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thirty.

੭୧ 𝐩𝐢𝐩𝐞𝐫 ੭୧

"Pipes."

A gentle voice stirred me from my sleep, and my brows furrowed as I tried to force myself back into the darkness.

"Pipes, honey."

I groaned, rolling over and opening my eyes. Max stood at the foot of the bed, her hands resting on my duvet covered feet. She smiled, and I blinked the blurriness from my vision, looking over at the clock.

4:03pm.

"Jesus, Max." I pushed myself into a sitting position, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. "You let me sleep all day?"

"You needed it," she shrugged.

I frowned. She was right.

"Come on," she smiled, reaching her hands out. "I made you breakfast!"

"It's four o'clock."

"Late brunch then," she grabbed my hands, tugging me from the warmth of the blankets and guiding me to the kitchen. "I made your favourite!"

My brows furrowed as I surveyed the buffet-style breakfast Max had laid out for the two of us, and I met her smiley gaze. "Why are you in such a great mood?"

She shrugged, a smile lighting up her features. "I'm spending one-on-one time with my best friend, I'm about to feast, and I've watched three whole seasons of The Vampire Diaries. What's not to be happy about?"

I narrowed my eyes at my best friend, but nodded, allowing her to pile my food onto a plate.

"So," Max started, and I sighed. "How are you feeling?"

I didn't answer, staring at the food on my plate, and after a moment of silence, Max's hand found mine, squeezing tightly.

"It'll be okay, Piper."

"For me?" I asked, meeting her gaze. "Yeah, I'll be fine. But, Grey and I...we won't. How could we ever be okay after that?"

Max squeezed my hand, leaning closer. "Because he cares about you, Pipes."

I scoffed, shaking my head. "He called me a mistake, Max."

"He cares," she insisted. "You can't just erase the last few months. You are the only person Greyson has allowed to see any part of him since..." she trailed off, taking a bite out of her bagel before meeting my gaze again. "I talked to Cyrus last night—I maybe had to be physically restrained again after you went to bed but, some of the stuff he was saying makes sense."

I stared at her blankly.

"You can stay here as long as you want to, Pipes. My home is your home. But, I think you should talk to Grey. Maybe not today, but soon."

I didn't respond. Instead, I took a bite of my waffle and chewed thoughtfully.

"Think about it," Max murmured.

We sat in silence, the faint sound of the TV playing softly filling the air as we cleared our plates, and I couldn't help but smile, glancing over at my best friend.

"Thank you," I whispered.

Max's smile was bright, her eyes sparkling. "Anytime."

✧

Cyrus showed up outside Max's house a few hours after we ate—coincidentally arriving just as Ryan came to pick Max up to take her to an event, taking her car because his bike was in the shop. Cyrus' eyes never left her as she slipped into the passenger seat of her car, her smile bright as Ryan started the engine.