s, but Tess is

wants to tell me t

, brush my teeth, and keep mysel

it. I open the email again, staring at the invit

y name in th

barely make it to the ba

something

ogle

l. Perfect. Beautiful

left me for so

following Tess's advice for o

, but when her eyes land on me, she ju

e shape," she says, settlin

bottle. "If I didn't pull myself together, you woul

a go out for dinner? There's a new Thai place near

You hate Thai food

She's beautiful and effortlessly so. If I looked more like

dn't know how to say this." She hesitates, then looks me

r laugh. "You've

he got drafted and basically bullied

d. "That's not

be drafted to New York. Remember our plan? If he didn't, we were gonna split an

e wasn't throwing

move. He kept you locked up in his apartment so he could keep an eye on y

want to leave. I didn't want a

okay with that too?" Her voice

something, anything at

ing you to having you around every day. When I said you could s

ct. When was the last time someone

olerated me, sure. B

ently. "I'm kinda warming you up for

ha

und out a month ago. It's literally my job to know this stuff. But you were already spiralin

iff. Sh

had told me, I could've stopped it.

s her

oice to make." My vo

, Em. But you have to understand that if he left

nk at my hands, but she doe

ause that's not even the thin

strug

e's

he hell

ng back, Emilia. You haven't seen their pictures tog

I'd ever feel was when Za

s feels like my h

n't cry.

oice is barely a whisper. My head drops.

been shackled to for ten years. And if you don't believe it, then believe this: I wi

n I told you about my PR strategy

. I just don't know why

need to keep it going. You know how I said he should da

time. I hate wh

On a scale of one to Hades's asshole, how mad wou