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Around us, everyone stands. I say goodbye, breaking my gaze.
Penny is warning Hazel about her fear of roosters and how if we see one on the field trip, she may piss in her pants—her words, not mine.
“Julian.” The voice is beside me, she’s so close, her scent of sweet candy lingers around us.
“Yes, nice to meet you… uh?” I extend my hand as a polite gesture, hoping she introduces herself.
“What’s wrong, Batman? Cat got your tongue?”
“Okay, you got me there. You look familiar, but hey, my mind could be playing tricks on me. No point hiding the obvious in this group.”
“It’s like one big fucked-up family in here,” she states.
“Yeah, but it kinda makes me feel normal.” I wait eagerly, and after only a few moments, she extends her hand and shakes mine.
“Adriana,” she says.
“Nice to meet you, Adria—” I cut myself off mid-sentence. “Adriana Edwards?”
“Was, now Evans,” she corrects me.
I pull my hand away abruptly, the weight of her identity throwing me into a panic. I mumble something about having to go somewhere before leaving the room in a rush, and I mean a Roadrunner-on-steroids kind of rush back home.
Adriana Evans.
Charlie’s best friend.
Lex’s sister.
Mystery girl is finally revealed.
Standing in front of my building, I look up into the sky, attempting to communicate with the universe. Are you fucking kidding me? What the fuck are you trying to do? The purpose of this group is to forget and move on, but no, you throw someone else into the mix to test me beyond my capability. So, she’s off-limits, not that I’m looking for my soul mate at this meeting.
Just stay away from her. You can do this.
I’m so fucking screwed any way I turn. I need to let off steam, something to distract me from this bullshit excuse of a life I’m dealt.
Taking out my cell, I dial her number.
“Hey, doll, booty call?” she teases.
“Bingo call?” I answer, defeated.
“Oh, sweetie, that bad? Be there in ten.”
I hang up and walk down the road to the bingo hall, hoping Penny will kick my ass and make me forget about my encounter with Adriana Evans.
The last meeting sent a huge curveball up my ass, bouncing every which way. Okay, seriously, too much hanging out with Penny and her ass talk.
Since I wasn’t paying attention in the last meeting, I have no idea why on earth we’re going on a field trip. Hazel feels that each one of us needs to focus our negative energy into positivity and helping others. Fine, I get that. I just have no idea how I’ll face Adriana, and I am perturbed by going backward in this healing process. How can I open up my feelings talking about her best friend? Not to mention how I tried to screw her brother over several times.
Yep, fucking backward, all right.
The last time I sat on a bus was in high school, and fifteen years later, nothing has changed. Still the same uncomfortable seating, my nuts hurting every time we hit a bump in the road, and the saddest part is that I’m thirty-three and riding a bus to go on a field trip.
Even though we have the bus to ourselves, Penny decides to squish in beside me. The entire way, she rambles on and on about how when she was little, a rooster pecked her, leaving an ugly scar that no amount of laser surgery can remove.
“Penny, if you’re afraid of it happening again, why do you wear a short, hot pink dress?” I ask.
