The Inheritance

Chapter One

Chapter One

I laughed at how stupid my best friend Carly looked. She was dancing on the kitchen table with my two other friends Ryan and Peter, screaming to the music. I grabbed my near-empty wallet and tossed a one at her, hooting. She chuckled at my joke and leaned over to pick it up. She kissed it and held it out to me with a wink as if to say “thank you”.

Graduation had been a few weeks ago, and everyone was still celebrating. Apparently my house was the preferred party site.

We all were moving soon. Well, besides quite a few of my female friends that were daddy’s girls and the boys that wanted to stay home and stuff their face for free during college (and still get their momma to pay for their gas). I was going to a college in Florida because I was given a full-paid scholarship and the medical program was excellent. I was planning on becoming a surgeon or a doctor. 

Plus, the college was close to the beach so that was exciting.  

“I thought we’d be young forever!” I heard someone say.

I turned to find my other best friend Maddie crying into some guy’s shoulder drunkenly, swinging her red solo cup around in her left hand. She clung to the back of his shirt with the other, and he was awkwardly patting her back as he looked around giving off the “SOS” facial expression. 

I smiled and walked over to him, patting him on the arm. “I’ll take it from here,” I told him. To Maddie, I said, “Sweetie, come on, let’s get you upstairs.” 

“We’re getting - ” she hiccuped “ - so old, B…” She hiccuped again and wiped her nose with the back of her hand as I lifted her up off the counter top and onto her feet, holding up her weight with my arm.  

“Maddie, we haven’t even hit nineteen yet,” I replied, walking through my living room towards the back hall.

 She sniffled. “I know, but…we’re all separating.” Hiccup. “It use to be just the, just the three of us. Me…you…Carls.” Hiccup. “We gossiped together, shared all our secrets…” Hiccup. She reached up and stroked the right side of my face with the back of her hand. “You’re my bestest buddies, B.” 

“You two are my best buds too,” I told her, unlocking the door to my bedroom with a quarter in my pocket. 

She cupped my chin and squeezed my cheeks. “Then why are you leaving us?” 

I laughed. “Maddie, you’re going off to New York.” 

I plopped her down on the bed. She popped up and pursed her lips. “Yeah, but you’re leaving sooner than us.” Hiccup. “We aren’t leaving until the week before school.” 

I sighed and took her cup away from her. “I want to adjust to the new lifestyle.” 

After walking to the bathroom and emptying her alcohol into the sink, I walked back to the bed, leaving the door open and the light on for her to get to the toilet if she needed to. 

“It’s not fair,” she whined, squirming around on top of my blankets.

I pulled them over her and sat beside her.  

“Maddie, we’re still going to be best friends,” I said as I lifted her head up enough to gather her hair in a bun on top of her head. “We’re just going to see each other less often.”

“How are we going to have parties at your house every weekend?” she asked, gazing up at me with questioning eyes and furrowed eyebrows. 

I patted her shoulder. “We’re not, Maddie,” I answered. “You’re going to party in New York with new people.”

“I like the people we have now,” she said. Hiccup.

 I smiled. “Me too. But we just have to party with them when we get back from college.”

 “I want to party all the time,” she sighed.

 I shook my head. “Maddie, I don’t think you ever drink this much.”

 She rolled over and buried her face in my pillow, closing her eyes. “I wanted to stop being sad.”

 My heart clenched at her words. I knew Maddie was a very faithful friend, and it was hard for her to let go of us after middle school. When Maddie was in the sixth grade, her best friend died of cancer. She didn’t let anyone in for a few years. When tenth grade finally rolled around, Carly and I broke down her barriers and gained her trust. Three years of the strongest friendship you can find, and now Maddie felt like she was losing it. 

 I brushed her hair away from her forehead. “You won’t lose us, Maddie.”

 But her breathing was already growing steadier. She was asleep. 

 I stood up and locked the door behind me, leaving her safely tucked into bed. I would return later in the night to sleep on the floor so that I could care for her in the morning…no doubt that I would need a few Ibuprofen and a large glass of water.

Someone came up behind me and wrapped their arms around my waist. “Hey, beautiful.”

I smiled at the sound of my boyfriend Jon’s voice. “Hello, handsome.”

I turned and placed my hand on his cheek, looking up into his shining eyes. I wondered if this was what love felt like, all this tingling and butterflies and happiness. He really was an amazing guy, and I hoped we would last a long time. I could see myself marrying him in a few years to be honest. He was kind and funny…not to mention beautiful. His body was perfect and his hair was long and brown. He had the silvery-green eyes of his mother.

“I’m going to miss you,” he said, frowning.

I shook my head. “We’ll still see each other.”

“Of course,” he replied as he brushed his thumb over my cheek. “We can make it. It’s just long distance. We’ll have weekends and such.”

I grinned. “Something so little could never break us up,” I confirmed, leaning in to kiss him.