Page 73 of Here In Your Arms

I close my eyes briefly before looking at her. “Did he ever hurt you?” I ask, dreading the answer.

“Define ‘hurt’. We all hurt each other at some point.”

“True, but I think you know what I mean. Did he hurt you more than what would happen in a normal relationship? Did he hit you?”

She looks away from us. “Just once. It was right before I left.”

Kyle grabs one of her hands and brings it to his lips. “Good job.”

I repeat the action and his words with her other hand.

“Can we talk about something else now? I hate wasting brain power on him.”

“Can we talk about how my fish looks like a misshapen turd instead of a fish?” I ask.

She starts giggling when she gives it a real look and pretty soon we’ve all devolved into laughter. Bad brain day successfully averted so far, and I have a good feeling about the rest of the day.

Chapter 26

Rory

I can’t believe I let Morgan talk me into this.

She came into the bar the other day and insisted I join her for a friend outing and at the time I was too rushed to think of an excuse, so I had to say yes. Now that I’m about to leave my apartment, though, I’m second guessing myself.

I’ve never had a ton of girlfriends; most people haven’t wanted to stick around when my depression hits and I withdraw. I get it. I know it’s not fun, but it means I’ve lost my ‘girl’ skills and I’m not sure what to talk about. I’m standing at the door, giving myself a mental pep talk when my phone dings.

Morgan: No bailing, you better be there tonight. I’m on the way there now.

Me: Don’t text and drive!

Morgan: Fuck no! I made Charli drive.

Me: Good call. Fine. I’ll show.

Morgan: Atta girl, I promise it’s a good group.

After a deep breath, I pocket my phone and head out. Part of me feels as though I should have dressed up a bit before I remember it doesn’t matter. I just need to be myself. There’s no way Morgan would have friends who are that shallow. Once parked, I find my way inside and search the bar for Morgan. We picked somewhere other than Jerry’s so I could relax instead of feeling like I should work.

Finally, I see her at a large table further in the room, sitting with two women. They’re both bigger. One has hot pink hair piled on top of her head and the other with dark brown hair that reaches her shoulders. As I approach, I see a third woman approach, with long curly blond hair. My steps falter and I second guess myself again, but before I can take any steps away, Morgan looks around and promptly spots me.

“Rory! Get over here!” she yells, standing and waving at me.

My face turns bright red, and the other girls start waving, big smiles on their faces.

I can do this.

I plaster on what I hope looks like a friendly smile and do an awkward wave back as I pick my way through the small crowd. It’s not packed, but there’s enough people that I need to weave my way through. As I finally reach the table, Morgan stands up to greet me.

“Yay you came!” she yells and gives me a quick hug.

“Well, you did threaten my life,” I tease her.

“What? I would never.”

“Yeah, okay,” the girl with the curly hair snorts.

Morgan sticks her tongue out and introduces everyone. The shorter girl with the curly blonde hair is Courtney, dark brown hair is Olivia, and pink hair is Charli. I nod and say the required niceties before taking my seat between Charli and Morgan.

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