The Beard

Chapter Twenty-Nine

After I had confessed Sebastian's secret to Micah, Cody had walked in with two boxes of pizza. He had a small smirk on his face, a daunting look in his eyes as he looked at me. It made me wonder if he had heard the last part of our conversation. I've never disliked someone so much until now.

When our stomachs were full of pizza and there was half a box left, we all decided to call it a day. The longer we stayed, the higher chance of snow locking us in. Nobody wants to drive on frozen roads. There wouldn't have been enough time to get all the roads covered in salt. With that being said, I had offered Micah to stay over at my house. Unfortunately she would have to endure the presence of Shelly.

That's the exact reason we're held up in my room, snacks and blankets being our best friend. The TV is playing Christmas movies, marathons on all the cutesy channels like Hallmark and Freeform. The small space heater in my room is notched up to provide extra warmth since my dad had decided that turning out the house heater would overheat us all which I agree with.

"I can't believe Sebastian made you his scapegoat," Micah says as she takes a bite out of a mini, powdered donut. "How could he do that to you?"

I giggle lightly at the sight of Micah with powdered sugar covering her lips. "He was just confused. I get it...I mean you find something out about yourself, sometimes you don't know how to handle it."

Micah scoffs, shoving another donut into her mouth. She shakes her head, swallowing with a grimace on her face. "Jesus Christ. I feel like I just swallowed a rock. That was too thick."

I shove Micah lightly, laughing at her face. Her eyes are narrowed and her lips are curled in disgust. She slaps her chest, repeatedly clearing her throat. Handing her a water bottle, I watch as she opens the cap harshly and begins guzzling the liquid down.

"Anyways," she coughs, recapping the bottle and setting it down. "I mean, I definitely get being confused, but to you use like that? Emie, that's really shitty. Damn, that's why you had been so mopey."

With my lips pressed into a thin line, I nod my head slowly. She hit the nail on the head. But that's the thing about Micah, she can be really observant when it really matters.

"I can't fault him, I don't want to," I mumbled, an awkward smile on my face. "Sebastian has only known me, just as I've only known him."

Micah tilts her head to the side, her face blank. "Listen, Emie, you can't let him do that-"

"We broke up, if you've forgotten. There is no more Sebastian and Emie. I don't think we could get back together, even if Sebastian said he's in love with me." I shake my head, tears welling in my eyes. I'm so tired of crying, I feel like it's all I've been doing lately.

"Wait, what!" Micah grabs my arm, squeezing as she spazzes out on the bed. The hold bed shakes as she fake convulses. She stopped suddenly and uses her grip on my arm to pull herself up. "Sebastian says he's in love with you? Oh shit."

I roll my eyes at how dramatic she's being. Not only that, but the covers are now wrinkled and messy looking. "Micah, Sebastian is gay, remember? He can't be in love with me."

Micah slaps my face. Not hard, but a slap nonetheless. My cheek tingles from the contact with her hand and I can't help but blink in disbelief.

"Emerson, I can't," Micah shakes her head, huffing and puffing, mumbling under her breath, She looks at me, an angry frown on her face. "You said it yourself, Sebastian is confused."

"Right, so he's confusing love with loneliness." I mumbled, rubbing my cheek. "Why did you hit me? My cheek is tingling."

"I need to slap the ignorance out of you." Micah says, shrugging. She eats another donut and shifts her body so she's laying on her side instead of sitting up.