Ned Gets Stood Up

Chapter Twenty-Seven

THE GREGOR

This story is essentially about Beatrice Hayes who got stood up at prom by Autumn Flowers all those years ago. Their fifteen-year friendship and one-year secret relationship ended that night but kicked started a feud that would last through the rest of high school, college, and even into their adult lives.

This would also be the story of how that effected their children.

It would also be about secrets, lies, and a series of what-ifs that kept both women up at night.

It also involves the story of John Flowers finding an old yearbook where his mother hid photobooth pictures of his mother kissing a girl he recognized. What started as curiosity about his mother's presumed sexuality would end with a pinky swear that would keep this information from the world.

Essentially, this story is about that promise and how John regretted it the most when he noticed how deep his little brother's crush went for the kid across the street.

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MARGARET

"I can't believe they forgot me again," Margaret said, but she really didn't care anymore.

She couldn't stop replaying the conversation over and over.

Fiddling with her hands, Margaret blinked away a few tears. She had never seen her mother's face twist with that much pain before. It was a face Margaret recognized as herself when she was a little girl getting her heart broken over the fact, she'd never meet a unicorn in real life. Heartbreak she's never seen from her mother.

The hurt on Sam's face alone made Margaret want to throw up.

John and Margaret sat in his car with the engine running. No music. She watched the car windows slowly fog up around them. Eventually, she asked, "Did you know?"

A beat went by.

"Yes," John admitted. He had been trying to get a hold of anyone. Ned, Lena, and Indie weren't picking up the phone or answering texts. The moment Sam hopped into Chad's van, Jason ran back to his car too, blaring on his horn. John got the message and backed into the nearest driveway, but even still the Flowers's car still blocked the road...

So, Jason made his own room, swerving into the grass, tearing up clumps and a flowerbed so he could make it through. Without question, Ned's band of misfits climbed inside, and they made their speedy getaway. John played dumb and blocked his own parents for as long as possible, at least until the stress was too much and Margaret told him to move already.

They were the last ones here.

Margaret shook her head. "I never knew that was the reason they hated each other. I always assumed it was because they were rivals or something."

"They were friends."

Nodding, Margaret played with fabric of her dress. "That makes it... sadder, doesn't it?"

She could feel him glancing at her, so she tried to hold her chin up a little higher. She didn't want to appear bothered. She didn't want anything to change. This was still the family across the street that made their lives harder. This was still the same people... Ned was still the same loser who thought he was good enough for her brother.

"Has anyone picked up...?" Margaret asked.

"Not yet," John said.

It was quiet again. She watched the snow fall, feathering down in scattered specks. She wondered if there was an alternate universe out there where her mother hadn't been stood up, if Autumn Flowers came with her to prom and they stayed together... but would they have broken up anyways? And then, managed to stay friends? Or was it always destined to end in tragedy?