Bastiana has a loving family, two amazing best friends, and a secret.
Over summer vacation, Bastiana and her besties do their best to focus on their bucket list in order to distract them from all the secrets they're keeping from one another. When a...
A/N: TRIGGER WARNING - Detailed descriptions of violence in this chapter.
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When I walk down the stairs into Tyler's basement this morning, I see he's in the same spot as yesterday with his back to me as he plays a video game. As I walk quietly up behind his couch, I bend down and set the plastic tub in my hands on the floor before I vault over the back of the couch and drop onto the cushions.
"So?" Tyler asks me without looking up. I stay silent, waiting for him to turn to look at me. "Jax? Come on, man. I know you're sitting there." He continues to play his game and I continue to sit there silently. "Jax, you prick, just tell me!" Still, I say nothing. A few seconds later Tyler lets out a frustrated groan and pauses his game to finally turn around. "Fine! You have my attention! Now tell me what happened!" He yells.
"Well," I start calmly, keeping my expression blank. Tyler leans forward, waiting for me to speak. "It totally worked!" I finally tell him, a huge grin breaking out on my face.
"You are such a tool!" He says, rolling his eyes and swatting at my leg closest to him. "But tell me everything, because you never actually told me what your plan was." He laughs.
"Okay, so you remember how I told you that Bastiana paints?" He nods so I continue. "Well, I went to the craft store outlet up in Grants Pass and-"
"You drove to Grants Pass for craft supplies?" Tyler interrupts me. I just nod. "Dude, that's like almost an hour drive each way."
"The way I drive, it's closer to 40 minutes. Not the point. Focus, Ty." I wave a hand and stand up, pacing the room as I continue. "I went to Grants Pass because they have a better selection than anything local. So, I picked up a truckload of supplies for Bastiana. I'm talking about, like, an easel, paints, brushes, sketchbooks, drawing pencils, a ton of canvases, and a bunch of other shit. And the good stuff, too. Not the cheap shit. Then I went over to her place and set it all up for her in her bedroom. And I also painted her an apology on one of the smaller canvases."
"You what?" Tyler looks shocked.
"Yeah. You were right. I know her better than I realized. She loves to paint and she loves sentimental gifts. So, I got her all the art supplies she probably could never afford on her own and made her a handmade apology painting. I mean, the painting was kind of shitty and looked like a 5-year-old made it, but with her it's the thought that counts." My words come out a bit jumbled as I quickly explain.
"Jax..." Tyler's voice trails off so I turn to look at him. His eyes are wide and his eyebrows are raised in surprise.
"What?" I ask, my eyebrows pinching together in confusion.
"That just seems a little... extra?" he tilts his head at me. "I know you said she was mad, but that sounds like a bit much for an apology. Like, one of those things from the local craft store probably would have been fine. A new set of paints, or a new set of brushes, or a set of canvases. But all of it together? And you rearranged her room without telling her first?" He grimaces and shakes his head slowly. "That's a bold move. It had a high risk of pissing her off further. Messing with her space like that? How did she react?"
