You'll Be Okay

Chapter 14

A/N: TW - mention of ED in the first half of the chapter.

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Kayley and I arrived at the party, fashionably late as she insisted.

We were dressed in matching outfits, a bandeau and miniskirt although mine was black and hers was white. It was a throwback to when we were younger and coordinated outfits to go trick-or-treating - only now, it was a huge Halloween beach bonfire. As unoriginal as our angel and devil outfits were, it was hard to get creative in the midst of the many other playboy bunnies, sexy witches, vampires, skeletons and the other clichéd, overdone costumes. By the time twilight had settled over Miami beach, most of the girls had ditched their heels.

"Let's get this party started!" Reid emerged, carrying a keg over his shoulder. He was apparently too cool to dress up, wearing a plain white t-shirt and grey track pants. "Drinks, anyone?"

Everyone cheered, almost in sync with the music just as the beat dropped. The soccer team followed shortly, each carrying hundred-pound kegs or lugging coolers filled with beer and vodka. I wasn't sure why there wasn't more variety, but nobody complained.

"Ladies," said Jarred with a grin. He was carrying two glass bottles of Stella Artois and handed Kayley and I one each. "Enjoy."

"Cheers," I raised the glass at him.

As he left, I caught Kayley looking at his back profile appreciatively and I raised my eyebrows with interest. Jarred had that boy-next-door kind of thing going on with his blonde hair and clear blue eyes and I knew many girls were crushing on him - Kayley included, it seemed.

She blushed but nudged me with her shoulder, using the edge of my car keys to pop open our drinks. In comfortable silence, we watched the partygoers for a while and it did bring back memories of a time where Kayley and I enjoyed being at the centre of attention. While she still often stole the spotlight with her bubbly personality, I enjoyed the sidelines nowadays.

"You talked to my mom," Kayley said glumly as she took a swig of her beer.

"Yeah," I admitted. "I was a bit harsh on her."

"No, my childhood would've been shit if it weren't for you and your family." She was quiet for a while, firelight dancing across her face and there was a glimmer of tears in her eyes. "I've given her countless chances to be a mother. Did you know she once told me that she had me because she didn't want to be alone? I was nine, Lex. Nine."

I handed her my untouched drink and she took a long swig, blinking away her angry tears. It had taken three years of patience for Kayley to recover from her eating disorder, easing her anxiety and repairing her relationship with food during a time where her pre-teen self didn't even understand what was going on. And while she hated to be reminded of those harder days now, that kind of resentment towards her mother wasn't going to be easily forgotten.

"You don't owe her anything," I said firmly. "Maybe one day you'll be ready to fix your relationship but you do that on your terms, Kayley. Take your time. And for what it's worth, my parents weren't exactly who I thought they were either."

She looked grateful for the change of topic, gesturing for me to elaborate.

I didn't know the details of my family's deal with the Castellans - and I didn't particularly want to know the details. But my mother's obvious disdain for the family made a lot more sense now. And while I was sure I would never personally compromise my morals for anything, I understood her shame. Even it was a hard pill to swallow.

I flicked some sand off my wrist. "My family went bankrupt a few years ago and the Castellans bought out the firm. I had to hear it from Reid."

If she had been drinking at the time, I would've been doused in beer.