“Why not?”
“Because I’m just not,” I tell her.
“So, you’re being a butt,” she concludes. “Got it. Come on,” she hooks her arm through mine. “Let's take you home so you can shower before your shift.”
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome,” she returns. “But if you ever change your mind and decide you might sorta kinda be okay with making new friends”––she lifts her hands and does air quotes around the word––“I think you and Mack would make a cute couple.”
“Oh, so now we’re a potential couple, Blake?” I say dryly. “You’re delusional.”
“Optimistic,” she clarifies. “There’s a difference.”
I shove the locker room door open and exhale loudly.
Sure, there is.
3
KATE
“Hey, Mom.” I pin my phone between my shoulder and ear as I put the mascara back into my makeup bag.
“Hey, baby! How are you?”
“I’m good. Getting ready for my shift.”
“Great!” my dad chirps. They must have me on speaker. I’m not surprised. It’s kind of par for the course with these two.
“Yeah. How are things with you guys?” I ask.
“We’re doing great. Thought we might stop by Butter and Grace and say hi.”
I shove my makeup bag into the bathroom drawer and flick the light off. “Oh, you don’t have to––”
“I know,” Mom interrupts. “But we miss you. Are you still coming home this weekend?”
With a grimace, I head back to my room and slip on some shoes, searching for an excuse not involving the truth or the fact I can’t come home until my driver’s license isn’t suspended.
“Honey?” Mom prods.
“I have a big exam coming up in Palmer’s class, so…”
“You can always study at home,” Dad offers. “We’ll give you privacy and will only interrupt to drop off caffeine and chocolate.”
I laugh. “While that sounds like a treat, I’ll have to pass this time. Thank you, though.”
“We miss you, baby,” my mom repeats.
“I know. And I miss you guys too,” I tell them.
And I honestly do. I love my parents even when they’re overbearing, leaving me feeling like they're smothering me at times. They’re still super sweet and super caring and super hands-on and also super good at making me feel like a child. I sigh and add, “How ‘bout we talk about this later? Ash is giving me a ride to work, so I gotta go.”
“Why is she giving you a ride?” Mom asks. I swear the woman’s a damn detective. “Are you sure everything’s okay? Is your car giving you trouble?”
My shoulders hunch, and I rest my forehead against my bathroom doorjamb.
Crap.
“Uh…no,” I answer. “Everything’s great. I, uh, thought I’d save some gas.”
“Do you need any money, baby?” she quizzes me. “We can Venmo––”
“Seriously, I’m fine,” I reply.
“Honey, it’s no trouble,” Dad placates.
“I know.” My sneakers slightly scuff against the hardwood floor as I head down the hall to the family room, where Ash is waiting for me on the couch. “But this isn’t about money. Saving the environment is important, ya know? My friends and I are trying to do our part by carpooling a little more,” I lie. I mean, technically, it’s true. We are carpooling more, but it has less to do with the environment and more to do with me not being able to drive for the next little while, but still. Two birds with one stone and all.
“Well, as long as you’re taking your turn, too, baby,” Mom returns.
“Of course,” I lie. Again. “Look, I gotta go, but I’ll talk to you guys later, okay? And don’t worry about stopping by Butter and Grace tonight. I’ll see you after my exam.”
“You sure?” they ask in unison.
“Yup. Positive. Love you guys.”
“Love you, baby!” Mom calls out as Dad adds, “And don’t forget to take your medicine!”
I hang up the phone and shove it into my back pocket as Ashlyn pushes herself up from the couch. “Hey. Sorry I took so long.”
“No problem. Colt won’t be done with practice for another thirty minutes anyway. And P.S., your parents are the sweetest.”
“They’re something,” I mutter.
“Oh, come on. They love you. And trust me. Having loving parents isn’t something to bat your eyes at.”
Ash’s relationship with her parents has always been a little rocky, but after Colt chewed them out the first time they met, things had been going pretty smoothly. At least, I thought so.
“How are your parents, by the way?”
She shrugs. “Fine. Baby steps, right?”
“I guess so. Thanks again for taking me to work,” I add, grabbing my black jacket from the back of the couch and sliding my arms in it. The weather is getting colder and colder as the months pass, and the idea of leaving our house without an extra layer is full-blown ludicrous at this point.
“No problem.” Ash shoves her hands into the pouch of her LAU hoodie and pulls out a set of keys on a baby blue lanyard. “How have you been feeling?”
As I open the front door, my gaze thins in silent warning. “Ash––”
She holds up her hands in defense. “I know, I know. I’m not treating you differently or anything. I’m just curious.”
“Uh-huh, sure you are,” I mutter.
“To be fair, I’m also worried about Mia, so you aren’t the only roommate who’s a…”
“Shitshow?” I finish for her.
“Not what I was going to say,” she argues.
“I’m only half kidding.” I close the door behind us and walk down the driveway toward her beat-up car. “But you definitely have a good point. I’m a little worried about Mia too.”
“Blake’s been running with her every morning since she saw Mia’s pepper spray purchase, but she said nothing’s been out of the ordinary or anything,” Ash tells me as she puts the keys into the ignition and turns the heater on full blast.
“Blake said that, or Mia did?”
With a pointed look, Ash deadpans, “Who do you think? You know Mia. The girl’s a freaking vault. Of course, she hasn’t said anything.”
“At least Blake’s running with her. That’s something, right?” I warm my fingers in the air blowing from the dashboard vents while Ash backs out of the driveway and turns onto the main road.
“I guess so,” Ash says. “Still feels like something’s up, though. A few months ago, I was at SeaBird with Colt, and I overheard her talking to her boss, asking if she could have an advance to make rent. But when I brought it up to her afterward and offered to help cover her rent for a few weeks or something, she said she’d found a solution and wasn’t having any issues with money . But then,” Ash continues, “when I asked Mia what the solution was, she got super weird and wouldn’t tell me. And now, she’s scared to run by herself? Well, I think we can all see the trajectory she’s on, and it isn’t exactly a good one.”