Page 37 of Love Bitters

“If they care at least half as much as you do, I think you’ll be surprised when you finally do tell them,” Abilene tells me. Kindness shines in her blue eyes along with something else akin to regret, though I know the latter has nothing to do with me at all.

Laying my hand on the top of her skinny wrist on the table, I ask, “How are you, really?”

She snorts and shamefully drops her gaze to the table, precisely styled bleached-blonde locks never moving an inch from their spot on top of her head. I’m noting how the sides look freshly shaved, giving her time to collect her thoughts, when she whispers, “I got drunk the other night after I finished reading our book and made the rash decision to drunk dial not one but all three of my exes.”

My eyes go wide with apprehension as I imagine myself in her place. I’d hide in mortification for all eternity.

Catching my expression, her lips pull up at the sides in a dramatic fake-happy move. “Yeah. My thoughts exactly. Two of them were ecstatic to hear from me since I was the one who, you know, split us all apart. If I’m remembering correctly, the third one hung up on me.”

“Don’t judge him harshly, though,” she requests with a sad smile. “He was the one I hurt the most, so I would’ve hung up on me too.”

Jolene sits back in her chair, apologizing, “I’m truly sorry, guys. I didn’t think about a book like this being a trigger for you.”

“It’s nothing you should apologize for,” I tell her around another bite of ice cream. “I’m sure there’s going to be a triggering subject for everyone if we keep this thing going long enough.”

“I wonder what Blythe’s will be,” Abilene says with a smirk.

Jolene and I glance at each other as we reply together, “Everything.” The three of us fall into a fit of laughter.

As we settle in at the meeting the next day, my eyes catch on the two women who went out of their way to check on me and make me feel better. My closest relationships used to be with two of my old college friends, but neither of them could be supportive of my relationship with the guys. They’d even gone so far as to insult me and threaten to call my mother, hoping I’d be shamed enough to follow the rules of society. It had taken me until that moment to realize I’d outgrown them long before and had just hung on out of loyalty, though they’d shown none to me since neither showed up for my sister’s funeral. They are nothing like the two that came by my house last night with food in hand, spending hours cheering me up. It’s amazing how different people can be.

Next to me, Blythe checks her watch for what has to be the fifth time in a couple of minutes. “The meeting was supposed to start almost half an hour ago, right?”

Jolene nods and looks around. “I figured it’d be polite to wait on Luci just in case she was running behind, but we can go ahead and start if you have somewhere to be.”

“I don’t,” Blythe retorts. “It’s just polite to be punctual, is all.”

Jade glares sarcastically at her with an eyebrow raised when there’s a knock at the door. She gets up to answer it, hitting Blythe with what we’re all thinking. “No offense, but you are the last person who needs to be talking about being polite.”

I love the dramatic whip of her edgy bob of a haircut when she waltzes out of the room. Blythe, on the other hand, simply rolls her eyes to the ceiling, knowing good and damn well she can’t argue with her. When the top of the room loses her interest, it’s on to studying her nails, but the quiet murmur at the door makes our focus shift there instead. If I hadn’t already been paying attention, the gasp that breaks the silence of the room may have startled me. As it is, we’re all practically having the same reaction to Luci walking into the room and not because we aren’t expecting her. We just aren’t ready for the huge black eye she carries in with her. It’s probably one of the worst ones I’ve ever seen, which isn’t really saying a lot since I grew up with a sister, but the entire area beneath her eye is bruised. A cut that’s at least an inch wide sits right above her eyelid.

“I brought you guys a little goodie tray,” she says in a strong voice, trying to distract from the obvious. “It’s all homemade family recipes. There are even some of these little peanut butter squares for you, Imma. Figured they’d make baby and mama happy.”

Withholding my pity and anger at the state of her face, I smile. “Thanks so much. I’ve still been craving it anyway I can get it.”

“Hold the phone,” Blythe smoothly cuts in. “I know you’ve got this fascination with food right now, but are we really going to avoid the evident black elephant in the room?”

As one that has always had self-image issues, her remark digs a little deeper than she will ever know, especially coming from someone as skinny and physically beautiful as she is. Having her call attention to the fat chick loving food in a room full of other women doesn’t feel all that great, and I can’t even imagine how Luci feels.

“Why do you have to be so damn rude?” Jade spits at her.

“I’m not being rude,” Blythe snaps back before tossing a chunk of wavy brunette hair over her shoulder. “We’re going to have to sit here and chat about a book for the next hour while looking at her face. It’ll be highly uncomfortable, so there’s no reason we can’t just talk about it now without having the ridiculous tension there. Besides, if she didn’t want us to ask about it, then she wouldn’t have shown up tonight. Am I right, Luci?”

Put on the spot, Luci doesn’t even flinch when she replies, “Sure, I don’t mind. It was an accident anyway. I was trying to get a heavy box out of the closet, and it fell on me.”

Blythe’s lips make a quiet popping noise when her chin drops her mouth open. I want to high five Luci, even though I’m pretty sure what she said is a lie.

Which Blythe doesn’t hesitate to call her out on. “A box, huh? I’ve seen a shiner like that once when I watched a guy get punched in the face. Even had a tiny cut like that above his eye and everything.”

For the first time, Luci’s poker face falters, and my heart breaks for her. “Okay, the box was a lie, but it was an accident, and it won’t happen again. He promised. Can we let it go now?”

Glancing over at Blythe, I expect her expression to be one of victory, but instead, she seems sad. It only lasts for a few seconds before she smothers it with what she accurately calls her “resting bitch face.”

Luci sets her large plate on the coffee table before grabbing a napkin and placing a few brown squares on it, handing it off to me as she passes to settle in the chair next to Jolene. I swear I can feel Blythe’s glare of disdain at the smell of food near her, but there’s no way I’m insulting Luci by letting her get in my head. Waiting until Jolene refocuses everyone’s attention on our book, I take a tentative taste of my treat, and I’m so happy to have learned manners. To have declined this would’ve been ridiculously regretful on my part. Shooting Luci a quick smile and a thumbs up, I mouth a thank you to her so that we don’t interrupt Penelope, getting a happy wink in return. I have to turn my attention away before my internal wince from seeing what it does to her eye shows on my face.

Surprisingly, this meeting lasts longer than the first one, with everyone having some kind of opinion on the main character’s lifestyle. Only Abilene and I are quieter than usual, something I can only hope Blythe’s nastiness doesn’t pick up on. Speaking of which, she’s the one now going on and on like it’s a subject personal to her.

“I mean, seriously,” she’s ranting, “it’s more than just being taboo topic where we live. There’s no way a real man would share his woman with one other dude, let alone more than that. Furthermore, what woman in her right mind would put herself at the mercy of that many men?”

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