Page 37 of The Snowball Effect

“Don’t go telling everyone you fucking know about my business! I told you my relationship with my mom is complicated; you witnessed it yourself.” She flung her arm out, gesturing at the table between them. The scene of the crime. “You know that I don’t want everyone that peripherally knows who I am to know my business. In fact, especially regarding yesterday, thefewerpeople that know, the better.”

Regan shrugged, and the easiness of that shrug only irritated Emma further. “Okay? It was just an entertaining story.”

Emma could literally feel herself hitting the breaking point as she glared incredulously at Regan. “It’s not just an entertaining story; this is my life.Mylife withmymom.Mygrandmother calling me, trying to make plans to meet you, too.I’mthe one who has to figure this all out, and it’s reallynotentertaining.”

Regan’s mouth dropped open. “Your grandmother wants to meet me?!” She clapped her hands as if she were high-fiving herself. “Yes! Okay. You tell me where and when, and I will be girlfriend-ready.”

Were they living on different planes of existence? Emma blinked at Regan, so utterly baffled as to how her statement could garnerthatreaction.

“The last thing. I want to do. Is introduce you. To my grandmother!”

Regan stared back at her, tossing her hands into the air. “Sorry, I just figured you weren’t ready to clear up thiscomplicatedsituation based on what happened yesterday.”

“I’m not!” She shouted back before wincing. She brought her hand up to her temple, rubbing furiously as her migraine worsened. “But fooling Kimberly that you and I are together is one thing; my gram actuallyknowsme. More than that, I had to manage the pressure of her disliking Felicity – well-educated, organized, responsible, ambitious Felicity – for years. I wouldn’t even know where to begin to manage the flack I’d catch for being with you.”

She dropped her head back with a groan. “And if I tell her we broke up, it will only invite more questions. Why are we still living together? Why would I move in with you if things were so unstable between us that we broke up within a month?”

It was her own fault. She knew that. For going along with Kimberly’s dumb little assumption in the first place.

“Whydid Kimberly even come over yesterday?” Emma muttered, shaking her head as she thought about Mr. Cuddles, now sitting on her bookshelf. “Why did you have to be awake and let her in?”

Thinking about her childhood bear made her stomach twist.

She hadn’t understood at that moment that there would be any ramifications. She hadn’t realized that one dumb little lie-by-omission could have such a snowball effect.

After she took a few moments to breathe in – deep breath in, slowly let it out – she looked back at Regan. Truthfully, she was shocked Regan hadn’t said anything in the last thirty seconds.

It felt decidedly un-Regan.

So did the serious look on her face.

“Well, Kimberlydidcome over yesterday,” Regan said, quietly. “And I was awake. And I did let her in. Because how the hell should I have known I wasn’t supposed to? It’s not like you gave me a list of acceptable visitors I should be on the lookout for. In fact, it’s not like you voluntarily tell me anything, ever.”

When Emma had muttered those words a minute ago, she hadn’t actually been blaming Regan.

But Regan’s uncharacteristically sharp tone made Emma feel even more defensive than she already had. It was an easily inspired feeling whenever she was around Regan already, let alone on a night like tonight.

Because – was Regancrazy?

Emma stared at her like she was. “Well, it’s not like you’ve ever given me a reason to confide anything in you.” Before Regan could even attempt to disagree, Emma continued, “Do you even realize that our relationship is the way it is because basically every interaction we’ve ever had one-on-one goes miserably wrong? Due toyou?” She didn’t even have to take a second to think before she was able to list the transgressions. “Spilling coffee all over me the literal day we really met. Followedimmediately by you ripping my shirt in front of dozens of strangers–”

God, that memory still mortified her.

Regan narrowed her eyes. “I was trying to help you!”

Emma ignored that as easily as she had the day it happened. Whatever the intention was, the action had been insane.

And she had a whole laundry list more.

“I’m not even going to try to go through the last two years; I don’t have to. All I have to do is recall the last few weeks. You lied about reading our roommate contract. Because of that, you sent me into anaphylactic shock. You broke my grandmother’s antique porcelain hummingbirds the day I moved in. You constantly are in my business. And whenever we do spend any time together, I feel like I have to watch my back because – by your own admission – you were going to gossip about my life to your coworkers!”

When she was done, she simply stared. Waiting for Regan to attempt to refute the cold, hard facts.

Instead of the animated self-defense Emma anticipated – that she was ready for – Regan grew quiet. Quieter than Emma had ever borne witness to.

Regan crossed her own arms, withdrawing into herself in a way Emma had never seen. She cocked her head as she studied Emma closely, slowly shaking her head. “Doyoueven realize that all you just did was highlight that your bad attitude is why we’ve never been able to have a positive relationship?”

“What?” She couldn’t have heard that correctly. There was no fucking way.

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