"Yes, but it's your twenty first birthday. The age where you're given the key to life"
After a cathartic event takes place on the night of her twenty first birthday, Beverley makes an impulsive decision and has to adjust to the path she took whilst...
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Matthew was at the lobby with Kevin by the time Maren and I arrived.
"Good morning, ladies." He greeted us.
"Hey, Matt." Maren greeted him. "Kevin." She curtly acknowledged him.
"Where are you off to?" I asked.
"Off to exploring the city while taking pictures to add to my collection." Matthew said lifting the camera that hung securely around his neck.
"I decided to tag along since I don't really have anything to do." Kevin shrugged. "What about you guys?"
"Maren and I were also going out for site seeing. Maybe we can join you guys." I suggested earning an incredulous look from Maren.
"I think the fuck no - "
I quickly clamped her mouth with my hand offering the two gentlemen an apologetic smile. "We'll meet you guys at the car." I said.
"Alright, but don't take too long, okay." Matthew said, leaving with Kevin.
By the time they were gone, Maren removed my hand before slapping my arm.
"Dude! What the fuck?!" she exclaimed.
"Would you rather we spend God knows how much on an Uber all day?" I asked.
"We could have asked my step brother to drive us around if that was going to be a problem."
"Bullshit! You're just saying that because you want to avoid being around Kevin."
"Pft! No!"
"I'm pretty sure you would have had no problem with Matthew taking us if Kevin wasn't there."
She opened her mouth to retort but closed it soon after - a response she always gave when she knows I'm right.
I sighed, "Mare, you're not making it any better giving him the cold shoulder. Why can't y'all just talk?"
"Because the moment I let him talk, the only thing I'll be hearing are excuses and empty promises." She told me. "I hate it when he just pretends like he didn't piss me off and think that I'll forgive him that easy."
She adverted her gaze from mine. I could already tell that she was doing her best to hide her tears.
If there was one thing I knew about Maren, it was that even though she always put up a tough exterior and acted like nothing gets to her, she was as fragile as glass when it came to matters of the heart. She was never really the type to talk about her feelings and her emotions to anyone - not even to me, but given that I was around her most of the time and that I was a very observant person, it was easy to pick out a few things even though she often tried to hide it from me.
"Hey," I said softly. "look at me."
When she did, I asked, "Do you love him?"
"Of course, I do," she said with no hesitation. "he's a pain in my ass and I have to resist every urge to smack him across the head, but I love him regardless."
