Chapter 17 - Tik Tok
I continue to get the freeze-out from Lauren and Jess all week. After the showdown in the bathroom, I expect something more from them. Anything, even some tiny acknowledgement that this iciness won't last forever. Instead, I get the cold shoulder and indignant hair flips from Lauren. Jess isn't as bad, unsurprisingly. I can tell from the sneak peeks she keeps throwing in my direction that she'd like to approach me. But every time it looks like she might possibly come over, Lauren's right there, pulling her in the other direction.
Not to mention Roy and the douchebrow he throws me any time we're in the same general vicinity. It's particularly bad at the honor society meeting on Tuesday. He sits in the back, slumped in his seat, and alternates between lazily twirling his pen between his fingers and glaring at me. Granted, I'm at the point where I've said everything I need to and I've moved on, but it's slightly off-putting while I'm trying to share the information about the fundraiser we're doing.
So I do the only thing I can: I go about my business. I sit next to Lauren and Jess in English, because how can I explain to Berty that my best friends are being bitches? We aren't exactly there to socialize, even if we normally do. I've never seen Lauren pay such close attention in class, although maybe it's just her working extra hard not to make eye contact with me. Either way, I'm sure Berty appreciates the silence.
Beyond that minor interaction with them, I spend the majority of my time with Emmett and his crew. I know they can all tell that it's bothering me more than I'm letting on, but I've got so many positive things in my life that I'm trying really hard to silence the negative. Hopefully they'll come around soon. In the meantime I'm done trying to talk, only to be shot down.
Emmett, on the other hand, keeps doing ridiculously sweet things that help take away the sting of my friends' rejection.
They also make me want to jump him.
I know that some of his motivation is to compensate for Jess and Lauren's hurtful behavior but the rest is just...him. How he is. He doesn't really need to do anything to make me want him more, because I don't think that there's any possible way that I could. But still, he does little things that mean the world to me. Even though I'm with him nearly all the time, he somehow manages to covertly drop notes in my locker, like we did when we first started talking. He writes out song lyrics or the away schedule for football games with Wanna scream my name louder, Hale? scrawled across the bottom.
Thursday after school, we go to Edward's house to help Alice set up her Etsy site. And by we, I mean Alice, Bella and I sit in front of the computer and do everything while the guys screw around in Edward's room. At one point, Emmett takes my Calc notebook from my bag and starts scribbling away. He refuses to let me see, shielding the paper with one big hand, and tells me I'll have to wait for my "top secret message" until I get home.
"It's porn," Jasper says around the granola bar jammed in his mouth.
"Stick figure porn," Alice adds. Her eyes are glued to the computer as she uploads a picture of me in a wrap-around scarf, so she misses Emmett's middle finger and Jasper's adoring smile.
I find out later, when I flip open my notebook to get started on my homework, that the porn is actually a ridiculous caricature of me and Emmett shaking hands while simultaneously eating cake, an obvious ode to our early days. It's hard to tell because he's a horrible artist, but it looks like we're in Edward's backyard. My laughter brings both Eric and my mom up the stairs to check on me. Eric barks for a good five minutes.
After they leave I take a picture of myself, Emmett's drawing right next to my face, although a little cleavage slips in there, too. Totally accidental, of course. I send the picture to him and add, Very clever, McCarty.
I get his message almost immediately. Sorry, who sent this to me? Rosalie or Rosalie's boobs?
Way to be a pervert, I type back with a laugh. I keep it quiet this time, because the last thing I need is for my mom to come back up the stairs right now.
You love me, he responds.
I grin, curl my toes into my comforter and write back, I do.
xoxo
The rest of the week passes by without incident - or any word from Jess or Lauren. By Saturday, I'm resigned to the fact that I might not hear from them at all. Lauren can hold a grudge like no one's business, and I'm not convinced that Jess will defect. At this point, she's more closely tied to Lauren than she is to me, has more in common with her, not the least of which is that Tyler and Mike are best friends, too. I'm starting to go in a different direction, and I know I made a mistake not telling them that. Friendships have died over much less.
I try not to think about how sad that makes me as I'm driving to the DAR for bingo, but it stays with me. And it pisses me off, too, because I've reached out and they're not reaching back. What does that say about them?
I can only stew in my anger and sadness for so long, though, because Emmett surprises me by showing up on my doorstep later with two bouquets of hydrangeas in hand. He's wearing an adorable smirk and I pull him inside, shutting the door behind us with my foot. We talked earlier, when he dropped Gram off at bingo, but he said he was going to be tied up all afternoon. I wasn't expecting to see him until dinner with Gram tonight.
"I thought you were doing yard work for your neighbors," I say as he hands me one of the bouquets. I weave my fingers through his and reel him in until we're nearly touching.
"Finished early. The rain sort of helped with that." He snakes an arm around my waist, closing the gap between our bodies, and I wrap my arm around his shoulders, holding my bouquet behind his neck. I stretch up as he leans down, our mouths meeting in the middle for a soft, slow kiss.
"And you brought me flowers," I murmur against his lips.
"I did. And not just any flowers; those are McCarty/Connolly flowers," he answers.
"Hmm, never heard of that florist," I tease.
He tilts his head back so he can see my face. "I picked them from the yard. Gram helped me wrap them. Oh, and she asked me to remind you about dinner tonight. I told her that you wouldn't miss it for the world."
"Answering for me?" I ask and he nods, slow and lazy. "I like it when you do."
His lips are just below the lobe of my left ear when he speaks, his breath warm. "Really? Because I get this strange vibe from you that says you're all feminist, no man speaks for me type."
"Well, you're not just any man. I think I can let it slide."
God, he's killing me with his voice and his hands and those lips. I wonder what he'd do if I just wrapped my legs around his hips. Well, I know what he'd do. I'm fairly certain from the look he's giving me that he wouldn't complain, but we're standing in my front foyer so I repress the urge. Instead, we stand pressed together for a few seconds before I remember the other bouquet he's holding against my hip.
Peering down at them, I raise an eyebrow. "And those are for..."
"Your mom. I figured she might like them too," he says, filling in the blank.
Of course. Shaking my head, I chuckle. "Oh, you are good with the moms. She'll eat this right up."
He pulls away from me so he can puff out a breath on his knuckles and polish them against his shirt. "I told you, Rose, I have a rep to protect with the moms."
His impish grin makes me smile, too. "Yeah, well, speaking of moms...she's not home right now. Dad either."
The grin widens, his expression morphing from impish to sexy. "They're not, huh?"
"Nope. Won't be back for hours." I drag out the last word, turning away from him. I cast a coy look over my shoulder, and let it linger as I watch him place the flowers for my mom on the table. When I see that he's a few steps away, I switch tactics, bounding up the steps. "Race you to my room," I call over my shoulder, thinking that somehow, some way, I can possibly beat him there.
He's on my tail in about a half second, though, and gently tackles me at the top of the steps. We lay there, spread out on the carpet, until he flips me over. I stare up at the ceiling, breathless and grinning. He's got me completely pinned.
"That's how it's gonna be, Hale?" I feel his fingers creeping up my sides and I try to squirm away, but I'm barely moving anywhere. The kid is ridiculously strong. "So where's your ticklish spot, anyway? I need to know these things, as your boyfriend. Important information." His fingers dig into my sides, at the curve of my waist. "I'm guessing it's right here."
I bite my lip in an attempt to not even give him the satisfaction of a smile, let alone a giggle, but it doesn't work and soon I'm howling and begging for mercy. I employ all of the tactics I can think of: threats, name calling, yelling for Eric to come save me. He just trots over and looks at us curiously before running back into my parents' room. Damn dog.
Finally I say, "I'll love you forever if you'll stop."
The tickling immediately stops and I open my eyes to find him right there, his face hovering above mine. "Deal." Instead of kissing me, like I think he's going to, he jumps up and grabs my flowers before crossing the threshold of my room. He's doing this ridiculous dance, crossing his hands over his knees before he crooks his finger towards me. "I win! Victory is mine."
I really do jump on him then, wrapping my arms behind his neck and my legs tightly around his waist. And I collect that kiss he was holding out on, along with so much more.
xoxo
"Ah, the lovely Rose," Gram says as she opens the door wide. She threads her arm through mine and pulls me into the living room. "Did I tell you that I had a very dear friend growing up named Rosalie?" She leans in toward me to whisper, "She was nowhere near as lovely as you, though."
Emmett mocks being offended as he trails us into the living room. "Great to see you too, Gram," he says, as we make a show of ignoring him. He holds the box of cannolis we picked up at the bakery over his head so neither of us can reach them. "I guess these cannolis are all mine then."
Gram is undaunted. "Don't worry, Rosalie. I've got snickerdoodles cooling in the kitchen for after dinner and the roast is nearly done. I've had it in the Crock-Pot all day. We can share that, you and I." She attempts a wink at me, before shuffling into the living room and sitting on the couch in the corner. The side table holds her cup of tea and some pill bottles. I notice that she's changed from the clothes she wore at the DAR - a soft periwinkle suit with costume jewelry - into more comfortable home clothes and her slippers.
Emmett groans and rubs his stomach with his free hand. "Oh Gram, you play dirty."
"Where do you think you learned all your tricks?" Gram raises an eyebrow at the cannolis and he slowly lowers the box, putting it on the table. She ruffles his hair when he sits down next to her on the couch, pulling me into the empty spot on the other end. "What did you kids find to do today in this gloomy weather?"
I try not to look at him but I'm sure we're both blushing, thinking about what we did in my very empty house for the past few hours. Not exactly anything we can share with Gram, that's for sure. My mind races and we both blurt out answers simultaneously.
Of course, they're two completely different answers, because we didn't think to discuss this previously.
"The mall -"
"The movies -"
Gram gives us each a hard look and echos, "You went to the mall and the movies and got the cannolis?" They happen to be absolutely nowhere near each other. She presses her lips together. "That must have been a very short movie."
"Uhhhh. Yeah." Emmett's lying skills are horrendous and I'm not much better, staring at the carpet and counting the threads. Besides, I've had enough with secrets for a while, so I choose silence instead.
Gram hums softly, totally not buying it, but she lets the subject drop. Thankfully. "Oh, I was about to take out the garbage from the kitchen when you kids came in. Let me go do that before I forget," Grams says and starts to push back up, off the side of the couch and Emmett's leg.
"Gram, no. It's raining out there. I'll get it," Emmett says, stopping her.
She gives him the stink-eye. "I'm not made out of sugar, Emmie. I won't melt from a little rain," she says and tries to grab his hand but he's too fast for her.
"Oh, I know you're not made of sugar, Gram. Just relax and chat with Ro." He's already started for the kitchen, and I try not to throw him my own stink-eye because I'm afraid our "chat" might lead back to my and Em's movie-mall excursion. I turn to Gram and open my mouth to speak, thinking I can bring up the safe topic of the flowers. But then Emmett pipes up again, his voice floating in from the kitchen. "Gram? There are some blue pills on the counter, just hanging out. Are they supposed to be in your sorter? Do you -"
Her eyes widen and I can tell from her expression that she forgot about them. Of course, he can't see that. "Dear, just bring those in here. I'll take them with my tea."
I look up as Emmett enters the room and I can tell that he's masking his true feelings. The ease of his gait has shifted to something that's not natural, not him, and his dimples are gone. I glance at Gram to see if she notices, too; if she does, she says nothing. Em simply drops the pills in her outstretched hand before dropping a quick kiss on her head. "I'll be right back," he says, gesturing to the trash bag.
While he's outside, I watch as she picks up her tea, the cup and her hand shaking slightly as she raises it to her puckered lips. She swallows the pills with the liquid, and then sets down the cup before looking over at me thoughtfully. "He's a good boy, my Emmie. He's been quite sweet on you for a long time."
I blush, unsure what to say. The Rosalie she knows from the DAR bingo is different than Posie or even the girl who Emmett's fallen in love with. It's hard to explain that. So I settle for, "I've noticed him for a long time also."
She reaches her hand across the couch toward me and I stretch mine to her. "I'm glad the two of you finally found your way to each other." She squeezes harder than I would have thought possible.
I see Emmett through the window, jogging up the path as the rain starts driving down harder. "I'm glad, too."
xoxo
After dinner, I find myself in my favorite place: Emmett's arms. We're in his room under the guise of working on our English assignment for the following day. Instead, he's holding me tight. I can tell something is bothering him; he's been uncharacteristically quiet for too long. I'm about to ask what's going on when he speaks.
"I worry about Gram."
"I know you do. I worry about her, too." I turn my head so I can look into his eyes, darker tonight. I can plainly see the concern there. This is what he needs me for. I want to be needed, want to be here for him and make it better.
"Those pills on the counter..."
"She forgot to take them. I could tell she didn't want you to make a big deal."
He's quiet for a beat. "It is a big deal, especially since it happened a few weeks ago, too."
I nod. We both know it is and I'm certain she does, too. She just doesn't want to make Emmett worry. Too late for that, I think, smoothing away the crease between his eyebrows.
His eyes drift over my face as he brushes a piece of hair that's fallen over my forehead. "She's got a doctor's appointment on Tuesday after school. I'm going to take her, since I don't have practice. I'll be able to talk to the doctor then..." he trails off, sounding almost unsure.
He'll be there for his grandma, but who will be there for him? I'm sure it can't be easy to deal with an ailing grandparent all by himself.
I clear my throat and venture, "I don't think I have anything going on then, if you want me to come with?"
"Yeah, I want you." His response is fast, relieved, but he adds just as quickly, "if you don't mind."
"I don't mind at all," I assure him. "I'm here for you and Gram, Em, whatever you need."
His fingers dance up and down my spine absently as he sighs. "It's just...I love Gram, and it's not like I don't want to do this for her. I do. I want her to be okay. But sometimes it's hard to do all this alone. I feel responsible for her, you know? If anything happens to her, it's on me."
He stops again, and I wish I could get closer somehow, even though we're already completely tangled up in each other. My hand moves along his back, working at his tense muscles, and I feel them melt under my touch, feel his nose against my temple and his breath against my skin.
"It'll be okay. You'll talk to her doctor on Tuesday. I'm sure he's dealt with this before and will have some advice on how to make it easier for you and Gram." I pause, pressing my fingers against his back lightly in what I hope is a reassuring way. "You'll get it all worked out."
"I know." He takes a deep breath, and I feel the corners of his mouth curl up when he presses it to my forehead. I sense he wants to steer us away from the subject when he says, "You're starting to sound like me, Hale."
I laugh into his neck. I've lost count of how many times he's told me the same thing over the last week. I'm sure he's probably lost count, too. But I'm starting to understand this is what you do when you really love someone. He's been here for me, telling me everything will straighten itself out in one way or another. He's shown me that it will be, and now it's my turn. It's almost overwhelming, knowing I'm the one who can do that, who can be that person for him.
"Well, I was taking notes on how to be awesomely supportive," I reply.
He pulls back with a grin. "Am I awesomely supportive?"
"And wise."
"I am pretty wise, you're right." He brings me close again, his arms tightening around my waist. I feel safe, cocooned, like nothing bad can reach me. "Keep going."
I press my ear against his chest, listening to the rumble of his soft laughter, the steady beat of his heart. "A man among boys."
"Hey, can you relay that message to Jasper when you get a chance? He called me a pussy bitch the other night."
"What the hell is a pussy bitch?"
"No fucking clue. He said it while I was spanking him in Call of Duty at Cullen's house, though, so I'm sure that had something to do with it."
"I think that's just his way of being affectionate. It's like 'I love you' in boy speak."
He snorts and I smile, but thinking about Emmett's friendship with Jasper and Edward makes me think of mine with Jess and Lauren. I wonder what they're doing now, if they're hanging out together. It's weird, thinking of them without me and me without them, even though I really can't imagine being anywhere but here with Emmett right now.
He's quiet for a minute, until he ducks his chin to catch my eye. "Hey."
"Hi," I murmur, smiling wryly when his eyebrows raise.
"Where'd you go?"
I shake my head. "Nowhere. I'm right here."
He doesn't look convinced. "You didn't hear from Jess or Lauren today, did you?"
"You would've heard if I'd heard, trust me," I sigh.
"I really think they're going to come around, Ro."
"I don't know," I say, unconvinced. "We've had fights before, but they've never lasted this long. Usually one of us breaks, but I don't want to be the one to do it for this. I know I messed up. I admitted I messed up, and if that's not good enough for them, then I don't know what else I can do. It's kind of up to them at this point, you know?"
I can feel myself getting worked up again, and because my body's pressed so closely to Emmett's, he can, too. He rolls us so I'm on my back, my arms trapped between his elbows on either side of me. He looks down at me with serious eyes and this adorably furrowed brow.
"You're going to get through this. With any luck, they'll pull their heads out of their asses -"
"I think Jess's is actually up Lauren's at the moment, but continue."
"Feisty, I like that," Emmett says with a laugh and kisses me, quick and squarely on the mouth, before continuing on. "Like I was saying, hopefully they'll figure their shit out and you'll get to clear the air. But if not, you've got me. And I'm a packaged deal - you get Ali, Bella, Jasper and E, too. I'm not saying they'd replace your friends or anything, but you're not alone."
"I love you," I whisper, feeling like my heart is growing too big for its place in my chest. "Thank you for putting up with all of this."
His mouth descends to mine again and we kiss this slow, deep kiss that makes me dig my feet into his comforter and my fingers into his shirt. When he pulls away, his cheeks are pink. Rain starts tapping softly against the window.
"It's not putting up with it, Rose. I'd do anything for you," he whispers back. I want to tell him that I'd do the same, but he silences me with another kiss, and then another and another, and I know that he knows anyway.
xoxo
When I wake up in the morning, I'm feeling nothing like P Diddy. Or at least, I don't think that P Diddy ever had his two supposed best friends standing over him, staring, at nine in the morning. But hell, what does Ke$ha know anyway? She brushes her teeth with Jack.
I grasp my blanket, holding it to my chest, and will my heart to slow the fuck down. "Holy shit! A little warning might -"
Mom's voice floats up the steps at that very moment. "Rosalie, the girls are here."
"Yeah, thanks for the heads up, Mom." I admit my level of snark is high when I yell back, but Jesus.
"Of course, sweetie! Let me know if there's anything else I can help you with," she calls back, her tone matching mine.
I am my mother's daughter, of that there is no doubt.
I turn back to Jess and Lauren, who are standing at the end of my bed. Lauren's arms are crossed over her chest and Jess has Eric cradled in hers like he's a baby. He's looking up at her adoringly, the traitor, but both Jess and Lauren's gazes are fixed on me. We all stare at one another for a minute. Now that I've gotten over the shock of them being here when they've been decidedly not here this entire week, the surprise is wearing into annoyance.
I'm not much of a morning person anyway, and having my estranged best friends standing over me right when I wake up isn't helping things.
Plus, I'm not wearing pants.
They, on the other hand, are wearing plaid pajama ones, the kind that I have at least half a dozen pairs of in my drawer. It looks like they rolled out of bed and immediately drove here. In every other way we look so similar - our hair pulled into messy buns on top of our heads, the Tiffany toggle bracelets we all begged for when we were fifteen. Mine tinkles delicately as I push myself up into a sitting position.
"Well, by all means. Make yourselves at home." I cautiously pat the bed and they sit.
Lauren cuts straight to the chase, her tone all business, a little cold. "So here's the thing, Rosalie -"
"Lauren, I told you to go in easy, for god's sake," Jess interrupts, smacking her. I assume she's going for Lauren's arm, but she overshoots and hits her boob instead.
"Ow, asshole," Lauren yelps.
"I'm sure your boob's felt worse," Jess mutters, rolling her eyes.
Lauren throws her a dark look. When Jess stays silent, she widens her eyes and waves her hand in the air. "Well, go ahead. I obviously fucked it up for you, Stan."
I raise one hand and pull my comforter up to my chest with the other, crossing my legs. I try not to be annoyed that they talked about this beforehand and came up with some sort of plan to confront me, but it spreads through my voice. "Hey, how about you cut the strategy since it doesn't seem to be working for you and just talk to me? That's why you're here, right?"
Jess and Lauren exchange a look, have a silent conversation, and for a moment I feel like maybe we won't be able to repair this. Like in the week that we haven't been talking, they've forged some kind of super bond that I won't be able to penetrate now. I feel like an outsider, which I've felt to some degree over the years, but not in such a major way.
While I wait for them to decide whatever it is they're deciding through eye blinks and eyebrow raises, I think about the conversation I had with my mom when I got home from Emmett's last night.
Or rather, the guilt trip she gave me. It started with, "You know, I haven't seen the girls here recently..." She'd trailed off expectantly, wanting me to fill in the blanks.
"We've all been busy," I said with a shrug, attempting to brush the statement off. I didn't want her to get involved. It would make the situation that much more irritating and convoluted, because knowing her, she'd get Jess and Lauren's moms involved, too, and somehow things would get twisted. The blame would be put fully on me. Historically, things only got worse if the three of us brought our mothers into the mix.
If this was going to be fixed, we were going to have to do it ourselves.
Of course, this didn't stop Mom from following me up to my room, reminding me that they were my oldest friends in the world and reciting some random poem from our days as Brownies about making new friends but keeping the old.
"Mom, it's fine," I finally said, interrupting her. She stopped just outside the threshold of my room, her hands clasped in front of her. It was late by that point, close to midnight, but she was still wearing makeup, still dressed in pearls and linen pants. It occurred to me then that I rarely saw her any other way. "Just drop it, okay?" I asked, softening when I saw a brief flash of hurt cross her features.
She smoothed them out quickly, though, shrugging delicately. "I just don't want you to drift away from them because of a boy, Rose. Emmett's very nice and I can tell he adores you, but don't forget about your friends. They've been there for you."
I'd opened my mouth to say that I wasn't drifting away from them. All of the instances of them not being there for me raced through my mind. But it had seemed like an invitation for more conversation and I was tired of conversation. I wanted to crawl into bed and text Emmett good night and then dream of his lips and hands and how he made everything good and right.
But now, watching Jess sigh and look over at me, the same hint of hurt in her eyes, I wonder if that's what they think, too. If they feel like with Emmett in my life now, there won't be any room for them.
"Just tell us," Jess says, scratching at Eric's head. His eyes close; he's blissfully unaware of what's happening around him.
"Tell you what?"
"Everything," Lauren replies.
And so I do. I tell them about my growing feelings of discontent over the summer. I replay the night I broke up with Roy in the driveway. I tell them how light I felt afterward, how relieved. I describe how disconnected I was, like I didn't belong in my life anymore. How dishonest I felt, not just with them, but with myself.
When I get to the part with Emmett, I'm guarded at first. I tell them everything, though. They exchange looks a couple times - when I tell them about ditching out on Mike's birthday party early to go to Edward's and especially when I replay my slightly flawed logic in bringing Edward to Homecoming - but stay quiet. They let me talk. More importantly, I think they hear me. I don't know if that's always been the case, but there must be something in my expression or my voice that lets them know this is different.
"So I take it this is serious?" Lauren asks. She's been concentrating on picking free a loose thread on my comforter, but when she says this, her eyes bounce up to me. Her tone and expression don't give anything away.
My smile does, I'm sure. "Yes."
Jess leans back into Lauren, letting out a long breath. "God. Why didn't you trust us with all of this, Posie?"
"I didn't know what it was at first, you know? And then by the time I did know what it was, I wasn't sure you'd understand. We've had this...I don't know, this formula for our lives that we never questioned. Wear these clothes, date this boy, get good grades and be popular. But there was all this other stuff I was pushing down. I don't want to do that anymore, and I'm sorry for not talking to you guys about it, but I'm not sorry for anything else."
We're all quiet then and I can tell that Lauren is processing everything I've said while Jess... well, Jess looks like she's done processing and is dying to say something.
Which she does. A lot of something.
"Can I just say that Emmett is, like, a total upgrade from Roy? I mean, I don't know about personality or anything but Roy's always been sort of a stick in the mud, so I'm assuming that he's an upgrade in that department. And Roy's good-looking and all, but let's talk for a second about Emmett's body. God, his body -"
"Stan!" Lauren interrupts. I feel a smile tugging at the corners of my lips. This is so quintessential Jessica Alison Stanley.
"No, really!" she presses on. "I was waiting for Mike outside the locker room one day after practice and Emmett walked by without his shirt, all hot and sweaty from drills or something. Hot sex on a platter, let me tell you." She's fanning her face with one hand and Eric's listening to her intently, cocking his head to one side. "I'm pretty sure I had drool going and then I had to pretend like there was nothing going on when Mike walked out of the locker room." She says this like she was asked to save the world's problems and she just didn't know how. "But then Emmett walked out like a few seconds later and I was like-"
"Jessica! Do you ever stop? We get it. Posie's new boyfriend is hot." Silence blankets the room for another moment, and then Lauren pushes off the bed and announces, "I'm bored." The comment stings and the realization hits me hard, just how much I care. Her eyes meet mine and she softens it with, "We'll talk more tomorrow, before homeroom?" But then she tacks on, "If you're not too busy."
It's like she's back and forth, hot and cold, Lauren and Mallo.
Confusion and hurt reflect in her eyes, though, and I wonder if this has been hard for her, despite the act she's putting on. She's not always the best at expressing her emotions. Probably because a lot of times, she doesn't know what they are. And I know it's not that she's bored, but rather her way of getting out of this situation. She needs more time, especially after everything that I just told them.
"I'm never too busy, Lauren. Seriously."
Her nod is short, almost like she doesn't believe me. I sigh as she starts wandering toward the door. "Jess, you ready?"
Jess is slow to follow. She takes her time standing, leaning forward to hug me before kissing Eric on his head, depositing him on my bed. She pauses, ignoring the impatient look that she's getting from Lauren. "Does Eric like Emmett?"
I raise an eyebrow, wondering about the relevance of her question. "Actually, yeah... he does."
"Animals have an intuitive sense for good people, you know," she says sagely.
I nod slowly, eyes wide.
Lauren rolls her eyes. "Oh, god. Come on, Stan." She takes her hand and pulls her toward the door but Jess lags back.
She spots the picture of Emmett and me that I have tucked into the frame of my mirror and points with her free hand. She turns and mouths to me, "So hot, oh my god."
I press my lips together, trying not to giggle. "Yeah, he is," I mouth back.
After Jess pulls the door shut behind them, I settle back onto my pillows and smile up at the ceiling. I know it's not entirely perfect, but still, I feel lighter, the weight of that conversation finally lifted.
I have no more secrets.
We've picked up a lot of new readers the past couple of weeks and we want thank all of you for spreading the word about our story. Ruby_Wednesday, SweetLolaPop and AlbyMangroves have especially big mouths (heh) and we are very appreciative of them!
AccioBourbon betas for us and we are very lucky to have her. Any mistakes are ours or ffnets (they fuck with the spacing, man). ThatisRiddik and jugsterbunny are our pre-readers and they play with us at all times of the morning and night. We roll with good people.
Review and we'll love up on you, maybe make up a song about you or something. You never know. ;)