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Emily braced her arms on her thighs and leaned toward her. "Okay, talk to me. Tell me everything. I mean, maybe not like, sex details. But ... what happened while you were gone?"

Then she patted the bed. Elena's entire being settled back into place as she and Emily braced their backs against the wall. She curled her hand around hers with their legs stretched out straight onto the bed, and Elena unloaded for the next thirty minutes.

After a bit, Emily leaned her head on her shoulder, and Elena set her head on hers, and they fell quiet before she got to the scene in the driveway. She didn't even attempt to wipe the tears coming down her face during that part.

"I'm so mad at him for leaving," Elena said, voice hoarse from talking. "But I get it. I don't want to, but I do."

"I don't."

Elena nudged her. "I don't need you to vilify him."

Emily laughed under her breath. After the driveway showdown, dinner was a shitshow. Elena cried in the balcony while Elijah, Daniel Emily and Lexi yelled