josie woke up to an empty bed. she felt around the bed for her phone and looked at the time that read 9:08pm. she listened to the music outside before she pulled herself out of bed and looked out of her window to see the guys around the pool drinking once again. the girl walked over to where her bathing suits were and decided to put one on. it was a small black bikini. it's all she ever wore because it was her favorite. josie slipped the bathing suit on and grabbed an oversized t shirt and threw it over before she walked downstairs. she looked at the bottle of malibu from last night before she took a large drink of it. it burned her throat which made her cough and scrunch up her face. she read the label before she shrugged her shoulders and continued drinking it. josie walked out back with the bottle in her hand and sat down in one of the chairs and continued drinking.
"now that's something i thought i would never see." jaden shouted from the pool as josie raised the bottle and took another drink.
"just trying to have some fun, i guess." josie said with a small smile.
the girl sat there and continued drinking. she tried her best not to look over to anthony, but she couldn't help it. everytime she looked at him, he was looking at her. josie looked over at her brother who was now making a tiktok with payton. he was starting to get big on there which surprised josie. josie looked over at anthony one more time before she stood up and took her shirt off. she watched as anthony's mouth hung open slightly.
"atta girl, jos!" jaden's friend chase yelled out.
josie stumbled as she made her way to the diving board of the pool. she pushed off and jumped in and instantly grabbed a float. she smiled widely at anthony who was staring at her before she swam over to the ladder and grabbed her drink and walked over to anthony.
"you're drunk." anthony said as he tried to grab the bottle.
josie held up two fingers and separated them slightly before she let out a laugh. she noticed how anthony was the only one dry so she wrapped her arms around him as he tried to push her away.
"isn't this what you wanted, anthony? another chance? this is me giving to you." josie slurred.
"oh shit." payton said as he hit jadens arm which made them look over at anthony and josie.
"we can talk about this when you're sober." anthony said as he took the empty bottle from josie's hands.
"no anthony. i'm all about you. just like you were about me. you know when you fucked me and then ditched me. but i'm still willing to give you a chance to be my best friend again. why? i don't know. i'm kind of a dumbass." josie yelled as she hit his chest. "you knew what i was going though, " she hit his chest again, "and you still left." by this point, josie had tears streaming down her face.
anthony stood there in shock. he had no idea what to say or how to comfort her. jaden walked up behind josie and turned her around and wrapped his arms around her.
"i think it's time to sober up, jos." jaden whispered into her ear in a serious tone.
"what? you afraid he's gonna get butthurt over the truth?" josie snapped as she pulled away from her brother, hot tears still pouring out of her eyes. "i'm not doing this anymore. i can't." josie stormed off back into the house, still soaking wet.
"this is why we don't let her drink." jaden said as he folded his arms over his chest and watched his sister walk inside.
josie laid down on the wooden floor with her hands on her chest. her eyes stayed glued to the ceiling as she thought about what had just happened. all she wanted was her mom to get home so she can tell her all about what happened. her mom was truly her best friend. she loved julia, she really did, but she was one of those friends that only needed you when it was convenient. the door slid open which made josies head turn and look at who entered. she rolled her eyes when anthony walked in and grabbed a bottle of water from the table. anthony walked over to josie who narrowed her eyes at him. he held the bottle of water out which made josie sit up and drink the water. anthony sat down on the ground next to her. josie closed the water bottle and set it down next to her.
"look, i shouldn't have—"
"no. i deserved that. i was a dick to you in the past. but i still want to make it up to you. breakfast in the morning at our favorite place?" anthony smirked with a raised eyebrow which made the girl laugh.
"but i was completely out of line. you are my brothers best friend and it's still polite to have respect, regardless of the past. because it is the past. it's been three years. i can't keep holding onto it for forever." josie explained which made anthony smile.
"so does that mean you'll go with me in the morning?" anthony asked hopefully.
"i guess i'll go." josie said dramatically as she let out a sigh.
"it's a date then." anthony smiled as he held his hand out for josie to shake.
"not a date."
