Joyride

Chapter Sixteen

The sticky hot weather from summer has definitely worn off now. It's chilly spending lunch out in the exposed grassy fields, so before English starts I hurry to my locker to fish out my jumper I'd stored in there a few weeks ago.

In the classroom, I make a beeline straight for my usual desk in the front but I'm intercepted by a voice calling out, 'Billie!'

I look up and spot David, Ashton's friend, lounging in the back row. He pats the desk next to his.

'Let me copy off you,' he jokes. Smiling, I sit down next to him, spreading my books across the table. I'd been anxious about sitting with Ashton's friends, but David had made it such a pleasant experience I feel obliged to sit with him out of gratitude.

David is pleasant to sit next to in class. He's attentive to the content and even engages with me during class discussions. I'm surprised– I've been under the impression Ashton hangs out with the lazy popular kids, but so far I've been pleasantly surprised.

I toy with the idea of sitting with Ashton's friends again for lunch tomorrow, but it's still up in the air. During maths, Stephanie glares daggers into my back, most likely for ditching them during lunch, but also probably because of Ryan, who she continues to cosy up to during class.

At least it's expected. Despite all the passive aggressive comments Stephanie spits at me, I feel comfort in the knowledge that if or when she abandons me, I won't suffer any grief over it. And it's that thought that pushes me to sit with Stephanie again instead of joining Ashton and his friends permanently.

⦓✦⦔

I get home late, after five. Dad's car isn't in the driveway, so he's not home yet, as usual. I check the mailbox on my way in and fish out the stack of letters, flipping through them as I let myself inside. It's mostly just bills addressed to dad. One envelope sticks out like a sore thumb, cut taller out of a thick, pearly-white paper. It's addressed to dad, but I'm too curious not to look. Carefully, I slide my thumb under the seal, peeling it back. A crisp white slip of cardstock slips out. It's a wedding invitation.

You are cordially invited to the wedding of Donna Feye and Jason Pratt.

A chill settles into my skin and an instant sweat condenses into drops on my face. Mum is remarrying? Who is Jason Pratt?

Clumsy fingers fight to force the invitation back into the envelope, sticking the seal back down. The blood rushes back into my face and I feel it heat iron-hot. My heart pounds right through to my fingertips. Stumbling to my room, I collapse on the bed and hide under the covers as heaving sobs overtake my body.

⦓✦⦔

I spend the remainder of the evening in bed. The wedding invitation is burned into my vision. I see it every time I close my eyes. Of course she was going to just remarry after abandoning us like it was nothing. If anything, this serves as an acute reminder that no one is a permanent fixture in my life, especially not my own mother.

There's a jingling of keys, and then the front door is opened and slammed shut. It's dad. After only seeing him a few days ago after Stephanie's party, I hadn't been expecting to see him again so soon.

I find him in the kitchen, sifting through the envelopes that have piled up since his last visit home.

'Hey Bills, you get something to eat yet?' he doesn't look up from the mail.

'No,' I shrug.

Dad freezes, and I follow his eyesight to the pearly-white envelope on the other end of the bench where I'd thrown it earlier.