Synonym

Chapter 36

"Chris said he can meet up with us at that party on New Years Eve." Finn said while looking at his phone screen, presumably texting Chris.

One of the kids from our highschool lacrosse team, Luke, was having a party. He invited us over for a little reunion and said we could bring Jason, so it was a no brainer. Considering that Finn and I hadn't partied in months, there was no way we weren't going.

For two people who used to get drunk every weekend, we were going on a new record. But it wasn't by choice, we just didn't have time to party. Needless to say, I was going to end that dry spell without hesitation.

"What happened between Al and Chris, anyway? You never filled me in." Finn brought up while crossing his ankles on my desk. He was sitting in the light wash wood and metal ikea chair with it balancing on the back two legs.

I was sitting on my bed, scrolling through the news on my laptop. I'm lame, I know. "I think the distance screwed them. It was a mutual decision but I think it hurt Al a lot more. Apparently he 'didn't want to cheat on her so he had to break up with her'." I said while looking from my screen to Finn, who had taken his eyes off of his phone.

"Did he say that?" Finn asked surprised. His sweet hearted best friend would never say something like that. Or so we thought.

"Supposedly." I replied while eyeing him. "Al said he's hanging with a different crowd. Not the nicest people. Getting drunk all the time, living a player lifestyle."

Finn scoffed, clearly recalling when he slept around and all the fights he got in for sleeping with peoples girlfriends. Don't get me wrong; I slept around too but Finn was much more reckless. I had people like Finn and Sam set me up while Sam and Finn just saw a pretty girl and went for it. I didn't think that made him a bad person, honestly. If the girl was cheating then that's her problem. It's not like he asked if she was single. I'm sure if he knew he wouldn't hook up with them; not after what happened with his mom. Speaking of which, Finn hadn't talked about her in three days, since that fight.

"If Chris wants to throw away all his friends, then fine. That's his problem."

I gave Finn a knowing look, my lips turned down. "You know what's not true." I said gently. If Sam did that to me, I'd be broken. Finn must be feeling a similar sort of hurt despite having plans with Chris for New Years.

"Of course it's not true." He muttered and put his phone on the white desk, leaning his head against his fist on the back of the chair, looking at me. "But what am I supposed to do? Fucking cry about it?"

Of course he would say that. A stereotypical man at his finest. But I can't say I didn't expect that response. "I honestly don't know, but it is okay to be sad about it."

Finn rolled his eyes. "It's not like I've talked to him everyday and we suddenly aren't on speaking terms. It happened so slow that I didn't even realize. Some people are just friends because they see each other every day. I guess that's what Chris was. It doesn't matter now."

"If it makes you feel better, the same thing happened with my friends from California. I knew them for 12 years and then we were strangers." I suppose Finn was right. When it happens slow enough, you stop caring but that doesn't stop the hurt when you think of the memories. "Have you talked to your father?" I changed the topic.

"Yeah." He responded bluntly.

"Did that end in a fight too?" I asked knowingly.

"Yes. So what? He should have warned me that bitch was there." He spat bitterly. Sometimes I think Finn carried his anger and his fathers. Instead of moving on, his dad's indifference angered Finn more. I couldn't judge him, my family had never had issues like this. I don't even know how I would begin to feel in that situation.