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I wiggle out of Ash’s arms, and he grunts, pulling me closer to him. I smile and softly laugh. I’d stay and live in these arms, but I have to reach the guys somehow, and my bladder is calling too.
Slowly and carefully lifting his arm from around my waist, I grab my pillow and slide it into my place before rolling off the side of the bed and landing on my knees. Ouch, I'm going to feel that later.
I crawl over to the dresser and quietly snatch Ashton’s sweats and the T-shirt that he picked out for me last night, then continue into the bathroom. I shut the door so I don’t wake him. I thought I was in a bad place last night, but he looked three seconds away from alcohol poisoning.
I hope now that we’ve talked, he will slow down on the alcohol. I deal with it enough with my mom.
I slip his clothes on, use the toilet, then wash my hands and face. Slowly opening the door, I tip-toe down to the kitchen—I need coffee and a phone, then I need to try to sneak home. Or maybe I’ll wait for Ash to wake up and give me a ride. My feet are killing me, and I still need shoes.
I can only imagine how many messages my stolen phone has now. The girls took it from me along with my bag and shoes. Once I get the coffee started, I decide to explore since I know no one is home and Ash is sound asleep.
I find a note taped to the refrigerator and laugh.
Found you, Bambi.
Glad you’re safe.
Call us when you wake up.
We want snuggles too.
I smile and leave the kitchen. I guess I don’t need a phone after all. Moving around the giant house, I try to familiarize myself once again. I find myself on the third floor in front of a room I haven't been in for a very long time.
Opening Mia’s door, I get hit with a whiff of her signature smell: Victoria’s Secret’s Love Spell. And nostalgia. My head throbs, and I grip the doorjamb.
“Finally,you’re all mine. Ash is out with the guys, so it’s just us girls. What do you want to do first? We have games, junk food, nail polish… Oh, and I want to play with your hair. How about we do hair first? I love your hair. I wish mine was this long and wavy. I also rented some movies, grab one and pop it in the player,” Mia says, grabbing all the hair stuff.
She loves to do my hair, always has. I put Drumline on because it’s one of our favorites, then plop my butt on her computer chair, and she gets started. Usually, we use this time to talk about boys, but since I’m dating her twin, she doesn't like to hear details, so I just listen to her rant and rave about Marcus, her latest boyfriend, offering her advice when it calls for it.
After about a half hour, she spins me to face the mirror. Wow, she did french braids in a bun-type style with half my hair down and curly. “Wow, Mi, I love it. You’ve always been so good at hair. We should fix our makeup and take some selfies.”
“OMG! Yes, girl. Let's do it. We need to update our Instapage.”
Smiling at her, I jump up, fix my eyeliner, and wait for her. She can take hours doing her face. I'm like fifteen minutes tops unless it's a fancy date with my guy. After an hour, she's ready.
I smile for a few pics for our shared Instapage, then let her have at it. I can only stand so many duck faces. Collapsing on her giant bed, I make myself comfortable and dig into the white cheddar Cheetos she always has here for me.
“Mi, do you want a drink? I’m going to run to the kitchen.”
“No, I'm good, girl. If you see my smelly brother, ignore him and get your butt back here. You are mine tonight.”
Nodding, I skip out of her room and down the stairs to the kitchen. I bend over to grab a soda from the fridge when someone wraps themself around me from behind.
“I’m not supposed to acknowledge you, Ash,” I whisper behind me. Feeling the vibrations of his laugh against my back, he spins me around, plants a quick kiss on my lips, then runs off with his hands up like he’s surrendering.
“You never saw me, Doll, but remember, tomorrow you’re mine,” he says with a wink before disappearing around the corner. Once I have my drink, I head back to Mia’s room. She’s standing in front of the mirror, just staring at her reflection. Noticing me lurking, she sends me a nasty glare.
“I thought you said you wouldn’t acknowledge him? Guess I should have known you couldn't just be mine for a few hours.” Spinning around, she falls back on the bed. Wow, what was that about? Her moods fluctuate so much lately.
I remember now;we had a lot of sleepovers in this room over the years, but less and less once she started going through her mood swings. Not wanting to intrude but also unable to help myself, I enter, then sit on the edge of her bed. It doesn't look like anyone has been in here since that night.
Seeing her cheer bag on the chair, I walk over and search it for her friendship bracelet. We always took them off before practice. She used to say it was way too expensive to get damaged or lost.
I used to think she meant our friendship was what was too expensive, but maybe she actually meant the bracelet. It’s white gold with diamonds in an infinity design with a charm with the letters of our first names. All the random flashbacks and nightmares have me questioning a lot and if I ever really knew my best friend.
Digging around in the bottom of the bag, I don't find the delicate chain, but I do find a crumbled object. It’s a photo. An ultrasound, to be exact. What?
I fall to the floor and look at the tiny outline of a baby. Feeling the wetness on my cheeks, I realize I’ve started to cry.
