No one asked me what happened when I got back to the apartment. Jillian had occupied us by choosing outfits for our official end of the semester Garrett's night, which was also going to be an impromptu girls night. No one had asked me what went down with Roman. They hadn’t needed to. Cassie would be here any minute, and with any luck, I’d be too drunk to remember my own name–least of all his—in the next hour.

“You should bring Liam,” I said to Jillian as she tossed a tank top at me.

“No way.” She waved me off like this was no big sacrifice on her part. I knew better.

“He's leaving for Scotland next week,” I said.

Jillian shot me a bright smile that was a little too Barbie-perfect to be believable. “All the more reason that I need to get used to him not being around.”

I couldn't think of a thing to say to her. Jillian was in love with him and he was in love with her, and they were about to lose each other because they'd had the bad luck to be born on different continents. The rest of us didn’t stand a chance at happy endings.

“We want you to have a celebration,” Jillian said. “I thought maybe we could boycatch for old times’ sake. I’m an excellent wingman.”

She laughed at this suggestion, bumping my hip as if to urge me to get excited about the prospect, but the idea of bringing home a random guy stabbed me straight through the chest. “Not really feeling that right now.”

“Maybe a rebound is what you need,” Jillian suggested.

“The last time I utilized a rebound guy, it didn't turn out so well,” I said.

“Maybe some loose change? The guys that belong in the crack of the couch,” Jillian said. “I mean there are always some hot ones at Garrett's who should be seen and not heard.”

I tried really hard to crack a smile at that one. It definitely would have made me laugh any other night, but right now it felt like I'd been put through the ringer inside out. I wasn't myself.

“We want you to be happy—whatever it takes,” she promised.

“Just dance with me and make me laugh and make me forget...”

“Forget what?” she asked. She was challenging me, trying to make me see that the only way I was going to get over Roman was by admitting that he'd broken me in the first place. But I wasn't about to give in that easily.

“That I made a mistake.” I meant it. I was certain of that.

“Did you?” she asked, surprising me.

“I thought I should get over it.” I eyed her with suspicion. She’d gotten increasingly philosophical this year, and I had to admit that with her track record, she knew more about romance than I did.

“I’m just trying to piss you,” she admitted, “so you can see that you’re being stupid. You want to be with Roman. Why are you fighting how you feel about him? I feel like we’ve already had this conversation.”

So did I. I leaned my head against the wall and sighed. “It’s not that simple. He was ready to give everything up for me. He would have dropped out and lost his doctorate. That’s not healthy.”

“That’s love.” Jillian glared at me like this was obvious. “Caring about someone else’s happiness more than your own? Putting them in front of you? It’s like the dictionary definition.”

“Yeah, well, I need to put him first then.” It was the closest I’d come to admitted how I really felt about him.

Jillian opened her mouth but the front door slammed shut and we jumped. Cassie flew into the room a second later. She had half her make-up done-literally. Only one eye had any liner or mascara, and her hair was still in curlers.

“Okay, I need you to just listen to what I have to say before you flip out,” she said, her eyes trained on me. Hearing those words out of Cassie's mouth was never a good sign. Her personal motto was Freak Out and Panic On.

“I had to turn in a final paper for my Theories of Comm class.”

I nodded, even though I already dreaded where this was going. Roman had ruined communications for me. It was going to be a long hard life without the use of I-statements, but I was done with the subject.

“Anyway,” Cassie continued, “as I was leaving it in Professor White's box, I overheard the department secretary telling another instructor that Markson was leaving for Puerto Vallarta immediately.”

“So?” I asked. “He’s running away from his problems to Mexico.” It was hardly the first time any of us had done that, but pain shot through me. I’d gotten what I wanted. He was leaving. It didn’t matter that I knew it was for the best—not to my heart.

“No,” Cassie said, shooting me the you-promised-you'd-wait look. “Apparently there's been a family emergency.”

All the blood rushed out of my head, making me so dizzy I had to sit down waiting for Cassie to recount the rest.

“She didn't elaborate further than that,” she said instead.

“But you found out the rest, right?” Jillian asked.

My fingernails were in my mouth as I waited for Cassie to confirm what I already knew. They’d be stubs if she didn’t hurry up.

“Of course, I did. This is me we're talking about,” she said. “I put on my best sweet and concerned student face and asked her if Markson was okay. I may have mentioned he was my favorite teacher, and I was sooooo worried.”

“Nice,” Jillian said. I couldn't help but notice that Cassie didn't mind Jillian's interruptions as much as she seemed to mind mine.

“Jess, it's his grandmother,” Cassie confessed in a whisper.

I knew that, of course. I'd known since she said he'd gone back to Puerto Vallarta, because Roman had told me he only got down there once a year if he was lucky. If he was going back this soon, something had to be wrong. But the thought of anything happening to Aba…

“Did she know how bad it was?” I asked Cassie.

“She told me she expected he would stay down there until final arrangements had been made.”

A choke escaped my body and I clutched my chest, trying to hold the rest of them back. “She's dead?”

“I don't think so,” Cassie said. “But it sounds like it won't be long. She said Roman would be lucky to make it in time.”

I didn't think. I was on my feet and in my dresser drawer before Jillian could wrap me in a hug or Cassie could give me any more details.

“What are you doing?” Jillian asked, moving to stand next to me as I rummaged through my drawers, tossing underwear on the floor, until my fingers closed over what I was seeking.

I flashed her my passport in response to her question.

“I thought you wanted to let him go,” she reminded me.

“I did!” I said, “and I don’t. He's...he's my family. I need to be there.”

Jillian and Cassie said nothing else they simply flew to action helping me pack. All they knew was that I needed their help. They didn't need to understand how confused I was about Roman. They'd been there themselves. Besides, that was the one thing I could always count on with them. In the end, there were no questions. They were there. Always.

Cassie began rattling off flight times.

“I don’t care which one,” I said, tossing her my credit card. A flight down there would eat up the rest of my available balance, but I knew with absolute certainty that I needed to go. Roman needed me. He’d tried to tell me so this afternoon and I’d ignored him.

“Crap!” I stopped packing and banged my fist into my dresser. “I took my car in for maintenance. We’ll have to go get it.”

“It’s too late. They’ll be closed,” Cassie reminded me. “I’ll need to check the ferry schedule and the sounder.”

I swallowed back a scream of frustration. “I can call a cab.”

“That will cost a small fortune,” Cassie said. “If only I still had Trevor’s credit card.”

“The world would be in another financial crisis if you still had his credit card,” Jillian said as she zipped my suitcase shut. I grabbed it from her and started hauling ass to the living room where I’d left my cell phone.

“It’s called helping the economy rebound,” Cassie argued with her as they followed me into the living room.

“Wait!” Jillian snapped her fingers. “Lillian!”

“I am not calling my sister in on this one,” I said emphatically. She was probably halfway to Seattle.

“She can’t be far,” Jillian said, as she tugged her cell phone out of her pocket. “And luckily, I have her number.”

“Don’t you dare, Jillian Nichols!”

She danced away from me, holding the phone out of reach while she pulled up Lillian’s number. I lunged for her, but Cassie blocked me.

“Let people help you,” she advised me.

I took a step back and thought about what she was really saying. Somehow I managed to keep my mouth shut as Jillian sweet talked Lillian into being my personal taxicab again.

“Done! She’s on her way!” Jillian said, waving the phone like it was a prize.

“She’s going to flip out when she finds out where I’m going,” I complained.

“I’m guessing she already knows,” Cassie said, dropping an arm around my shoulders.

“And how would she know that?”

“Because, much like my best friend Jessica Stone, Lillian Stone is not an idiot.”