She was coming at me, two freshly poured glasses of red wine in hand, one held out to me. “Okay, I guess I never thought of that. Your brain looks at life in such a different way from mine.” She sat down on the couch, her all-black ensemble a stark contrast to the pure white sofa. “I always loved that about you.”

I nearly crushed the glass in my hand with her words. I hated that she could show me kindness when I didn’t feel kind enough to help an old lady with her shopping bags. Devlynn held a mirror to my face, a mirror I had no desire to see. Because I wanted to burn every single person like her. Watch the entire Upper West Side crumble to ash from a match that I’d lit.

“Don’t say that,” I gritted, sitting opposite her, stiff and painfully aware of how wrong I was in her space. How much I stood out and how right Arthur was when he'd tried to kick me off the property.

“I’ve had a shit day, okay, Elis? I’m cool to hang for a while. I could use the distraction. I won’t even ask why you were lingering outside my building tonight because all I can think about is this glass of wine and forgetting this day ever happened. Or week.” She paused, swirling her glass before tears filled her eyes, and she glanced out the window. “Maybe the last two years.”

“The last two years? What could be that bad? Did you not get the limited-edition handbag you wanted? Did the next up and coming musician find you too uncool to invite you to his release party? What could be so bad for a rich girl like you?”

Her eyes cut back to mine. Big tears rolled down her pretty face, a face I loved once. A face I would have done anything for.

She shifted and took another swallow of wine as if the alcohol would be strong enough to wipe away the taste of my words. “I buried my dad today.”

My eyebrows shot up. “Not what I was expecting.”

“And what exactly were you expecting, Elis? That I spent all day shopping and needed a nice, strong man to carry my loot? I swear, you may think my life is superficial, but your thinking is all wrong.”

“Sorry about your dad and all, but living in this shell of a penthouse and never struggling a day in your life doesn't make you a poster child for misfortune. People die all the time, Devlynn. Having your parents die doesn’t make you eligible for the world humanitarian award.”