Megan Riley hugged me as soon as she opened the door.
“You made it,” she said, beaming.
Wow.
Was she ever not happy?
I was smiling.
“I don’t think you gave me a choice.” “Oh, please.
I did give you a choice.
I said to come when you are free.” “When.
Not if.” “Exactly,” She stepped aside.
“Come on in.” And I did.
The moment I entered her apartment, I felt like I had been transported into a world of art and— what was that?
I stopped.
Riley didn’t.
She thudded past me, leaving me standing in the doorway, staring.
How was her apartment like this?
Every available inch of wall was holding an artwork.
Some were enormous, stretching almost from the floor to the ceiling.
Others were small enough to fit inside a picture frame I’d expect to see on someone’s bedside table.
There were landscapes paintings, portraits, abstract pieces—I’ve been doing some research—that looked as though someone had thrown three buckets of paint at a canvas and then decided the result was worth framing.
And there were sculptures too.
On the shelves.
Beside the television.
On the coffee table.
Everywhere.
One looked like a fish with human hands.
Another looked suspiciously like a melted human head.
I wasn’t sure whether it was supposed to be beautiful, but I guess to her, they are.
Or maybe, no matter my research, I wasn’t educated enough to appreciate whatever message the artists had intended.
At least, on my computer, those artworks had been quite enough to understand.
I was still staring at a particularly not-so-strange sculpture—it looked like a mermaid caught in a wave—when Riley called from across the room.
“Megan.” I blinked.
She was looking at me.
“Don’t judge my art collection.” My cheeks warmed up with embarrassment.
Caught.
So caught.
“I wasn’t.” She made a face.
“You can look, you are allowed to be confused.
But you can’t judge.” “I’m trying to understand it.” “That’s even worse.” Before I could respond, someone walked in from another room.
Riley pointed.
“Oh, this is my friend, Avery.
I told you about her.” She had.
Several times.
In the many calls that had passed between us since Friday night, and the messages that had flooded my phone, Riley had somehow managed to mention her in almost every other conversation.
Avery dropped into the sofa, slouching as she did.
Asian, probably Chinese, though I didn’t want to assume, but she didn’t look like Jonathan and the other man.
What was his name again?
That is by the way.
The woman on the sofa was beautiful.
Her shoulder-length black hair framed her face neatly, the ends curling slightly inward around her jaw.
She had warm brown eyes, smooth skin, and an easy smile that made her look immediately approachable.
She wore a cream sweater tucked into dark trousers, with gold hoops in her ears and a delicate watch around her wrist.
“Avery, this is Megan.” Riley paused dramatically.
“Doctor Megan.” I blushed, totally embarrassed this time.
“I don’t think that’s necessary.” “Oh, with Riley, everything is necessary,” Avery said.
She sat up and held out her hand.
“Avery Zhang.” I took it.
Her grip was warm and firm.
Zhang.
Definitely Chinese.
“Megan Holt,” I introduced.
“Oh, this is going to be fun,” Riley announced, already heading toward the kitchen.
“I have picked out a whole list of movies.
And I have popcorn, chips, chocolate-covered pretzels, gummy bears, pizza bites, and those little cheese crackers you like, Avery.
And before you ask, there’s no bread.” “Wait,” I took one extra step.
“Is this a movie night?” “It is an apology for last time!” Riley called from the kitchen.
“An apology?” Avery raised her head from her phone.
“If Riley is going to all this trouble to apologize, it must have been something big.” She wiggled her brows.
“What did she do?” I shrugged.
“She… um, she invited me out to a charity fundraiser where she auctioned off my first dance.” Avery’s mouth dropped open.
“Wow.
First meeting and her misbehavior was top notch,” she nodded.
“I didn’t think she could beat her own record.
My mistake,” her hands went up in mild surrender.
My hand slid over the top of the only cane chair in the room.
It was a weird addition, but it added a loose aesthetic to it, considering the artwork.
“What did she do to you?” I asked, very curious now.
I seriously needed to know, how wild was my new friend?
“Oh, don’t even get me started.
She took me bungee jumping.” When my eyes popped, Avery nodded, chuckling.
“Imagine that.” I stared at her.
Riley went bungee jumping?
That was beyond dangerous.
She was already using a crutch.
What if something had happened?
She could be confined to a chair forever.
“You both went bungee jumping?” I asked, still refusing to believe.
“Oh, no.
She didn’t jump,” Avery continued, laughing, “Only I did.
I mean, that’s good, or Roman would have killed me.” My chest did a slight flutter.
“I felt strangely insulted though,” she continued, “that she had somehow managed to convince me to jump off a platform while she watched safely from the ground.” I laughed.
Okay, that made more sense.
Wait, did that make me luckier?
After all, she traded her first dance too.
Second time in a role I’ve won.
First, with the more expensive dance— Seriously, Megan.
What are you thinking about right now?
Riley came back holding a huge bowl of popcorn.
“You both will have to get the others,” She gestured toward her crutch.
“Any excuse to work us, Rile,” Avery said, but she was already up and heading toward the kitchen.
“Where is Claire?” she asked.
“Ugh.
I dismissed her for the day,” Riley replied.
“She is always everywhere.
It’s kinda annoying.” “Well, what do you want her to do?” Avery reached for the bowls of cheese crackers and chips.
“Roman would have a fit if he ever knew you were alone.” I went for the gummy bears and pizza bites.
Geez, even her kitchen was an artroom.
There was a painting hanging above the door, on either side of the window.
Even the refrigerator had tiny sticker magnet art pieces.
“I wished he would stop worrying about me,” Riley said, standing by the door.
Avery gave a single, loud laugh.
“That day will never come.” “Nothing wrong with wishing for it.” We returned to the living room and Avery sat down on the sofa, beside Riley.
I sidestepped the fish sculpture and lowered myself into the single chair, pushing the bowls onto the table.
Riley picked up the remote.
“So, what do you want?
Rom-com, horror, sci-fi, thriller, tragedy?
Your pick.” Why was she asking me?
I didn’t even know we were having a movie night.
“That’s her way of apologizing,” Avery explained, shaking her head.
“Instead of using the old-fashioned three words, I am sorry.” “Oh, please,” Riley glanced over.
“Words are not enough.
I believe in action.” “Yeah, you do,” Avery agreed.
It was sarcastic.
“I don’t think it is bad to have opinions.” Avery nodded, tossing a cheese cracker into her mouth.
“Your opinions are not the problem.
The problem is you enforcing them on us.
If I die because of you, I’ll make sure to haunt you.
Believe me.” Riley made a face.
“You’d make a beautiful ghost.” “Just you wait.” I just sat there, watching them.
They had the kind of friendship that didn’t require effort, trading words that meant absolutely nothing to anyone else but somehow had a meaning to them.
There was the teasing comment, the sarcastic reply and the ease to be nothing but themselves.
It was strange, beautiful and somehow hilarious.
Before I realized it, laughter bubbled up to my throat and exploded out of me.
Both women stopped arguing and stared at me.
I tried to stop but I couldn’t.
It was too good not to laugh, especially when I knew they wouldn’t judge me.
How did I know that?
When I finally managed to breathe again, my face was hurting from the laugh and there were tears in the corners of my eyes.
I wiped them away.
“I’m sorry.” I looked between them.
A small laughter escaped me.
“It’s just that you two are…” laugh “the way you…” laugh “I mean…” laugh.
Riley laughed in return.
“Oh, God.
You are very cute.” Slowly, my laughter ended.
Cute.
That was not a word I related to.
Ever.
I had always been responsible, careful, and strong.
Never cute.
Cute didn’t pay the bill nor helped me survive my mother.
Strong and responsible did.
But it was okay to be cute, right?