Chapter 50

Lyra

She straightened up, wiping a tear from her eye, still giggling like she’d just pulled the world’s most expensive prank. Her laugh had that high-pitched, wheezy chaos to it—the kind of sound that came from the gut, like she was unhinged and delighted and fully prepared to emotionally destroy me before breakfast.

“You should’ve seen your face,” she choked out between gasps. “You looked like you were about to shit yourself and cry at the same time. Like a constipated Disney princess mid-breakdown. I thought you were about to pass out, bitch. Like faint, fall, and land in your own sin.”

I blinked again. Jaw dropped. Soul missing. Pride on life support.

“Haha,” I said stiffly. “Yeah. Right. So funny. Such a good joke. Bestie things. Love that for me. This was a very expensive joke, emotionally, mentally, spiritually… but sure. Let’s laugh about it. Let’s all just ha-ha our way through the gaping hole in my soul. Let’s sprinkle some trauma seasoning on