Page 85 of Poison Aches

“Why not? I haven’t discovered myself yet.” I wink.

“Is that why you chose New York City?” she counters. “To discover yourself?”

I almost drop Knight when my fingers grow weak.

Astraea is too observant for her own good. And she’s dangerously close to the truth, but I can’t let her see that by denying it.

“Is that so bad?” I murmur. “I need to find me. The me outside of Westbrook Blues.”

As in, the me who isn’t pathetically tied to people’s memories that link me to just one thing.

A pining girl in a sad, depressive, unrequited love triangle with two of her friends.

“There’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, it’s about time,” Kim says softly. “But why New York? You’ve never liked it before.”

“Where else can one invent themselves if not in one of the most ridiculously expensive cities in the world?” I smile at Knight.

“Uh-huh,” Kim hums, not believing me one bit. “Doesn’t that bozo you met online live there?”

“Wait, don’t tell me you’re going to meet up with that guy!” Astraea questions seriously now.

“Well… we may or may not have talked about meeting, yes.”

“Dude, you met online!”

“Yes, and many amazing relationships start online,” I counter.

“Yes, but most of those are from dating apps. You met this guy, where? 'Cause I sure as hell know it wasn’t a dating platform!”

Urgh! Coming here tonight was the worst decision I’ve made recently. I’m on the chopping block!

“They met playing some silly game,” Kimberly chimes in between munching on a bowl of fruit she produced out of nowhere.

“Playing a game! Have you seen his face? Like, his true, real face? Not some doctored AI thing,” Astraea demands, concern flashing in her eyes.

“They refused to reveal each other’s identities,” Kim mumbles.

“Oh great! Like that isn’t a red flag!” Astraea blows a breath, planting her hands on her hips.

I sigh. “We’ve already been over this,” I start. “He’s just a friend?—”

“A friend that texts her from the moment she wakes up to the moment she pretends to sleep,” Kim says. I ignore her.

“He’s just a friend that lives in Manhattan who is willing to show me around the city. In fact, he’s helped me find an incredibly affordable place that I can pay for myself without my brother’s help.”

“Wow, he helped you get an affordable place. What a saint,” Kim grumbles sarcastically.

I know why they are both like this.

Safety is everything.

Trust is a hard, precious thing for my friends.

They never let their guard down for anyone except each other and now that I’m talking to a guy they know nothing about, they have questions.

“But seriously, he found you an apartment?” Astraea exclaims, then she looks at me with a bewildered expression. “You barely know this jerk!”

“What—” I start, but Kim cuts me off.

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