"Her or me?" A tear rolled down Michelle's puffy cheek, "You have to make a decision."
For Michelle, life has always been about control- control in the studio, in her friendships, and even in the secrets she hides. But with an unexpected pregnancy...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
I take Emily's hand as I help her into the hot tub. It's a beautiful night tonight, and I knew that I had to utilise the fact that my dad bought a hot tub last month.
I admire her body as she climbs into the tub, her red bikini accentuating every little curve of her body, which makes my mouth water. She has her her hair tied in a bun at the back of her head, allowing me to see her beautiful, strong features
"Thank you," She thanks me.
"Here, let me pour you a drink," I say, grabbing a glass and the bottle of champagne that I'd found.
I pour a reasonable amount into the glass for her before filling up my own. I don't normally drink champagne, but tonight's a special occasion.
Emily takes a sip. "Wow, this is great! Did you buy this?"
"No, I actually just found it in one of the cupboards," I tell her. "Maybe my dad bought it to give to one of his hoes– I mean, girlfriends."
Emily giggles. "Hopefully he doesn't miss it then."
She then says, "How long have your parents been separated?"
"Five or six years. My mom is a psychopathic drunk, and my dad is an actual nice person. I don't even know why they were together in the first place. When I ask my dad to tell me stories about the two of them, he never has anything nice to say."
"Sort of like my parents," She tells me. "I mean, they're still together, but they just don't seem in love anymore. They argue all the time, and a part of me thinks they're keeping too many secrets because they want to keep the image of this perfect family."
"Shit, that sucks," I say.
"Yeah..."
And then I begins to ask her questions on what happened last weekend. "Anyway, how is Grace doing? I'm asking because I can't get an answer from anyone else."
She shrugs, telling me, "I don't know. Michelle is dealing with all that, and she won't really tell me anything."
"You don't know if she's okay?"
She shakes her head. "No, no I don't. I mean, I'm sure she is. Michelle would've told me if something had happened to her."
"And Presley, how is she?" I mention Presley, and I can't help but notice how Emily looks panicked when I say her name.
"I- I don't know." She doesn't say anything other than that.
I lean against the back of the tub, looking up at the sky above. I think about how the studio is full of secrets and how things always seem to be brushed under the rug. Grace almost died that day, Presley was traumatised, yet we don't even get to find out how they're doing.
