Two unread messages.
Avery: Take Sabrina to that cinnamon roll shop on Armitage. She’ll def reconsider moving after one bite.
The other was from Derek.
Derek: Have fun with Sabrina. Try not to cause too much trouble, snowdrop. Give Aspen a belly rub for me.
Snowdrop.
I could’ve handledbabeorsweetheart—generic names you could toss around without meaning them too much. Those were safe. Interchangeable.
Snowdrop wasn’t interchangeable. It fit me too well. That was the problem.
“What’s that face?”
I looked up. Sabrina was awake, her red hair a tangled mess against the pillow, watching me through half-lidded eyes.
“Nothing.”
“Liar.” She stretched, dislodging Aspen, who grumbled and resettled at the foot of the bed. “Is that him?”
I didn’t answer, which was answer enough.
“What did he say?”
I turned the phone toward her. She read it, then looked back at me, expression unreadable for a beat. “Snowdrop? That’s nauseatingly cute. What’s it mean?”
“It’s a flower,” I said. “Blooms in the snow apparently.”
She blinked. “Blooms in the snow. That’s romantic as fuck.”
“I know.”
She watched me for a moment, then asked—careful and too casual, like she was trying not to spook me. “So what exactly happened between you two? You said things were complicated but you didn’t finish the story.”
I stared at the ceiling. Aspen’s tail thumped lazily against the mattress.
“We hooked up,” I said finally. “I showed him my scars.” My throat tightened and my eyes felt prickly. Probably allergies. “He said they didn’t make me less beautiful. That they just made me real.”
Sabrina was quiet, waiting.
“And then I sucked his dick and ran away.”
She went perfectly still.
“In this bed?” she said, horrorstruck. “Gross.”
I shot her a look. “You’ve been to my apartment in Toronto. Much grosser things have happened there.”
“Not helping.” She shoved my shoulder. “Ugh. Can you leave me one decent man? Just one?”
“It’s not like that,” I said quickly. “He’s not—we’re not—”
“He called yousnowdrop, Théo.” She sat up, fixing me with a hard stare. “He told you your scars make youreal.” Her voice and her expression softened. “That man is gone for you, period, end of discussion.”
I looked away. Aspen had rolled onto his back, paws in the air, completely oblivious to my existential crisis.
Fuck. Derek was decent and kind and I was going to ruin him like I ruined everything.
