Pepper never meant to lose her best friend. Lucas never meant to fall in love.
Yet the aftermath of broken hearts leads them to blur the lines of their friendship forever. When Pepper is dumped by her boyfriend and Lucas is led on by his crush, they...
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WAKING UP MONDAY MORNING sinks my bones into the mattress. My stomach churns and I contemplate whether or not I can play the sick card and get out of going to school today. Surely my parents won't mind me missing out so early in the year.
Then I won't have to deal with the chaotic boys in my life.
I can't think about Mason for another second, and facing Lucas feels like an impending horror show. The fact that I slept with him remains unreal to me. Of all the dumb, impulsive decisions I've made in my life, that has to be the worst.
Remember what Martsia said. Just tell him how you feel. He'll understand.
That advice chants in my head like a prayer as I gather myself for the morning. Every effort I make as I slip into my clothes is heavy. Sweeping my makeup brushes across my face feels sluggish and foreign.
My stomach drops when his deep, disembodied voice mingles with my parents from downstairs. Squirming in my cushioned stool, I stare into my blinding mirror and tug my curls into a loose ponytail that falls over my shoulder.
My gaze darts to Mason's jacket shoved in the corner of my open closet. Don't do it. Just forget about him. I wear a fluffy, pink coat instead. With my final touches in place, I scrutinize the girl in the mirror and smile. Everything is fine. Everything is normal.
Taptaptap. A soft knock on my bedroom door sends my heart lurching straight onto my lap. I turn in time to catch Lucas peeking in with hesitation drawn along his face. Something fragile that resembles a smile rests there. "Hey...you ready?"
"Yeah." My response is so soft, I'm not sure he can hear it, but he nods and backs away.
I miss him. It's only been two days, but I miss him so much more than the universe should allow a single soul to miss another.
My legs are shaky and unreliable, but I follow him downstairs to where my parents are leaving for work. I go through the motions of smiling as if I didn't lose a relationship with their future son-in-law or sleep with my best friend, ignoring the chronic worry in their eyes and their sudden rigidness as I kiss them goodbye and wish them well for the day. Perhaps I'm just not smiling big enough.
Trailing Lucas into the pale morning is depressing. Silly jokes and complaints about going to school would always fill the chilled air as we loaded into his truck. Condensation would leave our shivering lips, but smiles were so rosy off our cheeks. He'd jump in his old truck and blast the music until it reverberated off the windows.
Climbing inside now, the music is down to a low murmur with heat being the only thing blasting. He takes off down the street. We're both mute. I lean my arm against the window and stare through the fog-stained surface.
Lucas doesn't let the silence linger for long. "About what happened Friday, I-"
"I'm sorry!" I cut him off, turning at the opportunity to make things right. "It never should have happened."
