“Oh yeah? How so?”
“Because I looked at the situation from his perspective.”
Cadence sighed.
“Just listen. The dude had a wife. Like, picture-perfect family. Gonna have a baby. Decorating a nursery. All that stuff. And then, bam! It’s all taken away. You think he’s looking for a new problem to solve? You think he’s looking for some complicated woman with a ton of baggage? He’s got enough baggage, Cay.”
“He said I have a non-history.”
“You’re nineteen. You do.”
“Oliver! I went to juvie! I’ve got some experiences!”
“Fair enough. But that’s not losing your wife.”
Cadence bristled. “I wasn’t aware we were putting degrees of importance on our experiences.”
“Calm the fuck down. All I want is for you to get some perspective. He doesn’t think you have a non-history.”
“But that’s what he said.”
“We all say stupid shit, Cay. He was angry. He didn’t mean it. You’re, like, the most important thing to him. It’s vomit-inducing, actually—how much he loves you.”
Cadence said nothing.
“He said it out of anger, and that’s wrong. He was wrong. He didn’t mean it. You’ve got to forgive him,” Oliver said.
Cadence scowled. “So what? You’re all grown up now?”
“More than you.”
“Is this what happens when people experience trauma? They have these ultra-mature epiphanies?”
“I guess so. I mean, look at me. I’m the freaking Dalai Lama over here.”
Cadence snorted.
“And I’m trying to help out Mark.”
“Can we talk about something else?”
“Well, if you wanna talk about me, then you can forget it,” Oliver said. “I’m done. I’m telling Charlie, Pete, all of them that I can’t be doing all that fooling around anymore. I don’t have time for it.”
“Were you doing it a lot?”
“Yes.”
“Drinking and getting high?”
“Yes.”
“Were you getting bad grades?”
“Yes.”
“Were you getting in trouble at school?”
“No.”
Cadence nodded.
“I gotta figure out how to get Kim back,” Oliver said.
“Want me to help you devise a plan?”
“Do you have one?”
“Sure. Here’s the plan,” Cadence said.
Oliver listened closely.
“Say you’re sorry.”
“Okay. And?”
“That’s it. Just say you’re sorry.”
Oliver grinned. “You’re useless.”
***
Avery stood in the open doorway with her eyebrows raised.
“My turn,” Cadence said.
“For what?”
“To apologize.”
Avery pursed her lips. “You’ve been the biggest bitch on the planet for the past month and a half.”
“I know.”
“I only tortured you for three weeks,” Avery pointed out.
Cadence cracked a smile. “I know.”
“So we’re totally not even.”
Cadence nodded.
“But because I’m so much more mature than you, I’m gonna let you in. As for forgiving you, I’m not sure yet.”
“Fair enough.”
Avery moved aside, watching Cadence like a hawk as she took a seat on Dylan’s sofa. She joined her but sat on the opposite end, as far away as she could. She folded her arms over her chest and waited. Cadence fiddled with her fingers.
“Go on already!” Avery snapped.
Cadence stopped fidgeting. “Number One: you were right about me being jealous of Mark’s wife. Not that he kept her a secret but that he had a wife at all. Because I can’t shake the idea that had nothing happened to her, I wouldn’t be with him. I know I shouldn’t think like that, but I do.”
Avery nodded.
“Number Two: I was really jealous of you and Dylan because I saw a relationship I was missing out on with my own boyfriend. I’m still angry with him, and I don’t know how to purge it. And being around you and Dylan and watching your fucking flirting just made it that much worse. Not to mention the fact that I felt like I was witnessing a repeat of my story with Mark. Doesn’t matter that you weren’t trying to live my life. That’s how it felt.”
“I know,” Avery replied. “And I didn’t even think about the flirting. I imagine it was beyond obnoxious.”
Cadence shrugged.
“I never tried to copy your life, Cadence. If anything, I thought we could have this cool story together. You know, the girls who landed older men. I was hoping it’d turn into a joke. BFFs dating BFFs. I imagine we’ll raise our kids together.”
Cadence giggled. Her laughter encouraged Avery.
“I want the whole thing to be totally embarrassing, you know? Nineteen-year-olds with 29-year-olds. Dylan and I discussed it. A club. Since you and Mark were the first, he can be the president. And you can be Secretary. Well, his secretary because that’s totally retro hot. I’ll be Treasurer because I’m good with money, and Dylan decided he’d make himself VP.”
Cadence laughed hard.
“And we’ll all grow old together and be totally annoying.” Avery waited for Cadence’s response.