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"He wanted me to leave Toby. But I wasn't sure. We had the house, and Toby was a good husband, and I didn't know if Kenny was serious."

"So he started dating me again?" I tried to make sense of the logic.

"Yes, to make me jealous." Her head bounced up and down in an exaggerated nod. "And it worked. I chose him."

It felt like a door I'd thought had been permanently closed and locked had been kicked off its hinges.

"How long?" I asked.

"What?"

"How long were you and Kenny together?"

As I waited for her answer, I took a deep, centering breath.

"Forever," she stated nonchalantly.

"Define forever."

"Since high school."

My entire world tipped on its axis. "High school?"

"Yes, remember the homecoming dance."

I felt numb and also devastated at the same time.

"Homecoming." She nodded. "Remember?"

Of course I remembered. I'd worn a blue dress my mother spent three weeks helping me find. Kenny brought a matching corsage. Annie spent the entire evening with us because she didn't have a date.

Or so I'd thought.

Plot twist: I was the third wheel.

"You and Kenny were together?" I needed to say the words out loud to accept this new reality.

"Well, yeah." She rolled her eyes. "But you know how my parents were."

I did. No dating. No boys in the house. No unsupervised parties. I'd spent years helping her sneak out to meet boys. I just had no clue one of them was my boyfriend.

"They wouldn't let me have a boyfriend. So the only way we could see each other was if you were there too."

Memories flashed.

Football games. Movie nights. Trips to the lake.

Annie was always asking to tag along. She always told me how lucky I was that my boyfriend liked my best friend.

What the actual fuck?

"So you both used me to see each other?"

She clicked her tongue to the roof of her mouth, making a disapproving tsk. "Don't say it like that."

"How would you prefer I say it?"

"You're making it sound so…” She scrunched her face like she’d just bit into a lemon. “…so shady."