AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’m serious,” he says. “My family liked you—"Not by the end they didn't. I keep quiet as he goes on. "They didn’t care for her at all. And she always got frustrated when she couldn’t get her eyeliner to look like yours.”
“That second reason is solid.”
“I know you’re being sarcastic, but I really did wake up to her crying once because she had to leave for work and ‘Autumn said it only takes her five minutes.’” I notice his face drop as soon as the words are out.
It’s obvious he feels guilty talking poorly about her, despite it being the truth. I know exactly what it’s like to have respect for someone that has none for you. I also know that it can feel really good to let go of it for a few seconds and say how you really feel.
I like that I’m the person he’s letting go in front of. He has to know thatI get it.I can’t count the times I blurted out an insultabout his brother, just for him to laugh with me about it instead of taking his side.
What a full circle this feels like.
7
Autumn
I’m feeling on top of the world after dinner. There’s something so refreshing about opening up to someone outside of the usual people in my circle. My friends are just as invested in my life as I am in theirs, but they’ve experienced things with measI go through them. I wouldn’t trade them for the world, but it’s not the same as updating someone with fresh eyes. Someone with an outside perspective. They’re interested in a different way.
I refuse to let myself consider that I’m excited because I might possibly be swooning a bit.
Nope.
No, he’s just a shiny new friend. He’ll feel like one of the girls in no time.
I’m so lost in my thoughts that I almost jump out of my skin when I notice Reya is leaning against my front door. Her face is red and she looks flustered. I realize in that moment that I haven’t checked my phone since I walked in the restaurant over a couple hours ago. We sat there talking for so much longer thanI expected to, but by the time we switched to drinking water, we had to wait before driving home. Neither of us cared at all, the conversation flowing so easily.
“Where have you been?” Reya’s voice is raspy, like she’s been crying or yelling. I wrap her in a hug without hesitation.
“I went to dinner,” I mumble into her hair. I hope she can hear me, muffled as I am. “What's going on?”
She pulls away, and based on her expression, I think it’s because she’ll burst into tears if we stand here a few more seconds. As soon as the door is unlocked, I rush in and scoop Elaine into my arms before she can dart past us. She’s always waiting right by the door, hoping for her chance. I’ve honestly lost count of how many times I’ve had to chase her down. Once the door is shut, I kiss the top of her head and let her continue on her way. Probably to scratch at said door like a puppy who’s eager for a walk.
Reya pulls her coat off, mindlessly dropping it on the floor. I have to hold back the urge to say anything, because there’s a coat closetrightbehind her. She knows this, but now is not the time for me to worry about it.
“I really suck at relationships,” she says.
Then my friend starts sobbing.
We sit on the couch and I wrap her in my arms without saying a word. This isn’t a normal occurrence, she doesn’t cry in front of me often. Even after years of dealing with her ex-husband and separately raising their daughter, she’s always held it together. She acted like it was a blessing she got to do so.
I wouldn’t have been so strong in her situation. Being away from her daughter half the time, not being able to controlhalfof her life. It would drive me crazy with worry, especially if the father of my child was hers.
Caleb never really learned how to grow up, or communicate, or compromise.
I don’t pry, because I know she’ll talk when she’s ready. I just hold her, and gently run my fingers through her bright pink pixie cut.
A few minutes pass before her tears dry up and she pulls away from me. When I see how red her face is, and how her eyes still glisten under damp eyelashes, I want to pull her right back. Reya deserves the world, and it breaks my heart that she doesn’t have it.
“I’m sorry, love. I guess I’ve been keeping that in for a while.”
“If you think about all the times I’ve cried on you, I’d say this was way overdue.”
That makes her laugh, thankfully. I jump up and grab a couple of sodas out of the fridge, still being patient as ever. She drinks Pepsi like it’s water so I usually have some on hand. She takes the can so eagerly, you’d think she was dying if she didn’t.
“I broke up with Olivia.”
I inhale a harsh breath. That wasn’t what I expected her to say.
“I thought things were going well. I thought you liked her.”
