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When she leaves, he leans back in his chair and grins. “See? Not so bad, right?”

I glance around. It’s almost too much after days of silence.

“Okay,” I say. “Not so bad.”

The server returns with our beers and takes our food order. Liam gets a burger. I order wings, even though I’m not sure I can eat them. We drink in silence for a moment.

Then Liam says, “So. You wanna talk about it?”

I take a long sip of my beer. “Not really.”

“Fair enough.” He pauses. “But for the record, Lucien’s an asshole.”

I almost smile. “You’ve mentioned that.”

“Because it’s true. He catfished you, and then he dumped you the second things got hard. Fuck him.”

“It’s more complicated than that.”

“Is it?”

I stare at my beer. “His dad… The things he said to him on the phone. It was brutal, Liam. I’ve never heard anyone talk to another person like that.”

“That sucks. But it doesn’t excuse what he did to you.”

“I know.”

The food arrives, and Liam watches me. “You’re eating. That’s a good sign.”

“I’m starving,” I admit.

“Yeah, well, I’m surprised you’re still standing.”

I take another bite, and for the first time in days, I feel almost normal.

“So,” Liam says, wiping his mouth with a napkin. “I met someone.”

I look up. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. Girl in my econ class. Her name’s Sarah. We’ve been texting.”

“That’s great, man. What’s she like?”

Liam grins. “She’s smart. Funny. Really pretty. I’m thinking about asking her out.”

“You should.”

“You think?”

“Definitely.”

He laughs. “Look at you, giving relationship advice.”

“I’m a disaster, but that doesn’t mean you have to be.”

“Fair point.”

We talk about Sarah for a while, what she’s studying, what she’s into, whether Liam should ask her to dinner or something more casual.