“Hounding me like a dog, but she doesn’t want me to bring Kelly.  Said she wanted it to be a family thing.”  He sounded irritated.

“She said the same thing to me.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it, Dev.  I don’t think I’m going to go, but if you have a better suggestion for your birthday, let me know.  I’d rather get wasted in St. Louis with you than spend quality time with the fam.”

“Seems a bit unfair to Dani,” Devon said.

“Oh no, it doesn’t.  Mom wants her to bring her boyfriend.  Personally, I don’t think Mom trusts Dani enough not to sleep with every guy she meets there. But who knows Mom’s reasoning?” Dustin told her.

Devon laughed lightly.  It felt good to laugh after everything else that had happened.  She didn’t feel healed, but Dustin certainly had a calming effect upon her.

“I never know her reasoning.”

“So, you going to tell me what’s wrong?” Dustin asked, changing the topic.

She sighed, wishing she knew how to tell Dustin.  The more removed she got from what had happened, the more she wondered if it had happened at all.  Maybe she had just blown it out of proportion.  Maybe she had simply overreacted, and there was no need for her to run away.  Maybe a conversation could have changed it all, and then she wouldn’t have had to leave.  Maybe she just hadn’t tried hard enough.

What if she told him and it all became a reality?  Then, she couldn’t take it back.  It would be out in the open.

“Do you remember when we used to go through that shortcut in the woods off the road that led to the abandoned house?” she asked tentatively.

“Yeah, we used to go there all the time,” he said.

“I had a dream about that place, and it really freaked me out,” she told him lamely.

“A dream about the old abandoned house?  That’s random, Dev.”

“Yeah,” she said softly, “really random.  Someone seemed to be chasing me.  Seriously, Dustin, it was really scary.”

Dustin laughed in a mocking way that Devon had become so accustomed to.  “It was just a dream, Dev.  I have dreams about zombie attacks and getting chased up trees by a Tyrannosaurus rex.  They’re pretty scary, too.  I wouldn’t let these dreams mess you up too badly.”

“True,” she said disbelievingly.

“Oh, hey, Kelly just woke up.  I’ve gotta run.  I’ll talk to you later.  Let me know about your birthday.”

After Dustin hung up, Devon dropped her head in front of the sink.  He hadn’t given her the opportunity to say anything more.  It was reason enough for her to stay silent for a bit longer.  She needed to figure out what she was doing and where she was going.  She couldn’t stay in Chicago because she didn’t have the funds to remain, but she couldn’t go back.  Her life was in limbo as she teetered between staying and leaving.  She had a decision to make, and it had to be made today.

Straightening, Devon exited the bathroom, smoothing out her clothes along the way.  She didn’t know if she should knock on Brennan’s bedroom door and say good-bye or not.  She nearly did three times, and then she decided against it.

When she reached the front door, she saw a note taped to it.

Went to the gym.  Food in the fridge if you’re hungry.  Just lock the door on your way out. —Brennan

Ugh!  How could he even want to go to the gym after the amount of alcohol he had consumed last night?  Or was that just a cover so he could leave the house and avoid her?

She shook her head, lost in her own frustration.  She grabbed her things, left the apartment, and walked to the nearest train station.  She took the train back to Marina City.  She wanted the embarrassment of what had happened with Brennan to be as far from her mind as possible.

Instead, Devon focused on something else she couldn’t control.  She needed to talk to Hadley before she packed up and left.  Last night had ended poorly, and Devon didn’t want to leave on these terms.  Hadley was her best friend.  Devon was pissed at her, no doubt, but she didn’t want to see Hadley devolve any more.  Devon couldn’t leave and wonder if her friend was on a further downward spiral than she, herself was.

Lunch? We need to talk, Devon texted Hadley.

Devon received her response as she took the elevator up to the apartment.  Fine.  Jenn’s? Hadley responded

I’ll just meet you at that place across from your work.  This is going to be quick.

I’m off at noon.

Devon changed into fresh clothes and brushed her teeth.  She was glad Garrett wasn’t there.  She didn’t want to face him this morning.  He was always so bright and cheerful, and while he did tend to make her feel like a better person, she wasn’t ready for that right now.  Plus, he might know how pissed she was at Hadley.  He might somehow see it, and she wasn’t going to be the one to tell him that his girlfriend was a coke addict, at least not until Devon knew if it was necessary.

DEVON HOPPED ON another train to Hadley’s building.  Arriving at the restaurant across the street, she took over a booth in the back.  It appeared to be nicer than Jenn’s with fancy tablecloths, classical music playing in the background, and expensive artwork hanging on the walls.  Devon wasn’t a big fan, but it would be better to meet here than somewhere comfortable…somewhere near Brennan.

Hadley walked in, looking worse than Devon had expected.  Had she been looking like this all week and Devon just hadn’t noticed?  Had Devon been so lost in herself that she hadn’t seen her own friend’s problems?  She hadn’t seen a lot of Hadley this week because of her job, but Devon didn’t think Hadley had seemed that different.

“Hey.”  Hadley took a seat across from her and opened the menu, not making eye contact.

“Hey,” Devon responded.

Hadley clearly wasn’t going to throw her a line or anything.  She stared stock-still at her menu.  Devon was sure Hadley wasn’t reading it.

“Hadley, come on,” Devon pleaded.

“Don’t act like you’ve been forthright the whole time you’ve been here,” Hadley snapped, still not looking at her.

“Fair,” Devon said, trying to bite back her retort.  “I’ll give you that, but I also wasn’t flaunting my problems in everyone’s faces in a public place.”

Hadley dropped her menu down on the table.  “I wasn’t flaunting anything, Devon!”

Devon sighed, seeing how this was all going to go.  “Fine.  You weren’t doing that either.  I just happened to see it.  But how long has this been going on?  And how long are you going to keep it up?”

Hadley bit on her lip, her anger slipping slightly.  She looked really young in that moment, less than her twenty-two years.  “It hasn’t been that long.”

“How long?” Devon prompted.

“Only a month or two.”

Devon’s eyebrows rose.

“Okay, two.”

“And you’re stopping…when?” Devon asked.

Hadley looked away, her blonde hair framing her face.  “It’s not as often as you think,” she said, her wall slamming back up.

Devon swallowed, wanting to take her friend by the shoulders and shake her.  It was sad, considering everything she was hiding from Hadley.  As much as this mirrored her problems, it was so very different.

“I just want you to take care of yourself.”

“I can take care of myself just fine,” Hadley snapped.

“I’ve no doubt,” Devon drawled, her Southern accent coming out in full force.

“Don’t use that tone with me,” Hadley muttered.

“Does Garrett know?” Devon asked.  She already knew the answer since Brennan had told her last night, but she wanted to hear Hadley’s response.  She needed to hear what Hadley would say face-to-face, no hiding.

“Of course, he knows,” Hadley said, not meeting her eyes.  “Do you think I would be living with him if he didn’t know everything about me?”

Devon sat back hard in the booth, staring at her friend.  Had Hadley ever purposely lied to her?  Had Hadley ever been openly dishonest in any way?  Hadley was many things, but a liar?  No, she had never been a liar.