Page 11 of Moonflower

I take a deep breath. Shake out my hands. “All right. Cora is . . . She’s always been there, you know? With hugs or reassurances or smiles. Remember when we were trick-or-treating in fifth grade and she held my hand when I was scared to go up to that spooky house?”

Wilder smiles. “She held my hand, too. The little shit liked being scared.”

“Still does, doesn’t she?”

Huffing out a laugh, he nods. “You have no idea. But that’s beside the point. You agree.”

“With what?”

“That Cora deserves to be treasured.”

I nod.

Wilder points to the door. “Matt doesn’t do that. So he’s done. He’s fucking done, Ezra. I can’t take it anymore. And she shouldn’t have to, either.”

“All right. Yeah, all right. Let’s do this.”

With that, Wilder shoves the door open. Matt is lounging on the couch watching a horror movie. When he hears us come in, he turns, a mixed expression of confusion and fear on his face.

“What the hell?” he mutters.

“Hey, buddy.” Wilder gives him a nonchalant wave, which has me holding back a laugh. What angle is he playing? “We’re here to help you move out.”

“What?” Standing, Matt glares between the two of us. “Cora didn’t tell me you guys were coming.”

“Yeah, well, surprise. Pack your bags. Time to get out.”

Matt laughs. “What, is this some kind of joke? It’s Halloween, guys, not April Fools.”

“No joke.” As I say it, I come to stand next to Wilder and cross my arms over my chest. “Consider this Cora’s way of breaking up with you.”

Matt’s jaw drops.

“Oh, and you’re cleaning the bathroom before you leave,” Wilder says. “It’d better be sparkling by the time you’re done with it, buddy. Otherwise I’m kicking your face in.”

That’s . . . odd.

“Fuck you,” Matt spits out. “Where the hell is Cora? She’d never do this. And stop calling me buddy.”

Barking out a bitter laugh, Wilder says, “You seriously don’t know where she is?” He turns to me. “Hey, Ez, why do we know where Cora is when her own boyfriend doesn’t?”

“Probably because he’s an idiot who doesn’t know what a fucking gem he has,” I reply, my glare resting steadily on Matt.

Wilder shoves him toward the bathroom. “Get to work.”

“This is ridiculous! I’m not moving out. Hold on, I’m calling Cora.”

When Matt pulls his phone out of his pocket, Wilder plucks it from his hand.

“Hey!” Matt exclaims.

Handing me the phone, Wilder says, “Bathroom. Now. We’ll get your stuff in the car.” Turning to the counter in the kitchen, he grabs a set of keys. “These are your car keys, right? They definitely aren’t Cora’s.”

The fury on Matt’s face is almost laughable. He tries to punch Wilder, but he dodges, and then I shove Matt to the ground.

“There are two of us, buddy,” Wilder says with a grin. “And we’re both much bigger than you are. Your chances aren’t looking great.”

Matt may be an asshole, but at least he’s not stupid. He scrambles to his feet, backing toward the bathroom door. “Fine, fine. She’s more trouble than she’s worth, anyway.”

---