Laney:
I opened my e-mail and found a message from seventeen. They’d asked to cover my story since Addie slipped it to them during one of her photoshoots. She was definitely the model type. She had long blonde hair that fell halfway down her back and stunning green eyes that were flowered with long eyelashes. Her limbs were long and thin but not boney, and she always had a fresh tan. She had a good fashion sense too, which I guess made her stand out.
Anyway, she started talking to one of seventeen’s editors before the shoot in the dressing room and they’d gotten on the topic of my horrible but somehow wonderful in the same time junior year of high school. It was nearly three years ago and I was glad to kiss those days goodbye, but once they heard of it they needed to know more. They offered to pay me $500, which I guess isn’t that great when they’re exposing you to half the world.
I clicked reply and attached a word document that contained the article I’d written. I took a deep breath and hit send. It could save someone else’s life. I whispered to myself as I lifted my finger off of my mouse. “Message sent” Popped up on my screen. There was no turning back.
My door creaked open and there was a blonde head of curls standing at the door. “Come here Ethan!”
He walked over to my bed in his toddler waddle and I picked him up off the floor. It was nearing one o’clock, so he was ready for a nap. He wasn’t technically allowed to sleep in my room, but as I ran my fingers through his curls humming “away in a manger” he fell asleep. His head was on my thigh and I slowly slid out from under him, leaving him to take his nap.
I walked into the kitchen and was face to face with my mom. “Where’s Ethan?” Her voice was stern. I swallowed the lump that was rising in my throat. “Asleep.” I watched as her hand lunged forward and attached itself around my wrist. She was sweating and her face was inches from mine. “If you tell me he’s in your bed I will” I cut her off. “You’ll what?” I was screaming. It felt good to scream. I felt her hand tighten around my wrist. I jerked away and she grabbed on tighter. Just then her lips formed the words and her voice threw them into my face. “You are dead to me.” She let go of my wrist and I fell to the floor. She walked by me giving me a little kick on the leg and went straight for my room. She was never like this before. It only proved how disgusting I was even more.
I spun my phone around in my hands until I felt it vibrate. It was a text.
Riley:
Come over for pizza? I’ll buy.
Laney:
Pick me up?
Riley:
Be there in ten.
Riley had been my best friend since the third grade. Someone tried to get him to eat glue, and so I pinned him to the ground and made him drink it. He squeezed it over my hair and we both ended up in the principal’s office. After that we just kind of always hung out. He knew everything about me basically and always knew exactly how to deal with anything I threw his way.
I watched his red jeep pull up to my door and listened for his horn. He always beeped his horn no matter where he saw me, even if we were fighting for some insignificant reason. I stepped out into the cool summer rain and pulled myself into the passenger side. There was a pizza box on his lap. I picked it up and opened it. He got half pepperoni, half cheese. Because that’s how I liked it. I looked at the side of his face. It seemed unfamiliar after spending almost every waking hour with Niall for the past two days.
He had dark brown hair and tanned skin. His eyes were icy blue, almost gray and they reflected each streetlight. I asked if he’d bought soda and he smiled which made his dimples appear on his cheeks. “Laney, obviously I have orange and rootbeer premixed in the fridge for you.” He knew me too well. Sometimes I thought he knew me better than I knew myself.
We ate pizza on the couch in his basement and watched funny movies. My head was on his lap and he was running his fingers through my hair. I had a blanket on because the AC was on and I was freezing. My parents insisted he was gay and so I was allowed to sleep over his house. I had my suspicions about Riley’s sexuality but I was never sure. We had this thing our sophomore year. I call it a thing because even though it lasted from October to the middle of May, we were never affectionate. We were pretty much the exact same as we were right now except we’d hold hands sometimes and we kissed once. We didn’t even use the words “girlfriend” or “boyfriend.” We were just supposed to be best friends.
“Lay?” my eyes were closed and Riley was running his fingers over my eyelashes. He was the only person in the world that called me Lay, and it was only because he couldn’t say Laney until the middle of fourth grade. “What?” I let out with a yawn. “Open your eyes.” I did as he asked and proceeded to ask why. “I just wanted to see them” he said closing his own. And we must’ve fallen asleep on the couch like that because when I woke up I was cuddled up to him and the sun was coming in through the small window against the ceiling.
