Page 90 of Forever Finds Us
The person at my door didn’t bother to knock. She just barged in like she always did.
“Hey, Aubs,” I said, clicking off my phone and flopping onto my couch, watching her lug two bags from the Food Mart into my kitchen. “Whatcha got there?”
“Pick-me-up food,” my best friend said, and she disappeared behind my fridge door.
“Thanks, but I’m not really hungry.”
When she emerged from the depths of the old appliance that probably needed a good scrubbing out and the door slammed shut, the new bottle of whiskey on top of the fridge rattled, and it reminded me of the old bottle that used to be up there, until Brand had poured it over me and sucked it from my body.
Gah! Roxi, quit it! He’s gone, and he’s not coming back. He’s not your prince. He’s not your anything.
When she walked into the living room, Aubrey had a bottle of red wine in one hand, a bag of white cheddar popcorn tucked under her arm, and her favorite dark chocolate quinoa crisps Rye had introduced her to.
“Gimme,” I said, holding my hand out for the popcorn.
She tossed me the bag and flopped onto the couch opposite me, lifted her short legs, and rested them over mine.
“Shitty day?” she asked, eyeing the tent-sized pajamas I’d changed into after work and the greasy hair framing my face I hadn’t bothered to wash this morning.
“Yep. And my sister just called. She wants me to go home for Christmas. Said she has travel points I can use if I want.”
“Why don’t you? You never do anything nice for yourself.”
I snorted. “You think showin’ up at my parents’ depressed and still husband-less is nice?”
She crunched her crisps and swigged the wine right from the bottle. “You know what I mean. Go somewhere, get out of your head.”
“Gimme those,” I said, holding my hand out for the bag of crisps. When she tossed it onto my lap, I grabbed a handful and stuffed four or five of the crunchy treats in my mouth.
Aubrey shuddered. “Ew. Dark chocolate and cheddar popcorn do not go together.”
Actually, now that she mentioned it, the combination kind of tasted like puke in my mouth. I threw the crisps back to her and held out my hand for the wine.
As I took a chug, she said, “I saw Brand today,” and I almost choked on it.
Wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, I asked, “Where?”
“At the ranch. He was with Bax and Rye.”
“Oh. Well, how’d he, you know, look?”
“Haunted and miserable,” she assured me definitively.
“I know you’re lyin’, but thanks.”
She smiled. “He looked the same as he always does. But I will say that it felt like somethin’ has changed with him. I couldn’t tell what it might be when I talked to him, but?—”
“You talked to him?” I asked, pulling my legs out from beneath hers. Her feet fell to the floor, and we both sat up.
“Yeah. Well, I yelled at him, actually.”
“What? Why?”
“Because, Roxi, he broke my best friend’s heart.”
I wanted to pummel her, but she was the best damn friend I could ever hope to have.
“What did you say? What did he say?”
