way to repair the gap in their friendship, to have at least something from before to hold on to. An anchor to her past so she didn’t float away completely.
“What are you doing here, April?” Orion asked finally. “How did you find us?”
April closed the door behind her, walking farther into the room and snatching a cold fry from a plate. She smiled to Jaclyn and Shelby. Shelby smiled shyly back, Jaclyn did not.
“Dumb shit brother of mine,” April replied, turning back to face Orion who was still standing in front of the door, in a sort of daze.
Orion blinked. “He told you where we were?”
April snorted. “Detective Hardass? Not a chance.” She placed her purse on Orion’s bed. “I overheard him on the phone. Probably talking to sex-on-a-stick, aka stick-up-his-ass Eric.”
Orion tried to process the information, both of them rushing back into her life before she even had a chance to acclimate. Was it selfish of her to need a bit of time to breathe? To put up some shields? She should’ve been glad to have these two blasts from her past as a sort of welcome home, but she wasn’t. She ached to be in silence. To stare at the glowing moon and figure out her thoughts. She didn’t need reminders of all the years she lost.
April was sharp, and despite the years between them, she saw it. Orion’s anger. “Oh, come on,” she said. “How could I not come and see you, Ri? It was my first thought the second I saw the news. The second I talked to Maddox. I mean, God, Ri. You’re alive! And yes, that’s how I found out, by the way. The fucking news. Your face on the TV. I wanted to kick Maddie’s ass right then and there. I dropped every plate I was holding. My manager almost fired me because of it, not that I care. Because you’re here, Ri.” She blinked rapidly, a single tear moving down her cheek. “I can’t believe it.”
She moved forward for another awkward hug that Orion did not participate in. She squeezed her shoulders before thankfully moving away and toward the bed.
“I’m April,” she said to Jaclyn, extending a hand. “Ri’s best friend.”
Jaclyn stared at her hand like it was something unpleasant and nodded. “Jaclyn,” she said without shaking her hand, nails long and painted pink.
April was not perturbed, and she moved along to Shelby for the same song and dance.
Shelby smiled shyly, taking her hand. “I’m Shelby. Nice to meet you.”
April leaned forward to run her hands through Shelby’s hair. Surprisingly, Shelby didn’t flinch back from the contact. Which was baffling since she was near a panic attack when her parents had held her in their arms a few hours ago.
“Well, aren’t you just gorgeous,” April exclaimed. “You could be a model.”
Shelby’s cheeks reddened and she smiled nervously. Orion knew that Shelby hadn’t been complimented genuinely in her adult life.
Orion was also glad that April was treating Shelby with the care and kindness she needed. Even as a bitchy teenager, April had been able to read people, to be kind when they needed it. To be the friend who picks you up in the bad times and forces you to have a good time until you forget about it. Even if that meant pretending to forget, for April’s sake.
April eyed the room and the fast food wrappers littered around it. “Good to see those cops are doing something right with their money.” She reached over to snatch a burger from a container, took a bite, screwed up her face, and quickly spat it back into the cardboard. “Yuck! Cold.”
It was jarring for Orion to witness her like this. April was exactly the same as she’d been before. Grown up, obviously, but the core of her hadn’t changed. Scarred, like Orion, but radiant too, alive in a way Orion couldn’t comprehend.
“April, we’ve got an early morning tomorrow,” Orion said coldly. She hated that she got the chance to live a life where she could hug strangers, smile with abandon, and show her body like she owned it. Decorate herself in beautiful scars.
April didn’t even flinch at her tone, or her thinly veiled way of telling her to leave. She just glanced between the two beds. “All three of you are sleeping in here?”
Shelby pointed toward the door between the TV and the bathroom. “My parents are in there. I’m staying with them. They’re already asleep, and I’m . . . not tired yet.”
The truth