He turned to look at me. “Car shopping. You need a car.” Dad said it with authority as if the idea of getting a car had somehow never occurred to me. “I know, Dad. It’s on the list.” It was on a literal list. A spreadsheet actually, comparing makes and models ranked by reliability, gas mileage, and cost.

If he kept up the wounded hero routine with Naomi, I was going to raise his damn rent and push him down the stairs.

since The Sex…and

Knox growled.

For once in my life, I didn’t want a gold star. I wanted someone to see me. Really see me for the hot mess I was.

I shook my head. “Everyone in town knows it’s a Code Red. It’ll be a slow night.” “I am really uncomfortable with the idea of an entire town tracking its women’s menstrual cycles.” “Hey, we’re normalizing period shit,” I argued.

The past and the future were two places I had no business being. The only thing that mattered was right now. And right now…well, I still felt like shit.

“See, Naomi doesn’t like to inconvenience anyone by doing anything annoying like talking about what’s wrong. Asking for help. Or standing up for what she needs and wants. She prefers to scurry around like a mouse, making sure everyone else’s needs are met.” “Well, that’s just fucked up,” Sloane decided.

“You know what they say about fine. Fucked up. Insecure. Neurotic. And emotional,”