Shoving my hands in my pockets in an effort to still them, I walked briskly around our block, absentmindedly taking turns at random. I didn’t know how to feel about this news. I wasn’t lying when I’d said I could understand why Andie hadn’t told me before. At the same time though, it felt like a betrayal, and she was the last person I thought would ever betray me. Over the years, we’d told each other our darkest secrets without judgement, always fessing up no matter how hard it was to admit some of our mistakes. Complete honesty had always been the code of our friendship. How could she have kept this from me?

After walking up and down nearby streets for another ten minutes, I circled back to my block and found myself at The Beast. I decided to go in and get a drink, hoping it would take the edge off. The bar had paintings of beasts from around the world lining its walls, with a scroll next to each painting detailing the monster’s folklore. Sasquatch wandering through the trees, the Loch Ness Monster’s head popping up from dark, murky waters, Medusa’s snakes wavering around her head, their glowing eyes watching me as I walked past on my way to the bar. The dark paneled walls and dim lighting fit my mood perfectly. King Kong was playing on the TV above the bar, Jessica Lange clutched in the giant ape’s hand. I pulled out an ornate, red velvet, high-backed stool at the bar and hopped up onto it.

‘Hey Mickey,’ I said to the bartender who was also our neighbor.

‘Hey there, Liz. Usually don’t see you in here on a weekday. Andie not with you?’ He looked around, seemingly surprised that I was without my more social counterpart.

I grimaced. ‘Nope, just me.’

‘Alright, well what can I get for you then?’

‘Whiskey. Neat.’ Mickey widened his eyes in surprise but prepared the glass without comment, placing it in front of me. The sleeve of tattoos on his arm danced with each movement as the muscles bulged underneath.

I knocked it back, then quickly raised my finger in the air and ordered another. My throat burned but a warmth spread throughout my body, embracing me. Mickey whistled appreciatively as he poured my second drink before walking away to help another customer at the other end of the bar. I sipped the second one more slowly and as the whiskey scorched a hot path to my empty stomach and then up into my brain, I began to calm down. My shaky hands settled around the short glass.