Page 25 of Revenge Cake

“Alright,” she says, thankfully pulling me out of my head. “Let’s bang out this revenge plan.”

The determination in her voice fills me with warmth. She’s adopted the revenge list I wrote last night as if it were her own. The fact that she has her own relationship troubles hasn’t dampened her enthusiasm.

“Before we get started on the list,” I say, recalling myself, “what were you going to tell me about Armaan?”

Her expression changes. She lifts her margarita glass and takes three large gulps, as if to give herself sustenance before diving in. “Well,” she starts, a little begrudgingly, “I was just looking through his phone, ’cause you know, I’m super trusting like that, and I—”

She halts when I snort. “No judgments over here. In the last month, I’ve read every text Logan has sent to a woman who wasn’t me, his mom, or Lauren. Every. Single. One.” And I died a little more each time I saw a new text from Keira. “I’m the Woodward and Bernstein of suspicious girlfriends.”

She wrinkles her nose. “Who are they again?”

“The journalists who reported on Watergate.”

An “o” forms on her lips as she nods thoughtfully. Narrowing her eyes, she looks at me. “I guess that makes me the Cersei Lannister of suspicious girlfriends, because I’d literally behead Armaan if I got the kind of phone call you did.”

Ah, the dreaded phone call. Brenna looks away, not wanting to dwell on a memory she knows fills me with both a fiery rage and a cold, empty sadness.

I have to force my jaw to relax before saying, “I interrupted you. What did you find on his phone?”

She sighs heavily. “Nothing too incriminating. He was texting with”—she lowers her voice—“Logan’s sister.”

I can only nod slowly, wishing I could reassure her, but I’ve noticed Lauren and Armaan’s affinity for each other every time she’s visited Santa Barbara. I’ve often seen them hanging out—teasing each other, taking turns showing each other YouTube videos, laughing loud and obnoxiously. Basically, doing all the annoying things people who really like each other do.

“What were they texting?”

“Nothing bad, but I just know Armaan has a thing for her. I mean, she’s literally the female version of Logan.”

I shake my head. “She’s nothing like Logan. I don’t even think they look that much alike.”

“No.” She sighs. “But she’s hot.”

“You’re hotter.”

She smiles faintly before looking down at the hand clasped tightly around her glass tumbler. “I don’t know… It’s not just that. She’s also…such a free spirit, you know? Or at least she seems like it. And I’m of course the raging, controlling bitch who annoys him even though…” She rolls her eyes. “Lani, I literally do everything for him. He would not survive without me. Would not attend a single morning class if I wasn’t there to wake his ass up. He’d forget to turn in assignments. It’s ridiculous.”

“I know. It’s like you adopted a teenager.”

“Right? And the thing is, I can’t even really blame him for it. I think a lot of it has to do with his ADHD. He never takes his medication, because he says weed works better, which…yeah, okay Armaan.” She shakes her head. “It just goes to show that people who grow up with money are just as fucked up as the rest of us.

“Oh my god, speaking of which! Have I told you the latest in the Singh family drama?” When I shake my head, Brenna’s eyes light up. “I shouldn’t be laughing about it because it’s really sad for Armaan, but oh man! Some shit just went down. His mom just told him flat out that she will not hire him at S. Singh because his grades are so shitty. He got turned down for a job by his own mother!”

When Brenna bursts into laughter, I give her a scolding look. She waves me off. “I know it’s not funny. My heart really hurts for Armaan, especially since you know his mom could invent a fake job if she really wanted to. She basically did for Vik”—Armaan’s older brother—“although it’s a little different since Vik is basically a genius, and Armaan is…you know, Armaan.”

When she giggles quietly, I send her pleading eyes, and this time she bites her lips to fight her smile. “I know I’m being an asshole, but the only reason I can laugh about all of this now is because I have full confidence that he’ll figure everything out someday. He’s a super smart guy, and I think he has drive in him somewhere deep, deep, deep down. He’s just young for his years, you know? Both he and Logan are like that. They’re babies in big masculine man bodies.”

“Speaking of Logan,” I say, hoping to sway her from the topic of Armaan’s humiliation. “What did you need to tell me about him?”

When her face falls, my stomach sinks. I knew whatever she had to say would be bad news, and yet somehow I still find myself unprepared for it. “It’s about Keira,” she says.

My throat tightens. I swallow before saying, “I knew it was.”

“She’s been at their apartment a lot,” Brenna says quietly.

An ache seizes my chest, but I try to manage a cynical smile. “Well, you know they are such great friends, Brenna.”

She shuts her eyes, shaking her head. “God, he’s the worst, Lani.”

“I know.”

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