“It lives!” Lewis yells.
Slowly, I open my eyes. My friends are standing in a circle around me, staring down at me. I feel like I’m some kind of human sacrifice.
“Is your couch grounded?” Lewis asks. “Why’s it pushed up against the wall like that?”
Because I can’t look at it without wanting to puke.
Donovan pipes up. “Forget the couch. Why are you lying on the floor, dude?”
Carter crouches down to me, and I know what he’s thinking—he knows exactly why I’m curled up on my living room floor, and I’m guessing the other three know, too. Turns out everyone else knew how I felt, long before I did.
“He misses Lois,” Cart says in a stage whisper.
“How long’s the emo phase gonna last?” Don drawls. “Your clients think you’re ghosting them. I mean, I’m drowning in your leftovers, which is awesome. But still…”
“I’ve been busy with the script,” I say.
“Really? Which one?” Carter snickers.
“Cut him some slack, guys,” Adam says, holding out a hand.
I scramble to my feet.
“You look like shit, man. Lois still freezing you out?”
“Who?” I raise my eyebrows.
“You’re such a pain in the ass.” Lewis glares at me. “You know since you guys had your fight, she’s been ghosting us? I don’t even think she’ll come to the party tomorrow!”
“What do you want me to say?”
“Not me you should be asking.”
I stalk over to the fridge, doing my best to ignore their stares.
“Why don’t you just talk to her, Lane?”
“I did!” I gulp down a glass of water. “It didn’t help—it made things worse. And now she’s back with Kirk, so—”
“Fuck!” Lewis lowers himself onto the coffee table. “So what are you gonna do?”
“Nothing.”
“Seriously?” Don whistles. “You’re just gonna let that asshole win? Dude, you need to show him who’s boss.”
“How did he ‘win’? She got what she wanted all along.” I scowl.
“Oh, quit the whining and grow some balls!”
“I told her I was sorry, and it didn’t change a thing,” I snap. “I told her how my brother died—I thought she’d get it. But she said it was too late.”
Don glances at Lewis, clearing his throat.
“Well, did you tell her that on top of being a total moron, you’re also in love with her?”
The water goes down the wrong way, and I splutter.
“And did you tell her that you massively overreacted because you’re scared of your big, huge, scary feelings?” he adds in a baby voice.
