Fighting the Disquiet

7

 "You can't stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes." 

― A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

The rest of the week went by quickly. It was pretty much a repeat of Monday minus the after school frozen yogurt. Went to school, ate lunch with Summer and her friends, avoided talking to Decker as much as possible, came home, did my homework, binged Netflix into the wee hours of the night, and repeat. Today is Friday, which means I get two whole days away from people and I can focus on my hobbies: watching Netflix and eating junk food alone in my room.

Summer had been begging me all week to come to the sleepover but I continued to politely decline her invitation. My dad had picked me up 30 minutes late again and I groaned when I saw Tanner's BMW parked outside. Does he ever go home?

"Hey, can I stay the night at my friend's house?" I ask before I can think.

Why did I say that? I don't really want to go to the sleepover. But, I really, really don't want to spend another night in the house with Wade and Tanner. Even though I was getting over that stupid fucked up nightmare I had, that didn't mean I wanted to be around their dickhead selves, Especially since Friday nights my dad and Julia go out on dates so I'd be there with them alone.

"Of course," my dad replies, smiling, "you need a ride over?"

"Yeah, let me see what time I should go over. I'll let you know," I say as I exit the car and enter the house through the garage. Luckily I'm able to avoid seeing Tanner and Wade because they aren't downstairs in the living room when I pass through it to head to my room.

As I climb the stairs I pull out my iPhone and send a text to Summer.

Me: Is it too late for me to say yes?

Summer: omg no! Come over right now! Here's my address.

Of course, she replied immediately and I could just imagine how excited she got when she read my text. She really does act like a stereotypical cheerleader always jumping around with excitement and squealing.

I quickly pack a bag after hollering down to my dad that we can leave in 15 minutes. I throw in a pair of pajamas, clean underwear for tomorrow, something to wear home in the morning, and my toothbrush and toothpaste. As I'm leaving my room I also grab my phone charger and my makeup remover wipes.

"I'm ready!" I yell as I run down the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Wade asks me from where he's leaning against the kitchen island.

I ignore his pointed expression and reply, "Friend's house."

I turn to head towards the garage when I run into Tanner. His hands grip my arms as I almost topple over. I look up at him to find him smirking down at me, notably at my boobs. The expression makes my heart starts to race and not in a good way. I rip my arms out of his grasp.

"Watch where you're going," he says as I pass him and leave the house.

I can still feel his touch on my arms and I rub them subconsciously as I opened the car door and sling my stuff inside. Even though it was perfectly reasonable for him to catch me as I ran into him, he's still a perv and I don't like him.

I block it out and scroll through Pinterest to distract myself.

"Ready?" My dad says as he enters the garage.

"Yeah," I say. Obviously, but I don't add that part because I don't want to be a bitch and close my door as he climbs in.

"So, what's the address?" He asks.

I text it to him and he gets it all set up on his media console before backing out of the garage. It is a short ride, maybe 15 minutes, before we pull up outside her house. I see Scott's car parked in the driveway and I take a deep breath. I'm tempted to tell my dad just to turn the car around so I can enjoy watching Netflix all night alone in my room but I remember that Wade and Tanner are home and I clutch the door handle.

"Bye, I'll call you tomorrow when I'm ready to get picked up."

"Bye honey, I love you," he calls out the window before driving away.

I walk up her driveway and press the doorbell. Dogs immediately start barking from somewhere inside the house and I plaster a smile on my face as I hear someone inside shout that they're coming.

"Hi!" Summer squeals pulling me into an involuntary hug before letting me enter the house.

"Coco, Daisy, hush!" She says to the dogs who are still barking at me.

One is a chihuahua and the other looks like a small wiener dog.

"Sorry, your not allergic are you?" She asks scrunching up her face.

"No, not at all," I smile.

Once they stopped barking they were actually really cute. I wish I had a dog. I could train it to sic Wade and Tanner.

"Well come on, we're out back at the pool," she says which explains why she is only wearing a bikini top and a pair of short shorts.

She gasps and turns to face me, "Shoot, I forgot to tell you. Did you bring a bikini?"

I shake my head no and her disappointed face quickly changes to a smile, "No worries I can lend you one. Follow me."

She leads me up a staircase and down a long hallway pointing out Scott's room, a hall bathroom, and then finally her bedroom.

I set my bag on the floor by her vanity where I notice two other bags are laying and I awkwardly wait while she rummages through her closet.

"Perfect!" She exclaims before stepping out, "Here try these. They should fit."

I smile and thank her, unsure of where she expects me to change.

"Oh, sorry. I'll leave you to it. Just come down when you're ready."

She smiles and I watch her bounce down the hallway.