Page 17 of Glad You Exist

Yup, my friend laughs like a fucking cannon going off.

He nudges Kim’s shoulder. “Come on now. You really think I would bring a Hangry Kimhere? You saw what happened on Friday. That’s what we get when she starves herself to fit in that tiny uniform. Even though she looks perfect just the way she is.”

I frown at that. “Wait, you do that? You look fine Kimberly.”

Kim taps her foot impatiently, but a smile is tugging at her lips. “Thanks Bradley, now where is Liz?”

I narrow my eyes at her. “I was just on my way up to find her but please be nice.”

She makes ahmmphsound and tosses her head back, “I am capable of that.”

Stifling a laugh, I nod for them to follow me up. “Never said you weren’t.”

We getto the second floor, and I push open the two wooden doors just across the top of the stairs. Our family room takes up one side of the second floor. On the other side are three guests’ rooms and, down at the very end of the hall, my parents’ room. I check to see if anyone else is around before completely walking in.

Our family room is divided into three different areas. The first area, a home theatre, equipped with a projector setup and screen, reclining seats for twelve people, and surround sound, is completely soundproof and sectioned off from the rest of the room. The second area, in the middle, has a few arcade games, like pinball and Pacman, plus a dartboard, a pool table, and a 70-inch tv mounted on the wall with every gaming console you can think of, an L-shaped leather couch positioned in front of it. The third area is a lounge, furnished with a love seat and a plush sectional. A large cooler filled with drinks sits in between the game room and the lounge area. Next to it are three shelves: one filled with board games, another with blankets, and a smaller one holding books. I suspect those are Lizzy’s favorite books. She helped mom set this all up back when we were in middle school, and Mom has never changed any of the books in there.

And that’s exactly where we find her. She is curled up on the loveseat with a blanket, reading a book. She looks up when she hears us come in and her eyes widen when she spots who I’m with. I give her an encouraging smile. “You all right?”

Liz stares past me at Kim who holds her gaze for a beat more before looking at me with a tentative smile. “I’m okay, now.”

“Hey Lizzy. Don’t worry, were not here to bite,” Kyle calls out to her as he sets his hands on Kim’s shoulder, all but pushing her to sit in the sectional across from Liz.

“I missed you, shorty.” He then makes a point of pulling up Liz into a hug, lifting her off the floor. Which looks almost comical given their height difference. Liz is barely tops five-feet while Kyle boasts a six-foot-two frame.

I grab a few Fijis from the cooler, tossing one to Kim.

“Thanks.” Impressively, she catches it even though she’s distractedly watching Kyle and Liz hug it out. I start to relax.Maybe this really will be as easy as Kyle assured me it would be.

Liz starts patting Kyle on the shoulder. “I missed you too, but you can put me down now. Please.” The stab of jealousy I feel at seeing her in his arms agrees with that statement.

He chuckles as he sets Liz back down on the loveseat, tossing the blanket, which fell on the floor when he picked her up, back onto her lap. I hand him a water not missing the sly wink he sends me.

The asshole drops down next to Kim, putting his feet up.

I settle on the floor next to Liz and hand a Fiji to her.

“Did you…” I pause remembering that the others don’t know yet about her anxiety and it isn’t my place to say anything about it.

She pats my hand and just nods at me.

“Did she what?” Kim asks as she sips her water, giving us both a cautious gaze.

I stay silent as I glance over at Liz. I offer her the most reassuring smile I can muster.

I wish we could all talk about what happened before first instead of diving into something that seems like Liz is still coming to terms with it, but the opening is there, and Kim takes it. I mentally kick myself for giving her no other option.

We all watch in silence as Liz closes the book and places it beside her, tucking her legs underneath her.

She looks like she is buying time, trying to figure out how to open up about her struggle. But just as fleeting as her discomfort was earlier, her determination looks like its steadily taking over, as she squares her shoulders and looks straight at Kim.

Liz shrugs and just throws it out there. “I had a panic attack earlier.”

Of all the things she could have opened with, I never expected that to be it.

My gaze jumps to the pair sitting on the couch and I register the look of shock on Kim’s face. She turns to Kyle beside her, as if asking for a lifeline.

Kyle sits up, resting his elbows on his knees, looking just as equally baffled yet concerned.

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