Page 71 of Make Them Cry
Juno snorts. “That’s a low bar.”
I smile, already feeling lighter.
We sip sangria, curl up on the sectional with fuzzy blankets, and go full girl-mode. Trashy romcoms playing in the background. Face masks. Lark painted a tiny heart on my cheek with eyeliner and declared me “reborn.”
Eventually, Tasha shows up.
I wasn’t sure she’d come. After everything that’s happened, she’s been distant. Not gone, just… quieter. I figured it was just the stress at work, but when she walks in tonight, she’s got a bottle of red in one hand and her smile doesn’t quite reach her eyes.
“Hey, babes,” she says, kissing both my cheeks like she always used to.
We welcome her with open arms. I introduce her to Juno and Lark, and for the next hour, it’s just laughter. Embarrassingstories. Juno tells one about her boyfriend, Arrow, trying to cook eggs shirtless and setting off the smoke alarm. Lark reads our horoscopes in increasingly dramatic voices. Tasha gossips about someone in accounting who got caught printing out fanfiction on company time.
“Seriously?” I ask, mouth full of popcorn.
“Erotic Sonic the Hedgehog,” she whispers, and we all scream-laugh.
It’s almost perfect. Almost.
But I catch it. Juno’s subtle shifts.
Whenever Tasha talks, Juno leans in too much. Asks too-specific questions.
“What was it like working in HR during the Mason thing?” she asks sweetly, topping off Tasha’s wine.
Tasha shrugs. “Pretty standard. Reports come in, we log them, escalate if needed.”
“But you were friends with both of them, right?” Juno presses. “That must’ve been tricky.”
Tasha’s jaw tightens for half a second before smoothing. “Yeah. But we’re professionals. I stayed neutral.”
“How is it working with my brother?” Lark asks, eyes shining brightly.
I roll my eyes, and Tasha smiles way too big.
“He’s definitely the office hottie. I’ve been trying to think of ways to ask him out.” Tasha takes a small sip of her wine.
Lark’s eyes meet mine, and I give her a blank stare. I don’t even know how to define what Gage is to me right now, and to put it into words in front of Tasha is not something I’m trying to do. “I think Gage has eyes for somebody else,” Lark says with a giggle.
“Who?” Tasha asks, obviously oblivious.
Lark laughs a bit louder. “He’s been crushing on River hard.”
Tasha’s eyes snap to mine, and the room quiets out. “Is that true?”
I grip onto my wine glass like it can ground me. I’ve never seen this look in Tasha’s eyes before. Like she’s pissed at this news. “Nothing official,” I say, not really sure where to go with it.
Tasha’s smile is immediate. Too immediate. “That’s great.” Her voice cracks on the last word.
Juno hums like she doesn’t quite buy it.
And I…
I watch the back-and-forth with a slow-burning suspicion. Not because of what they’re saying. But because of what they aren’t.
The mood picks back up. We move to the floor for a tarot reading. Lark flips the cards like she’s channeling spirits.
“River, your love life card is literally The Tower,” she announces.
