gambler.
49Bummer for me but hats off to Crystal. R.E.S.P.E.C.T.
50Not a natural mother.
CHAPTER
TWENTY
With Crystal accounted for and on a date with Jules, Max and I just sit on the curb and embrace the emptiness because what else is there? I can’t remember. It’s that moment after you’ve finished bingeing a show and you can’t remember who you are or why anything matters. I feel like I’ve been looking for Crystal my entire life.
“I think it’s time for me to go home,” Max says.
At those words my heart starts beating out of control. “What do you mean?” Max can’t leave me. Not now.
“I haven’t changed my mind, Mia. You can’t keep me on hold while you decide whether or not to be with JP.”
Why not? That seems reasonable to me.
“And you lied to me.”
Fuck. How many times am I going to hear that today?! “I don’t even know who I was before, Max. I know I lied. I don’t know why, but that’s not who I am now.”
He’s wearing an expression of disbelief, the look of someone who’s heard too many excuses. “What happened at the bank? Did someone steal from you, or are you just broke?”
“I can explain,” I say.
“Does this explanation end with you paying me for my services? Or Crystal, for that matter?”
“I just have to figure out my financial situation. It’s all messed up and…”
He shakes his head. “Mia, you don’t get it. I would have helped you for free. I really like you, but you lied to me.”
My shoulders slump. I’ve fought as hard as I could today but I don’t have anything left in me.
“You’re the same as the person you were before you woke up. You might not remember her, but you’re making the same decisions. It’s who you are.”
A liar, a scam artist—that’s all Max thinks I am. He’s the person who I trust the most, the first person I want to text with any news. If he doesn’t trust me…I don’t know what I’ll do.
“I was scared you’d leave me if I told you the truth,” I say.
His face fills with sadness. “Looks like neither of us can trust the other.”
“Don’t say that…” I put my head between my knees like someone who’s about to faint. Actually, Iamfeeling faint. Dizzy, even.
He shakes his head. “You can’t possibly be with someone you’ve been lying to.”
