Dependent on You

Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Third Person

Adrian swallowed at the bitterness scathing Keira's tongue but nodded slowly, nonetheless. The last thing she wanted was to annoy Keira further, so she brought her gaze forward to the buoyant dirty blonde girl in the passenger seat who always stuck up for her. Biting the inside of her cheek and rubbing her moistened palms on her jean-clad thighs, she decided to tell Payton the place she was thinking of. "Backwater beach—where Redlock Woods is." She breathed quietly, afraid to speak too loud and have Keira disagree.

Phoenix leaned forward, her warm breath unintentionally raising the hairs on Adrian's neck. "Heck, yes." She chimed in agreement. "It's the perfect day to go to the beach. We can lay out the blanket in the trunk and have a picnic while getting our tans on. Plus, nobody's ever at that beach; we'll most likely have it to ourselves."

In the front of the car, Easton sighed. "That means there's going to be a shitload of sand in here afterward." He muttered briskly, pausing for a second. But in the review mirror, Adrian could see a slow, sly smile edged onto his mouth. "Good thing it's my mom's car and not mine. When she gets pissed, I'll just blame it on Ethan. That little bitch deserves her wrath after what he did to me." Adrian's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she glanced in Ollie's direction, wondering if he knew what Easton was talking about. But Ollie only mirrored her expression.

The only thing Adrian got out of that entire sentence was that Easton swore just as much as Elliot did. Three times. As her mother would say, he swore like a sailor. It didn't bother her as much as she thought it would. Probably because Elliot swore just as much, if not more, so she was beginning to get used to it. Not that she'd ever say them herself, nor would ever even think to. She didn't even like to repeat them in her head unless it was an echo of Elliot's voice she heard.

Red's laughter filled the car as Payton's golden irises lit with amusement. Behind her, even Keira and Phoenix were chuckling softly. "Your brother's got guts, he's a fucking legend." Red howled, eyes crinkling as his hands gripped his knees.

"What happened?" Oliver asked curiously, as he and Adrian glanced around the car, taking in the amused faces of their friends. All eyes sprung to them as Easton wearily began to itch his light brown head of hair, hiding the smile cracking onto his red lips. Payton's mouth seemed to seal shut as her glittering eyes glared at both Easton and Red, though you could tell that whatever they all found so funny lingered in her scrunched up eyebrows. The short second of silence only made Adrian all the more curious.

When none of them said a word, Keira took it upon herself to speak up. "Oh, you know, Easton's brother left a present in his bed. So when Easton's mommy came and made his bed for him the next morning, she found that present under his sheets. Let's just say she didn't appreciate the present, and Easton over here got to talk about the birds and the bees after getting stung by the queen bee."

Adrian tilted her head to the side, still curious. "What was the present?" She queried, wondering what was so funny when it came to talking about birds and bees. She noticed Oliver's hazel eyes seemed to widen at her question as his already pale face washed whiter. The car once again became close to silent save for the low rumble of the engine and the cars outside. She began to tap her fingers on her thighs, feeling fidgety as she waited for an answer. Payton's eyes seemed to settle on the golden brown-haired girl behind Adrian, narrowing only slightly.

"Umm." Phoenix seemed to hum.

Adrian asked, and Keira delivered. "Used condoms." She said simply. Adrian sifted through her brain, searching for the word and a definition only to come up empty. She'd never heard the word 'condoms' before, and she certainly didn't know what it meant. Whatever it was, it didn't sound like a very good present, at least not to her. When she thought of presents, she ideally thought of books or movies or clothes. Not whatever it was they were laughing about. In her perifheral vision, she saw Oliver, her best friend, cringe at the word.