Page 168 of Legally Mine

I turned and fell into the thin arms of my best friend, allowing her to soothe and stroke my hair while Eric looked on sympathetically. My whole body shook, wracked with the pain of what I'd just lost, the pain of my own mistakes.

"Come on," Jane said as she stroked my hair like I was a child. "Let's get you out of here."

I pushed away the strands of damp hair pasted to the side of my face. This time I accepted Eric's handkerchief, which I used to dab at the mess.

"We'll come with you," Jane said, turning to leave. "We were only here for you to begin with."

"No," I said as I handed Eric back his hankie. "You guys should enjoy your last night together. I...I just need to be alone."

"Sky," Jane started, obviously disagreeing with my plans. "It's fine. We can just––"

"No," I said with a vigorous shake of my head, causing what remained of my twist to come tumbling down over my shoulders. "I just want to be alone."

I didn't deserve anything else.

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