Page 40 of The Rhythm of their Souls

Her eyes bulge before she lifts her chin, nodding profusely. “Well, we lucked up with two friends carrying full arms between their legs. GO US!”

My mouth almost falls to the floor. I, on instinct, shove Danielle’s arm, causing her to fumble off the couch onto the living room floor.

“You mother fuck, you!” she yells. I don’t even attempt to hide my face.

Laughter fills my lungs and pours out from deep in the pit of my stomach. Before I can stop her, she reaches up, yanking my arm and causing me to roll onto the floor beside her. Actually, knocking the breath out of me. We both join in together; loud belly laughter echoes through our apartment. Lottie runs over, taking turns licking our faces. How did I get so lucky to have this annoying bitch as my best friend?

Another week has passed, and yes, I hesitated to tell Danielle. Why? Because I knew she would have a trillion questions to drill me with. And I just wanted to soak in it for a little. I may have also enjoyed Theo and I having our own little secrets.

I figured it was best to tell her everything in one sitting. Maybe that was the wrong thing to do, considering she’s my best friend, but she actually handled it better than I expected. And for that, I am fucking thankful.

Last weekend has been heavy on my mind. Theo exceeded my expectations in the bedroom; the experience still blows me away. I hate to bring up Noah because, well, fuck him, but seriously the comparison is the polar opposite. Something changed inside of me that night with Theo. I felt it deep in the vessels of my fragile heart. He showed me what I think to be passion, as bat shit as that may sound.

It wasn’t just a hookup for us. And when it was over, we held each other in silence. And I swear to you, places that were empty inside me bit by bit filled with pieces of him. I could have laid on his chest all night.

Theo called me earlier this week, saying his mom was dying to meet me. As wonderful as that sounded, my stomach dropped to my ass. I became a stuttering mess, and it took him calming me down over the phone and reminding me it wasn’t a big deal. He let me know they had invited us for dinner this weekend, which only increased my anxiety. But I didn’t have it in me to say no. So here I am now, sitting in front of my full-body mirror, letting my mind self-sabotage.

So many racing thoughts storm through my mind. What if they don’t like me? Will that end things between Theo and me? What if his mom senses my brokenness and refuses to have me around Emma? That would cut me deep. Okay, deep breaths, Olive.

Everything is going to be fine. I breathe in and out, slowly focusing back on my task.

My outfit is simple but classy. I didn’t want to overdress, but I also didn’t want to look like I just crawled out of bed. I want them to see that I can be presentable but also come as me, nothing more. I’m wearing a mauve button blouse with a pair of my favorite faded high-waisted jeans that slightly flare at the bottom. Lastly, I pair it with my white sneakers.

My hair is down, but its natural wave didn’t want to cooperate with me, so I added some loose beach curls to give it more volume. My makeup is subtle; I applied a small amount of mascara and a dab of brown eyeshadow to enhance my eyes. My cheekbones are lightly dusted with a neutral pink blush, and my lips have a slight gloss.

Just as I’m walking out of my room, I hear my phone pinging on the bed. It’s an incoming call from my mom. I haven’t talked to her in a while; the last I heard from her, she sounded belligerent on the phone. It took all of me not to curse at her, but I held back and let her finish her slurred sentence.

Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath, preparing myself for whatever she’s calling for because rarely does she just check in on her youngest daughter.

“Hey, Mom,” I say dully.

“Hey baby, how are you?”

“I’m doing alright, how about you?”

“Oh, well, I’m okay. I tried to call Nora a couple of times, but she’s not answering my calls.”

“What were you calling her for?”

“Well, I-I wanted to check in on her, but also uh… my power is off.”

“How long has your power been off?”

“Just for a few days. Is there anyway you could get it back on for me? I just didn’t have the funds this month.”

“Okay, Mom, yeah, I’ll do that now.”

“Oh honey, thank you so much. I promise it won’t happen again.”

“Sounds good, Mom.”

“I love you, baby. Come see me soon, okay?”

“I will. I love you, too.”

I hang up quickly, letting out a dramatic huff. I swear I can feel steam shooting from the top of my head like a burning teakettle on the stove. I aggressively toss my phone back onto the bed and head for the kitchen.

Danielle is already waiting there with two shots of tequila in her hand. Her lips are pressed into a firm line. She definitely heard the conversation with Mom. She quickly extends her hand out, offering me a shot. Don’t need to ask me twice.