Only this wasn’t it.
Sure, it looked similar, but right away, Josie could tell it wasn’t hers. The color scheme was off—all pastels and muted colors, while Josie’s bottle had been covered with vibrant hues. And it was clean. Every other item on Josie’s dresser was blanketed in a light coating of dust, but this vase and the silk flower it held had been recently dusted.
Josie was still pondering the weirdness of the vase that was hers and yet wasn’t, when her cell phone rang. She didn’t even look to see who it was before she answered.
“Hey, Josie.”
Blood thundered in Josie’s ears, blocking out P!nk, and all of the bravado and girl-power strength she’d managed to conjure up during her purge drained from her body in an instant at the sound of Nick’s voice.
THIRTEEN
3:51 P.M.
“ARE YOU THERE?” NICK ASKED.
Josie’s mouth was dry. “Yeah.”
“Oh. Good.” Nick paused. After a few seconds, Josie heard him clear his throat. “I’m glad you finally took my call.” He paused again as if waiting for Josie to respond, but she couldn’t have if she wanted to. Her brain had seized up, and all ability for rational thought had abandoned her.
“I wanted to talk to you before you saw me at school. I mean saw us at school. Madison and me, but . . .” His voice trailed off. “But yeah, I understand why you didn’t want to talk.”
Yeah, sure he did.
“I feel . . .” Josie heard him swallow. “Bad.”
Bad? He felt bad?
Nick didn’t wait for a response. “I guess I just want you to know that I didn’t mean for this to happen.”
“Oh. Okay.” How exactly was Josie supposed to respond to that?
“I know I should have told you that Madison and I had been spending time together after you started working at the Coffee Crush. I mean, it wasn’t anything at first—I just really needed someone to talk to. And then . . . well . . .”
And then you slept with her. Yeah, Josie had that part pretty clear in her mind.
“Not that I’m making excuses,” Nick continued. “I know I hurt you. But . . . I don’t know. Maybe you’ll be better off without me.”
Josie laughed out loud. She couldn’t help it.
“What’s so funny?” Nick sounded hurt.
“Are you actually trying to tell me that I’m better off because you cheated on me?” Josie said through bursts of laughter.
“I don’t know. Maybe?” She could picture his nonchalant shrug, which only pissed her off.
“Maybe? Like maybe you did me a favor by cheating on me? Toughened me up by breaking my heart? Saved me from pain by giving my necklace to her?”
“I didn’t give it to her,” Nick snapped.
“Oh yeah? Then why is the necklace you bought for me hanging around your new girlfriend’s neck, huh?”
Nick was silent for a moment. “I was going to return it.” His voice was strained. “But she found it in my room and wanted it.”
“Oh.”
“I didn’t know she was going to tell everyone I’d given it to her. That wasn’t my fault.”
“Right,” Josie said, her temper flaring once more. “Because none of this is your fault, right? You’re Boyfriend of the Year.”
“Look,” Nick said. He sounded angry. “How would you even know I bought the necklace for you? It’s not like you remembered our anniversary.”
Josie’s face burned. He was right. She’d totally forgotten their anniversary in the middle of everything else in her world falling apart. She was about to apologize when she remembered that whatever gift Nick had bought to celebrate their year together, he’d still been sleeping with Madison for almost two months. Suddenly, the gesture seemed hollow.
“So now you’re trying to blame this on me?”
“No,” Nick said quickly. “But you did forget our anniversary.”
Josie set her jaw. “You’re trying to make yourself feel better. I get it. But understand this—there is no scenario in this universe or any other that makes what you and Madison did acceptable, okay? There’s a special place in hell for backstabbing friends and cheating boyfriends, and the two of you have reservations.”
“You want this to all be my fault,” Nick said. “Fine.”
“It is all your fault,” Josie interrupted.
“Maybe you should take a look in the mirror, Josie. There were two of us in that relationship. Ever think that maybe this is partially your fault?”
“Are you kidding me?”
“You haven’t exactly been available lately, you know,” Nick said bitterly.
“Well, gee, Nick. My parents are going through a divorce.” Josie let the sarcasm drip from every syllable. “What did you expect?”
“You think you’re the only one with problems?” Now Nick was getting pissed off. “We’ve all got shit going on. Did you even know my brother has cancer?”