It wasn’t about the pizza. It was about the laptop. Not that there was anything on it—I kept everything on the flash drive—but it drove me nuts that I’d trusted her with my own daughter and she, in return, had spent the time in here trying to fuck me over. Again. Had she ignored Luna the whole time to play hacker?

This thing between us had long since separated fucked-up territory and was now deeply in batshit-crazy-ville.

“I paid for it, and she only had one slice. I also made her eat the bell peppers and mushrooms, if that makes a difference.” Edie yawned, rubbing her eye sockets with the base of her hands before standing up. She stretched, her long limbs on full display. She was barefoot, and a purple tank top and cut-off denim shorts clung to her body.

“And Coke? Really? Again?” I growled, getting in her face. I was angry. So fucking angry. At Mel and Katie and Edie and Luna and Val and life, and fuck, women were such complicated creatures. I tried goddamned hard to stay away from them as much as I could, but they seemed to be everywhere.

“Jesus, Trent, she brushed her teeth. It was a one-off, so I thought we could splurge. And I mean really splurge. What the hell!” She bolted to the other side of the room, sitting on the floor and putting on her shoes. I wanted her to get the fuck out. At least, I thought I did.

“Last but not least—the computer? Really? No fucking class whatsoever.”

“We were watching YouTube videos!” she exclaimed, snagging her backpack and getting up in a hurry. “Geez!”

“YouTube videos. Right.” I let loose a chuckle, pulling out my wallet from my back pocket and plucking out the money to pay her. “Wasn’t it you who told me to never bullshit a bullshitter?”

“I’m not bullshitting you!”

I shoved the banded stack of money to her chest and growled into her face, “Just go.”

“Hey, wait…” She hurried after me as I pivoted toward Luna’s room. The money dropped to the floor. She didn’t bother to pick it up.

“Luna talked.”

I spun in place, my eyebrows dropping down.

“Edie…” I warned. If she was lying again, there were going to be consequences. She fidgeted with the hem of her shirt, tugging at it, but her eyes were determined and brave. She didn’t look away.

“She did! When I tucked her into bed. I told her I had fun tonight, and she said ‘me, too’ and it was small, but I heard it, Trent. All I wanted, all I ever wanted was to make her feel not like a robot or a charity case. We ate junk food and watched TV past her bedtime. We broke the rules and she survived. Not only that, but I’m pretty sure she had fun. Maybe it’ll help her through another week of therapy sessions and you acting like she is in some kind of dire situation.”

I rubbed my forehead. Shit. She was doing this again. Confusing me. And the worst part was that I believed her. I shouldn’t have, but I clung to each of her words and let them settle in my stomach and revive me. Luna had spoken. This was a huge breakthrough, but daring to believe it and hoping for more could break me—and I didn’t know if I could trust Edie as far as I could throw her.

We stared at each other for a long beat, from a safe distance.

“She talked,” I repeated, finally. It felt monumental. As if she was going to wake up tomorrow and start blabbing about the weather. It wasn’t the case, but Edie was only the second person Luna had spoken to.

She nodded. “Her voice is so sweet and soft. Like velvet on cool skin.”

Who the fuck talked like that? Edie. Edie talked like that. “I’ve never heard her.”

“You should. It’s really great.”

I believed her.

She swallowed. “Let me take her to the beach on Sunday. She’s never been in the water. I want to…show her things.”

I looked down, wanting to say no. I was scared for Luna. I didn’t trust Edie with Luna outside the apartment building. But I also couldn’t just hang out with them, because that wasn’t appropriate, nor beneficial for the raging obsession I was beginning to develop toward this girl.

“You know what your problem is, Trent?” She was panting, breathing fire, and I was too selfish to cool her down. I liked her hot. I liked her messy. I liked her all over the place, because that’s how she made me feel. Deprived. There was some poetic justice in it.

“No, but I’m sure you’re about to tell me.”

“You fight the tide. You fling your arms, kicking your legs, trying to escape it, overpower it. The secret is to go with the flow. The secret is to ride the wave. Don’t be afraid to get wet.”