to live for the hope of it all.

Chapter 29

October 28th, 2023

"Oh, here she comes,
Watch out, boy, she'll chew you up,
Oh, here she comes,
She's a maneater..."

Beckett

Finally, I can chew without hurting.

Only took two weeks, but the bruising on my jaw had finally gone down, and so had the pain that came with eating.

The timing of it was perfect, considering tonight was the party at Kyle's. I'd been to a few of his over the years, and they were probably the only outings I didn't mind.

Even though he's only a junior, Kyle kept shit real. You can drink as long as you have a designated driver, and everyone's invited, but the second there is drama, you're out. His place was huge, he came from a loaded family, but the humble kind. His parents went out of town often, and he took advantage of that.

It was all fun, and the guy was respected enough that most of the team helped him pick up the next morning. We had a bye week, so everyone was itching to let some energy out.

I had been surprised when Bailey and Wren agreed to go with us. I'd seen Bailey attend a few parties when she dated Brady, but she never looked like she was enjoying herself. At one of them last year, I'd watched as she shoved him away from her before dragging him out to his car and leaving, she really hadn't looked happy.

But Wren, I'd never seen her at one. She'd said she wanted them to go out more since it's senior year, which I can understand. I can only hope that tonight is fun for them, because acceptance letters should be here any day now for them, and I could tell it was worrying Bailey. Wren, not so much, everyone knew she was top of our class. But she worried about Bailey too, and it was weighing them both down, not knowing. So they deserved a break.

I did too, but it's clear I'm not catching one.

"Beckett! Bro, just fucking clip it in the back!" Caleb yelled.

"I am trying here, Caleb. Stay fucking still!" I shouted, sighing in relief when the strap clipped in with the other. Caleb turned, catching himself in the mirror.

"This is epic. Wow," he exclaimed. I laughed at his idiocracy before changing into my costume.

Which thankfully, was much better than Caleb's. Mine consisted of a pale blue button down, and dark blue jeans, sunglasses hanging from my collar.

Caleb's consisted of a sunset t-shirt, khakis, sunglasses, and a baby carrier strapped to him, with a plastic child inside of it.

Yeah, we were in fact Phil and Alan from The Hangover.

Fucking Caleb.

At least I wasn't uncomfortable in mine, I'd give Caleb two hours before he threw the carrier off.

I had said I would be DD tonight, but Bailey and Wren said they weren't too sure if they planned on drinking. Caleb, on the other hand, was planning to get hammered.

Thankfully, he was an easy drunk. He could have his fun, but when we were ready to go, he could sober up with a water bottle and get himself in the car. It was one thing I admired about my cousin, because as out of pocket as he was, he knew when shit was serious. When he needed to be literal, he could sober up instantly.

But he was also the life of the party, and I loved it for him.

"Boys! Hurry up! I wanna see you before you leave!" My mother shouted, no doubt waiting with her camera downstairs.