Page 3 of First Comes Revenge

“Duuude,” Dani says. She can’t seem to help but laugh. “What am I going to do with you?”

“Love me for my impulsive, optimistic personality?”

“Yeah, yeah,” she sighs. “We’ll figure that out. I have some money saved up. I can help you get by while you look for a new job if you need it.”

“You’re the best.”

“Although I might only give you money if you promise to cut Vaughn off. Just end things and call it.”

“One more chance,” I say. “That’s all I’m giving him. Like, what if this was all part of his plan to motivate me, you know? He created that whole freaking app to help me write. He really can be a good guy.”

“That WritingBusy thing?” she asks.

“Yeah. I mean, it’s kind of buggy, but the way it lets me change the background color of my document is cool.”

“It’s not cool. It’s a shitty version of every word document that changes colors. It’s a glorified widget.”

“Yep. No idea what a widget is. But he made it for me. Or at least he paid that guy to make it for me. That counts for something, right?”

“No, not really.”

Maybe I’m being stupid. Maybe Dani and every ounce of common sense I have is right. But I’m already here. I already blew money I shouldn’t have on these tickets, the hotel, and my admission to the convention. Wouldn’t it be even dumber to go back without following through? “Well, I’m still doing this. I’m going to go up to him tomorrow morning and tell him I’m almost finished. I’m going to ask him to point me to the right person to pitch my story to, and I’m going to do it. I’ve got my elevator pitch all worked up and ready. It’s all going to work out for the best.”

“Wait,” Dani says. “When did you go from ‘working on it’ to ‘almost finished’?” She sounds absolutely floored, and her shock makes me smile.

“I didn’t want to tell anybody I was getting close and risk losing my momentum. But, yeah, you know… I’m almost done with the book. No biggie.”

“Dude!” I hear some kind of commotion, like my sister is jumping up and down or slamming her palm on something in excitement.

I chew my lip. “It’s really not that big of a deal.”

“It’s a huge deal. I’m proud of you.”

“Thank you.”

“Now I’m only going to say it one more time because I don’t want to be annoying. But would you seriously consider just, you know, not doing what you’re planning to do tomorrow? I’m really worried you’re going to get hurt.”

“I have to do this. If I don’t, things between us are going to just keep limping along. At least this way, I’m going to figure out if he really cares about me and my writing. If he does, he’ll help me. If he doesn’t? Well, then I’ll know it’s time to move on. Right?”

“I know you always see the best in people, Charli. I love that about you. But holy shit, there’s a point where it just becomes masochistic. Like this guy is holding knives. He’s covered in blood. He’s grinning like a lunatic. And what are you doing? You’re walking up to him and turning your back.” She makes horror movie noises, some sounds I think are supposed to be the knife plunging in, and then she shrieks.

I shake my head. “Maybe real love only happens if you take real risks.”

“Oh come on, not the real love stuff again.”

“What?!” I say. I lay back on the bed and stare at the ceiling. “Love isn’t supposed to be easy, right? It’s challenging and frustrating and sometimes you think it’s impossible. But in the end, it pays off for the people who fight for it.”

“Unless only one side is fighting.”

“Maybe I’m the side fighting right now, but maybe sometimes it takes an extraordinary effort to remind your partner why the relationship matters.”

I can tell Dani wants to counter with another round of arguments, but she lets out a breath instead. She’s trying to be a good sister and let me make my own decisions. In her mind, she’s probably thinking she’s letting me make my own mistakes, actually. Either way, I appreciate her for it.

“Just promise you’ll call as soon as you can, okay?” Dani says.

“Promise.”

I end the call and rest the phone on my chest, eyes still on the ceiling. Tomorrow morning, I’m going to find out if I’ve been wasting the last two years waiting for Vaughn to turn back into the man he was when we started dating.

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