“And hey, if you need an alibi or help burying a body, I’ve got you covered.”
I grin in spite of myself. “Good to know.”
The conversation dies there, and I leave Max in the living room to think about everything as I go unpack my bag, pissed that everything fucking smells like Gray’s house too. I toss it all in the laundry basket, and when I feel the thin chain of the necklace against my neck, I yank it off. The chain breaks easily, and there’s a small part of me that breaks with it, knowing I just ruined something beautiful and fragile, no matter who it came from.
Curling my fingers around the small heart, I walk into the bathroom and open up the toilet lid, ready to throw it down into the sewage system where it belongs—but something makes me pause.
I can’t. I don’t want to.
Opening up my palm, I glance at that little heart again, wishing it meant something else. Wishing it wasn’t just a pacifying parting gift, something to help Gray soothe his guilt.
Fuck.
I drop the toilet lid down and stride back into my room, then shove the broken necklace deep into one of my dresser drawers where I can forget about it until I’m ready to get rid of it.
Max and I spend the rest of the day doing nothing. We get some food, watch a movie, then take my unpacked clothes down to the laundry room so I can get rid of that last reminder of Gray. Technically, there’s a student laundry service, but I’ve yet to feel comfortable with the idea of some stranger handling and folding my clothes.
Max doesn’t mention Gray’s name again all day. I think she senses I don’t want to talk about it, and I’m grateful as fuck that she doesn’t press.
“Hey, I’ll be right back,” she says, hauling herself off the couch as the credits roll on our third movie today. “I’ve gotta go get something from my dorm.”
I nod as she heads toward the door, looking down at the folded laundry around my feet. There wasn’t much to begin with, and with Max helping me, we got it all folded quickly. Deciding that I can probably get it all done before she gets back, I pick up a few of the stacks and bring them back to my room, shoving them in random drawers.
Sure enough, a few minutes after I finish, Max walks back in with a full bottle of whiskey and two glasses. She holds them up with a grin.
“Movies and Chinese takeout are great, but what this Christmas is really missing is day drinking.”
“Fuck, yes. Just what I need right now.” I grin.
We flop back down on the couch, and Max sets the two glasses on the coffee table before pouring a generous amount for both of us.
“Want to watch something else?” I ask.
“Up to you,” she says, capping the whiskey. When she hands me my cup, I take it from her with greedy hands.
Max picks up her glass and clinks it with mine. We toss our drinks back in silence, and the amber liquid burns down my throat before turning to a pleasant warm sensation. My nerves are soothed a little bit, but it’s going to take a few more rounds to completely obliterate them.
“That’s good,” I say.
“Thanks, got it from a friend.” She grabs the bottle. “More?”
“Hell, yeah.”
We decide to wait a little while on the next movie, and after a moment of quiet, Max ventures into that territory we’ve been avoiding all day.
“So…” She draws out the word, lying back on the couch. “Have you remembered anything else about that night?”
“No. Nothing besides what I told you.”
But it feels like there might be something else… It’s on the edge of my mind, something I’m missing.
I’ve felt that way all day. Like my mind is trying to tell me something, remind me of some important detail that I’m missing out on, but it’s just… gone.
“Are you considering leaving the school? Like Gray suggested?” Amending herself quickly, she adds, “Not because he told you to, but because, you know… After everything that happened last semester and now this, don’t you want to get away from it?”
Her words remind me too much of what Gray said. Even though I know she’s just talking, just trying to help me sort through this, I can’t help the bite of anger that rises up inside me. It’s directed at Gray though, not her. Max is actually concerned about me, whereas Gray was just acting concerned so he could keep the promise he made to… whoever it was.
Who was he talking to?