Page 84 of Finding My Forever

When the bell rang releasing us, I stood and hurried out of the class, hoping to escape but Katie was quick.

She looped her arm through mine, trapping me. “Come on.”

I caved and followed her to the nearest restroom, where she managed to make me look almost presentable in under three minutes.

“Your hair is fine for today, but at least now you don’t look like such a zombie.”

Yeah, because I was a monster earlier. She was doing what she thought was best and I couldn’t fault her for that. “Thanks, girl.”

“Of course. I’ll see you at lunch.”

I waved and headed to my next class. It didn’t surprise me that Katie hadn’t asked about my bad night, but it hurt a bit. Sophia had already texted me a few times, checking in.

None of this would have bothered me before my trip. I accepted our friendship for what it was, but now that I had Sophia, it bugged me. I called Katie my best friend, but really, we didn’t have much in common anymore, and we didn’t share things about our lives with each other. Walking through the hall I had the realization that maybe we weren’t really that close. We were shallow, surface friends.

I only let the thought depress me for a moment before pushing it away. Who cared? Come graduation we’d hug, wish each other the best, promise to stay in touch, but fade away. Next year I’d be gone and she’d be cheering.

I would have expected myself to be more upset about the realization, but I wasn’t.

Once I was seated at my desk, I pulled out my phone and sent Sophia a text, letting her know that I told Liam everything. She replied within seconds, so I told her I’d call her and update her on everything after school.

She understood. She actually listened to me. She called me when she needed a break from her siblings and when she had doubts about staying in Arizona for school. I was secretly hoping she wouldn’t. I wanted her to be at NYU with me.

I drifted through the rest of my classes and practice without really noticing what was going on around me. Luckily, I had our cheer routines down well enough now to go through the motions without anyone noticing I wasn’t trying very hard. It was such an automatic process now, which meant no mean comments from Gwen and no guilt trips from Katie.

A few minutes before practice was supposed to end, Katie cut the music and gathered us into a huddle.

“This was a great practice, ladies! We’ve come so far in the past few weeks, and I’m feeling really good about our first competition next month. Are you guys ready?” She began clapping and getting the girls pumped. They cheered and I stood back and smiled. This was her world and she fit it so perfectly. I felt bad about how I distanced myself from her lately, but it was life. We were very different. That didn’t mean I needed to check out from her life now though.

I smiled at her and clapped. “We’ve got this!”

The other girls cheered and we broke apart.

“Same time tomorrow!” Katie called out as everyone walked to their bags and dispersed.

“April!” I turned from my own bag and watched her run to me. “Thanks for that. Sometimes I feel like I’m talking to a wall, so when someone else jumps in it helps.”

Guilt swept over me. That was what I normally did. Every other year I’d been just as enthusiastic as she was.

“Of course. I’ll do it more often.”

Her smile never wavered. “Thanks. Are you heading to work?”

“Yeah. We’re still short-staffed.”

“Okay. If you get off early, Kevin and I will be at the mall with some people.”

“Sounds good. I’ll let you know if I can make it.”

She beamed and bounced on her feet before turning and talking to some of the other girls.

I checked the time and considered taking a shower, but Mom would probably prefer that I get in early rather than me smelling good.

Once I was in my car, I called Sophia.

“Hey! I’ve been dying since your text. What happened?”

“Well, I told him about the necklace.”