Abby
The atmosphere shifts as our arms untangle. We’re all a little teary-eyed, but none of us say it. Instead, Chloe reaches for a tissue from the box on her coffee table, and holds it out for me.
“Well, I didn’t expect this tonight,” Leah says, sniffling.
“Yeah, me neither,” Chloe says, dabbing at her eyes too. She looks at me, her gaze still soft but punctuated by a new intensity. “But I just have one more thing to say: it can’t always be this easy, Abby.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, bracing myself.
Chloe seems to choose her words carefully as she speaks. “I need to know you’re serious about what you said. Karl gets one more chance, Abby. One. If he messes up again, and you keep giving him the time of day, then—”
She doesn’t finish, but she doesn’t need to. “I get it,” I say quietl
