Page 138 of Square Deal

Chase stomped up the stairs, but I didn’t move.

“Geez, it smells in here,” he grunted under his breath before calling out, “Han, where you at?”

He cut the bedroom lights on, and I winced. The brightness was blinding.

“Oh, fuck,” he exclaimed, jumping out of the doorway like he’d just spotted the kraken.

Did I really look that bad?

“H-hey, you…” he said hesitantly, inching back in the room with a strange mix of terror and horror on his face. “You, uh… Wow.” Chase rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “You look… Comfortable.”

Ah, shit. He was southerningme. No one did backhanded compliments like we did.

I love how you did your hair, sweetheart. It looks SO much better.

He wears that beard the way she wears CoverGirl.

Bless your heart.

Well, isn’t that just like you.

I looked up from my nest of pillows with puppy dog eyes. “Do I really look that bad?”

Chase crossed one arm over his chest and pressed his fist to his mouth. He waited a beat before pointing a finger at me. “Do you remember that time you got food poisoning after that caterer undercooked the chicken at some wedding?”

I nodded.

He grimaced. “It’s worse than that.”

I groaned and burrowed into my blanket cave. Chase crossed the room and grabbed my full-length mirror. He hauled it back and set it in front of the side of the bed I was cocooned in.

Oh, it was bad.

I had a cereal crumb beard, and that was the least repulsive part of the picture. My face looked like a red balloon from crying my eyes out. My hair was a rat’s nest. It was knotted and matted beyond belief. Concealer wouldn’t cut it at this point. I needed to get some paint and primer from the hardware store to hide the splotchy patches on my cheeks and dark circles under my eyes.

There were empty cereal boxes scattered on the floor beside the bed. My sheets were crunchy and crumb-riddled. I was ninety percent sure that I had a Lucky Charms marshmallow stuck to the boob that was falling out of my tank top.

Chase eyed my bedside table, where two empty bottles of wine and a still mostly-full fifth of Hennessy sat.

“M’kay, I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that you’re not sick,” he said as he examined the wine bottles again. “Except for maybe diabetes and alcohol poisoning.” He sighed. “When was the last time you had actual food?” He wrinkled his nose. “Or a shower? Or… shit, Han, you’re freaking me out. I’ve never seen you like this. What the hell happened? I don’t know if I need to get the girls over here or if I need to call for a biohazard clean-up.” He looked out the window. “Maybe I should just take you out back and hose you down.”

Tears filled my eyes again. I tried to wipe them away, but it was useless.

Chase crouched down next to me and asked gently, “How much time am I going to do for killing him? Are we talking about regular ol’ premeditated murder? Am I going to get a Class H felony tacked on for willfully dismembering human remains? I’m at the age where life in prison doesn’t seem that long, so it’s up to you, Hayes.”

I couldn’t help but smile. “Life in prison for you would be at least fifty or sixty years. He’s not worth it.” I rolled onto my stomach and sighed. “We broke up.” Hearing the words out loud wrecked me.

He nodded and put his hand on my back. “I figured that much. I’ve just never seen you take it this hard before.”

Mascara and tears stained my pillow like zebra stripes. “I really thought he was the one…”

He rose to his feet and fired off a text before peeling my cereal bowl from my hands and setting it aside. I didn’t bother fighting him on it. I felt another nap coming on.

Chase rested his hands on his hips as he transitioned from the role ofbest friendtoDetective Brannan. “Did he hurt you physically? Did he threaten you? Did he violate your consent in any way?” Chase was just fishing for a reason to harass Isaac, and I loved him for it.

“Never,” I whimpered, shaking my head. “Isaac was… he was perfect for me.”

Chase looked at me pitifully. I fucking hated that. He tried to pat my shoulder, but I swatted him away.

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