“Liem!” The darkest of dark jokes. A giggle bubbles from me. He makes me laugh when I least expect it. And often.
“What are you going to do?” he asks. “Are you going to fly back to LA?”
Huh?“How do you know where I live?”
“You told me last night.”Oh.“You said you’ll have to figure out a flight back because your ex only paid for a flight here—which is fucking weird, by the way—and a place to stay when you get home because you were living with your ex, and you’re mad at your friend who has the big house.”
Oh, that’s not—“I told you every-damn-thing last night, huh?”
“Probably noteverything. But enough to know leaving here is going to be messy for both of us.”
He’s right. I came here thinking I wouldn’t be going back, quit my sham of a job, and spent what little money I had on hair, nails, and a new dress, leaving me with less than fifty dollars in my checking account. My best friend, Keisha, would fly me home and let me stay with her in a heartbeat, but considering her husband is David’s best friend and there is no chance in hell he didn’t see this coming . . .
Now that I consider it, Iammad at her for marrying the friend of my enemy, even though that happened six years before this.
With the help of another sip of espresso, the balcony conversation returns bit by bit. He’s from the West Coast too, no apartment to return to if he goes back, and he doesn’t want to have to move back in with his family. Half of last night was us trying to find our differences in a sea of commonalities.
“Are you going to go back to Seattle?” I ask.
“I don’t see another option. I’d book a flight for tomorrow, but all my stuff is in Natalie’s apartment, and I don’t have a key because . . .” He trails off, releasing a shaky breath through pursed lips.
“Don’t you dare cry,” I say, emotion pinching my voice. His chin quivers with his ridiculous pout. “If you cry, I’m gonna cry, then people are going to think we’re in crisis, and I can’t commit the murder I want if I’m literally committed.”
Liem coughs out a laugh, replacing his tears, except one that sneaks out. He brushes it away quickly, both of us pretending it was never there.
“We’re gonna be okay,” I tell him, though I’m not sure I believe that’s true.
He eyes me through his slutty little glasses. “You promise?”
My chest aches after his question. There is no way in hell I willeverforgive David’s betrayal. Cutting people out of my life when they irreparably hurt me is my superpower—I am my mother’s daughter in that way—but . . . I’m having a hard time cutting off the part of myself that is still in love with him. That might take me a minute.
Until then, if I can’t promise him we’ll be okay, I’ll put my energy into getting us as close to okay as possible.
I pick up Liem’s phone from the table. “Unlock this.”
He presses his thumb against the screen, blindly trusting me. “What are you doing?”
Finding “Natalie” at the top of his contacts, I tap it, then answer his question. “I’m calling your ex.”
“What?” he says, fear covering his face in a pale veil.
Natalie answers on the fourth ring. “Liem, please. I don’t—”
“Hey, this isn’t Liem. It’s his friend Bri.”
“Um, hi?”
“His suitcases are still at your place. Could I come get those from you?”
“Oh, uh, sure. You can stop by whenever.”
“Would this afternoon work?”
“Uh . . .” She pauses, as thrown off as Liem is by my request. “Sure,that’s fine.”
“Great. See you soon!” I end the call.
Liem stares at me, stupefied, while I tuck his phone into my pocket. “You’re going to get my stuff back for me?”
