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First, must be nice to know that you can just skip a few days of class whenever you want, and teachers won’t even care. They don’t even bat an eye. And they’re all gone. All three of them.
Second, I actually feel off about them not being around me. They’re in all of my classes, at least one of them in a class. They constantly have eyes on me, they’re always teasing or taunting me. But this week it was quiet. And I’m completely conflicted.
So, there’s a small hope that they won’t be at this party, but let’s be honest. My body is hoping they will be.
“Fine. I’ll go to this stupid party. But if anyone starts pissing me off, I can’t be held responsible for kicking their ass.”
“Yay!” She jumps up and down. “Okay, since I take longer to get ready, I’ll go get ready now. You can shower after.”
I give her a thumbs up as she leaves my room. I head into my closet, and I look over at the corner where the box is hidden. I bite my lip and think maybe it’s time I at least take another peek inside. Just to be closer to my mom. Just to have something of her today.
I run to my door and lock it. I don’t need Liz knowing I have it here. This is a secret between me and my mom.
Pulling it out of the space, I sit in my closet and pull out a folder that has emails written in it. I take out a piece of paper and read over it.
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Are we still on for tonight? I told her I had things to do, so I’m in the clear.
-T
What the fuck? This is obviously from my dad, but this wasn’t his email address. TH is Trevor Hays and 913 is my birthday. This has to be him just with a different email. Well, I mean he can have more than one, but still. And who is BTrighton? And who is the “her” they are referring to? Mom? My mind turns over on why these would be in there if they weren’t my dad’s.
My stomach sinks, but I pick up the next one.
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Yes. A room at the usual spot. Can’t wait to see you.
-B
My mouth drops open, and I can’t begin to believe what I was reading. Was he having an affair? What I’m reading sure as hell seems like he was meeting up with someone. But I could be overreacting. I have no idea who this “B” person is. Could be a man that he was friends with. Maybe that’s why mom had her doubts?
I hear the shower turn off. If I had more time, I could read some more. I place the emails back into the envelope and stick them on the top inside the box. This weekend, I need to dive into this more. Why my mom was so cryptic is beyond me, and I hate having to try and decode it. I make a mental note to set some alone time when I know the roomie will be out so I can go through the box.
A knock on my door startles me, and I quickly throw the box back in and run out of my closet.
Liz eyes me suspiciously. “Took you long enough to answer.”
“I was in my closet picking out an outfit.” I try to not give away that I’m full of shit. She sometimes gets a little clingy and strange when I lock her out of my room. It kinda weirds me out. Warning bells go off when she acts like this.
“Okay, well, the bathroom is free! Hurry!” She runs away excitedly, slamming the door to her room.
Rolling my eyes, I head into the bathroom and begin the process of preparing myself for a shitty night.
My only birthday wish is that I wake up tomorrow and everyone forgets I even exist. Or better yet, that all this has been a dream.
A fucking nightmare.
eighteen
PHOENIX
We pullup to a stately looking house that sits extremely far back on the property. You can clearly see it from the street through the gate, but it’s so massive that it’s still giant hundreds of feet back. We pull around the driveway to an area, stopping and getting out. The valet takes Liz’s keys and drives away with her car.