Page 114 of Unhinged

With Greg.

I’m sharing a place with my best friend where I had some of my best childhood memories. It’s like I’m giving him a piece of myself.

I grab Greg’s hand, and he instantly clutches mine. I look up at him, but he’s deep in thought. I hope he’s not like this all night. I need him to be with me.

After we order and our drinks are delivered, I stare at him as he stares at the table. I reach over and put my hand on his, which breaks him from daydreaming. I ask, “Are you bored with me?”

“No.”

“Then did I do something?”

“No, Simone.”

“If you don’t want to be here, we can leave.”

He moves his hand out from mine, and my heart sinks, but he then covers my hand with his, stroking my fingers. “I want to be here with you. I promise.”

“So, let’s chat. Tell me something about yourself that I don’t know.” I take a sip of my orange juice as I wait for him. Greg’s smile is sour.

“Why?”

“Because. We’re on a date.” I loop my finger in the air, telling him to keep going, but he shrugs.

“I got nothing.”

I pout and probably whine, “No. Come on.” Greg releases my hand and crosses his arms. I concede, “Fine. I’ll start. “Your birthday is February eleventh. You’ll be twenty-nine.”

“How do you know that?”

I smirk, proud of myself for getting it right. “I have my ways.”

“Hadley has a big mouth.” His frown is too much for just her telling me his birthday.

Hopeful, I ask, “When is mine?”

“Uh…” Great. My shoulders fall. Why did I expect him to know that?

He clears his throat. “It’s September sixteenth. You’ll be twenty-four. You took a year off between high school and college to figure out what you wanted to do, so that’s why you’re still there.” Holy shizzle.

“How do you know that?”

Greg shrugs. “I’ll never give away my sources.” Hadley again. But why would he ask her about me?

I raise my eyebrows, floored. “I’m impressed, though.” I smile, so flattered and relieved he knew that much about me. It’s way more than I expected. “What’s your favorite color?”

He rolls his eyes. “I don’t have one. I like them all. You gotta do better than that.”

“Even pink?”

Greg bites his lip, fighting a smile. “Yep.”

“What’s mine?”

“Again. You gotta do better than that.” He still tries not to smile, but when I laugh, he does too.

“What was your sister like?” His smile plummets, and Greg looks out the window. “I’m sorry. I just wish I could’ve met her. She’s still a monumental presence in your life that I don’t have access to.”

Greg glances back at me, and I expect him to change the subject, but he says, “Uh, like me, Eden was a royal pain in the ass.” His smile returns, pulling mine with him. “She was a hell-raiser who couldn’t raise hell. Her favorite color was black, and her favorite drink was the blood of her victims.” Greg giggles, and pure adoration lights up his face. “Fuck off was her motto, and her favorite pastime was to hit me with a Nerf gun when I wasn’t looking. Though, sometimes she ditched the Nerf and threw other shit at me. Despite her prickly exterior, she was such a girly girl. She’d paint her nails black but her toes pink. She loved Hello Kitty and decorated her room with it to complement her pentagram.” He snorts, and tears sting my eyes, seeing him so alive with love for Eden.

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