Faulty Trust || Katie McCabe

33

"Okay, sit still," Leah spoke with amusing authority.

"I am sitting still," Wally deadpanned, making me snort from the comfort of Leah's bed. I was sprawled out comfortably scrolling on my phone as I waited for Leah to finish doing Wally's makeup before we were ready to leave. Obviously I had relentlessly teased Wally for letting Leah do her makeup, but I had found more interest scrolling on TikTok and opted to let Wally put up with Leah's bossy behavior instead.

"Yeah, Wally, you've got to sit still." I wiggled my eyebrows as if Wally could see the smirk plastered on my face. But she couldn't because Leah had her faced away from me while she sat on her lap doing Wally's eyebrows. Leah shot me an unamused look, making me laugh like a child.

"Stop acting so childish, Eme," Leah narrowed her eyes from across the room. My grin grew as I set my phone down and sat up; a retort was already at the tip of my tongue, ready to piss Leah off even more.

"Thought you were the youngest one here, no?"

Wally let out a curt laugh before Leah flashed her a glare, and then she shot me an even more annoyed look than before. I couldn't stop myself from laughing even more, so much so that I was doubled over, causing Leah to roll her eyes at me and continue finishing up Wally's makeup. As much as I loved teasing them, I was genuinely happy for them because they deserved happiness; they deserved what they had going on between them. It had been a long time coming, and I was just thankful that they finally dropped the just-friends act and got together.

It didn't take long for Leah to finish Wally's makeup, and before I knew it, we were headed to Beth and Viv's flat for their annual New Year's Eve party that seemingly brought together half of the WSL. I was honestly ready for this year to be over and a new one to start because this year had been such a long one for absolutely no reason. I wanted a fresh start; I wanted to end this year off with a bang and wake up the next with a raging headache.

As soon as we arrived and said our hellos to Viv, who had answered the door, Beth appeared and dragged me towards the karaoke machine that was set up in the living room. I groaned, begging for Wally or Leah to save me, but they just gave me smirks in return like this was some sort of punishment for the way I had been teasing them earlier. Narrowing my eyes at them, I returned my attention to Beth, who was already picking our first song, as I slipped away to get a drink after promising I'd return.

While I made myself a drink, I couldn't help but let my eyes wander around, scanning the faces of those who were here. And who was not here? It didn't matter where I was, honestly; I'd always search for her first in any room. We hadn't exactly talked since she showed up at my door a few nights ago, but we didn't hold any resentment against each other either.

My searching was cut short as Beth appeared with a look telling me hiding in the kitchen wasn't going to get me out of at least one karaoke song. My sheepish grin made her laugh as she looped her arm through mine and pulled me back into the living room. I simply accepted my fate and took a long sip of my drink before setting it down on the speaker.

Of course Beth picked a Taylor Swift song, and I couldn't help but laugh out loud when I recognized the beat of Paper Rings now blasting through the speaker. We sang to our hearts content, and the people around us joined in, making me want to laugh at the way none of us were on key. or sober for that matter.

When I finally managed to slip away, I found myself deep in conversation with the likes of Wally and Noelle. My eyes still wander from time to time, looking for an Irishwoman I couldn't get out of my head if I tried. I was pulled away again this time by Leah, mumbling something about shots that I couldn't turn down.

My night carried on as the year came to a close, and I was thoroughly enjoying myself because nothing was tying me to another at the moment. I was letting myself loose, letting myself relish in the fact that this year was over, that almost everything was lovely, that almost everything was perfect. My eyes flickered through the crowds of people again.