“Right.” I pull the key over my head and hand it to her.

She blinks, surprised.

“So you can get in now, if you want.”

Her mouth opens but before she can answer, revelers step between us, shouting and laughing and pushing at each other.

When they finally move past us and into the house, she’s gone.

By the time I make it to bed, Reese is already in there, on the floor like she said.

The Christmas lights are on, and her eyes are open.

“Hey.”

“Hey.”

I step over her carefully, getting on the bed before tugging my shirt over my head.

Making a lady sleep on the floor while I have the bed gives me a sick stomach, and I tell her as much.

“You won fair and square. If I had won, I wouldn’t be feeling any guilt. I might be reveling in my win, actually.”

I laugh. “Yeah, you’re a big gloater. It still seems wrong, I mean you’re a . . .”

“Girl? That’s sexist.”

I chuckle. “I know, I know. Still, this whole situation is basically my fault.”

“It wasn’t just you. Abby had a lot to do with it.” Her voice is hesitant.

I lie back on the bed, sinking into a heavy pause while anxiety and awkwardness at the mention of Abby float in the air above us. She continues in a rush, “And to be honest, if I had stuck up for myself or said something to someone when she first started causing problems, I might not be here right now. So really, there isn’t any one person to blame.”

My body tenses as she speaks and I have to force myself to relax. Part of me has known for a while now that Abby isn’t the kindest person, but having it confirmed is like an extra sucker punch just when you think the fight is over. “It’s okay, you can talk about Abby. I’m not holding on to any false illusions about who she was. Is. Who she is. I guess I’m embarrassed I had my head stuck in the mud as long as I did.”

“It was nothing truly awful. I mean, she said awful things, but it was mostly passive-aggressive stuff. She didn’t, like, put black dye in my toothpaste or fire ants in my pillowcase.”

That makes me chuckle. “Well thank God for that.”

“I’m just saying, you have nothing to feel bad for. You aren’t her.”

“Yeah, but I was with her for years. I defended her. Let her suck me into her bullshit.”

She shuffles on the floor and then her head appears at eye level. “You aren’t responsible for someone else’s bad behavior. No matter your relation to them.”

Something tight in my gut unclenches. It’s a freeing thought, not being responsible for Abby anymore. “I guess you’re right.”

“Besides, it’s nothing I’m not used to.” She lies back down, her head disappearing. “It’s just that I never had to live with a bully before. It was harder to ignore, but I managed.”