Page 161 of Rules of Association

She just swiped up another envelope and shook it in the air between us. “Celestia?Celestia!”

I frowned.Dammit.

Crossing my arms over my chest I grumbled, “Ceci. Just, fucking Ceci, alright?”

Christine’s glass clattered as she knocked a hand against it, pointing at me. “Fernandez… Celestia Fernandez as in the Celestia Fernandez on the donor checks?”

“Fernandez as inFernandez Incorporated!”Nin added.

“Fernandez Incorporated as in…everything. Their name is on the leases of over half of Seaside.”

Wide eyes got wider as they continued in their realization. “Yourproperty? I thought you meant you owned the unit, not the entire building!”

I groaned, but inwardly. Outwardly, I stood very still. My back straight but my stance a forced casual as I leaned against the counter. I was uncomfortable, and I was caught. “Are we done?”

They both swung gazes up at me, Christine’s more surprised and Nina’s sort of…angry. I felt my heart give a pang of regret. Especially when it was Christine who spoke next, quiet and unsure and guarded. “You lied to us, Sel—Celestia. Why?”

I pressed my lips together for a long time, and then with a long sigh I felt my armor crumble. This sucked. “At first it was for safety. I didn't know you guys; I didn't know what to expect. But after a while, it just seemed too awkward to bring up.”

“And we aren’t worth a little bit of awkwardness?” she asked, her eyebrows pinching with obvious hurt.

“You are, I just…” I sighed. “I just didn’t want you looking at me like you are now. Like I’m suddenly a different person.”

“Youarea different person, though. Different from who you said you were, at least,” Nina said with fire in her tone.

I nodded. “You’re right. I'm sorry for keeping it from you guys.”

“But that’s it, right?” Nina asked, a weird tone of incredulity taking over her voice. “That’sall you’re sorry for?”

“What else is there?”

“Oh, I don't know? Maybe the fact that you’ve been running aroundplayingcharitable and concerned, all for an hour, or a day or two days each week before you run back to your fancy life and the rest of us are stuck in reality,” Nina said, and I swearvenomcould have hurt less.

“Nin—” Christine tried, but Nina wasn’t done.

“When we lose our jobs, it's real. If you lose this, it’s just another plaything that you can replace, isn’t it?” she spat.

Hurtful words from a hurt girl. I knew it; she knew it; Christine knew it. But still, I couldn’t help the miserable feeling that washed over me. Miserable and prickly. It was like an icicle snaked down the middle of my spine. On top of pinning me up straight, it chilled me over.

Slowly, I lifted from my spot against the counter, moving over to my friend. She was hurt. I knew that. But she had lost her entire fucking mind if she thought I was going to sit here and take it. “Hey!”

She jerked at the snap of my voice, but her eyes held angry and fierce as she looked at me. I stopped right in front of her, holding her gaze with as much sincerity as I could. “You want to be mad at me for lying? Fine, yell at me about that. But you don’t get to judge me based on what I have. You don’t get to loop me in some preconceived category in your head. Doing that just makes you a snob and a hypocrite. I'm sorry for lying. I really, really am. But just because I’m sorry, doesn’t mean I won’t throw your ass out for insulting me or my family. Got it?”

She glared at me, her eyes going all over my face. Her expression going from hard to contemplative to wary all in the same minute. And then she rushed me. My instincts told me to brace for an attack, but my mind knew Nina would never hit anyone. So what was she doing?

The mystery didn’t last long. She shuffled right past personal space and wrapped her arms around me in a tight, tight hug. Hesitantly, I wrapped mine around her too, and then I hugged her back in truth, feeling my steely defenses melting and just leaving me with that sick sorry feeling I’d had before. For hurting my friends and for seeing someone else hurting them too.

“Is this what it feels like to be on the other side of your temper,” she whined, both laughing and groaning. She hugged me tighter, her voice lowering to a whisper. “I’m sorry, I think I’m in shock. And I am so, so mad at you for not telling us, but mostly because we’re friends and for a second there I felt like I didn’t know you.”

“You know me,” I said. “My name doesn’t change who I am.”

She laughed, “I realized that when you ripped me a new one just now.”

Another body latched onto us and we absorbed Christine into our hug right away. We were all sad and confused, but we were sad and confused together.

“What are we gonna do?” Christine groaned. “I can’t drive to Providence every day!”

“What happens if we get the money?” I asked.

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