AMBY AWARDS TOP PICK 2023 ❤️
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"You think I can't act like I'm into you?" He asks in a whisper. He reaches out, and strokes a finger down my cheek, and I feel myself shiver at the touch.
"You think I can't convince everyone that I have f...
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The first thing I do when I wake up the following morning is cringe at my main memory from last night. Why did I do that? I'm such an idiot.
And, no, I'm not ready to talk about it yet. Let me just spiral dramatically for a wee while; metaphorically beat myself up, until I'm emotionally black and blue. And when I'm finally on the precipice of a nervous breakdown, maybe then I'll be ready to reveal all.
In the meantime, I have to get myself ready for Delilah's First Communion.
Delilah is my other little sister, and she's much younger than myself and Lou. My mum had me when she was only 20, and Lou followed four years later. My parents hadn't actually planned to have another kid, so when mum got pregnant again at 42, it was a bit of a shock for all of us.
But, to be honest, it turned out to be the best surprise ever, because my baby sister is an absolute doll. We all absolutely worship the ground she walks on. And the adorable little brat knows it.
I try to be as quiet as possible as I leave my room. My high-heeled shoes dangle from one hand as I creep along the hallway, hoping desperately not to disturb Ric. I briefly consider crawling, but my floral sundress wrinkles easily. Plus crawling would slow me down. I can make a far more efficient escape using just my legs.
A floorboard creaks beneath my feet and I freeze for the briefest of moments, ears pricked for any noise coming from behind his bedroom door. I hear nothing though, so I make a break for the exit, my heart pumping loudly in my chest as I make it outside.
I'm being overdramatic, right? What happened last night wasn't that bad, surely? My face heats up again as the memory revisits me, and I cringe.
No. It was that bad.
Lou is waiting for me outside in Tam's van. Tam is not. He played the aetheist card to get himself out of coming to a religious ceremony. Which is slightly unfair because I know it wouldn't have worked if I had tried to do the same thing. But I guess blood is thicker than water and all that. Plus I don't think my folks like Tam very much.
"You look a bit . . . freaked out." That's the first thing Lou says to me when I haul myself up into the passenger seat. "You okay?"
I nod. Try to force myself not to dwell on last night once again. "Yeah. Just had to get ready in a hurry; I slept in." A blatant lie. I've been up for hours. Spent about two hours doing my make-up as a result. My perfect eyeliner flicks took approximately twenty attempts, but I had given myself the gift of time thanks to my overworked brain.
"Hmmm." I can tell she doesn't believe me. It's fine. I'll tell her later. Once I can get the words out. She starts telling me about the argument she and Tam had after she got home last night, and I half-listen while I pick anxiously at the edges of my pink-painted nails.
Despite allowing loads of time and setting off early for the trip to the suburbs, we get stuck in roadworks, of course, so make it to the chapel just before the mass starts. I barely get a chance to say hi to my parents and granny before everything kicks off.
