❝Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night.❞
❝That would be you.❞
❝You're a smooth motherfucker, aren't you?❞
In which Nico desperately needs advice and finds a payphone, but he has nobody to call.
And then the payphone rings.
And Nico answers.
And ov...
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"Hey."
"Hey."
"Listen, I know we really haven't talked since—"
"Since you pretended to forget indirectly telling me you liked me and then found out that your ex-girlfriend is pregnant with your English teacher's baby, then proceeding to tell the girl you supposedly have feelings for that you wished you were the father of your cheating ex's illegitimate child?"
"...Well, yeah. That's a painfully accurate summary."
"Yep."
"Well, it's mostly your fault, to be honest, Nessa."
"What? How?"
"Maybe the fact that this is the ninety-second time I'm calling you since we last talked and you've only just picked up?"
"Well, I was... busy."
"For three weeks consecutively without a second to spare, yeah?"
"...Yeah?"
"I needed you, Nessa. You don't know how hard this has been on me."
"And it wasn't hard on me? The five-hour phone call wasn't long enough for me to understand how much you're still irrevocably in love with Jenny?"
"Ever since you got me to admit a part of me wished I was the father of her child I've been going mad! Second-guessing every single decision I've made leading up to this point! I don't know what to think anymore, what to do."
"Right. So, on a scale of one to fuck you, how much do you regret the decision to pick up the payphone that night?"
"What?"
"How much do regret meeting me, Nico? How much do you regret the past five months?"
"Not at all, Nessa! Why would you think—"
"Why would I think that? Because if I recall correctly, I actually was the one who told you you deserved better than Jennifer. I was the one who told you you shouldn't mourn someone you're better off without. The one who told you not to tell your fucking therapist about her husband's affair with Jennifer. I was the one who stopped you from getting back what you wanted from the beginning."
"Stopped me from...? Nessa, I—"
"Jennifer, Nico. You've wanted her all this time, not me. Jennifer fucking Robertson. My best friend."
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this chapter was so hard to write oh my god
i think i re-read all 27 previous chapters at least three times to get this right
i hope this chapter messes with your emotions as much as it did mine
