Chapter 32

~Liv~

I wiped my nose on the back of my hand after grabbing the tissue, because who cares about manners at this point, and mumbled something that was probably supposed to be thanks but came out more like a croak. The guy stayed crouched for a second, then straightened up and just kind of plopped down on the curb a couple feet away, not too close, not too far, like he knew invading space right now would get him punched.

I sucked the last drag out of the cigarette, burned my fingers because I forgot it was almost gone, and flicked it toward the ground . Missed the storm drain by a mile. Great aim, Liv. Really crushing life tonight.

He didn’t say anything at first, just sat there staring at the parking lot lights like they owed him money. I kept waiting for him to ask if I was okay or what happened or some dumb pickup line, but he didn’t. Finally I side-eyed him and caught him looking at me, not creepy, just checking if I was gonna bolt or burst into flames or whatever.

“You good?” he as