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Audrey’s eyes were still on her painting. She was using a rolling pin to blend the colors into something resembling a sunset.

“How was he? Did he seem okay?”

Her friend sighed, setting the rolling pin down on a towel. “I think he’s been better.” She rested her hands on her hips, a fleck of green paint smudged over her left eyebrow. “Why don’t you go talk to him, Iris? He’s right down the street.”

Iris frowned, her shoulders slumping as she traced the brand name on one of the paint-coated plastic bottles. “He doesn’t want to see me.”

“Like hell he doesn’t. He loves you.”

Her traitorous heart leapt, but she ignored it. “Not anymore. And I can’t blame him. I never should have kept something like that from him.”

“Ah, yes, the mysterious secret you kept from him. Since you won’t tell me what it is, I can’t give you any advice.”

Iris flinched. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Audrey rested her hand on Iris’ forearm, accidentally transferring a smear of paint onto her sleeve. “Oh, yikes. Sorry.” She grabbed a paper towel and ran it under the faucet. “Whatever happened, I’m sure he’ll forgive you. Actually, he’ll have to.” She knelt beside Iris and started scrubbing at the stain.

“Why?” Iris asked.

“Because we entered into a business partnership. I offered to design the labels for his products.”

“Oh, wow. That’s actually really cool.”

Audrey smiled as she turned back to her work. It really was one of her most tranquil paintings, the springtime colors lovingly blended across the canvas. “I’m sorry again about how freaked I was that morning I showed up at your place,” said Audrey. “I had just woken up from that nightmare, and I⁠—”

“Please don’t apologize again,” Iris groaned. The more Audrey apologized, the guiltier she felt for not admitting that her fears weren’t the least bit unfounded.

“I still feel bad. You guys were just about to head out on your day trip, and I’m just afraid that my showing up might have set everything off on the wrong foot. Like, maybe it's a little bit my fault that you and Blair had your falling out.”

Iris shook her head, vehement. “You did nothing wrong. And anyway, the day didn’t turn out so well. I think you were right to worry.” Someday, she knew, she would have to tell Audrey the whole truth. Her friend deserved that. Iris just couldn’t bring herself to make it today.

“Please go and visit Blair,” Audrey pleaded. “Smooth things over.”

Iris bit at her nail as she considered. “Okay,” she said finally. “But he’ll probably refuse to see me.”

“You never know until you try.” Audrey smiled, patting Iris’ newly scrubbed sleeve.

For the first time in what seemed like weeks, Iris managed a small smile in return. The movement felt strange, like her facial muscles had forgotten how to work properly. But it was a good kind of strange.

The light rain transitioned into a downpour as the unsettled day turned into a stormy night. Wind whipped around the house, making the elms moan, branches scratching against the house like claws.

Iris shivered, her heart beating fast and uneven as she slid from Blair’s window seat where she’d been spending most of her nights ensconced in his books. She huddled on the couch in the dark living room, sitting as far away as she could from the windows. The cushions sank down a little as Gabriel settled next to her. Tentatively, he wrapped his arm around her, and she folded herself into his embrace. Gabriel stroked her hair, his hand hesitant.

“I know I’m not the person you want here with you, Iris,” he whispered.

Her throat was thick with a cloying sadness. “I want you here, always,” she promised. “Nothing can change that. I feel safer with you than anyone else in the world.” She gazed up at him, his face in partial shadow. “Gabriel?”

He angled his head so that he could look at her. “Yes?”

Iris sighed. “I’m really sorry that I asked Blair to stay with us without taking your feelings into account. It was incredibly selfish of me.” She squeezed her lips together to stop them from trembling. “Can you ever forgive me?”

Gabriel held her tighter, his chin resting on her head as wind rattled the windowpanes. “Thank you for saying that. But you were doing what you believed was right; there’s nothing to forgive.”

“That’s not true, and you know it. I was so caught up, I couldn't see how wrong I was for not trying harder to understand your perspective. You deserved so much better.”

Thunder grumbled in the distance. Gabriel was still stroking her hair. “It was just…difficult,” he admitted at last. He took a long time gathering his thoughts before continuing, his voice a low murmur. “Before, when those around us belittled us or misunderstood our commitment to being platonic life partners, at least I knew that you and I were a united front. When Blair came into our lives, it felt as though you stopped taking what we had as seriously.”

His words didn’t come as a surprise, not really. But hearing them said aloud made something ache deep within her. Iris had never meant to hurt him, but she couldn’t deny that she had.