Page 48 of Unforgettable You

“She didn’t ruin you, Reid. Just like quitting ballet didn’t ruin you. Your life isn’t worthless just because some bad things have happened to you.”

Every fiber of my being wanted to fight with her about this. To lay out all the reasons she was wrong. But Jo had been through some shit in her life. She’d given me broad strokes of it all but hadn’t filled in the details. I hadn’t needed to know, and she’d wanted to move past it.

“You are not the sum total of your worst days. No one is. Except for like, war criminals and men’s rights activists.”

She reached out and squeezed both my hands. “Okay?”

This was a battle I wasn’t going to win. “Okay.”

Jo grinned. “Now. Tell me about the girl.”

I left Jo’s a few hours later feeling much better. She now had clean clothes and a tidier apartment, and I’d refilled my friendship cup with her. Jo was one of the only people in the world who could hug me whenever she wanted to. She could read me so well and knew when it was fine and when it wasn’t.

Music came from Sophie’s when I stepped inside my place and shut the door. It wasn’t that loud, but I pressed my ear to the wall to hear exactly what she was listening to.

Chappell Roan. That tracked. We played her all the time at Sapph and everyone always lost their minds. It was a testament to how good she was that I wasn’t sick of hearing her songs yet.

I made a quick dinner and put on the show that Sophie and I had watched last night. I hoped she got to the ship that had launched my little fanfic heart, even though it ended with a stray bullet on the show. It would sail on in my heart. Always.

Sighing, I grabbed my laptop and started working on my outline for the next three chapters of my current fanfic. I couldn’t let myself get behind and I was very close to my next upload deadline, so I had to get my act together.

While I struggled to get back into the story, I couldn’t help but be distracted by the music. It really wasn’t that bad, but my mind was searching and desperate for a reason to not work on this outline. I did as much as I could and then checked my comments and kudos and likes. It was easy to get caught up in all of that, so I limited myself to ten minutes at a time and once my time was up, I stopped. Strangers liking or not liking my fanfic had never really bothered me. At least when I’d started. Now a negative comment did give me a little bit of a twinge, but it always passed quickly.

Frustrated, but unable to pin down why, I turned up the volume on the show and did my best to focus on it.

All I could do, though, was wish that Sophie was sitting on the couch next to me so she could ask me questions and I could tell her way too much backstory and about cast interviews and so forth.

I was in some serious trouble. I needed a Sophie detox. Stay away from her until she left my system. I could do that again. I’d avoided her pretty successfully when she first moved in and I realized who she was.

No more lessons. No more hanging out.

I’d just tell her that I was busy with work or something. Whatever. I’d think of something.

I was flipping through potential excuses when there was a knock at my door.

I knew who it was going to be, and I considered not answering. Pretend I wasn’t home. But she’d know I was home and that I was avoiding her, and she’d be sad and confused.

Fuck. I didn’t want her to be sad and confused because of me.

I opened the door to find a smiling Sophie holding out a plate.

“There was a birthday at work and there was cake so I took leftovers and I’m hoping you can help me eat it.” There were two very large slabs of cake on the plate. Sophie held up two forks.

How could I say no?

“Come on in.”

The cake was just a standard grocery store sheet cake, but it was still good, even if slightly stale.

“How was work?” I asked her.

“Eh. Boring. That’s the reason I took the job. I can sit and read and scroll my phone and get paid. I mean, the pay isn’t great, but still.”

We’d set our empty plates on the coffee table and Sophie eyed the remote.

“I kept watching the show last night. And maybe a little today. I don’t think I’ve seen the ship yet.”

I asked her which episode she was on.