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My mind swirled with ways to handle this, but the only thing I could come up with was the Cody method… don’t engage. I didn’t know exactly what she was raging about this time, and at this point, I didn’t actually care.
I walked past her to the bathroom to finish putting on my makeup.
“How do you think I felt when Bernard told me what’s really going on?” She stood in the bathroom doorway now. I was tempted to call Cody to come rescue me, but I knew if I would ever get a handle on my relationship with Nat, a much better name for her, I had to make my own way through her nasty tirades. “And my parents. Do you really think they’ll ever accept something like this?”
“Did you run out of happy pills, because I liked you much better yesterday when you were a lover. This Natalie isn’t your best look.”
“Do you truly believe that you’re actually going to join the band on the road? Do you think I’d ever allow you do that?”
I counted to ten and slowed my breathing while I applied blush, then eye shadow. “Yesterday, you thought it was a good idea. What happened? Besides that, who joins your brother’s band is none of your business.”
“Of course it’s my business, especially with the way you’re joining their band. It’s just wrong. He’s my brother, and you’re my best friend.”
“We haven’t been best friends since we were seventeen.” I finished dabbing on my makeup, then proceeded to get dressed.
“I thought we rekindled that friendship yesterday.”
“We did, but obviously that was a lie.” I kept telling myself to remain calm and so far, it seemed to be working. I refused to engage, and I could tell it was driving her crazy.
“On your part, certainly not mine. Best friends are supposed to be loyal to each other. To have each other’s back and not go behind said back to have some kind of sick affair with my brother and his two bandmates.”
I was close to erupting, but instead, I pulled up my black jeans, fastened them, and proceeded to step into my boots. “Let me get this straight. You made up with me and gave me all that bullshit about how you loved me so I would regain a sense of loyalty to you and leave your brother alone? Is that it? You tried to get your way by playing me?”
This new calm me seemed to be working much better than the arguing me. I liked this new non-engaging me.
“You’re twisting my words.”
“Am I? Or did I see through your game… all your games?”
“This is not a game. This is betrayal.”
I pulled on my spangly black top, gazed in the mirror one more time, and for once, not only did I like how I looked, but I liked the character of the person who stared back at me.
I shrugged. “I’ve got to go, or I’m going to be late.”
I grabbed my phone, my keys, and my purse and headed for the door.
“We’re not done talking,” Natalie said from behind me.
“Yes, we are,” I told her as I swung open the front door, only to see Cody standing there, getting ready to ring the bell.
“Hey,” I said.
“We’re not doing this,” he said. “You look beautiful, but we’re not doing this. I’m sorry.”
“Sorry for what? What aren’t we doing?”
“My parents… my sister… they’re all… we can’t do this.”
I took a step back. I felt as though he’d just slapped me or worse. All the air floated out of my lungs, and I had trouble taking in my next breath.
“I tried to tell her, Cody, but she wouldn’t listen.” Natalie’s voice sounded exactly like the witch from the Wizard of Oz. I pictured her standing behind me, dressed in black, wearing the pointy hat with those weird birds flying around her.
Nothing seemed real. After everything that had been said, the intense practicing today, and all that happened yesterday, and last night with Gabe and Dustin, Cody’s words weren’t making sense.
“What are you saying, exactly?” I asked him, hoping that whatever shit he was here to tell me, he’d change his mind and not let anyone influence him.
“It’s not going to work out. You, the band, us, the guys. We’re all packed up, and the rest of the band will join us tomorrow once they can get all the equipment broken down.”
