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LOS ANGELES, 1995

Her hands were shaking as she searched her gym bag. “Where is it… Where the ***** is it?!” Clothes flew out of the bag and across the room. In her frantic rush, she almost missed the sound of glass breaking. Turning around, she spotted the small vial she was looking for. She had accidentally tossed it with a pair of mesh shorts. White powder had spilled out into a circle around the vial. She stood and made a mad dash for it, but she tripped on her shoes and hit the ground so hard that she blacked out for a moment. After regaining at least partial consciousness, she lifted her head and crawled the rest of the way to the vial. Pulling a straw from her pocket, she placed the end at the white powder and snorted. Several minutes later, her hands stopped trembling and her vision cleared. She fell into bed just as the latest in a string of foster mothers burst into the room screaming, “Shane, you worthless piece of *****! Get out of bed and get out of my house! You stole money from me!”

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“Dana, honey, may I borrow some money to buy groceries? Your pantry is absolutely embarrassing! I’m surprised that you don’t just starve to death!”

Alice let out a breath, not even bothering to give Dana the usual exasperated look as she retook her seat at the table. Instead, she quietly fumed and sipped her coffee while listening to the sickening sounds of Dana giving Tanya more money than Tanya would spend in a month on groceries. As soon as Little Miss Hospitality was out the door to “buy groceries”, Alice leaned forward to Dana and asked, “So have you talked to Lara lately?”

Dana, whose attention had been on the spot where Tanya had disappeared, suddenly looked up. “What? Lara? Why would I have talked to Lara lately? Why, have you heard from her?”

“No, no…” Alice grinned knowingly. “I was just wondering.”

Silence followed. Frowning, Dana stared into her coffee cop for a minute or two before changing the subject: “So… Shane is sleeping Cherie Jaffe?”

“Looks like it,” muttered Alice with a shake of her head. “I should’ve seen this coming.” She placed a hand to her head. “*****, Dana, what the ***** are we gonna do? I’ve seen this happen before… and don’t tell me you’ve never seen Beverly Hills 90210 or all those movies about what happens when you mix rich ***** with rising star.”

Dana nodded and yawned. “Maybe you’re just overreacting, Alice. Shane can obviously take care of herself.” By her tone, she was completely disinterested in the subject.

Alice’s temper flared. It was usual for Dana to be jealous and slightly bitter towards Shane, but it wasn’t normal for Dana to just not care. “Okay, you know what, Dana? Fine. We’ll just leave Shane to herself and see what the ***** happens. That’s fine with me. You just run along and make sure Tanya is happy.” The last part was said quietly, almost challengingly. With that, Alice stood and stalked out of The Planet.

Watching her go, Dana sighed in exasperation. “***** you, Alice,” she whispered, more to herself than anyone else.

————————————————

“Hey, uh… Cherie, this is Shane. I haven’t talked to you in a few days. I… I want to see you. So, um, call me back… uh… Bye.” Shane closed her cell phone and leaned against the window of her pickup. After a minute or two of staring at the sidewalk, Shane opened the door and climbed out. Her sour mood was immediately chased away at the sight of her name printed across the front window of her salon-to-be with a gold circle behind it. A grin crossed her face as she jammed her hands in her pockets. Her name had never looked so beautiful. She almost didn’t hear the car pull up behind her, but when she turned she saw Steve’s balding head. “Hey.”

“Hi,” he greeted as he came to stand next to her. “So what do you think?”

Shane couldn’t help but feel a little giddy as she took in the sign once more. A giggle escaped her as she replied, “I think it’s awesome. I love it!” She made a speechless little hand gesture and turned to him. Her smile faded. The look on his face… was not good.

“Then why the ***** did you do it?” Steve Jaffe, the most powerful man this side of Hollywood, removed his glasses.

*****! Shane resisted the urge to back up. Did he find out about Cherie? She gulped and, for a split second, had a vision of Alice saying I told you so. “Steve-”

“Now when you’re in business with someone you gotta learn to keep it in your pants when you’re around their family. Now I already knew my daughter was into girls. That’s not news to me. Maybe she was experimenting, maybe it’s a phase. Bottom line is this…”

Shane didn’t know whether to feel relieved or to start getting worried. If Steve thought she was sleeping with Clea, then what did Cherie think? “Steve, I di-”

“Bottom line is this-if I’m in business with a guy and he goes for my daughter, I say ‘Is he honest? Is he a good man? Will he treat her right?’”

“Steve, I didn’t sleep with your daughter!” Her hands were trembling now.

He tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. “Don’t bullshit me, Shane, ’cause I’m already cutting you a whole shitload of slack here. One thing, I gotta warn you: Cherie’s on the warpath. She’ll calm down for sure but right about now she wants you drawn and quartered. She doesn’t like our kid being *****, you know? No matter how evolved we are, it’s still not an easy…”

Cherie was on the warpath. *****, *****, *****, *****! Pushing past him, Shane went to her truck and climbed in. Within moments she was speeding down the road toward the Jaffes’ neighborhood with no regard for any red light or sign along the way. All she could think about was the trembling feeling in her chest and the horrible feeling of her world falling apart. Like sand through a sieve, everything Shane wanted in her life was falling through her fingers. She floored it through the neighborhood and swerved into the driveway, narrowly avoiding the Jaffe mailbox. Her hand hit the intercom button, “Cherie, will you open the gate?! Listen, I know you’re in there and I’m not leaving until you come outside! Open the gate!” Her voice sounded desperate to her own ears. She looked up as the gate opened and someone walked out… but it wasn’t Cherie.

Shane gripped the steering wheel so hard that her knuckles turned white as Clea got into the truck. The whole ***** family was turning out. She refused to look at the blonde even as she greeted, “Hi. I just wanted to let you know my parents are really mad-”

Carefully repressing her urges to push this girl out of the truck, Shane interrupted, “Clea, get out my car man.” She closed her eyes to stop her vision from spinning.

“Look, I don’t understand. The reality of you and me, I think it’s just freaking them out.”

The teenager’s hopeful tone only enraged Shane even more. Who the ***** did this girl think she was? “Clea, there is no reality of you and me! There never was! I told you that I love someone else!”

“You know what, I have never seen you with this person! Who is this lady-”

“Because it’s complicated!” Shane screamed, hitting the dashboard. Everything was fucked! Her hands ached to hit Clea, to slap that stupid dropout teenage look off of her face, but she resisted with the last amount of resolve left in her. “You will never see her!”

“I love you, okay?! She doesn’t! There’s no way she’s gonna drop everything and be with you, Shane!”

Shane hit the gas. No, Clea. She loves me. She loves me. The words raced through her mind, but she remained silent even as Clea begged and pleaded with her to not go in. Her sight went a little blurry with tears as she climbed out of the truck and wordlessly went into the house. This couldn’t be happening. This couldn’t be happening.

Cherie was busy yelling at someone when Shane walked into the doorway. “Cherie! Cherie!” she called, pawing at her eyes.

“Stay in there until you figure it out!” The Queen of Hollywood slammed a door and turned. She froze upon seeing Shane and her body stiffened. “Get out… Get out.” Her voice wavered. “Get out! I’m taking Clea to Paris and I want you out of here! I never want to see you again!”

Shane moved forward and ignored the stinging slaps landing on her shoulders. She grabbed Cherie by the shoulders and practically screamed into her face, “Listen to me! Listen to me! I did not do anything!” They were both crying now. Shane could barely see through her watery eyes and Cherie sobbed openly, her face scrunched and reddened. “Alright? She’s lying! I swear to God I didn’t do it!” She paused long enough to take a breath and lowered her voice. “I would never do that to you. Do you have any idea how much you mean to me?” She pulled Cherie into a tight embrace, desperately wishing for a way to make everything just go away. “I swear I wouldn’t do it,” she sobbed into Cherie’s shoulder. Everything was all wrong. It wasn’t supposed to be like this.

Then, Cherie pushed her away. Shane looked up just in time to see Clea standing outside the door. The words, “You ***** *****,” barely registered in Shane’s mind because, as Cherie screeched her daughter’s name and ran after her, Shane knew that her world was over. She dragged a hand trough her hair and sniffled, ignoring the sound of curious travel planners peeking out from the next room.

With little else to do, Shane gathered what shred of energy she had left and returned to her truck. She could hear Clea and Cherie slamming doors and screaming in the house. Her hand was shaking so hard that she could barely get the key in the ignition, but a few minutes later she was on the road again-this time at a considerably slower pace. She pulled into the parking lot of her apartment building and slumped in the seat, a hand over her eyes. And she cried.

————————————————

Alice moped in her living room along with a quart-sized carton of Rocky Road ice cream. How dare that Hospitality ***** set anchor here! Ugh, Alice could barely think of the woman without wanting to strangle that ugly grin right off of her face. If Tanya wasn’t here, Dana would care about Shane. Dana hadn’t been the same since Little Miss Priss came home with them. Didn’t the woman have a home somewhere? If she didn’t, then well… Alice liked that idea even more. She drove her spoon into the ice cream in an attempt to release her frustration, but of course that was no use. She looked at her laptop, which was opened to the Chart, and sighed. There was no way she would add Tanya to that thing. Tanya or Dana would have to do it themselves. Alice was ruminating on this thought when the phone rang. She sighed and stared at the damn thing, which was all the way across the room. After three rings she decided that it wasn’t worth getting up for.

The answering machine picked up for her: “Hi Alice, this is Tanya.”

“Oh, great,” muttered the blonde. She put the carton down and sat up.

“…Dana wanted me to call you. It seems her cat died earlier today…”

In a hop, skip, and two steps, Alice snatched up the phone. “Hello?”

“Oh, Alice!” greeted Tanya in an excessively sweet tone. “Dana really wants you over here. It died.”

Ten minutes later, Alice pulled up to the street in front of Dana’s apartment. She practically ran up the steps and nearly broke her finger from pressing the doorbell too hard. Tanya opened the door at a leisurely pace, and the smile on her face was just about as genuine as Britney’s *****. “Where is she?” asked the blonde.

“In her room with it.” Tanya slowly turned and walked to the bedroom, letting Alice close the door behind her. As they walked, Tanya explained: “I came home from the grocery store and found him in the bedroom. Poor thing just keeled over.” She quieted as they neared. Carefully opening the door, Tanya greeted, “Sweetie, Alice is here.”

Alice pushed past her and rushed to Dana’s side. Mr. Piddles was cradled in her lab and the bed was covered in tissue paper. “Hi, Dane… Oh, poor Mr. Piddles.” She knelt next to her sobbing friend and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Okay, okay… I’m so, so sorry.”

In the background, Tanya was muttering about calling people or something, but neither Alice nor Dana listened. Alice softly brushed Dana’s hair. “Okay… I know… We gotta make arrangements, right Dana? I mean… I’ll do anything, a’right? I’ll do anything.” Miss Hospitality left the room and Alice would’ve smiled except for the hurt she felt at seeing Dana like this. She continued to gently stroke Dana’s back as she asked, “Do you know what you want?”

Dana raised her head and choked out the words, “I don’t want him cremated.”

“Okay. Yeah, we’ll bury him. You want him buried? You want me to arrange the burial party?” At the encouraging signs from Dana, Alice felt a little better. “He should have a casket. You know, mahogany maybe? Only the best for Mr. P.” She pulled Dana’s head to her chest. “Shhh, Dana it’s okay. Mr. P wouldn’t want you to be like this.”

“He was a-a-a great cat,” sobbed Dana into Alice’s shirt. “H-h-h-he was m-m-my first cat.”

“You don’t worry about a thing, Dana. Everything’s gonna be alright, okay? Everything’s gonna be just fine.” Alice placed a kiss on the top of Dana’s head, catching a whiff of the tennis player’s shampoo. She sighed and held Dana as she cried harder. An unexpected warmth swirled around in her chest and she couldn’t help but allow a small grin. “I’m here for you, Dana.”

In a few minutes Dana calmed down enough to stop sobbing, but she didn’t move away from Alice. The blonde was thinking that Dana was asleep, but before she could check, Tanya barged into the room. Dana bolted upright at the abrupt noise and turned to look at her girlfriend. “Tan-Tan, come here…”

“Sure baby,” replied Tanya, sauntering across the room and helping Tanya to her feet. They kissed briefly. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”

Alice rolled her eyes and moved towards the door. “I’ll take care of everything, Dane,” she called over her shoulder, but Dana was too busy being kissed by Tanya to hear her departure.

Once outside, Alice stomped to her car, plopping inside, and slammed the door. An inexplicable feeling was creeping up from her stomach, its impetus being the mental image of Tanya and Dana kissing. Alice yelled in frustration and hit her steering wheel.

————————————————

Dana felt a whole lot better after kissing Tanya a few times. She looked a her dead cat, which was lying on the floor, and felt the tears welling up again so she turned her eyes to Tanya. “I love you, Tan-Tan.”

“And I love you, sweetie,” replied Tanya with a wide smile. She touched Dana’s hair. “I’m so sorry about Mr. Piddles.”

“I know you are.” Dana managed a tearful smile. “Look, Tanya… I have to ask you something…”

“Well, okay… but could it wait? I’m supposed to make a few phone calls before one o’clock and it’s almost noon…”

“No, no… it can’t wait.” Dana took a deep, ragged breath. She looked up and into Tanya’s eyes, which were staring back at her with an unreadable emotion. With one last deep breath, Dana dropped to one knee. It was now or never. “Tanya…” She pulled a black box from a drawer behind her. “Will you marry me?”

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Shane had heard people say that your world falls apart during the first big breakup of your life. She, however, felt that this was a different story entirely. Her world didn’t just fall apart-it disappeared. Shane had no world. All she had was a one-bedroom apartment with three delusional lesbians and her truck. That was all now. There was no way she could go back to work, even if John didn’t fire her. Oh, God it was all wrong. What the ***** were you thinking, Shane?

“What if he starts rotting?”

Reluctantly pulling from her thoughts, Shane glanced at the dead cat sitting in a casket. “Stick him in the freezer.”

Alice raised her eyebrows. “Good thinking, Shane.” Using a plastic bag for gloves, the blonde picked up Mr. Piddles’ corpse and disappeared into the kitchen for a moment. When she reappeared, she moved to Shane’s side and sat on the counter. “So what’s up with you? Things with Cherie not so good?”

“None of your business, Alice. I’m fine,” snapped Shane. She straightened up and moved away. “Just leave me alone.”

The blonde rolled her eyes and sighed. “Whatever, Shane.”

Dana and Tanya showed up an hour later, just as Alice was finishing up decorating the place and took a very frosty Mr. Piddles out of the freezer. They canoodled and kissed as they looked around, but Alice received little praise for her work. She crossed her arms and watched them from a distance, her chest hot with irritation. Marina, Kit and Ivan, and Bette and Tina arrived a short time later in that order. Alice stuck close to Tina to get her mind off of Dana and her leech. They approached the casket.

“He looks a little strange,” whispered Tina.

“Yeah, I think he hasn’t really thawed out yet,” replied Alice coolly. When Tina looked at her, she explained: “We were afraid he was gonna decompose so Shane and I put him in the freezer.”

Tina turned her attention to the aforementioned hairdresser, who was sitting alone at the bar. “How is Shane? She seems preoccupied.”

Alice paid her friend a quick glance. “Yeah, but I don’t know. She’s not talkin’… but I think it has something to do with her and her Hollywood Wife.”

They took turns offering Dana condolences and then gathered around the buffet table. Bette made a quick, perfect toast and they were about to start drinking to their heart’s content when Dana stepped forward. Alice’s chest constricted. Uh oh. Something important was coming.

“Everybody… I just wanted to say thank you so much for coming and, um… you guys are the best friends anybody could ever have. It’s times like these when you realize what’s important and those are the people who are there for you… the ones who got you through and the ones you can’t live with out and, uh… I’ve also realized how important Tanya is to me. Come here.” She was joined by her hospitality girlfriend. “And, uh… she more than anyone has really helped me get through this really terrible time-”

***** you, Dana. The thought bolted across Alice’s mind on its own accord. She looked into her wine glass.

“-and I just wanted you all to be the first to know… Just show them. Show ‘em.” Tanya stuck her left hand out gleefully. Something glittered on her left ring finger. “Tanya and I are engaged! We’re getting married!”

Alice’s jaw dropped. “No way.”

Beside her, Shane echoed, “*****.”

“I’m just, you know… it’s just a shame that Mr. P can’t be here to share this with us. I’m sure he’d be filled with joy like me!”

Therein followed a long, uncomfortable silence that Dana and Tanya were oblivious to as they shared a kiss. Alice felt sick to her stomach. She put her wine glass down and looked at Shane, whose eyes were wide as saucers. Kit was the first to recover her composure. She made all the polite “oohs” and “aahs” and congratulated the brides-to-be. Pretty soon everyone joined in, echoing Kit and each other like robots. This was not happening. Now she was never going away. Everrrrr.

Alice drank all of her wine, half of Shane’s, and the rest of the bottle before the funeral ended.

————————————————

The only thing that inspired Shane to show up at the opening of Provocations at the CAC was the knowledge that Steve and Cherie would be there. So she’d made a half-hearted attempt to fix her hair, threw on a white shirt and jacket, and walked into that place with every intention of finding her woman. As she passed through the folds of people, Alice slid into place on her left and Tina on her right. Shane took a glass of champagne from a passing waitress and downed it in one gulp.

“So whatcha think?” asked Tina nonchalantly.

“It’s amazing, Teen.” Shane put on the best smile she could manage. “Remind me to give Bette my compliments.” She looked at Alice and one side of her lips curled into a sheepish grin.

Alice returned the expression and an unsaid apology passed between them. The blonde hooked arms with her friend and allowed herself a genuine smile. You cute little baby *****. As angry as she was with Shane for sleeping with the Hollywood Queen Bee and then being rude to her at the funeral… she’d been best buds with Shane for way too long. Besides, there were more important-more confusing-things on her mind.

They sifted through the crowd for a few minutes, occasionally stopping to glance at the various works of art, before running into Dana and Tanya, who were dressed in black suits. Even their hair was the same. Well… Tanya was wearing a skirt and Dana’s suit had strange gray stripes on it, but still…

“Hey guys!” greeted Dana happily. She was clutching Tanya’s hand like she would fall apart if she let go.

“Hey, you’re here!” replied Tina, trying hard not to laugh. She looked them up and down and carefully said, “Wow… you look, um…”

“Alike!” finished Alice innocently. She ignored the spiteful look Tanya gave her.

“No we don’t!” protested Dana with an open mouth. “She’s in a skirt, Al!”

“And… stripes!” chimed in Tanya, effortlessly shifting from her evil glare in Alice’s direction to her usual sugary sweetness.

Shane and Tina, to their credit, simply stared at the two.

Obviously wanting to escape such staring, Tanya looked up and pointed. “You have to meet Melissa Rivers!” She started pulling Dana away. “Melissa, honey, hi!” And with that, they were gone.

“She’s not that bad,” suggested Shane.

“She’s not,” agreed Tina with a shrug.

Alice glared at them. Okay, now she and Shane were back at square one with the whole bitterness thing. Tina was getting there. Not that bad? She put on her best hurt-and-betrayed face while crossing her arms defensively.

“Until you have some concrete evidence, I say drop it,” continued the hairdresser.

“Alright, I think she killed Mr. Piddles,” insisted Alice resentfully. “That’s what!”

“Oh, God,” complained Tina. “Why would she do that?”

“Maybe she doesn’t like the competition!”

Shane, whose expression was somewhere between boredom and frustration, butted in: “It’s because Mr. Piddles was gonna inherit Dana’s fortune and Tanya murdered him so she could be the next in line, right?”

This time, Alice really truly felt the sharp prick of Shane’s hostility. Resisting the urge to grab her friend by the shoulders and scream into her face, “It’s not my fault your Hollywood Wife dumped you,” Alice just stared at her friend.

“Right?” prodded Shane, hands on hips. “Drop it.”

As Shane walked away, Tina moved towards Alice and tossed an arm over her shoulders sympathetically.

“She’s so ***** cranky,” muttered the reporter angrily as she allowed Tina to lead her away. “Tina, come on. Don’t tell me you trust that woman!”

Tina didn’t meet her gaze and, what’s more, dodged the question. “Isn’t this a great turnout? I’m so glad it’s finally here! Bette has been so exhausted lately. I was worried that no one would show up with all the controversy and protestors… but I guess all that inspired more people to come than usual, huh?”

Wordlessly, Alice nodded to Tina’s statements and questions. This version of reality was so fucked up. Shane should’ve been there to crack a few distasteful jokes with her. Dana should’ve been there to be all geeky and adorable while trying to mingle with the art world people. Tina should’ve been glued to Bette’s side. What the ***** was going on?

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That night, after all was said and done, Alice went to her car. Alone. She had seen Shane rush out of the CAC a few hours earlier, mascara rubbed all over her tear-drenched face. Solemnly, she had decided against following her friend. Right now, there was nothing she could do for a broken heart. Tanya and Dana had canoodled out the door at midnight. Tina disappeared around the same time and Alice, not to be outdone, decided to leave an hour later. At least Bette was still there.

Driving down the LA city streets, Alice felt totally and completely lost. She’d been friends with Bette for eight years. Tina for seven, Shane for five, and Dana for two. In that time, she’d seen everything from the death of Bette’s mother to Shane’s twenty-first birthday. Why the ***** were they falling apart so easily? It was like all their years together were just… nothing. Alice used to think that their friendship was fail-safe, but enter a Hollywood Wife and Hospitality ***** and suddenly everything hits the fan. She turned on the radio.

Well as for now I’m gonna
Hear the saddest songs
And sit alone and wonder
How you’re making out
But as for me
I wish that I was anywhere
With anyone
Making out

Perfect. ***** perfect. A love song. Alice changed the station.

I’m not a perfect person
As many things I wish I didn’t do
But I continue learning
I never meant to do those things to you
And so I have to say before I go
That I just want you to know
I’ve found a reason for me
To change who I used to be
A reason to start over new
And the reason is you.

“You’ve got to be ***** kidding me,” muttered the reporter. She switched stations again.

Well in case you failed to notice,
In case you failed to see,
This is my heart bleeding before you,
This is me down on my knees
These foolish games are tearing me apart
You thoughtless words are breaking my heart
You’re breaking my heart

With a shout of frustration, Alice turned off the radio. She never liked music much anyway. And it was just about that time that Alice realized where her car had taken her. Damn car. She sat dumbfounded, staring at Dana’s house and wondering how the ***** she managed to get here without thinking about it. The lights were off so Alice simply parked on the curb in front of the house. What are you doing, Alice? What’s wrong with you?

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Three hours later, these questions remained unanswered. So it was then that Alice’s legs-not Alice-decided it was time to get up. They lifted her up like legs do and, with the help of Alice’s hands, opened the door and hopped out. Slowly, her legs shuffled up the stairs to Dana’s front door. Then, as if saying “It’s all up to you now,” Alice felt her knees turn to jelly with anxiety. She gripped the doorframe and rested her head on the frosty glass door. Her hand rested on the doorbell, but it was a full ten minutes before she gathered up the nerve to press it.

A moment or two passed and then Alice was poised to run away… but a light turned on and a shadow moved across the door. It opened and there was the sleepy face of Dana Fairbanks, professional tennis player.

The blonde ducked her head, not trusting herself to meet Dana’s gaze. “Hi,” she greeted timidly.

For the first time since the Dinah Shore weekend, Dana had a look of concern on her face. She stepped outside and quietly closed the door behind her as she echoed, “Hi…”

“I have to talk,” interrupted Alice without raising her eyes.

“What? What’s going on? It’s four AM…”

“I know.”

“…Are you okay?”

Alice looked up into the face of her friend. This was the Dana she knew and adored-the one who cared about her friends and would answer the door for them no matter what the hour. She looked away as she blurted, “You can’t marry Tanya.”

Dana frowned and her posture straightened. From inside, Tanya called, “Sweetie are you okay? Do you need me?”

“No, no, no, it’s okay,” called Dana, briefly opening the door. She then turned back to Alice. “What are you talking about? Why?”

The reporter recognized the beginnings of anger in her friend’s tone and meekly answered, “Because.” And suddenly the answer burned across her mind as clear as day. Because I love you. But she couldn’t say it yet, and Dana was growing defensive:

“Because why?”

Suddenly three inches tall, Alice raised her eyes and, for the first time in a long time, decided against using words. She moved forward and placed her lips on Dana’s. And in that moment a shitload of tension grew wings and flew off of her shoulders. Encouragingly, Dana didn’t do anything like bite her tongue or pull away. Instead, it was Alice who pulled away as a familiar sense of insecurity settled in. She glued her eyes to the floor and waited for retribution.

But then Dana touched her shoulder and they were kissing again, this time of Dana’s accord. The tennis player’s mouth tasted like toothpaste and Alice briefly wondered if she’d kiss Tanya before going to sleep (in which case Alice would have to brush her teeth several times to get rid of the vapor essence of Tanya), but then she was lost in the fact that she was kissing the one friend she’d promised never to have ***** with. Her arms snaked around Dana’s shoulders and one of Dana’s arms wrapped around her neck. It was the longest ten seconds in Alice’s life and, when it was all over, the only thing she could whisper was: “*****. Oh, God… I gotta go. I gotta go.”

She ran down the stairs to her Mini. Before pulling away from the curb, she spared one glance in the direction of her friend, who was leaning on the doorframe with a bewildered expression. The only thought on her mind the whole way home was: I am so fucked.

————————————————

Meanwhile, Shane stared at what used to be her salon. All that left of her name were the letters S-H-A. According to the sign on the door, Steve Jaffe had decided to rent the place to a rising private clothing store instead. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small vial filled to the brim with white powder. Ever since she was seventeen, her life had been a series of wide circles that always led back to this, this little white vial filled with whatever the ***** she could get her hands on. Casually, she pulled a straw, some aspirin, and a bottle of vodka from her glove compartment. If her world could forsake her like this, then surely she could forsake the world.