“Max told me he loves me.” Then she buried her face in the tissues and cried some more.
Hailey didn’t push. She just waited until Tori was ready to talk again, about twelve tissues later. Tori told her everything, from the poorly timed I love you to her freaking out and leaving.
“He said we were just practicing being friends with benefits. And then, boom. He just said it.”
“Anybody who saw you together could see he was crazy about you. And, to be honest, it looked mutual.”
“I yelled at him and I could picture myself being my mother, yelling horrible things at him. He’s sensitive, Hailey. I can’t hurt him like that.”
“Oh, Tori.”
The way she said it, like a woman who knew her best friend was being crazy and couldn’t figure out how to tell her, brought on a fresh bout of tears.
“Oh my God, I haven’t cried in years,” Tori said when it passed, looking at the mountain of crumpled tissues in front of her.
“Well, you’re breaking his heart and your own heart and your parents are at the root of all it. Of course you’re going to cry.”
“I’m not having an emotional breakdown. It’s a breakup. I know women cry during a breakup, but this much? We were barely even a couple, so this is ridiculous.”
“Tori, you can’t shut men out of your life because of your parents. Even if a marriage does end in divorce, it’s painful, but most people don’t act like that. They’re destructive and you’re letting them destroy your life along with theirs.”
“Cake,” she whispered.
Hailey took the two slices out and put them on paper plates. “I don’t have any ice cream to go with them.”
“Ugh. No ice cream.”
The first bite of double chocolate didn’t exactly soothe her soul, but at least it was almost impossible to burst into tears with a mouthful of cake. The second bite started the soothing process.
“Tell me why you’re so worried about hurting Max.”
Tori waved her fork in a gesture of despair. “Because I love him.”
“This is progress.”
“Not really. Like I told him, there’s a fine line between love and hate and it’s too easy for that line to be blurred. Nobody has the power to hurt you more than the person who loves you the most.”
Hailey sighed. “I knew you were struggling with your parents’ divorce and doing the cynical thing, but I honestly thought when you met the right man, you’d realize that the shit they’ve done doesn’t define love and marriage.”
“Have you ever looked Matt in the eye and hurt him?”
“Yes, I have. When he came to me, wanting to make everything better, and I sent him away. It ripped my heart out.”
Tori used the edge of her fork to cut off another bite of cake. “Then you know how much love can hurt.”
“I also know I wasn’t cruel. And neither was he. And we got past it because we loved each other. I know love is amazing and wonderful and sometimes painful, but always worth it.”
“I’m afraid I’d be cruel.” Tori stared at the cake on her fork, trying to will away a fresh wave of tears.
“You’re not a cruel person. You’re just not. And, no, don’t tell me your mother isn’t either because, maybe you didn’t see it, but she’s been an unhappy person for a long time and that’s why she’s so miserable. You would never say the things your mother has said to anybody, never mind to Max.”
“You’re my best friend. You’re supposed to take my side and make me feel better, so of course you’re going to say that.”
Hailey got up to refill their waters. “No, because I’m your best friend, I’m telling you the truth. You’re going to lose a great guy because you’re a hot mess.”
“I’d deny that if I wasn’t sobbing in your kitchen, eating your husband’s leftover cake because the man I love said he loves me.”
“Wow.” Hailey set the glass down. “When you put it like that, you’re even more screwed up than I thought.”
Tori made a sound that was almost a laugh, then drank some of the water. “I read the books you got for me. They made a lot of sense to me and they’ve really helped, but...I panicked. When he said he loved me, everything I’d read just flew out of my head. What am I going to do?”
“You’re going to go home and go to bed. I can drive you if you want, and Matt and I can drop off your car tomorrow. Or you can stay here.”
Tori finished off the last bite of cake and washed it down with more water. “I’m okay to drive now. I just didn’t know what to do and I needed to talk. Although I was hoping for something more helpful than ‘go home and go to bed.’”
Hailey shrugged. “Nobody can talk you out of this fear you have of ending up like your parents. We’ve tried. You have to trust yourself to have a relationship, or it’s not going to work.”
Tori shoved a couple of tissues in her pocket, just in case, and walked to the door. Hailey gave her a long, hard hug and then held her by the shoulders. “You need to let things settle and then think about what you really want.”