Page 28 of The Publicity Stunt

"Are you okay? You sound weird."

"He dumped me."

Suddenly alert, she jumps up. "Trevor? What happened?"

"He told me he didn't see a future with us. But I think it's because he suddenly found the redhead he used to talk to single."

"Bastard," Bri says. "I thought Trevor was a decent guy. More decent than the others you've dated. And you both love hockey. It seemed like fate."

She sniffles. "I know!"

"I wish I was there to hug you right now, Tee. What can I do? Do you need anything?"

The pause worries Bri. Tessa never falls silent. Normally, she's angry when sad. Shouting, cussing, and throwing things. Not silent.

"I need your help, Bri," Tessa says and breaks down. "I never wanted to ask you after-"

"What do you need?" she asks as a knock comes from the door. "Hold on a sec, Tee. Someone's at the door."

Bri walks into the main room and looks through the peephole to see Tessa standing there in the hallway, sobbing. Swinging the door open, she pulls her inside and into a large hug. "I'm sorry, Bri. I'm so sorry."

"Come inside. What do you need? And why are you sorry?"

"I hate coming to you like this, and I swore I never would," she says, her lip quivering.

Moving them to the couch, she guides her best friend to sit as she seems on the verge of a complete mental breakdown. Tessa grabs the pillow on the side and places it on Bri's lap, and Bri starts running her hands through her hair. "You need money, don't you?"

Her sobs shake her entire body, and Bri's heart breaks. The one person she'd give everything to without a second thought is the one person who has never once asked. "I'm in over my head. And I need to get away. I promise I'll pay you back. I just... I'm so sorry."

"How much do you need?"

"Don't hate me."

"I don't think I could ever hate you."

Sitting up, Tessa wipes her eyes. "Here's what I was thinking, okay? If you could lend me the money, I could come with you on tour and do whatever you need me to do. I can work some of it off, and then I can find another job and pay whatever's left over."

"How much do you need?"

"Seventy-five thousand."

Bri's eyes widen. "What happened?"

She breaks down again and pulls her knees up to her chest. "I helped Mark take out that loan, and you know how that whole thing went down. You couldn't get the amount out of me because I was too embarrassed to tell you, so I lied and said I could handle it. Then I was supposed to get a bonus from work. I wanted to get Trevor a really nice gift for his birthday, so I took out one of those non-bank loans. Bad idea, by the way. And then not only did I not get the bonus, I got fired. They repossessed my car, and I've been evicted from my house."

"What about Snickers?"

Snickers is the cat Bri bought for Tessa five breakups ago, and he has been her companion for the past five years. Tessa loves that cat more than anything. She even broke up with a guy who said he hated her cat.

"He's with my mom right now until I figure out what I'm doing. Bri, please, you have to understand... I've tried everything else I can think of short of getting on a pole, and I may have considered that a little more than I want to admit. I would never... You can say no. I'll figure something out. I shouldn't have asked. I think I'm just overwhelmed and upset. Please, just forget I asked."

Bri cups Tessa's face. "I wish you would've come to me before you got to this point, Tee."

"Everyone always wants something from you, and I don't want to be like the rest of them."

"Babe, you've been through it all with me. I know being my friend, let alone my only and best friend, isn't always easy. I'm more than aware of that, trust me. Promise me something?"

"Anything."

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