Redemption

16 - Blue

TW: Suicide mentioned.
Chapter 16 - Blue

The sun beats down on my exposed back as I wait for Jo to answer the door. She definitely chose the right day for a cookout. Barely any clouds lay in the sky and the smell of barbecue swirls in the air. It makes my stomach growl.

Her townhome is close to Minneapolis, right across from a baseball field and only being a fifteen-to-twenty-minute drive from my apartment complex. The outside of the townhome is red brick with the front porch having an overhang with two white columns on either side. The door is jet black and I can almost make out my face like a mirror.

I raise my hand to knock again, but the door swings open, revealing Justin. He wears bright pink shorts with an unbuttoned white shirt, showing off his toned abdomen. His green eyes shine bright, reminding me of someone I've left in the past, so I avert them quickly to zone in my attention on my red Chucks.

"Amber!" he exclaims, his tone letting me know he's had a couple of drinks. He grabs my arm, pulling me into the foyer of Jo's townhome and shutting the door behind me. "I've gotta be honest, I didn't think you'd show up," he winks teasingly, leading the way to the kitchen. I ignore his comment and just send him a smile as a greeting, laughing quietly.

Everything is so Jo, from the marble tile in the entryway to the dark wooden spiral staircase that sits in the room separating the foyer from the kitchen. A mahogany table sits in the middle of the room, a vase of tulips placed neatly in the middle and takes on the role of being the only colorful decoration in the room. I would think that Jo would have a home with popping colors, but it is tidy and looks like she could have moved in yesterday. In the few times I have been here, I am never disappointed by its cleanliness. Even before we enter the kitchen, I can hear the dull chatter of conversations. My heartbeat picks up, wishing for the comfort of Jasmine's confidence. I pinch the back of my hand, telling myself that I have to start going to social events without the aid of Jasmine, and this couldn't be a better place to start.

The moment we step foot into the kitchen, Justin waves over Jo. She is wearing baggy, light-washed blue jeans and a light pink collared shirt that cuts above her belly button, showing off the piercing she got when she was fourteen. Her hair is pulled into one of her signature braids, finished off with a white bandana that gives her outfit an extra Jo kick. A smile breaks out on my face as she excuses herself from the people she was talking to, grabbing something from the cooler by their feet and laughing loudly at something one of the men said to her.

Jo is twenty-seven, Indiana grown. She moved to the Twin Cities from Shamrock Lakes after graduating from the state university there with a degree in communications. Her loving parents begged her to stay in their small town, but Jo told me she would rather gauge her eyes out than stay in that town for a second longer. She was kinder to them with her words though, telling them she couldn't possibly stay in the town that made her sister commit suicide. Her parents didn't really have a rebuttal for that.

"Amber, what a sight you are for sore eyes," Jo chirps as she approaches me and Justin with her arm outstretched with a seltzer in it. I take it with a nod in thanks, pulling her into a tight hug after. She smells like some type of floral shampoo and faintly of sweat from the humid day.

"I could say the same to you," I laugh as she pulls back. She playfully rolls her eyes, taking a sip from her own beer. "I didn't expect to see you here today."

"That's exactly what I told her," Justin tells Jo, making all three of us laugh. It's my turn to roll my eyes. Do I really come off as a flake?

Jo hooks her arm through mine, leading me through her all-white and pristine kitchen to introduce me to some of her friends. We come across Ava first, a girl who looks like the definition of a hippie and teaches yoga every morning at a studio downtown where her sessions are always packed. Her big blue eyes look generous and accepting, helping me flow into a conversation with her and insisting I stop by the studio with Jo for a class. Ivan is the next encounter, another gay friend that Justin and Jo met at a nightclub once. His laugh has to be one of the most contagious laughs I've ever heard, loud and booming. Apparently, he has a DJ company, a real helpful connection for Jo when she's trying to find music for her weddings.