There's Always A Plot Twist | Wattys 2023 ✓

14| The Caterpillar

Farah sneaks up slowly on Amber when she catches her in the middle of a heated phone call, giving her friend time to see her approaching.

"You okay?" she silently mouths, already knowing the answer as she strokes her arm for support.

Amber repeatedly nods her head, causing fresh tears to trickles down her cheek when she attempts to roll them back. "Yes, I heard you, okay, bye."

Amber hangs up the phone, shaking her head and squeezing her lips tightly together as she looks up at the ceiling. "I don't remember the last time he said he'd get better and I believed him."

"Your dad?"

"I think I was like eleven..." Amber giggles, remembering her sweet, naïve, younger self, not laughing at her hopes and dreams but being overcome with a strange dose of pity. "He bought me a cake and I just ate it all up...I let it go."

"That's who I am isn't it? The girl who just lets everything go?" Amber tries to mask how drunk she is as she stumbles her way down the corridor, failing miserably at it. "Riley steals my boyfriend and I just let it go. You left me stranded at that club-"

"-I said I was sorry." Farrah mutters, tired of arguing the point.

"And I forgave you...Arlo showed up so its fine." she replies, stopping to kick her heels off.

"Doesn't seem like it." Farrah whispers, collecting the heels off the floor.

Amber proceeds to strip her denim jacket off, letting it droop onto the ground. "And then my dad, my dad hits me and what do I do? I get dressed so I can get in a car with my boyfriend and the love of his life, and for what? So we can go eat at that crappy diner that has the best tasting food I've ever had?"

Farrah stops picking up Amber's discarded pieces of clothing, shooting her head towards her. "Your dad hit you? When? Why didn't you tell me?"

Amber stops walking, turning her body at a ninety degree angle to peer over her shoulder at her closest friend. "Farah I think I'm drunk." she moans before leaning against the wall and sliding to the floor. "I'm definitely drunk."

Farah exhales, crawling across the floor to sit next to Amber as she rest her head on her legs. "You want me to take you back to my dorm? We can eat Marshmallows and watch movies until we pass out."

"Arlo wants me to crash here. He said I shouldn't be around my dad when he's drunk again."

Farah nods her head, looking down the corridor to see if anyone could help. "Good, I think that's best." she whispers, stroking Amber's back.

Amber lets this go on until she raises her head, resting it against the hard wall as she focuses on her breathing.

They sit together for a while, listening to the sounds of chatter coming from the house party, holding each others hands for comfort.

"How are you and Lance? Did you talk it out yet?" Amber asks, combing her pale blonde hair behind both ears with her face burning red from crying.

Farah shakes her head, her eyes feeling glued to the opposite wall. "No, not yet."

"Farah, come on, its been hours."

"Do you see me judging you on your relationship?" Farah turns to Amber, challenging her to find some argument to work in her favour.

Amber laughs it off, realising too late that she stepped on a sore spot. "You're right, I'm sorry."

Farah sighs, not meaning for it to come out sounding so harsh, deciding to open up just a little. "That's not how we work. We're not a couple that likes confrontation, like, at all."

"I see." Amber whispers, taking a moment to reflect upon her own relationship. "But take it from someone who is suffering because they didn't want to ruffle some feathers that needed to be, it sucks."

"It isn't all bad, I mean you still look hot whilst serving desperate girlfriend." Farah jokes, getting a coy smile out of her.

"Even with vomit in my hair?" Amber asks, whipping her hair behind her shoulder and posing like a model on a billboard.

Farah looks through Amber's hair but doesn't spot anything out of the ordinary. "Did you throw up?"

"I think so...I don't know, its all kind of hazy." Amber's face suddenly drops as she think back on her summer. "I remember Arlo came to see me and when he showed up to the door my dad ended up stealing him away to watch some big game."

"Which one?"

"I don't know, all sports look the same to me."

Amber smiles, shaking her head as she combs her hair up into a high-bun, leaving the blonde strands to fall in her face. "Go on."

"Well, this was just after he hit me for the first time. So I'm upstairs for an hour trying to keep things together whilst the two of them have a jolly good time screaming at the Tv."

"Did you tell Arlo?" Farah inquires, unable to stop her face from frowning at Amber's confession.

"And make him feel shitty for something he had no clue about?"

Farah sighs once more, rolling her eyes and squeezing onto Amber's hand. "They have no idea how much we protect them from."

"No idea." Amber echoes, closing her eyes and resting her head on Farah's shoulder.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the house, Lance stops Asanti from doubling back for the second time. "Dude, you've got this. I'm right here, okay?"

"I know we agreed that telling her is better than keeping the secret but this still, really, really, really, really-"

"-yeah, yeah, I know. Keep it moving Nancy Drew."

Asanti scoffs, still mostly dragging his feet as they leave his room. "Nancy wishes she could do half the things I had to do to find my biological-father, but whatever."

Asanti hears his heartbeat beating rapidly in his ears, lights shining too brightly, the smell of Freddie's aftershave burning his nostril until he comes face to face with the sister he never knew he had until a week ago.

The room goes quiet in his mind as he taps her on the shoulder and hands her the file.

"What is this, a serious looking file, very mysterious and...wait...a DNA test? Why do you have a DNA test with my name on it?"

Asanti squeezes his lips together, glancing towards Lance, before answering Kenna's question. "Because...we have the same dad."

Freddie and Bjorn seemingly finds the situation more amusing than everyone else present, giggling like literal school children wanting to be scolded. "You what?"

Bjorn slaps Freddie in the arm, suddenly remembering a conversation the two of them had a while back. "You said they're not all related!"

"They're not." Freddie replies, blowing smoke out of his nostrils like a fire breathing dragon.

"Then what is this?"

Asanti knows it's game over when he starts doing jazz hands, his wonky smile stuttering as he finally has a moment where he hates having all the attention on him. "Surprise?" he sings, watching Kenna's expression sour faster than a lime sitting in the sun.