Lucky Paige

Paige

Beth sat in the backseat of Tom’s car, sniffling and fiddling with the receipt I’d given her with my number on it. She’d asked to be taken to her mother’s house, and the pressure in my lungs had finally released. Laying out Steve felt great, but only leaving Beth with my number hadn’t felt like nearly enough. This was much, much better.

“Mom warned me, you know,” Beth said. “She said Steve was trouble, that he was the exact same kind of guy as her third husband, who ended up in prison. But I didn’t li-i-sten!” Beth dissolved into tears.

I reached back and patted her knee. I’d never really known what to do with tears, but I knew the feeling that everything bad that happened to you was your fault.

“You’re listening now,” I said.

Beth sucked in a deep breath. “Am I? Steve’s the only guy who’s ever gonna love me. I’m damaged goods now.”

“No,” I said with surprising vehemence. “Steve was a fucking liar.”

Beth shook her head. “He was the only one who told me how annoying my laugh was,