“Another one?” I’d kept my voice neutral, cracking eggs into the pan with more force than necessary. “That’s the third crisis this month.”

“Her ex is stalking her. She’s scared, Hannah.”

Marcus, the supposed ex-boyfriend, had reportedly been stalking Charlotte for six months. Strange how the “stalking” only ever looked to occur on Thursday afternoons, precisely during Tyler’s longest lunch break. Strange how it never quite grew to the point of actually involving the police. I had learned, however, that defending Charlotte was Tyler’s new religion, and I was a non-believer. Instead, I just reminded him about my dinner.

His response was a dagger of predictability. “I’ll try to make it, but if Charlotte needs me…”