Hannah and I were on her couch when there was a knock like the police at the door.
She looked at me. “You want me to tell him to get lost?”
He looked wrecked.
“No,” I said. “I want to hear what story he’s going to try.”
She opened the door but left the chain on.
“Five minutes,” she said.
He looked wrecked. Hair wild. Shirt inside out.
“Meredith, please,” he said. “Can we talk?”
I stepped into view.
“It’s not what you think.”
“Talk,” I said.
He flinched.
“It’s not what you think,” he blurted.
I laughed. Actually laughed.
“Oh?” I said. “You weren’t half-naked with my sister in our bedroom?”
“It’s… complicated,” he said. “We’ve been talking. I’ve been struggling since the surgery. She’s been helping me process.”
“Helping you process.”
“Helping you process,” I repeated. “Right. With her shirt off.”
He ran a hand through his hair.
“I felt trapped,” he said. “You gave me your kidney. I owe you my life. I love you, but I also felt like I couldn’t breathe—”
“So naturally,” I cut in, “you decided to sleep with my sister.”
“It just happened,” he said.
“It did not ‘just happen,'” I snapped. “How long?”
I remembered Kara helping me in the kitchen, laughing about burnt rolls.
He hesitated.
“How long?” I repeated.
