Britney's POV

The front door clicked shut behind Iris and the house felt different without her careful, stiff presence sucking up all the air.

Chloe stood in the middle of the living room for a second longer than necessary, arms wrapped around herself, staring at the place Iris had been sitting like she could still see the pale version of her friend on the couch. I stayed where I was, leaning against the wall, and let the quiet stretch until Chloe finally exhaled and dropped onto the cushions.

“She looked really bad,” Chloe said. “Worse than she admitted. I should’ve made her stay.”

“She wasn’t going to stay.” I pushed...