Page 22 of Am I the Only One

“Says who?”

I cock my head. “Are you serious? Look at you. Look at your family. They have clout. I mean, come on. Just look at the guests downstairs. My God, you were just offered apaidinternship. I don’t have those opportunities coming my way. I’m at a major disadvantage here. I’ve lost my parents, I’ve lost my scholarship, I’ve pretty much lost everything. You are the only reason I’m somewhat staying afloat.”

He squeezes my hand again, giving me an optimistic, “We’re going to figure this out.”

Shaking my head, I bite my words, saying, “There’s nothing to figure out, Luca. My dreams at Georgetown are done, and I don’t have money to go to another university.” Frustration rankles beneath the surface, and I stand, taking a few steps before turning back to Luca. “Look at me. Could you imagine what the people downstairs would say if they knew I had to go to a second-hand consignment store just to buy this dress? It’s humiliating.”

“You still stopped people dead in their tracks when they saw you.”

“Like I said, image is everything, even if it’s covered in lies.”

He releases a sigh, knowing damn well that everything I’m saying is the truth. Standing, he slips off his suit jacket and loosens his tie as he walks over to his dresser. He pulls out a vape pen and then opens the double French doors that lead out to a small balcony that overlooks the side yard.

He takes a long pull off the pen and, after a few seconds, exhales into the outside air. When he extends the pen in my direction, I go to him and take it. This isn’t anything new. Luca gets high often, but he never gets totally blasted. Again, image is everything.

I hold the fumes in my lungs long enough that my head is already swirling by the time I release it.

“So, this is your solution? Getting high?” I hand him back the pen.

“Got any better ideas?” He smirks before taking another hit.

We lower ourselves to the floor and lean our backs against the wall.

“I didn’t mean to ruin tonight,” I tell him, kicking off my heels.

“You didn’t.”

We continue to sit, silence expanding between us for god knows how long as I linger in my blissful high. My lids fall shut, but vertigo kicks in, forcing me to open them back up with a slight giggle.

“What’s so funny?”

I look at my best friend with a lazy smile I don’t have the strength to straighten.

“You’re fuckin’ stoned.”

Nodding, I agree, “Yeah. That hit me hard this time.”

We then hear the muffled voices from downstairs of everyone counting down in unison.

My brows cinch in confusion. “Have we really been up here that long?”

Luca nods, and when the guests erupt in celebratory cheers, Luca wishes me a happy new year. And like he’s done on this night for the past couple of years, he holds my cheeks in his hands and kisses my forehead, saying, “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

But unlike the past, this new year no longer holds the hope of a better one ahead. Even in my current state, my high can’t withstand the heavy weight of my despair. So I lean into my friend in an attempt to regain the comfort that no longer exists for me. Instead, I’m greeted with the dread that shadows my future.

Carly

My thumb nervously drags back and forth along the gold-plated rim of my coffee cup. Ribbons of steam float up, eventually extinguishing into the chill of the air that surrounds me as I stare into the eyes of my one and only dear friend.

I’m sick to my stomach—sadness and anger gnaw at my gut, and I’m wasting away.

Margot’s silvery-blue eyes that reflect her steely personality don’t give much away. Hard as stone—that’s Margot. She’s the one person who comes from Tripp’s world that I’ve become true friends with. The one person I feel as if I can trust, which is why we are here today, lunching at The Oval Room.

“Aren’t you going to say anything?” I question on a vacillating whisper.

After setting her teacup onto the saucer with a delicateclink, she folds her hands on top of the white-linen-covered table. “He’s a bastard.” Her tone is soft but stern.

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