None of this is funny, but my mouth still twitches. Amber works at Corey’s family’s restaurant with him—a job he got for her—and lives in an apartment bought and paid for by his parents.
I should step forward. Nothing good comes from eavesdropping, but morbid curiosity keeps me frozen as my heart thumps uncomfortably in my chest. I’m waiting for Dillon to speak up, to defend me, but all he says is, “Give it a rest, Bliss,” in this amused tone, like he’s heard this all before and doesn’t care either way.
“She’s not wrong,” Jack says, words slurring together. “You gotta think about your image, man. Who you have on your arm matters, especially if you want to move up in the world, like me. I get fucking her, but sometimes, that’s all you should be doing. Get me?”
“Stop it!” Marisa demands loudly. “You guys are being dicks. There’s nothing wrong with how Charlie looks.”
Bliss scoffs. “You’re only saying that because you know there’s no competition. You’re a sparkling diamond, and she’s one of those plastic gems a third-grader pastes onto paper and calls art.” A pause, and then, “You know, she reminds me of a chipmunk, with her puffed-out cheeks and big front teeth.”
My hand goes to my mouth, hiding those teeth, just as Amber crows, “Oh my god! That’s it exactly! I’ve been trying to figure out what she reminds me of, but I was stuck on a bunny. Except bunnies are actually cute.” The two of them cackle together before Amber adds, “Her dress tonight made me think of the girl inWilly Wonka?—”
There’s a loudthud—someone slapping a heavy hand against the wooden table. “Holy shit, theblueberry!” The laughter comes again, louder this time, and my breath gets stuck in my throat when I think I hear Dillon joining in.He said he liked this dress.
I fall back a step, making sure I’m still out of sight as I lean against the wall, listening as the laughter dies down, only for Bliss to turn herserious lawyervoice on.“Look, Dillon, we’re just looking out for you. Everyone and their mother knows you’ve been in love with Marisa for years. You guys have just never been single at the same time.”
“Bliss, don’t—” Marisa tries, but her friend talks right over her.
“Now, Rissy is single, and you could be,” Bliss sayssuggestively. “All you need to do is cut away the fat barnacle. There’s no way you actually love her. She’s so…plain.”
Marisa and Dillon…?
They make sense, I guess. They would look picture-perfect together, with Dillon tall and dark, and Marisa petite and fair. There’s no competition when you put Marisa and me together, but I’ve never worried about her before because Dillon has never said a word about having feelings for her. They’ve been friends for almost ten years, so wouldn’t something have happened by now if they had feelings for each other?
Or is Bliss right, and they were just never single at the right time? Has Dillon been pining for Marisa the whole time we’ve been together, and now that she has split with Aiden…
Am I just a placeholder?
My eyes burn, but there’s no tears, even as it feels like each word from Bliss shreds through layers of skin and muscle, right through to the bone. I hate how much power this woman has over me, especially when she doesn’t even know it.
“Bliss, I told you,” Dillon says, and hope has me holding my breath, wondering if he’ll finally shut this all down. “Leave it alone. I don’t want your opinion on my relationship.”
It’s a lackluster, evasive reply. The wall across from me wavers, my vision going blurry as disbelief fills me. A cold sweat slowly drips down my spine, my fingers trembling where they’re still pressed to my mouth.
He didn’t deny it.Any of it.Dillon didn’t say he isn’t in love with Marisa. He didn’t defend me after the way Bliss and Amber attacked me and my looks. All he did was tellthem to shut up, like they were telling him a cold, hard truth he wasn’t ready to accept.
“You need to hear this, man,” Corey’s saying, like he can hear my thoughts. “She isn’t one of us. She’s a librarian who should stay behind the shelves, if you get what I mean.”
“That’s it,” Marisa says, her voice loud. “I’ve had enough. Move, Dillon. Let me out, right now.”
“Marisa, chill out,” Jack protests on a laugh. “Dramatics are scheduled for noon tomorrow.”
“You guys are being fucking assholes,” she rages, even as I hear them shuffling around. “I like Charlie. And Bliss…your bitch is showing, andit’s.not.pretty.”
“Oh, calm down, Rissy,” Bliss says condescendingly. “We’re just looking out for our friend. He deserves better. What, you think he’ll actually marry Charlie and pop out a brood of babies with her? Can you imagine what they’d look like? A herd of fat chipmunks? Because there’s no way anyone’s genes are strong enough to overpower that.”
And I’m officially done.I don’t stick around to hear if Dillon will finally find his balls to defend me—the woman he says he loves—and I don’t want any of them to find me lurking in the hallway, listening to them brutally tear me apart.
Instead, I head down the hallway, past the bathrooms and door to the kitchen, finding the back entrance to the bar and sending up a quick prayer of thanks when it pushes open easily. I step out into the chilly evening air, already pulling my phone out and calling Barrett, who picks up on the second ring. “You need that rescue, Charlie girl?”
“Please and thank you,” I say, my voice quiet and broken.
“What is it?” he asks, jovial tone evaporating. “What happened? What the fuck did he do?”
I sniffle. “Can you just come get me?”
There’s a slight pause, full of questions, and then, “I’ll be there in ten.”
“I’ll meet you out front.” I exhale heavily. “And I’m crashing on your couch tonight.”
