Page 49 of The Bridges I've Burned

A soft knock caused me to jump, and Zander’s eyes jerked to the door.

“Expecting anyone?” he asked.

I shook my head. As he was just starting to get off the couch, a familiar voice came from the other side of the door.

“If you’re naked, could you just let me know? Like, give me a signal or something?”

Zander and I looked at each other.

It was Marin.

“Maybe just a knock on the wall? Or you can just…” She paused, and I could just picture her at the threshold, staring up at the sky, begging any deity she could think of to give her strength. “You know what? I’ll just come back in the morning.”

“Should we save her from her misery? Or let her go?” An evil grin spread across Zander’s face.

I was already getting up and headed for the door. “She doesn’t need that kind of stress,” I told him. “Or nightmares.”

He laughed.

Pulling the door open, I found my best friend on the other side, one face shielded by a familiar article of clothing—Zander’s leather jacket.

“Is it safe?” she asked, her voice slightly muffled by the leather.

“Oh my God.” I swatted at the jacket, getting her attention. “You are ridiculous.”

She finally dropped it to her side, and her eyes opened. “You’re dressed.” She seemed…shocked.

“Of course, I’m dressed!” I exclaimed. “Didn’t Zander text Macon?”

“Well, yes, but he told Macon he took you home ’cause you didn’t feel well.”

I looked at her, my expression blank as I waited for her to respond. I looked over at Zander, who was casually leaning against the arm of the couch with his arms folded across his chest. I looked back at Marin, and her mouth formed a big, round O.

“Oh, so that was true? I just assumed it was code.”

I rolled my eyes and stepped aside to let her in. She caught sight of Zander, taking in his casual appearance, but apparently chose not to say anything.

“So, are you feeling okay?” she asked as I returned to my seat on the couch. She took the seat next to me and turned so we were facing one another.

I swallowed, unsure how to respond. I didn’t want to lie. I had technically left the party because I felt unwell. There just wasn’t anything physically wrong with me.

“Uh, I’m gonna go check in with…” Zander grabbed the back of his neck as he pushed off the couch, clearly uncomfortable with giving Marin too much information about his life. “I’m gonna go make a phone call.”

His eyes met mine, and I knew immediately what he was doing. He was giving us time to talk, and once again, I found it strange that he could understand me so well after such a short time.

She was still in her dress from the party. It was romantic with a delicate floral pattern, and now that I looked at it, I realized it was also deceptively good at covering her midsection.

It also made me think back over the last twenty-four hours in a new light.

“So, I have to ask you a serious question,” I said, getting straight to the point.

She nodded, her eyes avoiding mine, obviously nervous.

“Did you or did you not serve me decaf coffee this morning?”

She burst out laughing, and I held out my hands in an exaggerated shrug and said, “What? I need to know ’cause I’m not sure our friendship can handle this deception.”

I knew we had other stuff we needed to talk about, and we would, but right now, I needed to laugh with my best friend.

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