Life After Life

•C h a p t e r F o r t y - T w o•

I sat on Avery's bed with a warm, fluffy white blanket tucked underneath my legs.

Everything in her room screamed Avery, from the baby blue curtains and bedsheets to her white desk and picture frames endowed with pink flowers. The television in her room was turned on, the volume low as it played out a random cartoon.

I hadn't said much since I'd arrived half an hour ago and Avery hadn't pushed me. She probably already knew something was wrong, given my red nose and swollen eyes. I only felt numb now.

She stepped back into the room, both of her hands grasping mugs filled with hot chocolate as she kicked the door shut behind her.

She set the mugs down on her bedside table, plopping down onto the bed beside me.

"I called your dad to tell him you are at my place, just so they don't call the cops in the morning," Avery told me, and I nodded, my lips pressed flat.

I still wanted nothing to do with home, or my mom. She was the one who'd caused everything that happened tonight. It was supposed to be a great day with Liam, now I didn't even have him anymore.

"Okay, I'm all ears, what happened?" she asked, pulling the duvet over her legs.

My eyes burned again just from the thought of the events of the night, but I had no tears left to shed.

"Liam and I broke up," I told her, my voice hoarse as I swallowed down the lump in my throat. Her mouth hung open slightly before she shut it again, speechless.

"Why?" she finally asked, grabbing her mug and handing me my own. I took it into my hands and the hot mug warmed my cold hands immediately. She seemed nonchalant, but I knew she was dying for me to elaborate.

"He said that I push him away when he tries to help. And that he was over it," I grumbled, not at all thrilled to be rehashing everything to Avery. I thought I wanted to talk about it, but now just wanted to forget, maybe curl up into a ball and watch the Titanic.

Avery watched me, her dark eyes scrutinizing me. My brows furrowed at her reaction, which was out of character. By then, she would've called Liam many colorful names — she did with Hunter anyway.

"What's wrong, Avery?" I asked.

She sighed, grimacing, "You're not gonna like to hear this but, I know where Liam is coming from."

My eyes widened, "Huh?"

"I'm your best friend, so I'll tell you the truth," she held a flat expression on her face. "You've gotten pissed at me a couple times for trying to speak up for you with Hunter. I let it go because despite what you think, I'm still gonna do it because I'm your best friend. You can't handle everything yourself."

Her words sunk in and my lips curled down. My fingers gripped the handle of the mug tightly, my knuckles almost turning white.

You can't handle everything yourself. Those words echoed in my head.

"There's gotta be something wrong with me," I told her, glancing over at her as she took a long sip from her own mug.

She set her mug down onto her table, rolling her eyes. Her lips twitched up, "There's nothing wrong with you, you just gotta let go sometimes. There's nothing wrong with depending on someone or accepting help."

"Let go," I echoed, emotionlessly. "I don't know, maybe. Enough about me, how has your day been?"

Avery chuckled at my change in topic, but didn't pry or force me to talk any more.

"It was okay," she started, biting down on her lip. "I sort of ended things with that guy from the coffee shop, you know, with Brandon."

"Oh? Why?" I asked, taking a small sip from the mug. I immediately felt comforted from the sweetness of the hot chocolate.