AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My hands grip his shirt, holding on tight as if it’s a life preserver that I never want to let go of. The tears continue to flow, and Eric holds on to me until they run dry. When I finally calm down, I’m so emotionally spent that fatigue renders me weak.
Eric stays with me late into the night. Force-feeding me pizza and distracting me with different topics of conversation. One of those topics was prom, which he spent a good hour begging me to go with him.
Prom is absolutely the last thing on my mind right now, and the only reason I finally caved and said yes was that he threatened to get Lyndsey and Cadence involved. If those two got involved, they would drag me out kicking and screaming in my pajamas if they had to. I figured I may as well just give in right there and then. After that, he finally let me fall asleep, wrapped in the comfort of his brotherly embrace.
* * *
I officially hate birds.I hate them.
Once upon a time, I enjoyed listening to their merry tunes from outside my bedroom window, but with the foul mood I am in this morning, I would love nothing more than to tape their goddamn beaks shut.
Along with my hatred comes jealousy toward the pesky little feathered fiends perched on that tree outside. They have no idea how lucky they are that the only thing they have to worry about in life is food, shelter, and the occasional fuck to create more happy little singing birds. If another bird pisses them off, they can just fly away, never to return. Stupid birds. It’s a simple life that I wish I had. I would love to have that freedom right now.
I have no idea what day it is.
Maybe it’s Wednesday?
I haven’t turned my phone back on, and I haven’t gone back to school. My room has become my sanctuary, and I have gladly taken on the role of a hermit. The only time I have left is to check on my mother, who looks just like I feel. My father’s threat of divorce has hit her hard, and she spends most of her day locked up in her room like me. Food has become nothing more than an annoying necessity, and so far, the only thing I’ve managed to stomach are a few apples and grapes since Friday.
I think it’s safe to say I’m broken. The last time I felt this low was when I lost Blake, and even my mother has noticed. She mentioned something to me about depression when I was in the kitchen yesterday, but it was a conversation I wasn’t willing to have.
I would never admit it to her, but she is right.
I am depressed. The dark cloud that is constantly looming over my head has become a permanent fixture, and at this point, I couldn’t care less. What difference does it make? It may as well stay.
The sound of muffled voices in the hall catches my attention, and I listen as the sound gradually gets louder. Without warning, my bedroom door swings open, and Lyndsey, Cadence, and Eric come marching in likeThe Three Musketeerson a mission. Chelsea appears soon after, holding a tray of coffee and a bag of bagels in her hand.
“Time to get up!” Lyndsey barks, ripping the blanket off me. “You’re coming to school.”
“No!” I grumble in protest, grabbing my blanket and hiding underneath it.
“Yes, you are,” she insists, ripping it away again. “No more hiding away. No more wallowing in self-pity. You are stronger than this, and I’m not letting you give up now.”
Cadence strolls into my closet and starts rummaging through my clothes while Eric stands next to me with his arms crossed. “It’s time to face the world, baby girl.”
“Go away.” I wave him off and roll over, facing my back to him.
“You have two choices right now,” he continues. “Either you get up and get yourself dressed, or I will do it for you. Now, I know we are close, and yes, I am gay, but I’m sure me seeing you butt-ass naked is a boundary neither of us wants to cross. So what will it be?”
I roll over and pin him with my most lethal of all glares, which he returns with a cocky lift of the brow, challenging me to defy him. Rolling my eyes, I throw my blanket aside and get off my bed in a huff.
“Fine,” I snap and stomp off into the bathroom, slamming the door.
After a long shower, which I wasn’t able to enjoy because my annoying friends kept banging on the door and insisting I hurry up, I finally got dressed and allowed them to drag me out of the house.
Eric force-fed me coffee and bagels on the way to school, and as much as I was internally cursing him the whole time, that hit of caffeine and carbs in my system had my body humming with gratitude.
As soon as we enter the courtyard at school, Nate and Big Boy swarm around me like soldier bees protecting their queen. Big Boy wraps his arm around me and holds me to his side, leading me through the entrance and attempting to shield me from the hushed whispers murmuring through the halls.
Lyndsey has gone into full-on mama bear mode. Anyone caught even trying to sneak a peek in my direction is shot with a look that could melt the hide off a buffalo while Nate barks at them to mind their own fucking business.
Once we reach my locker, they stand around discussing projectDo not let Ava out of your sightlike I’m not even there. With Eric apparently taking the first shift, they head off to their lockers after reassuring me several times that everything will be okay.
I really do love my friends. Any other day I would have been irritated with their overbearing protectiveness, but with vulnerability taking the driver’s seat in my life right now, I’m honestly grateful for their support.
When I open my locker, I find it filled with a bounty of pink flowers, some of them wilted as if they have been in there for days. My heart somersaults in my chest, and I immediately look around the hall for Mason, but he is nowhere to be seen.
“What the hell is this?” Eric barks, taking in the sight of the floral arrangement in my locker with a look of disgust.
