âCharlie and I donât like each other like that, Rip. He was just... safe, yâknow? The only guy I knew that wasnât forcing me to... But no, itâs not weird,â she shook her head, reassuring her friend.
She meant every word of it. Charlie was her friend, nothing more. They werenât compatible like that, especially with his current habits. In a lot of ways, Seph weighed him down. It had only ever been friendship on the cards for the two of them â and Persephone had always been lucky to receive even that â but she had always wondered if there was something more between her two friends.
 âBesides, you wanted to... Right? When you first met?âÂ
She remembered Ripley recounting the fact that sheâd gone home with Charlie, only to run out on him soon after. Sephy didnât think it was anything to be ashamed of, and she doubted Charlie had judged her for it either. He was a gentleman at heart, and his fondness for Ripley was plain to see. She supposed she shouldnât have been surprised that the two of them had been sharing secrets, confiding in each other while Persephone wasnât around. She hated that it smarted, though. Ripley had every right to share whatever she wanted with whomever she wanted.Â
Persephone was much happier and healthier now than she had been when Ripley had first known her, but that didnât stop the doubt from creeping in. No amount of security made you fully immune to your own mind. It didnât matter how many years had past, or how much rehab and therapy sheâd endured. Thereâd always be that voice in the back of her mind whispering Itâs happening again. Theyâre replacing you.Â
Ripley hadnât had any say in leaving Sephy behind. Sheâd been young and just as trapped as her best friend, but sheâd been abandoned and forgotten by plenty of others in her stead. People sheâd claimed were friends or mentors that had looked down on her as nothing but a plague, costars and superiors that sheâd trusted to take care of her and have her back only for them to turn a blind eye to the abuse sheâd faced. Sephy knew Ripley wasnât anything like that, nor Charlie for that matter, their every step paved with good intentions, but her mind was clouded with uncertainty. Charlie was brighter and easier to get along with than she was â he was fun on a night out, not hiding in a corner somewhere sipping on a glass of coke and squirming under the sharp spotlights of the club. Ripley was prettier than she was, with a gentler soul and a kinder heart. Why wouldnât they be better suited as friends?Â
âItâs not stupid, Rip. Thatâs amazing,â she nodded encouragingly, shoving her own concerns to the back of her mind. She eyed her best friend curiously, wondering if sheâd ever want to share any of her findings with her. Ripleyâs father had been just about the only person in the industry that Persephone could guarantee made her feel safe, and it made her happy to know that Rip might want to look further into the work heâd left behind. It deserved to be finish. âHow long have youâ?âÂ
She trailed off, not wanting to finish that sentence. Sheâd been about to ask âhow long have you had them?â before deciding against it. It was a selfish probe that wouldâve only worked to make her feel worse in the long run. It didnât matter how long she'd had them, nor how long Charlie had known. What mattered was that Sephy support her friend and be there for her.Â
âI think heâd be really proud of you, actually? I know I am.âÂ
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