'Til You're Mine

Eight

"My fate is at the hands of my mistakes

And that's all right

My fate is in your hand

Without you even trying"

- Alexandra Savior

Alex had reached out for my hand, but I wasn't naive enough to think that meant anything. When he asked me to stay after that and watch a movie with him, and he opened his arm to me, and we fell asleep halfway through, wrapped around each other again, I reminded myself that that probably didn't mean anything either. And that's why it's so easy to tell Dani only part of the truth when I finally leave Alex's and come home with burgers and wine as promised.

"All right," she says, before I've even put the bags down. "Spill, bitch."

"It's not what you think."

"You don't know what I think, ho," she retorts, taking the wine out of the bag and opening it. "Spill."

"I was with Alex," I confess, feeling partially as if some of my problems have become untangled, because at least Dani knows some of it. She turns slowly back to me from the cabinet, two glasses for the wine in each hand. The look on her face makes me reiterate: "It's not what you think."

She simply raises an eyebrow at me before pouring both of us a glass.

"He just drank a little too much and needed a ride home."

She swallows a sip of her wine with her brow still raised, asking, "All night? Hasn't the boy ever heard of Uber?" with a smirk.

I only answer the first part, explaining, "We fell asleep watching a movie." Dani and I sit down at the table. "I wanted to make sure he didn't need his stomach pumped, or something."

"By sleeping over?"

I take both of our burgers out and hand her one. I roll my eyes but don't say anything in response.

"I didn't even know you were still in touch with him."

I shrug. "He's kind of going through a rough time with his break up and touring–"

"I fucking knew it!"

"And he reached out. We've always been friends, Dani."

She just keeps smirking at me.

"Stop it!" I snap, chucking a fry at her.

She picks it up from where it lands on the table and pops it into her mouth. Once she swallows it and has a sip of wine, she sobers up and asks, "What does Jeremy think about it?"

"He... doesn't." Dani's eyebrows go up yet again. "We haven't really spoken since the other day."

"Oh, for fuck's sake, Alex!" she scoffs. "Dump him already! It's not like he's worth the long distance stress."

I can't bring myself to explain to her how I failed so fantastically at breaking up with Jeremy already. So, instead, I just say, "Yeah."

However, when it comes down to it– when I finally give into Jeremy's calls and messages that night, and agree for him to come over– it doesn't go the way I hoped. I planned to end it in person, to apologize for ghosting him, and then say that it's just not working out. But Jeremy starts talking before I can even get a word in.

"I'm staying for another month," he says, sitting on the edge of my bed, across from where I'm leaning against the wall.

"What?"