Page 127 of Gamebreaker

I'd lost my parents and half my church when I came out.

Cam could lose millions.

I got it. I really got it.

But understanding didn't make it hurt less. It made it worse, because I couldn't even be angry at her properly. I'd have given a lot to be angry.

Mia showed up at ten after three.

She buzzed three times in a row, her signature, and when I didn't answer fast enough, she texted.

Mia

I can see your window

Mia

I know you're in there

Mia

the bonnet is visible from the street.

I opened the door. "I told you not to come. You should be with Laine."

"Laine sends her love and says I'm all yours as long as you need me." She held up a plastic bag. "And you told me you were fine after Henry. Forgive me if I don't trust your self-assessment right now. I brought Thai food and emotional support."

She walked in, set the food on my coffee table, and turned to look at me with those baby blue eyes that saw too much. Her long strawberry blonde hair was up in a high ponytail, her coquette dress fitted perfectly to her petite body. She was so pretty it should have made me jealous, but I could only ever feel pride. This was my best friend. My person. The Cristina Yang to my Meredith Grey.

Her eyes went straight to my neck.

She didn't say a word about it. She just pressed her lips together, hard, and then said, "You look terrible," with so much love in her voice that I nearly started crying again on the spot.

"Thanks. Really helpful feedback."

"I mean it with my whole heart." She pulled me into a hug, and I let myself sink into it for a second before pulling away. If I let myself be comforted too much, I'd start crying again, and I was so tired of crying that my eyelids hurt.

We sat on my couch. Gingerly, on my end. Mia noticed that too, raised an eyebrow, and very wisely did not ask.

I picked at the Pad Thai while she ate, both of us pretending I was actually going to eat.

"Trish called Cam this morning," Mia said after a few minutes. "Apparently, she's a mess too."

A hot, ugly flare went through my chest. "Maybe she should be. She chose this."

"So did you."

The flare went out as fast as it had come, leaving only cold behind it. "I know. And I'd choose it again. But that doesn't make it not hurt like hell."

Mia set down her chopsticks. "Do you regret it? Sleeping with her?"

"No." The answer was immediate. "Not for a second. Mia, she made me feel safe and seen and cherished and challenged all at once. She didn't try to make me quieter or less. She let me be all of it. Loud and mouthy and too much. She liked that I was too much." My voice broke. "And that's why I had to leave."

"Because she can't do that where you need it most. In front of the world."

"Yeah." I set down my fork and pulled my knees to my chest, wincing. "There's no villain this time, Mia. There's no one to throw a ring at."

She reached over and took my hand and held on tight. She didn't try to fix it. She just held on.