October to October

{Chapter Twenty-Nine}

  The girls chased after her; Lauren's heart beating madly. Was Wren going to tell Jake?

  Wren whirled around three cars away. "I don't want to talk to you! Please don't speak to me!"

  "Wren!" Joan was crying as she pulled Wren's arm. "Stop!"

  "So what? Are you seducing my friends now? Krishma and Sandra aren't enough? Plus there is the whole fact you didn't even trust me to tell me you were gay. I thought we were friends, Joan. Henry wouldn't tell me. Now I see you making out with my best friend who has an effing boyfriend! Do you not care about that at all?"

  "Would you please calm down?" Lauren shouted as she tried to catch up with them.

  "You have a boyfriend!" Wren accused Lauren. "He's my friend! So what? Are you going to dump him?"

  "... Yes, I am," Lauren said as she finally caught up with them. 

  Wren stared at her; looking unsure of what to say.

  "So what is happening? Are you guys having sex?" Wren finally demanded. "How long has this been going on? How long have you been cheating on Jake? Are you guys serious?"

  "No! I don't know what we are, and I don't know what to do about Jake!" Lauren realized she was crying as Wren spoke. "I'm confused as hell, and you are not helping things!"

  "Hey, I'm sorry!" Wren looked stricken as Lauren started to sob. "I'm just shocked. I didn't mean it in a cruel way. I'm not trying to hurt you. I'm just... I don't even know what to say."

  "Can we just calm down?" Joan said. "Let's not turn this into a debacle. C'mon. Let's all sit here on the curb. I know it's new to you Wren, but Lauren has been struggling with this for some time, and worrying over it so please take it easy on her."

  "I'm sorry," Wren said again as Joan sat next to Lauren on the curb. "It just isn't every day you find out your best friend is cheating on your other friend with your boyfriend's roommate who happens to be another girl!"

  "You aren't helping," Joan told Wren as Lauren started to cry harder. "Listen to me. Lauren was great when she realized you had changed your mind about sex, and you ended up with Henry. She was your only friend who you trusted to tell, and she was the only one who respected your decision as an adult. Please do the same to Lauren. It's only fair."

  Wren's face softened as she sat on the curb and stared at her wet sneakers. "You're right... I'm just so surprised. I never thought. Well, I guess I might have from time to time because you guys were so close, and then suddenly you guys stopped speaking, but I always brushed it off."

  She grew quiet as she thought it over.

  "I guess I'm just hurt neither of you told me. Not that it's any of my business, but both of you are like... my best friends. It hurts. You know so much about me after all."

  "I didn't even know myself until recently," Lauren said. "So please don't feel left out. I was really confused and... I used Joan. I was too scared to be with her though so I ended up hurting her, and that's why we stopped talking to each other."

 "So what is going to happen now? Are you guys dating now?" Wren asked gently.

  "We don't know," Lauren and Joan said at the same time, and they gave each other weak smiles.

  "How long has this been going on?" Wren asked; looking stricken at the clear intimacy between them. 

  "... It went on for a little while, but we ended it," Joan said. "Let's not go down that road right now."