Her heels tap against the hardwood floor. His boots stand idle, while he crosses his arms. My parents stand above me, livid and appalled. Josie sits in the corner, near me but not near enough. This is practically my intervention. “I could care less about what you say right now, Olivia. This is your life. You shouldn’t be with that man.”

“You don’t understand,” I groan. “It’s not what you think.” I let my head fall into my lap. How did it all go this way? I look over at Josie and roll my eyes. She mouths the words “I’m sorry,” but it doesn’t help or feel any better that she’s around.

I mouth back to her, “Fuck you.”

Josie stands up and looks my dad in the eyes. She then looks back at me, unsure what to do. I avert my gaze and stare straight at my wall. “I fucked up,” she suddenly says. Still, I don’t look at her. No apologizing can help this situation. I’ll always have to look back at this time and wonder how it could have all gone down if we all just behaved a bit more normal.

“Excuse me?” my dad says.

“I didn’t tell you the whole truth,” she says. “I… withheld information.”

“What?” I laugh.

Josie opens her eyes wide at me. “Stop it, Olivia. You know what I’ve done,” she says. “I’ve held our grudge for too long.”

“What grudge?” my mom asks.

“She slept with my boyfriend. It was exactly a year ago,” Josie says. I shut my eyes tight, as if that’ll squeeze the world out from under me. When I open my eyes again, everyone is still there. Insanity. Total insanity. Everyone has lost their minds at this point.

“Is this true?” my mom asks me. “Olivia? Answer me.”

“Mom, it’s none of your business,” I say, exhausted.

“I wanted to get revenge on her. I used her new boyfriend as a scapegoat,” she says. “She was never going to get married.”

“I can’t believe this,” my dad says, turning his back on us. “Why wouldn’t she just deny it in the first place if it wasn’t real?”

“Shame,” Josie says.

“Shame?” I ask her.

Josie quickly talks over me, saying, “She couldn’t bear the guilt and the shame that this brought her. She probably didn’t want to tell her parents the whole story. Who would?” she asks. My mom looks at me with empathetic eyes.

“I am exhausted,” I admit. “This whole thing, not to mention finals and everything that comes with school, has exhausted me. I just want some peace and quiet. There was no marriage. There is no fiancé. And most likely now, there is no boyfriend. There. Is everyone happy?”

“I... I…” my dad stammers.

“Scott, I think we need to just go and let everyone decompress,” my mom says, wiping her eyes, stressed.

“I want to meet this man,” my dad says. “If you’re serious with someone, we want to get to know him.”

“Guys, I don’t know what the hell is going on with all of that right now. I’ll let you know,” I say, annoyed.

“He’s a really good guy,” Josie interjects.

I groan loudly. “Yep. Goodbye!”

My parents shuffle out. “Call us,” my mom says.

“I will,” I whisper. I close the door and turn around to face Josie. She has a joint out and she’s trying to give it to me. “No thanks,” I say.

“Come on. Can’t we repair things?” she asks.

“I don’t think I’m going to repair things with anyone. I think I’m just going to move away and be a shut in spinster for the rest of my life. I can buy a few cats and live a meager lifestyle,” I tell her. “This week truly has been hell.”

“Look, I know I went a little overboard by bringing your parents into this, but you have to look at it from my perspective. You were going kind of crazy,” she says. “And I wanted my friend back. I didn’t want you to run off and get married with some stranger.”

“He’s not a stranger, but yeah. I get it. For a split second, I thought I was actually going to go through with it. In the end, I only went because I needed to see what kind of a man he really was,” I tell her.

“So what happened exactly? He called it off?” she asks.

“He gave his vows. He told me he fucked up. I don’t know. It’s a lot to describe. He said he wasn’t going to take the house. He told his dad off,” I say. “And then I told them I had to leave.”

“Oh my god,” she laughs. “He told his dad off?”

“I don’t know. It’s not that funny,” I say, with sincerity. “James’s mom is terminally ill. She’s basically on life support. His family is going through a lot of shit and I think his father has sort of lost it.”

“Meanwhile, James has to pick up the pieces?” she asks.

I nod and bite my lip. “Yeah, I guess that’s it,” I say. “He’s just trying to be strong for everyone. He wanted the house for memory’s sake. He grew up there. Maybe he was just trying to do good by his dad. I don’t know. I just wish all of this would just stop.”

“Yeah,” Josie whispers. “Are you still…”

“Still what?” I ask.

“In love with him?” Her eyes bounce from left to right, stabilizing in the center of my face.

I shrug and smile, then frown. “I don’t know!” I snarl. “I mean, yeah. On one hand, he’s been a real idiot. A douche. On the other, he’s James. He’s this loveable, hardworking, and humble guy. He’s strong and devoted. He’s sexy and the best kisser I’ve ever been with. There’s a lot to love about him. I’m just hurt and I don’t know how to get over it.”

“People do hurt each other in relationships,” she says. “I’m one to talk. I’ve cheated on most guys.”

We both laugh. “I guess,” I say.

“You want any of my two cents?” she asks.

“I don’t know. Should I take it?” I laugh.

“I guess I haven’t been the best friend you could have asked for,” she says.

“It’s fine. I’ll take it with a grain of salt. I need some words from someone I’m close to,” I say.

She blushes and looks down. “Whenever I saw you and James together, it felt like you two were made for each other. I saw the way you looked at him, but I that’s not what led me to my conclusion,” she says.

“Oh yeah? Then what was it? The way I touched him?” I laugh.

“No,” she says, without any laughter to accompany me. “It was the way he looked at you. I could just tell that you were something special to him. I’ve never had a man look at me like that. When I saw you two together, I felt jealous, like you had the best thing in the world. You had what every woman wants.”

“I had,” I say.

“So he fucked up. So what? In the grand scheme of things, is it really that big of a deal? How many other men will fuck up harder and worse than that? How many times have I, your best friend, fucked up in worse ways? He’s trying his best. You even said so. And the fact that he’s trying to make everything better tells me that he’s still deeply in love with you,” she says. “He’ll do anything for you, Olivia. You’re lucky.”

“I guess I am,” I say. I close my eyes and see him here, next to me. I remember every moment with him. The first moment we met, the first time we slept together. He was always there for me. He always took care of me. I remember how he feels when he holds me close and kisses the top of my head. I remember the way he looked at me. I could never forget that.

Yet, I still don’t know. I still can’t figure out what to do. All I can do is rest easy and hope the answers will come to me.

“You are,” she says. “You’re lucky.”

I’m the luckiest girl in the world. Yet, he still hasn’t even texted me.