She doesn’t wait for me to respond before she’s already climbing up the stairs out of the basement.
CHAPTER 24
WREN
Iknow that running out of the basement was a bad idea but I can’t tell Miles about Austin right now. I haven’t told anyone about Austin yet. He said it himself that I stress him out when I’m stressed, so me leaving that night was the best thing to do. For the both of us. I even managed to get in a few hours of practice before the school rink closed. Still, I basically dragged myself to the rink this morning so I could get in a few hours of practice.
I’ve been avoiding my mom like a fucking disease but I can’t deal with seeing her right now. As much as I love my sister, I hate that she’s put this kind of pressure on me, especially right before I have my show. I know my mom is hard to please but I’m sure she would come around if Austin could just own up and tell her. Having a baby is such a huge thing, I’m confident that my mom could find it somewhere in her black heart to accept it. Instead, I’m greeted with four feet of flowers every time I walk into my apartment as some sick way of my mom showing that she still cares that I exist without actually trying to speak to me.
I make my way back home after a long day at the rink, ready to avoid the girls and take a long bath before snuggling in my bed with a paperback in my hands. Most nights, Scarlett and Kennedy watch a movie like we used to before I had the weight of the world on my back. But now, I’m so used to walking past them, mumbling a ‘good night’ that I don’t even realise that they’ve spoken to me.
“What?” I say in the near darkness, tugging my duffel bag higher up my shoulder. I step closer into the living room, looking at their makeshift fort that they’ve huddled in. They both pop their heads out of the fort, pulling the blanket around them.
“We’re going out tonight and you’re coming with us,” Scarlett demands.
“I want to stay home. I’m exhausted,” I say.
“You’re always exhausted. A night out will wake you up,” Kennedy adds with a shimmy.
“The showcase is in less than three weeks,” I say, sighing. As much as their friendship means the absolute world to me, sometimes I just want to be alone, needing to find a way to figure out how the hell I’m going to figure out the situation with Austin.
"No, Wren. You're going to speak to us because that's what friends are for. You’re not going to shut us out because you’re stressed. Let your stress becomeourstress,” Kennedy relays.
“You guys really don’t want to know what’s been going on,” I whisper, everything that has happened in the last few weeks coming rushing back to me.
“Try us,” Scarlett challenges.
*
"What the fuck? Are you serious?" Scarlett exclaims once I’ve finished explaining everything to them. Everything from the Drive-In, to kissing Miles, to finding out about Austin to whatever the hell it was at Sophia’s house. It feels good to vent even though most of what I’m saying doesn’t make much sense to me anymore.
We’re at a secluded bar that Scarlett managed to get us into because of her family’s access to getting away with drinking without getting asked for ID. I don’t usually drink but being around these two, I feel safe enough and hell, I’m going to need it.
“Unfortunately, I’m being very serious,” I say, sipping more of my cocktail.
“No wonder you’ve been so distant,” Kennedy says quietly, shaking her head. “Does she really just expect you to tell your mom for her?” I nod. “Jesus. If Mia ever asked me to do something like that, I’d tell her to suck it up and do it herself.”
“I tried but she cut me off and isn’t answering any of my calls,” I admit, feeling helpless
“So what are you going to do?” Scarlett asks.
“I don’t know. I’m going to wait it out and see if she’ll tell her herself. I just know that this whole thing is going to come crashing down on me, no matter who tells her.”
As if they both planned it, they both trap me in a hug from both sides and I melt into them. We have always done group hugs like this; the person who needs it the most is almost suffocating in the middle with the others acting as the anchor, keeping us together. When we pull apart, I can still feel them around me, making anywhere become a home with them in my arms.
“Tell you what you need, Wrenny?” Scarlett asks.
“For you to stop calling me that nickname?” I ask hopefully.
“Shots!” she shouts.
And we do.
We drink so fucking much.
I don’t think I’ve ever consumed this much alcohol in my life but it’s making me feel alive. As if all my problems can be dealt with tomorrow and all that matters is being in this moment with my friends. My friends that are screaming Taylor Swift lyrics at the top of their lungs. I try to make a mental note to apologise to the bar staff who have had to put up with our atrocious singing for the last two hours.
“I love you guys so fucking much,” I scream when‘Blank Space’finishes. They pull me into a tight hug again, their microphones jabbing into my stomach. “Like, so, so, much.”
