The Last Word

Chapter 6

Turns out, this was why Sabrina had been acting so strange this past month. Not only had her parents called her disgusting for being gay, they also completely stopped speaking to her. She was an only child, the only other family who were fine with her being gay, was her cousin, Brendan, who currently lived in France.

Once we got home on my birthday, I invited her over for a sleepover and just as we did when we were kids, we slept in my bed laughing as we reminisced over her acting skills in Hairspray, during sophomore year, she played Amber of course. I had helped with props and set design whilst Mrs. Yongling, the drama teacher had danced the entire chorography backstage. I think she'd been hoping Sabrina wouldn't nail her audition and she'd get to play Amber and get one more chance to live out her youth performing on stage. But Sabrina was an excellent singer and dancer, her parents had her in dance classes the moment she could walk.

"Remember when Roger Pickling tripped over that bottle of hairspray during Nicest Kids in Town," I began as Sabrina burst into laughter, tears streaming down her face.

By midnight, we were both exhausted from laughing until our stomachs ached. I tucked my violet and silver striped quilt cover under Sabrina's chin as she drifted off to sleep, she always got cold in the night whereas I always overheated no matter what season it was.

As I lay beside my best-friend, I gazed at her sleeping face. I truly didn't care she was gay, but I couldn't help but feel a small niggle in the back of mind, a niggle of hurt. Why hadn't she told me sooner? Why hadn't she confided in me? Surely, she had to know I wouldn't be bothered in the slightest if she was gay, straight, bi-sexual or anything else for that matter. All I hoped was that she'd find true love, she deserves to be happy. One of us does at least.

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"Thought you might like a rare gift for your birthday." I fought the urge to roll my eyes as William spoke. He would be able to see me given we were having a Zoom meeting, so I kept my expression blank as he smirked at me.

"By rare gift you mean six pages of Willow bickering with Theodore about who's paying for the parking fine? It's obvious, isn't it? Theodore decided to park there, it wasn't Willow's fault."

He shook his head, "But she told him to get to her place urgently, he was stressed and wasn't thinking properly about where he was parking."

"But it's not about paying the fine. It's about teaching him a lesson, that he can't just do anything he wants and expect no repercussions. He chose to not tell her about his ex-wife being a psychopath and therefore put her in danger. No wonder she panicked finding her house torn apart like that."

William furrowed his brow. "What if he didn't want to scare her? He didn't want her to become like him, always having to look over his shoulder, always worrying she'd found him again?"

"If he truly loves her, or is falling in love with her, he would tell her by now. Before there is love, there must be trust and respect."

He grew silent. I knew from previous experience he knew I was right but didn't want to admit it, not just yet. I pressed my lips together as he tapped his fingers against his desk. In the background I could see a large room full of deep oak bookcases. His office was within his house, or rather mansion. I didn't know whereabouts he lived only that it must be on the outskirts of the city. Sometimes he would shift in his chair and I could just make out a window in the corner of his screen, filled with tall green trees on a grassy hill. But living so far from the firm didn't stop him from dropping in unannounced, his driver must get paid extremely well, having to drive the world's most pompous author all over the city just to annoy me in person.