The secondI see Lianna’s face, I exhale. I widen my eyes and give her a look, tapping my ear and gesturing upward toward the ceiling—a silenthe can hear youwarning, but she just rolls her eyes like I’m the one being dramatic.
“Like I give a shit what that limp-dicked psycho hears.”
Not limp. Ever. But yeah, not the point right now.
Lianna strolls in, kicks off her heels the way she always does, and throws herself down on the couch.
“I ordered Chinese,” I mutter, falling beside her.
“Did you get chicken fried rice?”
“Don’t ask stupid questions.”
“Thank God, I’m craving it so bad right now.”
“Are you pregnant?”
“Hell no. Gross. Could you imagine me with a baby?” Lianna scrunches her nose and makes a gagging sound.
I bark out a laugh because she’s not wrong. Maternal instinct skipped right over us, and we both know it.
Two… So they’ll never be alone the way we were, and it’s not too many that I lose even a second of you when I need you most.
Phoenix and I having kids is laughable—yet it still makes me ache somewhere deep inside because I used to replay those fantasies obsessively in my head.
I was so sure I had an entire future with him. A beautiful house tucked away from the rest of the world, surrounded by trees that swayed in the breeze, soft grass under bare feet, and star-filled skies we would lie under for hours. I’d imagine Phoenix in the kitchen with me, sleeves rolled up to his elbows. We’d be terrible at cooking—we’d burn food, mess up measurements, and learn how to be adults the hard way, laughing too loud at our mistakes because we finally had a home that was ours—a place where no one could hurt us and where the past no longer existed. And somewhere in that space, running through those rooms, there’d be a kid with his black hair and that same infuriating, devastating smile.
It was dumb kid shit I’d cling to when I needed to escape the cruel hell I was living in. But those fantasies were my lifeline once, and now here I am, with no dreams for that future at all.
“So… he’s really listening in?”
“I expect so.”
“And you’re actually ignoring him like I told you to?” I nod, and she just glares at me, nailing her eyes right through me like she’s trying to find the lie. “How’s that working out?”
“Yeah, you know… fine.”
“You dirty little liar,” she snaps, already grinning like the devil. “Tell me everything.”
Before I can say a word, she throws her head back dramatically, her long dark hair spilling down the back of my couch.
“Alexa, play something loud enough to piss off God.”
Evanescence explodes through the speakers, the volume so high it rattles the floor beneath my feet. Lianna just smirks and slides closer until her breath is hot against my ear.
“Have you taken his virginity yet?”
“No, and I won’t be.”
“Boo. You fucking should. Take it, wreck him, then toss him out.”
“I’m not doing that.”
“So what did you do? Fingers? Mouth?”
“Neither. I mean—kind of. Not really.”
“Okay, literally nothing you just said made any sense.”
