Bliss Read Free Page B

here.”
    â€œHi, Demi,” said Leandra as she came into view.
    Once her friend, now an enemy. They pretended to be civil, but loathing roiled just under the surface. When Leandra got into Trinity College in Toronto, Demi was thrilled. But then Leandra sold the city hard to Sophia, and lured her away from Demi as if she’d planned it that way all along. If Sophia hadn’t been so brokenhearted about Jesse, maybe she would have stayed in Vancouver. Demi was left behind without a college, a job, or a clue. She thought about moving to Toronto, too, but then she met James and you couldn’t have dragged her out of Vancouver after that.
    â€œDid he dump you?” asked Leandra, that bitch.
    â€œN-no,” Demi’s diaphragm spasmed embarrassingly from sobbing. “I dumped him.” Sort of.
    â€œWhat happened?”
    Demi took a few ragged breaths. Usually, she tried to minimize her problems—she couldn’t stand the idea of Sophia and Leandra talking about what a fuckup she was—but there was no way to sugarcoat this steaming pile of horseshit. She told them everything, stopping occasionally to blow her nose.
    â€œYou hit his penis with raw veal?” Leandra’s nose crinkled in disgusted confusion.
    â€œI don’t think I broke it.”
    â€œThat’s one way to beat his meat,” said Sophia.
    Demi barked a laugh … but then cried again. “This girl, Svetland whore face, she was a younger version of me. Really, James? I’m twenty-one!”
    â€œYou were eighteen when you met him,” said Sophia.
    â€œDid it ever occur to you that James might, how to put this gently, like jailbait?”
    â€œLeandra,” said Sophia. “Not helping.”
    â€œThis is good news, Demi. Now you’re done with him. From what Sophia tells me, he’s a sleazy drunk. What? Don’t deny it now, Sophia.”
    Demi started sobbing again. Sophia had tried to clue her in about James. Their New Year’s Eve fight about him was brutal. It seemed insane now that Demi had thought Sophia was jealous of her glorious pure love with James when she accused him of touching her under the table. Sophia had been right all along. Her parents had been right. Demi should have listened to them. That was the worst part of this whole shit storm. She was so far gone in the lavish lifestyle, her instincts had gotten soft.
    â€œHow did I read James so wrong?” she asked.
    â€œHe was great in bed.” That was Leandra.
    True. “Irrelevant,” said Demi, wishing Leandra would shut up and go away so she could talk to Sophia alone.
    â€œIf a man is amazing in bed, you can rationalize just about anything to keep him there,” espoused Leandra.
    â€œWhere are you now?” asked Sophia.
    â€œAt the office.”
    â€œWhere are you going to sleep tonight? Can you go to your mom’s or dad’s?”
    No way. They’d be smug about the breakup. Her father would immediately push her to move back home and work for him. She’d feel like an infant.
    â€œGo to the airport,” said Sophia. “Come here for a long weekend.”
    Demi shook her head. “I have to work,” she said. Plus, she had to pull herself together, get her stuff out of James’s apartment, and find a new place to live. “I’ll just go home and admit they were right all along. It’ll be like giving my dad an early Christmas present.”
    â€œAre you sure?”
    â€œYeah, it’s fine,” said Demi. Sophia’s concern was starting to irritate her now, too. Did she think she couldn’t take care of herself? On screen, Sophia stared at Demi. A feeling passed through the cyberspace between them. Sophia knew Demi was lying about going home, but by tacit agreement, she wasn’t going to push it.
    â€œOkay,” said Sophia. “I’ll call you later. At your dad’s.”
    â€œCall my cell,” said Demi. “Or