Page 55 of Red Flags Only

She didnotjust say that, in that tone, implying thatJoveis in the wrong here – that he’s doing harm to her by oh-so-gently keeping her back from my property, a place where she is not invited or welcome? When he, by all accounts, has been handling her as respectfully as possible while also keeping me safe?

Absolutely no, she did not.

She did not.

Except. She did.

“Chrissy,” I call over the porch railing.

She transfers her venom to me. “Call your freaking dog off, Lyra. Or I’ll have him put in a cage.”

“If you don’t do what he says, and be polite to him while doing it,” I respond. “I’ll haveyouput in a cage. I know how you got that lipgloss, Chrissy, and I know it wasn’t legal. I also know how you got those shoes you’re wearing. And the dress you wore to graduation. And yourpurse, and your jeans, and about half of the things you own. And I saved every message I’ve ever gotten from you. I have you admitting to all of thatborrowingyou did, with time stamps. I don’t know, but I’m pretty sure the statute of limitations isn’t up on, oh, half of the things you’ve stolen?”

Her jaw clenches and her hands fist at her sides, but she doesn’t say anything – to me or to Jove.

I wait a beat to make sure we are fully on the same page, then head inside, beelining for my bedroom. Under my bed is a small cardboard box filled with random items of Chrissy’s I found around my house in the immediate aftermath of her dropping our friendship, when I was crying more than I was breathing and my chest still ached when I saw reminders of her.

Now, looking at this box, all I can wonder is… why?

Why did I give her so much of my care, time, and energy when she’s so… Chrissy.

Am I really that much of a doormat?

Do you even have to ask?

Even now, I would have let her treat me like that – mean, dismissive, ugly. I would’ve let her walk all over me, invade my home, get her stuff, and taken whatever verbal beating she wanted to give me all the while.

If it weren’t for Jove.

He protected me, physically and emotionally getting between me and the threat to my well-being. He bolstered me, my love for him driving me to stick up for him and forcing me to, in a way, stick up for myself too. To show Chrissy that actually, you can’t treat himor melike that. I won’t allow it.

I won’t allow myself to be trod on. Not when it means allowing my friend – a true, genuine friend – to be trod on with me.

I will be brave. I will have courage.

Iambrave. Ihavecourage.

A weight that has been forever tethered to my chest lifts, butterfly light, and takes off. The burden of being me twists in the back of my mind, light shining through the tangle of my thoughts until it looks more like a blessing through the vines.

I am a garden, thriving and beautiful.

And Chrissy is a weed I’ve just stomped out.

I smile, snatching the box and walking outside with more confidence than I’ve ever been able to pretend I have.

“Here’s your stuff,” I say, dropping it on the sidewalk behind Jove and pushing it toward her with my foot. I ignore the way her nose wrinkles and the nasty look on her face as she reaches down for her things. “Now, if you don’t mind, we have a date to get to.”

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Puppy dog eyes should be illegal.

Lyra

“Sticking up to a terrible person is kind of invigorating,” I declare, dragging Jove into my house. “Did you see me? I did so good! Tell me I did so good.”

“You did so good,” he says. “I’m going to cover her lawn in bleach the first chance I get anyway, though. Just in case she doesn’t quite get how good you did.”

I jerk to a stop, spin, and stare at him. “But…” I blink. “I blackmailed her?”

---