Remind Me

∞ 3: Remind Me Why I Shouldn't Be Paranoid? ∞

Chapter Three

Remind Me Why I Shouldn't Be Paranoid?

November 2

After school, I have ballet from three to five p.m. Aubrey has it too, and when we're finished, we both take the bus back home. I get off earlier than she does because my home is closer to the ballet studio.

Like for the past three years, I come back to an empty house. My mom lives with her new husband now, and my dad doesn't get off work until seven p.m. Sometimes, I think dad overworks himself in order to forget about everything that's happened between him and mom. As a result, I rarely see him anymore except during the weekends and at nights, but even then, he's holed up in his office working. Mom's too busy with her new family, seeing as how she gave birth to a baby boy two years ago.

I'd be lying if I said that their divorce didn't affect me; it did. Sometimes, I feel like I don't have a family anymore. It feels like mom and dad are both absent in my life. They rarely ask me how ballet's going, or what I'm doing in school, or how I'm doing in general. They're so absorbed in their own lives, it's like they've forgotten about me. At least I have Watson. He keeps the loneliness away. With him, I know there's still someone out there who loves me, someone who cares. He may be an asshole, but he's there to listen when I need it.

To keep myself busy this evening, I make myself a salad. Then, I take my backpack upstairs to my room to work. I spread my homework out on the ground and unwrap a cherry lollipop I had gotten from Tate. I answer a few texts from my friends before I notice a message from Watson.

He wants to know if he can come over.

I ignore his message and eat my salad.

Halfway through my math homework, I hear a car stop outside of my house. At first, I thought it was my neighbor, Mrs. Hernandez, but that was until my doorbell rang.

I clamber downstairs to check who it was. Pretty sure it wasn't any of my friends; they have homework, too. My eyes light up when I recognize the boy behind it.

Ryan. Brayden's best friend since like forever.

"Hey, Susie!" he chirps, when I open the door.

I see his white Chevy parked behind him. In the backseat of his car, I see Nolan and Parker there, too. Those three have been Brayden's friends for as long as I can remember. Brayden knows Ryan longer, though. They've been friends since I was in diapers.

I roll my eyes at Ryan. He's got brown hair similar to my brother's—only his is darker—and light hazel eyes that look murky green under certain conditions. He's an inch or so taller than Brayden, and recently, he's gotten into the habit of wearing dress shirts even when not attending formal events—like today, for instance. He's got on a nice, casual, button-down, light gray dress shirt paired with black pants. He's even wearing matching gray Converses.

I roll my eyes playfully at his nickname for me. "What are you doing here?" I wonder. I still have the pencil I was doing homework with in my hands, and I twirl it around between my fingers.

"Yo, are you doing homework on a Friday night?" Nolan calls out from the car. He sticks his head out of the window. He's got blonde hair and brown eyes, and over the past few years, he's packed on a bit of weight. Probably from all the gaming he does. He dropped out of college last June so that he could pursue his career as a professional gamer. And honestly, judging from all the contracts he's sealed with gaming companies and sponsors, and the number of subscribers he has on YouTube, I can already say that he's already a huge success.