Oakley turned to face me, his expression twisting from confusion, shock, and then finally excitement. “Solbeeeeer,” he replied.

Legacy was massaging his chest, starting at his glorious pecs and working her way up to his shoulders. She clearly thought she had already won a non-existent competition. I wanted to tear her off of him.

“Come on, Baby. Let’s go home,” I cooed. Drunk Oakley was like an excited toddler, coddled and enticed with the temptation of candy.

I was the candy in this scenario, despite how ridiculous I looked.

“He doesn’t need a babysitter, Amanda.” Legacy laughed at my attempt to lure Oakley out of the bar. She was drawing lazy circles on his chest with her long nails. If it wouldn’t have looked ridiculous, I bet she would have straddled him right there in the middle of the bar. I mentally rolled my eyes at what she thought was a display of dominance.

“Oakley? Come on. Come home with me,” I said softly.

He quickly pushed everyone away, as if he’d just realized we had an audience. His movements were slow and forced, each choppy extension of his limbs was like wading through syrup.

“I didn’t kiss thennnn,” he slurred, swaying toward me. “Why didn’t you fall—call?”

“I’ll explain when we get back. Come on, I’m going to fix this.”

Seeing Oakley drunk broke me. He was struggling today, and I wasn’t there for him. This wasn’t about me being his publicist. This was about being his friend—his person.

“You’ve always been an attention whore, Amanda. Can’t even let the poor man drink. He’s had a hard day, and you’re making it about yourself. You always fucking make it about yourself,” Legacy spat. She realized she had lost, and insulting me was a last ditch effort, trying to regain her control.

Oakley’s face twisted up in rage, but this was one battle I wanted to fight for myself. “That’s rich coming from you,” I snarled. “You humiliated me to make yourself look better.”

“You humiliated yourself. I was just along for the ride,” she sneered.

“We were supposed to be friends. I’m responsible for my actions, yes, but when you care about someone, you protect them. You don’t show the world their indiscretions while you laugh on the sidelines. That is what I’m doing for Oakley right now, protecting him.”

I took a step closer to Legacy, seeing her with clear eyes for the first time. She was trying just as hard to fit a role as I had been; the only difference was I escaped it. All the anger fled my body, and a surprising emotion overcame me: pity.