"You're just going to ignore me?" The irritation in my voice weighs heavy as chains, and I try to catch her eye, desperate for some sign of the girl I used to know. I shouldn't be irritated—I've got no right—but I am.

"Learned from the best," she fires back, her sass catching me completely off guard, sharp as a blade between ribs. There's something thrillingly different about her now, and damn if I don't find myself drawn to it. She's always been fiercely independent, but this version of Nora seems to have no use for me. Can't say I blame her, but it doesn't quench my craving for her attention one bit.

"Are you going to rat me out?" I probe, genuinely curious as we retrace our steps, each one feeling like walking deeper into quicksand. The question hangs between us, loaded with two years of silence and suspicion.

"What am I, five?" There's a new edge to her that I can't help but admire—confident, bold, lethal. She never hesitated to call me out on my bullshit, even as kids, but now her words carry weight like ammunition.

She halts suddenly, almost causing me to bump into her again, and the near contact sends electricity racing down my spine. Her piercing gaze locks on mine, stirring a flutter of unease in my gut that feels like falling. I'm on edge, unsure of what's coming next but certain it'll leave a mark.

"You know there are better things to spend your money on, right?" Her voice drops low, private—a reminder of conversations we used to have when she was the only one who could talk sense into me.

“I already have enough Rolexes.”

What. The. Fuck. Nate?

The words come out before I can stop them, dripping with the kind of privileged arrogance I hate in others. I want to snatch them back the moment they leave my mouth.

Her eye roll is monumental, like watching someone dismiss your entire existence, and she spins away, continuing forward with the grace of someone who knows exactly how to wound.

"Look, I just don't need you causing issues with my mom or Jake. It's nothing, really. I sometimes just need to⁠⁠—"

She pauses again, her shoulders rigid as steel. Before she even turns, I sense the anger radiating from her like heat from a fire.

"You know, I'm trying really hard to see things from your perspective, but I can't quite jam my head that far up my ass." Her words are a soft hiss as she steps closer, invading my space until all I can smell is her honey-sweet perfume mixed with summer air. "Don't worry, Nate, your little secret? It's safe with me."

The pat on my chest feels like a brand, her smug smirk a promise of warfare to come. If I thought I was screwed before, now I'm certain I'm standing at the edge of my own personal hell.