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of days. Give it some time. I’m sure you two will work things out.”
    I ate another spoonful of ice cream before looking back at her. I didn’t think that time could fix this. “Are you staying here long?”
    “Why?” Kennedy asked.
    “I need to go see my therapist. I feel like I’m going to lose it soon.” The need to not feel was crawling under my skin. The sooner I spoke with my doctor, the better.
    “Go, love. I’ll have breakfast with Gus and we’ll catch up later.”
    I rose from the couch, leaving my imprint on the cushions. I showered, made an emergency appointment with Doctor Alina, and devoured more ice cream before I headed out the front door. To my surprise, Thomas was waiting with the town car.
    “Good morning, Ms. Wolf.” He pulled the back passenger door opened.
    I hesitated briefly before I climbed in. Though it was dumb to think that Peyton would be back there, a part of me hoped he would be sitting there waiting with an apology.
    As Thomas navigated the Manhattan streets, I chewed on my tongue so I wouldn’t ask him about his boss. When the car stopped in front of Doctor Alina’s office I rubbed my temples and made a mental note. The need to know where Peyton was and what he was doing was causing my stomach to tie in knots. This couldn’t be healthy.

Braelynn
    A Few Weeks Later
    I watched as each car passed us on the highway, tuning out Gus and Jon in the front seat. I let my mind drift to when Peyton and I were in Italy. So in love, happy. But that had all gone to hell.
    Kennedy had insisted on having a small gathering once she and Caleb moved into their new home and we were on our way. It had been four weeks since I moved out of Peyton’s house. I hadn’t seen him in twenty-nine days. Yes, I was counting. There were no missed calls, not a single text message. Nothing. All contact between us had been severed. The only part of that life that remained was Thomas—who insisted he shuttle me to and from work every day. I hated that I got in the car every morning, but a sick and twisted hope lingered inside me. Hope that maybe one day Peyton would be waiting for me in the back seat. He had walked out of my apartment and cut me out of his life. My stubborn pride wouldn’t allow me to call him, but I still held hope he would come back to me.
    My therapy sessions with Doctor Alina had run longer and more frequent in the past few weeks. The urge to feel numb again began to haunt me. The fear of relapse had me calling the therapist in the middle of the night when sleep wouldn’t come. My fitness regiments also changed. If I wasn’t working late in my cubicle at the DA’s office, I was either at CrossFit or Krav Maga, taming my frustration and hurt. It had become my new vice—working out until my muscles screamed in pure exhaustion. Doctor Alina wasn’t thrilled that I had replaced my addiction for Peyton with extreme exercise, but it was better than pain killers.
    “I can’t wait to see Kennedy’s home. The pictures she sent were breathtaking,” Gus said. The GPS stated that our destination was only a quarter mile away. Drifting back to reality, I left my thoughts and joined the conversation in the car.
    Caleb and Kennedy had selected a home in one of the richest neighborhoods of East Hampton. It was a five-bedroom, four-bathroom Colonial-style house. From the pictures she had texted, she appeared to be right on the water, only a few feet away from the ocean. This was anyone’s dream home.
    “I cannot believe you convinced me to come to this party,” I grunted from the back seat.
    Jon slowed the car as he made a right turn into their driveway. “What do you mean this party? It’s Kennedy’s housewarming. We had to come.” Gus twisted in the front seat to look back at me. His chocolate-colored eyes were covered by designer sunglass frames.
    “I could’ve come up yesterday. Helped her prep and taken a tour,” I mumbled, digging into my purse for my lip-gloss and sunglasses. My