Everly’s face dropped as I ignored her presence. “Um, I guess I deserve that. Do you mind if I sit…”

Her words tapered off as she read my expression, my answer blaringly loud without a sound.

Everly cleared her throat and bounced on her feet. Then, she just let loose, her words rushing out. “I always imagined what I would say if I ever saw you again. And the only thing I could come up with is, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything I did to you, Alexis. To you and Owen.” Tears built in her eyes as she finished her measly apology.

I didn’t reply. What was I supposed to say anyway? “Alright, you’re forgiven?” Well, she wasn’t. I’d never give her that absolution.

Catching the hint, she stalled and took half a step back. There wasn’t a conversation if only one person participated.

You said your piece, bitch, now move on.

Her face faltered further as her posture caved inward. If it was anyone else, I would have felt sorry for them. Instead, I found myself in a parallel universe, plunged into a world built from my deepest nightmares with a person who had caused me the most singular, excruciating pain.

My body had lost all its faculties, post-traumatic memories barraging my brain so much that I couldn’t speak, let alone move.

The only tether to the present was the shattering words from the devil before me, which I couldn’t seem to block out.

Everly didn’t give a fuck, deciding to use the opportunity to press on with her narrative. “I completed my sentence in prison… Even got out early for good behaviour. Those eight months changed me, made me think about everything that happened. I was lying to myself, trying to justify my actions by thinking I was doing what was best for my baby. In the end, I lost her anyway… What I’m trying to say is I should have never gone there with Owen. And I should have never taken it further when he thought I was you.”

Eight months? That bitch deserved the fucking death sentence. And if my old friend, rage, didn’t stop coating my vision in red, I was afraid that I would deliver that form of justice myself.

Then, her words slowly started to trickle through.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Is my rib cage concaving in on itself? Is that my arteries bursting from the onslaught of heartache?

“What? What did you just say?” I sputtered.

Everly’s eyes softened, and I wanted to rip them out. “Owen was drunk, Alexis. He thought I was you. Did you not believe him when he told you?”

“Why are you doing this to me?” I whined. What the fuck? I could feel my insides crumbling, the cavity in my chest rupturing.

“He called me by your name,” Everly said. “Your name, Lex.”