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"So," Remi runs her finger down the mug that houses her hot chocolate and leans forward in her seat, "Where do we start?"
I break off a piece of our shared cinnamon roll since she said she wasn't hungry enough to finish a whole one, "Start what?"
She tilts her head and sighs in disappointment at the fact that I have no clue what she's referring to, "Y'know, the reason the whole friend thing happened ..." I arch a brow, playing with the tongue piercing in my mouth, and wait for her to continue. "How can I help you feel better?" I sip my coffee, my eyes remain on her, knowing exactly what's to come. Her eyes widen, "I don't mean like that. I — I mean mentally? Wait, I actually don't know what I meant. Let's pretend I didn't say that."
I've never seen someone so headstrong in her ideals yet so awkward with her words.
"We're friends, Remi. What do friends do?"
She stares at me for a second, her eyes narrowing in thought, "I'm actually not sure."
Oh. Apparently, neither am I.
"Okay," I start, leaning forward as she leans back, "What do you want us to do?"
She bites her bottom lip, drawing my eyes to them but I quickly look away. "We can set boundaries. Friends do that, right?"
"Okay." I agree watching as she gears up to speak.
"No giving me money."
"No promises."
She rolls her eyes, "No bombarding me in my home without knocking or calling my name or something. Especially after we get my locks fixed."
"Okay."
"You come to me when you need me — at a reasonable time."
"And your definition of reasonable is?"
"I'm in bed by ten, tops."
"And if I need you after that?"
"Then I'll be there. Just don't take advantage of it." My eyes watch her hands carefully — her fingers are dainty but her knuckles have scars that I've seen before — like she's hit something until they bled.
Watching her with the gun earlier has just encouraged me to look at other parts of her and wonder what else has seen a fight. She must have noticed me staring because she pulls her hands back and hides them under the table.
"Okay." The word escapes me almost as a whisper. "I'll try to respect that."
She nods, "Better than nothing." A pause. "Anything you'd like to add?"
I shake my head, "Just know that I'm here for you too."
She furrows her brows as if she has no clue what I'm talking about, "What do you mean? I'm fine."
