“I know you don’t. But Dana, think about the last couple of months…you’ve done nothing but complain about how unhappy you’ve been with her. Every time she’s not around you’re relaxed and free and at ease. And then, when you’re with her…you’re just so uptight and on edge. The tension is obvious to everyone, Dana. I understand your trepidation about breaking up with her. It’s gonna suck. And you may risk losing her completely. But if you stay in this just for the sake of keeping her in your life, you could end up resenting her to the point where you lose her as a friend anyway. I like Alice, really I do, but she has changed lately. And maybe it’s because of the pills like you say. But Dana, she does have some control over her actions and her words, and she’s just making things unbearable for you. I’m afraid that if you were to stay in this, just to avoid hurting her, you’re just gonna end up hurting yourself and whatever can be salvaged of your friendship.

Dana closed her eyes, wishing this would all just go away. She didn’t want to leave Alice. She knew Alice needed her, especially now with the unhealthy dependency on the pills, and all of these insecurities that had suddenly surfaced. But she wasn’t sure she could take much more of the constant bickering, the jealous fits over her friendship with Lara, and the slow suffocation that Alice was suppressing on her. It was like Alice feared if they didn’t spend every waking moment together that Dana would just leave and never come back. And now it seemed that if Dana did decide to break up with Alice, she would be reaffirming all the fears that had resonated from the writer over the past two months. Hell, maybe these fears of Alice’s weren’t really anything new, but she just managed to push them back and hide them behind a sarcastic response or a snide remark. Dana knew that she herself didn’t exactly define the epitome of openness and communication, but at least she was willing to try. It was like every time she broached the topic of Alice’s anxiety or insecurities regarding Dana leaving her, the writer found a way to make a smart comment and deflect the topic indefinitely.