A Nightmare's Fate

Thanksgiving

Chapter Twenty: Thanksgiving

During the reception, I'm in need to unite with Periwinkle and Jessie privately. In need to know why they are here, I turn to Errik with a guilty smile on my face. "What is it that ya want?" he asks, his eyebrows arching upwards with a half smirk on his lips.

            "I need to talk to my friends quickly, so can I trust you to be alone for a few minutes?" I question as if he's a mere child who always gets into mischief if not watched.

            He puts his hands on my shoulders, gawking into my eyes like he's trying to convince me to do something. "I’m not a child, so yes. Ya can trust me," he says in the most compelling way.

            With a chuckle, I leave to find Periwinkle and Jessie at a small table drinking champagne. They both have blank faces, not entirely readable either. It's as if they are angry or displeased with me, but in a calm matter.

            Sitting down on a chair on the left side of Jessie whereas Periwinkle is on her right, I shake my head in dismay. "What are you both doing here?" I inquire, my eyes shifting to each of them every few seconds. "You both don't stand up for me in front of Freddy and you so happen to come here to my own mother's wedding?"

            "We were invited," Periwinkle states sternly. My breaths remain calm, but become unsteady for a few moments as I breathe out from my nostrils.

            "Yeah, you were invited, but why the hell didn't you stand up for me?" I snap. I can feel my eyes widen in anger, and at the same time, disappointment. "You both are my best friends, so how can you not––" I pause while clearing my throat, trying to look for the right words to say, "––help me in the time of need when Freddy just goes off and tells me that I shouldn't hang around a person who he doesn't even know. I did what you guys asked; I'm trying my best to recover and when I'm around Errik, I feel like I already have been."

            Jessie brushes a small lock of hair in the back of her ear. "And we're grateful for that, but what if Freddy is right? Maybe Errik isn't such a good person," she announces while her greenish-blue eyes shimmer in the sunlight as the sun beats down on her face.

            My eyebrows furrow and my eyes narrow down onto her. "You have the nerve to say that to me when you only met him for a few moments? You haven't hung around him long enough to even know who he is, so don't come to me and say that crap. You're the one who doesn't like me being 'depressed,' so do yourself a favor, Jessie, and shut the hell up."

            Glancing around to check if anyone is staring at us, which there isn't due to the lack of hearing out here from the music, I then add, "Stop butting into my life. I thought you all would be happy for me that I'm finally coming out of my shell, but I guess I'm wrong. The first person I meet and actually like that gets me out of this depressed shell I'm stuck in and then you all have to judge him by his character. Why can't you stick around to get to know him, then you'll probably think differently than what you assumed. Maybe we're not friends after all." I stand and walk away, heading back to Errik who is sitting down at the bride and groom’s table, drinking a beer.

*~*~*~*~*

Shutting the car door behind me, I walk up the two steps in the garage and push the button to allow the garage door to close. I pace my way up the stairs and into my bedroom where I collapse onto the bed and throw my shoes onto the carpet. I feel the need to cry, but no sobs shed down my broken heart; the only thing keeping me from crying is the thought of hope.