[ The scent of his vape pen gradually drifts over. It's nothing like she remembered--maybe lacking a certain something, or a different flavor of some kind--but it's still comforting. It just draws her back into the past, thinking of how they'd shared it. Bonded with it.

Again, laughter. It'd be nice to do that again. To be high. To care so much less. ]

Mega says a lot of things.

[ Monika polishes off the coffee, tossing the cup over her shoulder with no care where it lands. Those words along with taking time to swallow everything down buys her more time to digest everything TB's said. Essentially, he's on the same page. With their connection, they were inevitable. Destined.

Adam and Eve.

Blowing out a sigh, she crosses her legs, tugging at one thigh-high sock. The air had been pretty nippy lately, forcing her to drag those back out after a long time. It only felt colder now. ]

I'm lucky. I've got spouses.

[ Even more laughter, this time sounding unhinged. Really living up to her typical nature, isn't she? Even if it was forced. She just couldn't seem to quit being horrible. She shakes her head, gritting her teeth at the way her throat is tightening. There was always something. Always. ]

I need to divorce them. I keep telling myself that. [ She buries her head in her hands. ] But I keep clinging to those poor excuses for relationships. At least I can kind of get a hint of how things felt with you. Imagining I'm somehow your wife, and everything's okay, and I wasn't so stupid...

[ No. No. She breathes out hard, sits up, and gets herself together. No more breakdowns. She was strong. She was fine.

The look she turns his way is serious. A bit hard. ]

Look. You obviously know I'm involved with multiple people. I know you are, too. [ Her eyes flicker away for a split second, shades of her old jealousy showing. ] What are we supposed to do about it?

[ Because she knows that's not an answer she should try to seek on her own. Not again. ]