3: 3

The next morning, Lauren pushed open the door of the rental apartment.

She set a paper bag on the entryway cabinet. "Seven tonight. Don't be late."

I was sorting through my lesson notes and looked up. "For what?"

She tugged at the corner of her mouth, and for once she seemed serious. "I booked us a table at the rooftop restaurant. Seven years together, and ten years since the three of us met. I've got a surprise for you."

Aiden answered in the group chat within a second. "Wow, Lauren, so biased. It's our three-way anniversary and you're only taking Solomon to dinner?"

Right in front of me, Lauren recorded a voice message. "Quit whining. I'll make it up to you next time. Today I need to smooth him over first."

I heard that "smooth him over," and my fingers stilled at the edge of the page.

At seven, I put on the black suit she liked best and sat in the restaurant, watching the waiter bring out the two steaks I'd reserved ahead.

Seven-thirty, my phone rang, Lauren's voice coming through with wind behind it. "Solomon, I'm so sorry. Aiden made a bet with the guys from the club and went to that abandoned factory, and now he's taken a fall and his legs are shaking, he's terrified. I have to go get him."

I held my knife and fork, my voice low. "Lauren. Do you remember what day today is?"

She paused, then quickly turned impatient. "Of course I remember. But Aiden's in danger right now. A person's life or a meal, which one matters more? Can you not pick a fight over this at a time like this?"

I looked at the steak going cold. "And your surprise?"

Like she'd just been reminded of it, her tone went careless. "I'll make it up to you later. I've got the gift with me. Aiden's scared out of his mind, so I'll bring it over to calm him down first. It's not like you're the type to compete over things anyway."

After she hung up, the lilting violin in the restaurant sounded unbearably shrill.

I had the waiter box up the steak and took it back to feed the stray cats behind the building.

A little after nine, Aiden posted to his feed.

In the photo he was sitting in Lauren's passenger seat, toying with a limited-edition custom silver lighter, captioned: "Somebody was worried I'd been scared half to death, so she gave me the gift meant for some cheapskate to calm my nerves instead. Winning so hard."

I'd seen that lighter before. Last month, when I caught Lauren working on the design sketch, she'd smiled and said it was for me, that she'd have my initials engraved on the back.

Now, in the enlarged photo, three letters showed faintly.

QAY.

So this gift had been custom-made for Aiden from the very start.

In the group chat, Aiden sent a voice message, laughter in the background. "Solomon, let's throw a housewarming party at the new place tomorrow night. A new home should have some life in it."

Lauren answered right away. "Sure. Get everyone together, I'll set it up."

Aiden: "The kitchen's all yours, Solomon. Your cooking's the best."

Lauren: "He won't mind."

I looked at those three words, and suddenly remembered seven years ago, when we'd just rented that apartment, and she said we'd never have to eat out again, that with me at home it was enough.

Back then I thought that line was warm.

Only now did I understand. What she wanted wasn't a home. It was someone who'd forever clean up her messes.

I left the group chat, blocked Aiden, and set Lauren's chat to Do Not Disturb.

One day left before I go.

In the small hours, Lauren came back carrying the cold air on her, her hands empty.

She saw the takeout box on the table, as if she'd finally remembered something. "Don't read too much into the lighter thing. Aiden was really shaken, so I let him play with it a while to calm his nerves. I'll have him give it back to you tomorrow."

My voice stayed calm. "No need."

Her hand froze halfway through taking off an earring, and her brow furrowed. "Here we go again, is that it?"

I clicked the latch on my suitcase shut. "Have fun tomorrow night."

Lauren stared at me, like she'd sensed something. She was about to speak when Aiden's call came through.

She glanced at the screen and turned toward the balcony. "Aiden, why aren't you asleep yet?"

4: 4

The next evening, twelve hours before I was set to leave.

The new apartment's living room was already packed with people.

Lauren dropped a bag of apples on the kitchen counter and turned to instruct me. "Cut the fruit small. Aiden doesn't like big chunks."

Then she turned and walked back to the living room.

Streamers hung crooked around the place, and the dark green couch was buried under cigarette smoke and perfume.

Aiden lounged against Lauren in some designer jacket, waving the property deed around while people snapped photos.

Someone stirred the pot on purpose. "Lauren, the deed's got Aiden's name on it, and Aiden's the one taking the master bedroom. So which of you two is actually a couple?"

Lauren glanced toward the kitchen, then took a sip of her drink, smiling. "The deed doesn't mean anything. We're all friends. The bet's just for fun. Solomon isn't the type to get petty about that stuff."

Aiden draped an arm over her shoulder and drawled, "Of course Solomon's easygoing. If he cared about this, fifteen years of friendship would've been for nothing."

The whole group laughed.

I stood in the kitchen, finishing the last slice of apple. The blade touched the rim of the porcelain plate and made a faint sound.

Lauren came in, saw I hadn't carried the plate out, and frowned. "Everyone's waiting out there. Why are you spacing out again?"

I set the knife down. "Carry it yourself."

Her face darkened a little. "Solomon Perry, everyone's here tonight. Don't embarrass me."

I dried my hands. "You're the one who'd be embarrassed?"

She stared at me and lowered her voice. "Aiden likes to have fun, that's just how he is. Why are you butting heads with him? He's been running around all night for this party. Would it kill you to help out a little?"

Before I could say anything, noise came from the other room.

Aiden shouted from the living room, "Lauren, come here, quick, we're betting on the next round. Betting on whether Solomon makes everyone a hangover soup."

She turned back at once. "Coming."

When she looked at me again, her voice had gone cold. "You heard that. Don't ruin the mood."

I gave a small laugh. "Fine."

She thought I'd agreed. She picked up the fruit and walked out, her back quickly swallowed by the light and the laughter.

I untied the apron, folded it, laid it on the counter, and left through the back door.

The alley behind the building was narrow, wind funneling down through the gaps between the walls. I caught a ride back to the rental, and when I pushed the key into the lock, my fingertips went slightly pale from the pressure.

The place was already empty.

I checked one last time. The closet, the sink, the desk drawers. Everything of mine was gone.

Only that wedding ring was left, sitting on the entryway cabinet.

The inside of the band was engraved with Aiden's initials. Lauren said the shop had just made a mistake. Later she said they'd used it as a bet, to see how long it'd take me to notice.

How funny.

I picked up the ring, went downstairs, and dropped it into the drain by the door.

The metal struck the side of the pipe, one small clink, then nothing.

In the waiting room at the train station, I sat in a corner with my twenty-inch suitcase and opened the smart-home app on my phone.

The target device was the eighty-inch flat-screen in the new apartment's living room.

I set up a screen-cast task, something I'd done plenty of times, and dragged three files into the list.

On my phone screen, the group messages kept popping up one after another.

Lauren was sending a live video of the housewarming party.

In it, Aiden was slumped against her shoulder, laughing himself sick.

"Lauren, I'm sleeping in the master bedroom tonight! I bet Solomon won't even be mad tomorrow. He'll come running over like a good boy to tidy up and wash our sheets!"

The camera swung, and Lauren laughed.

"Sure. Solomon always puts the group first. It's just a joke between friends. He'll be over it by tomorrow."

The party in the video rolled on.

I pressed the button to confirm the screen-cast.

Then I powered off, took out the SIM card, snapped it in two, and dropped it in the trash.

Lauren. Aiden. I hope you enjoy your little betting game tonight.