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"Hey babe." Holden interrupts, looking between Jade and me. He wraps his arm around my waist and it brings me solace.
I exhale as the tension washes away. "Hey. I was just texting you."
"I figured I'd surprise you." He turns his attention to Jade. "I don't think we've met. I'm Holden."
"Jade." She answers. "Listen Kay, I'm running late but I'll see you later?"
Not trusting my voice, I simply nod. She smiles once more at both Holden and I before walking away. As soon as she's gone, I relax fully.
"Thank you." I whisper as I reach up and kiss his cheek.
He doesn't take his eyes off Jade until she's completely out of view. Once he can no longer see her, he looks down at me, concerned. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah. I mean I guess I was bound to start seeing her sooner or later."
I can see the gears turning in his head, but he doesn't say anything. Instead, he just smiles sadly and starts walking me back to his car. As much as I'm wondering what she wanted, I decide to put her exactly where she belongs – out of sight, out of mind.
THE NEXT TIME I run into my former friend, is the following day when I'm leaving my creative writing class. This time, however, I'm completely alone. I spot her before she notices me, but before I can get away, she calls my name.
"Kayleigh! Wait up!" She shouts, causing me to stop as she jogs over to me.
I take a deep breath to compose myself before turning around. "Hey Jade. What's up?"
She runs her fingers through her hair and looks around quickly. "I was actually wondering if you'd want to go get lunch. Maybe do some catching up?"
"Oh, uh, I don't know. I'm supposed to go meet someone..." I try to think of a quick lie, but my mind doesn't want to cooperate.
"Please? You used to be my best friend, and I miss you. I just want to see how you've been."
As much as I want to say no, the thought of how close we were last year makes me sad. If it wasn't for the drugs, we would probably still be good friends. I take out my phone to send a quick text to Holden.
Me: Going to lunch with Jade.
Don't worry, I'll be okay.
I love you.
"Sure, why not. Let's go."
She grins happily, and grabs my arm as we start to walk towards the deli on campus. We don't talk about much on the way there – other than what classes we're taking and how things have been since school started back up. It isn't until we get our food and sit down that the conversation turns more serious.
"So, what happened to you last summer? You basically fell off the face of the earth."
I move my salad around with my fork, not really having much of an appetite. "Yeah, um, I went to rehab."
Her jaw drops and her sandwich falls onto the plate. "Seriously?!"
Nodding, I try my best to avoid eye contact with her. "Holden found out and told my parents. I spent 8 weeks in a facility back home."
"That's crazy! So, you're clean now?"
"Yeah. Have been for a little over 5 months now."
Her eyes widen for a moment, but she coughs and changes her expression. "That's great, Kay. I'm clean too, but I didn't go to rehab or anything."
"You quit on your own?"
"Mhm. I guess I just got bored of it."
