Overtime

27: Intervention

Miles, my two roommates, and I are seated on the couch in our apartment after practice. I just finished telling them what Amber had said to me in the parking lot earlier. We are unsure of the next step to take in this mess.

"She is being a total bitch for no reason! She is the reason we aren't talking to her," Riley exclaims.

Miles has stayed silent this entire time while the three of us girls share our feelings on the subject. I don't blame him. I wouldn't know what to say either. I don't even know why he's here; I think he likes to listen to gossip.

He sits beside me, his arms sprawled on the back of the couch. His hair was damp from his post-practice shower, and he smelled like coffee and bourbon. He is a dream, that's for sure. I'm almost positive he's not even listening to us and is watching whatever is on the television.

"Can you call her and ask if she'll come over? I can't do this any longer," Emma says, slouching down in the armchair.

I pull my phone out, text Amber, and ask if she can come over. She texts back a few minutes later that she'll be over shortly.

"Babe, can you go sit in my room? I think she may hold back if she sees you." Amber would definitely not say some of the things she wanted to say if she knew he was here. Hopefully, she doesn't bring her boyfriend.

Miles groans, "Oh, come on. I don't get to see the show?"

I laugh, "Oh, hush. I'm sure you're dying to not listen to us bitch. You could go home; it might get scary in here."

He shrugs, "I don't wanna sleep alone, so I'll stay." I smile, leaning into his body and leaving a kiss on his cheek.

Riley makes a gagging noise, "God, that made me want to puke. Fucking gross."

Miles gets up and heads into my bedroom, shutting the door behind him as someone knocks on it. Riley and I rock-paper-scissors who has to get the door, which I win. She gets up to open the door, and I take a swig of the whiskey in my cup, muttering, "Welcome to the shit show."

Amber walks in silently. I suddenly wish Miles was in here so it wouldn't be so awkward. The four of us haven't been in a room together since my birthday almost two months ago. It's gone on for too long.

"Why am I here?" Amber snaps, and this is not how I want to start this whole thing out.

"We need to talk. All of us. Without screaming at each other, if possible. This has gotten out of hand. You guys are my best friends, and we can't even be in a room together anymore," I announce to everyone, not just Amber.

I wonder if Miles is listening or if he's going through my underwear drawer.

"What are we talking about?" Amber says, clueless. She knows exactly what we are talking about.

"We have feelings we need to get out. Who wants to start?" Riley says. Riley is the only one Amber hasn't screamed at. She's our mediator, but she's sick of Amber's shit too. Riley always stays under the radar when shit goes south.

I clear my throat and look at Amber, "I'll go. I didn't appreciate getting screamed at in the parking lot this morning. I thought it was very unnecessary. We are dating men on the same team. We are going to see each other with mutual friends on the team. I'm not trying to steal your spotlight."

She doesn't say anything and glares at me. "I'm sorry," she says quietly. "I've been listening to those girls, and some of the things they feed me are lies. They made me feel insecure and threatened."

I look at her, concerned, "Those definitely aren't girls you shouldn't hang out with. I'm not trying to tell you what to do, but nothing good comes from people like that."