“I’m not heartbroken over Andrew.” My lip quivers. “I’m heartbroken over Jack.”

Ari shoots Meredith a questioning look. “Andrew and Ellie’s relationship was fake, they were only getting married so he could access his inheritance, and Ellie’s in love with his sister,” Meredith explains, in the most succinct, emotionless way possible.

To her credit, Ari doesn’t even flinch at this plot twist. “Oh, Ellie, I’m so sorry. Also—” She looks around. “I got your address from Greg, and I have some questions.”

“Yes, I know,” I snivel. “I live in an awful hovel.”

“I thought you were getting evicted from this apartment?”

“I am. I just haven’t found a new place to live yet.”

“That’s perfect!” Ari flops onto the futon, making herself right at home among my heating pad and weighted blanket.

“How is that perfect?” Lawyer-Meredith asks with a glare.

“Ellie is going to come live with me,” Ari answers.

“I am?” I wipe my snot onto my arm. “Don’t you live with four other people?”

She nods. “Yes, but it’s a big house.”

“With an extra… closet?” I ask, remembering her original offer. The offer I was too full of self-pity to seriously consider the night of the napkin contract.

“It’s definitely closet-adjacent in size, but it does have a little window. And we wouldn’t charge you very much in rent, on account of it being, you know, not a bedroom. But don’t worry—there is a ton of common-area space downstairs, and one of the housemates, Ruby, they’re a psychic, and they do free tarot readings in exchange for cleaning the bathroom. And I think you’ll love Winslow—he’s trans like me and an artist like you, so hopefully you won’t care that he has canvases up in the living room all the time. He does mostly paint naked men as part of his ‘Reclaiming the Male Gays’ series…. Are you chill about nudity in your living spaces?”

“I’m not really chill about anything,” I tell her, and Ari nods astutely like she understands.

Two weeks ago, just the thought of moving in with Ari and four other people would’ve necessitated a three-hour hibernation under my weighted blanket. But now, I think about Lovey’s calming presence and the smell of her expensive weed; Meemaw’s effervescent energy; Katherine’s neuroses and Andrew’s friendship. Maybe it wouldn’t be so terrible to be surrounded by a bunch of loud, chaotic Portland hipsters.

“Sure,” I say, throwing up my arms in resignation. “I’ll rent your closet.”

Ari’s smoky eyes go wide. “Wait, really? You will?”

Meredith cocks her hips. “Wait. You will?”

“Forward,” I say. “Not backward.”

Chapter Thirty

Friday, December 30, 2022

“Okay, so when you said closet-adjacent, you meant—”