Page 81 of My Real Love Affair

She pushed past me into the townhouse. “You look like shit.”

“Thanks. That’s helpful.”

“I’m being honest. You know I don’t sugarcoat.” She started unpacking the bags on my kitchen counter. “But that’s okay. We’re going to make it better. We are going to binge Friends and stuff our faces. We are not going to look at our phones or open your laptop. We are in our own perfect black hole.”

She pulled my favorite cookies, from the bakery three blocks over, from the bag. Chocolate chip, the kind that were slightly underbaked and gooey in the middle. Then my favorite candy—sour gummy worms that I only let myself have when things were really bad. A pint of expensive ice cream. And a bottle of wine that was definitely not the grocery store variety.

“Cleo, you didn’t have to do all of this.”

“Yes, I did. Because you’re having a shit day, and you’re my best friend, and this is what best friends do.” She grabbed two wine glasses from my cabinet. “Now sit your ass down and let me take care of you.”

I sat. Let her pour wine. Let her plate cookies and open the candy. She carried in the box of pizza and put it on the coffee table. Went back to the kitchen and returned with more goodies.

“First things first,” she said, settling beside me on the couch. “Fuck Austin Bancroft.”

Despite everything, I almost laughed. “Cleo, that’s not nice.”

“No, I’m serious. Fuck him. Fuck anyone with the last name Bancroft. Fuck their money and their power and their ability to make people feel small.” She was on a roll now, her hands gesturing wildly. “And fuck the trolls. The haters. Everyone sitting behind their keyboards thinking they know a single thing about you.”

“They think they know everything about me.”

“They don’t know shit.” She grabbed my hand, squeezing tight. “They don’t know that you have the biggest heart of anyone in this city. They’re jealous because you’ve built something incredible from nothing. They hate you because they ain’t you.”

Tears pricked at my eyes.

“They don’t know that you’re brave enough to put yourself out there even when it’s scary. They don’t know you’re kind even to people who don’t deserve it. And only I know you’re the best friend anyone could ask for. I would literally go to war for you. I will always bury bodies with you. You are my ride or die.”

“Cleo, you’re my best friend. I love you.”

“I mean it. Tell me who to fight. I’ll fight them. I don’t care if it’s Austin Bancroft or his entire family or every troll on the internet. I will burn it all down for you.”

I burst into tears.

“Oh, honey, no.” Cleo pulled me into a hug, letting me cry into her shoulder. “I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

“I’m not—” I hiccupped. “I’m not sad. I’m just so grateful you’re my friend. Thank you. For being here. For caring. For not being my enemy because I never want to be on your bad side.”

“Of course I care. You’re my friend.” She rubbed my back. “And Austin Bancroft is an idiot for not seeing what he had.”

“He did see it. He just—he just didn’t want it.”

“Then he’s an even bigger idiot.”

I pulled back, wiping at my eyes. “I told him to go out with someone else. After I left last night. I basically gave him permission.”

“That doesn’t make it okay. That doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt you.” Cleo handed me a tissue. “And that doesn’t mean you deserved to have photos of it plastered all over social media.”

She was right. Even if I had told him to call someone, seeing proof of how quickly he’d moved on had gutted me. It made me feel insignificant.

“I really thought—” I stopped, not sure I wanted to say it out loud.

“What?”

“I thought maybe it was becoming real. The arrangement. Us.” I laughed, but it sounded broken. “How stupid is that? Thinking Austin Bancroft could actually fall for someone like me.”

“Stop.” Cleo’s voice was sharp. “Stop doing that thing where you tear yourself down. Austin didn’t move on because there’s something wrong with you. He moved on because there’s something wrong with him.”

“Or maybe we just wanted different things.”