Chapter 3

I barely replied. Every so often I sent back a line or two, and they all meant the same thing. It was her call.

In the fourth month, she came to see me at my shop. I could tell something was wrong the moment she walked in. She had lost a lot of weight, her cheeks were sunken and there were dark circles under her eyes.

"Kara." She dropped onto the couch, her voice hoarse.

I poured her a glass of water.

"How much did you lose last month?" I asked.

She took a sip, her voice muffled. "12,000 dollars. This month's probably going to be about the same."

"How much have you put in so far?"

She counted it out on her fingers, her voice dropping lower with every number. "The franchise fee was 68,000, the equipment was 40,000, the renovations were 30,000, the first batch of supplies was 20,000, and then the deposit and rent and everything else on top of that... It's been about 180,000 dollars all in.

"With what I've lost these past few months, it's over 200,000."

Her lips trembled as she said the last number.

I leaned against the register and said nothing.

"I think there's something wrong with that space." She suddenly looked up, her eyes red.

"The owner of the breakfast place next door told me he's been there two years, and he's watched four different stores move into that unit. Not one of them lasted a year!"

She stared hard at me. "Kara, did you know about this?"

The shop went silent. In the back, Mia stopped folding clothes for a moment.

I looked at Chelsea. Her eyes were heavily bloodshot, the skin on her lips was dry and peeling, and the veins in her neck were faintly bulging. Her whole body was drawn as tight as a bowstring, waiting for my answer.

"Yes," I said.

That was all I said. She froze, probably not expecting me to be so blunt.

"Y-you knew?" Her voice shot up. "You knew from the very beginning?"

"Ever since I was six," I said, "16 different stores have moved into that unit. The longest one lasted 11 months."

With every word I said, her face turned a shade paler.

"The shortest lasted two months. On average, they lasted less than seven."

Her lips were shaking.

"W-why didn't you tell me?" Her voice had changed completely. "Kara! Why didn't you tell me?"

She jumped up from the couch, knocking over her glass and spilling water all over the table. Mia took a step toward us, but I raised a hand to stop her.

"Did you ever ask me?"

"I did ask you! I asked if the space was any good, and you said it was a good location!"

"It is a good location."

"But nothing lasts there!"

"You asked me something else too," I said, looking at her. "You asked if I thought you could make it work, and I said that if you were that creative in high school, running a shop should be a breeze. You couldn't tell what I meant by that?"

The color drained from her face completely. "You were mocking me?"

"I was telling the truth."

"No, you weren't! You were getting back at me!" Tears suddenly poured down her face, and her voice cracked. "You're getting back at me for what happened in high school! You wanted to watch me lose money! You wanted to watch me fall apart!"

She sobbed hard, her face a mess of tears and snot, her whole body shaking.

I watched her. It was exactly like ten years ago. Back then, when she dumped cold water on me and I cried, she stood off to the side laughing and said, "All she ever does is cry. So pathetic."

Now it was her turn to cry.

I took two steps forward and stopped right in front of her.

"Do you think I'm getting back at you?"

"You are!"

"Then tell me what you did to me back in high school."

She opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

"Can't say it? Then I'll say it for you."