I felt like my world had shattered into a million pieces. The act of leaving, getting into my car, and driving away from Atlanta, somehow felt so final. While I waited for them to come home, I second-guessed every decision I’d made since seeing Alec with the slut. What had I done? Should I go back? Should I have confronted him, instead of leaving? How could he do that to me? We’d been making plans for our future together, and the next thing I knew, he was ripping my heart to shreds.

Was anything he’d ever said or done genuine? Did he do all of that just to have sex with me? Did he ever love me?

I knew if I didn’t get out of my car, I’d end up driving back to Atlanta, certainly to more pain than I knew I could endure. I couldn’t remember the damn door code to get in to their apartment building, so I just sat on the steps, my back against the column, and waited for my best friends to come home. I must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I knew, I heard their voices talking right beside me. I sat there with my eyes closed, still as a stone, as they discussed my unplanned visit.

“I wonder why she’s here. Did she call or text that she was coming?” Tamron asked in a worried voice.

“I don’t know. Maybe we missed a message. Tamron, check your phone. There’re no messages from her on mine. Good Lord, look at her. She’s a mess. Her cheeks are all splotchy red, and she’s got bags under her eyes. It’ll take a week of cucumber treatments to repair that damage,” Alison whispered in a hushed tone.

“So help me, Alison, if Alec is the cause of this, I will castrate him myself!” Tamron’s heated voice retorted. “We warned him not to hurt her.”

I cracked open my eyes and sat up straight. I stretched my arms and looked from Alison to Tamron, then down at my hands clasped together in my lap. Tamron sat down on one of the steps below me and wrapped her arms around my legs in a strange kind of a hug, while Alison sat beside me, rubbing her hands up and down my back. For the first time since I’d known them, they were both silent. I knew they probably had a lot of burning questions, but neither seemed able to find her voice at that moment. They were waiting for my explanation. I was sure they’d be angry with me for not telling them what had happened earlier. It was Tamron who broke the silence first.

“What the ever-loving fuck did Alec do?” she asked.

And that was all it took for the floodgates to open and for me to become a sobbing mess on the front steps to their apartment building.

“Come on, let’s go inside and get Sam settled in with a cup of hot tea. We can talk about this in private,” Alison urged, looking around us.

I’d been there once before, right after they first moved in and remembered their apartment being cozy, and even though I felt horrible, their place felt like home because they were there. For the first time since Alec broke my heart, I felt like I could breathe again.

Tamron made a cup of my favorite chai tea. As I drank it, I told them about Alec’s strange behavior leading up to his breakup. I also shared the texts messages I’d sent that never got a response, as well as Alec’s actions with the slut at Peter’s house party, then my driving to Auburn to be with them.

Again, they were silent. It was unsettling and made me feel edgy. I tore off little pieces of my napkin, waiting for one of them to say something. Alison reached across the table and took my hands in hers. I looked up and saw Tamron standing there, too. Both of their eyes glistened with tears, their cheeks pink with the anger I knew they felt toward Alec.

“Sweetie, let’s call it a night and get some rest. You’ve got to be tired,” Tamron said.

Alison nodded her head.

“I’ll make the sofa up while Tamron helps you get settled in. We can talk in the morning. You can also explain why we’re just now hearing about this instead of months ago when Alec broke up with you.”

I nodded my head and took a drink of my tea.

“I know you’re wondering why we’ve been so quiet, but if we discuss it right now, I’ve a feeling Tamron and I would end up driving to Atlanta and kicking the hell out of that weasel fuck. While I can assure you it would give us both a great amount of satisfaction, we know it would only hurt you more.”

They both hugged me goodnight and went to their bedrooms. Lying there quietly on the sofa bed, I felt lightheaded as the tears flowed freely down my face and into my ears.

I rolled over to my side, and pulled Alec’s favorite Falcons t-shirt out of my bag on the floor. I knew it was stupid to hang on to it after all this time. I mean, it wasn’t like it even smelled like him anymore. I washed it like a normal person would. And yet, I continued to cuddle it every night as I slept.

The next morning, I decided it was time for my fresh start. I wasn’t going to focus on Alec anymore. I folded and put his Falcons t-shirt in a bag and locked it away in the trunk of my car. When the girls got up, I had coffee ready and even made them French toast. It smelled like heaven to me, and by the looks on their faces, they thought so, too. I’d always loved cooking and baking. It was therapeutic for me. While we ate, I noticed, every so often, Tamron and Alison looking at each other and winking or a nodding their heads.

“Okay, what the hell is going on with you two?”

“Our boyfriends are having a frat party tonight, and we think you should come,” Tamron blurted out.

“Don’t say no, Sam, just say yes and go. It’ll be fun and a way to start fresh and enjoy life again. Besides, you need to meet Tamron’s Quinn and my Riley. It’s been long overdue anyway,” Alison said, all while not breaking eye contact with me, which meant saying no wasn’t an option.

“Ugh, yes, fine, I’ll go with y’all. I have my favorite jeans and t-shirt with me.” I smiled up at them and noticed their Cheshire grins. “Ohhhh no. Absolutely not. You both have that ‘let’s play dress up with Sam’ look on your faces. It’s a frat party. I’m not dressin’ to impress anyone. As a matter of fact, the absolute last thing I want is to have to deal with some drunk-off-his-ass, smokin’-hot-and-he-knows-it college guy trying to get into my pants. Not interested, so y’all can take your sexy clothes and wear them yourselves. It’s just jeans and a t-shirt for me.”

I knew I’d just dead-blocked their fun. But I really wasn’t looking for someone, not even a one-night-stand rebound fling. I just wanted to cut loose and have a fun night, to forget my problems for a few hours. I wasn’t into casual sex.

I’d only ever been with Alec, and just the thought of it made me have flashbacks of him at Peter’s party with that blonde slut gyrating all over his lap. I still recalled his cold, accusing eyes staring at me with anger before he turned and buried himself back into her neck. Nope. I was not interested in even going there.

“Fine. Wear your boring jeans and t-shirt. But get dressed, because we’re all going to get our belly buttons pierced.” Tamron said.

My mouth hung open as I stared at her. “Are you crazy? That’s insane! I’m not doing that!”

“Oh for Pete’s sake, Sam. It’s not gonna hurt . . . much,” Alison taunted.

“Yeah, easy for you to say. Yours isn’t done.”

“Exactly why I said we’re—all—going,” Tamron huffed.

“Oh my God. Why do I always let y’all talk me into doing things? Fine. Let’s go. A new day, a new life. May as well mark it with a little more pain,” I deadpanned.

We arrived at Riley and Quinn’s house around nine, an hour and a half late, but the girls wanted to keep the guys waiting and watching the door. I guess they always showed up late so no one ever knew when to expect them. I couldn’t stop laughing at their silly ritual. God, how I had missed them.