N knelt in front of Mason and gently said, "Of course."


    "Thank you, Mommy!" Mason chirped.


    For the next week, Mason slept with N and Damon every night. Only after he waspletely sure they weren''t going anywhere did he finally move back to his own


    room.


    As soon as Vrie found out that N and Damon were back, she drove straight to their house.


    The moment she saw N, her eyes turned red, and she rushed over to hug her tightly. "I thought you were nevering back! You didn''t even tell me you just disappeared! Do you even consider me a friend?!"


    N gently patted her back. "I didn''t want you to worry."


    "And that''s why you just left without a word?! You''re a terrible person!" Vrie whined.


    "Okay, okay, I admit it. I''m awful. I''m sorry, alright? Please don''t be mad," N coaxed.


    Vrie scolded her a little more before finally sitting down on the couch. "So now that you''re back, you''re not going back to Meristate, right?"


    N shook her head. "Nope. I have nothing to do with that ce anymore."


    "Good. After you left, I did some digging on the Nixons. Their internal conflicts are insane." Vrie sighed. "With your personality, if you''d stayed there any longer, you might''ve been taken out without even knowing who was behind it."


    N said, "Let''s not talk about that anymore. What about you? How are things with Brandon?"


    Vrie scoffed. "Don''t even mention him. We broke up. I just met a new guy recently. Let me show you a picture."


    She pulled out her phone and showed N a photo of her and a younger man.


    N nced at it and, for some


    reason, felt like he looked oddly


    familiar "Vrie... I don''t know if I''m imagining things, but this guy looks kind of familiar. I don''t think I''ve met him before, though."


    Vrie waved it off. "You''re probably mistaken. I just met him not long ago."


    "Maybe. It just feels like I''ve seen him somewhere before. Never mind, I can''t remember right now. If ites to me, I''ll let you know.


    "But tell me, what happened with Brandon? Why''d you break up?" N asked.


    Vrie''s smile instantly turned cold. "He kept meeting up with this female ''friend.'' Sure, there were always a


    couple of guys with them too, but us


    couldn''t stand how fake she was. He refused to cut ties with her, so I ended it."


    Just thinking about all the times she caught Brandon and Michelle together made her furious all over again.


    But now that she''d dumped him, she wasn''t about to dwell on it.


    There were plenty of men in the world. Lose one, and another would show up soon enough.


    N frowned. "Brandon never struck me as someone who doesn''t know how to set boundaries."


    Vrie rolled her eyes. "Who cares? He''s history now. He''s got nothing to do with me anymore."


    "Fair enough. I support you," N said.


    "Anyway, let''s stop talking about him. I''m more interested in this younger guy I met. I really want to go after him. You have to teach me how to win him over!" Vrie gushed.


    N hesitated. "Uh... I''m not exactly an expert at that."


    "Oh,e on! You must know something! Look at how head over heels Damon is for you! We''re best friends dont hold back! Give me all your secrets. I have a dinner date with him tonight!" Vrie urged.