Page 16 of Rumor Has It

Wren swallowed her nerves. “I wanted to apologize… for earlier. Well, for everything, really. But particularly earlier. You came to check on me, and that was incredibly kind. Then I went and snapped at you. So, I’m sorry for that.” Wren’s right hand fidgeted out of her pocket and made its way to the back of her neck. “As for the last six years.” She exhaled loudly. “I don’t even know where to start, but I’m sorry for them.”

Rebecca’s eyes watered. She stared up at the ceiling and took a deep breath. Wren could see the effort in her shoulders. “I feel like such a jackass,” she whispered. Her cheeks were blushed pink.

Wren smiled softly and shrugged. “It’s okay. It’s in the past, yeah? Thank you for tonight—for coming to check on me. It’s hard getting treated like the woman of the hour when you just want to cry or barf.” She bit her bottom lip. She probably shouldn’t share, not with Rebecca anyway, but here they were. “My dad saw it.”

Rebecca stepped closer, reaching out. She stopped herself before she actually made contact with Wren, though. Wren wasn’t entirely sure if she was happy or sad about that. She could honestly use a hug. “Did he know? Or did that post out you?”

“Oh, no. He knew. He’s known since I was like fourteen or fifteen. But still, it’s gross. That’s my dad. Hell, that’s the whole world. And I’m clearly naked. Like, I know you can’t see anything, but still. I don’t post shit like that.”

Rebecca’s eyes widened, but she nodded. “Well, that’s good. At least it was just a photo you didn’t want shared.” She smirked. “It was a flattering photo,” she teased. “I bet you earned yourself some new fans tonight.”

“Fuck. I don’t need you teasing me, too,” Wren shot back. She was surprised at the playfulness of her own tone.

Rebecca held her hands up in mock surrender. “Sorry, sorry. I’ll stop.” Her expression sobered suddenly. “I’m sorry, too. For everything. If I had just called or messaged you… well, who knows what would have happened.”

Wren shook her head. “Nah, Rebecca, really. It’s okay. We’ve been on this dramatic trajectory for so long. What if we just kind of turned it around?” Wren thought for a second. All of their drama had come from misunderstanding, lack of trust, and a clear issue with communication. Wren had been working on her communication skills for a while now. There was no reason why she couldn’t put that practice to work. “From here on out, even if I don’t understand your actions, I’m choosing to believe you mean everything as my teammate and my friend… unless you tell me otherwise.”

Rebecca looked completely stunned. Wren watched as Rebecca extended her hand slowly, holding it in between them, waiting for Wren to shake it. “I agree… And I’ll do the same.”

Wren smiled and shook her hand. “Friends?”

Rebecca nodded in agreement. “Friends.”

The last week of their training camp went by in a blur, two-a-days, conditioning, early nights and even earlier mornings. Wren and Rebecca tiptoed through their first week as official friends. They went out of their way to be considerate roommates and any time one of them went out to eat with some of their teammates, they made sure to invite the other. Wren was hesitantly, but intentionally forcing her guard down.

On their last night before flying out, Wren was laying upside down in her bed watching cartoons. Barbara was blowing her phone up, asking Wren if she was going to confront Andy when she got back. Wren chuckled to herself, responding to about every third text Barbara sent. She didn’t actually know what was going to happen between her and Andy when she got back. They had never fought for this long before.

“Did you and Andy make up?” Rebecca asked, looking over the top of her Kindle Fire. She was already tucked in reading.

Wren frowned at the question, but she shook her head and turned her phone to vibrate. “No.” She sighed heavily. “We haven’t made up. It’s Barbara, my stepsister.”

Rebecca blushed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to pry. Your phone just isn’t normally…” Rebecca stopped talking and pointedly turned her attention back to whatever she was reading.

Wren smiled and let out a laugh. “No, no. Finish that thought, Becky,” Wren teased. She still mainly called her Rebecca. She wasn’t sure why, but calling her Becky felt wrong.

Rebecca rested her Kindle on her lap and rolled her eyes. “I just meant, you’re not someone who spends a lot of time on their phone. I guess I just figured if it was blowing up and since we’re going home tomorrow, you and Andy might have smoothed things over.”

Wren’s teasing face immediately sobered. “No, we haven’t made up. She still hasn’t taken that photo down or apologized. And every time we talk, she tries to make me feel bad for ‘ruining her big coming out moment.’”

“That’s kind of shit,” Rebecca said matter of factly.

Wren snorted out a laugh. “You and Barbara are of the same opinion.”

“Was Barbara in your life…” Rebecca blushed an even deeper shade of red and fidgeted with her sheets, refusing to meet Wren’s gaze. She seemingly forced herself to continue, “…all those years ago? I just remember you talking about your dad.”

Wren rolled onto her side so that she was actually facing Rebecca and not lying on her stomach, looking back over her shoulder. Her long dark hair flipped back over her shoulder as she turned. “Nah. My dad started dating her mom, Linda, that year after camp. So, no, Barbara wasn’t in my life yet.”

Rebecca nodded, clearly absorbing this information. “Do you like your stepmom?”

Wren shrugged, but reminded herself that she and Rebecca were going to be friends. Her stepmom had never really been that dramatic. It was pretty safe sharing territory. Wren muted the TV and sat up, getting comfy and cross-legged before really answering. “Linda has been really good to my dad. And she never once tried to, I don't know, get territorial or weird or anything. She’s never tried to, like, be my mom, but she made it clear that she was on my side, too. Like when I go visit, she makes Barbs give me my room back.” Wren huffed out a laugh, but she continued, “she waited until I was moving out to move in, which I appreciated. She also makes really good food.” Wren grinned, thinking about it. “It’s pretty sweet that when I go home for the holidays, my dad and I are eating something more exciting than grilled cheese sandwiches.”

Rebecca laughed at that. “And Barbara?”

Wren grinned. “That kid is the coolest. She’s got her driver’s license now and is convinced that this summer Linda and my dad are going to let her drive the four hours to LA to come see me.”

Rebecca’s eyes widened. “Will they?”

Wren thought about it for a minute. “I mean maybe. The fastest you can go in Los Angeles is about ten miles an hour.” She laughed. “It’s just stressful when people start honking at you and there’s nowhere to go.”