The Big Five

17. BFFs and the surprise guest

"You don't have to continue if you don't want to."

I shook my head. "No, I need to get this off my chest."

I took a moment to gather my thoughts then continued, "So, I ran away. He would have raped me if I didn't. I ran from him and didn't stop until I reached my house. Joey was there, playing a video game with Trey.

"I barged in, tears streaming down my face. At first, Trey was mad at me for interrupting him. Then he saw me and asked what happened. I told him everything. Joey too.

"Trey went to Paul's house and taught him a lesson. We had to bail him out of jail afterwards. Paul never talked to me again, and, like the idiot that I was, I still loved him. He must have known this because he openly kissed other girls. He got more passionate that he needed to whenever I was there to see it.

"He was a jerk. It took me a while to get over him. I managed to forget him, but the wound is still fresh. That's why I don't want to date yet. I especially don't want to date one of the Big Five. They remind me of Paul. I never want to go through something like that again."

There was a moment of silence. A long moment after I finished. Maggie and Emma were dead serious. Then, it came flooding out.

"I'm sorry," Maggie said. "If I knew, I wouldn't have told you to get it on with Eric or anyone else."

"Yeah, Nic," Emma said. She had her hand on my shoulder to comfort me. "You've been through a lot. Sorry you had to go through that."

I smiled. "It's fine. I just never want to see him again."

There was more silence. Maggie and Emma were both still soaking it all in. I didn't want to dwell in the matter anymore. It felt like a burden was lifted off my shoulders. It was time to have fun.

"So," I broke the silence with a cheerful voice. "What do you want to watch? Sleepless in Seattle or The Notebook?"

"Sleepless in Seattle," Emma said at the same time as Maggie who said, "The Notebook."

We groaned and burst out laughing. "Okay, then," I said. "How about we watch a children's film? I don't feel like romantic movies after what I told you anyways."

"Okay," Emma paused to think for a moment. "Then how about Alvin and the Chipmunks? I can dig through Amy's DVD collection and find it."

"Sure!" I said enthusiastically.

"Alright, let's set up and get on with it!" Maggie said. We cheered and made a pillow fort. We settled down and Emma set up the huge HD television in her room.

We sang along the songs and Maggie tried an impression of Alvin. She actually came pretty close. We laughed and earlier traumatic events were forgotten.

I love my girls.

****

Thanksgiving came soon after the party, so I couldn't confront Sophie about the incident yet. I wasn't going to leave it for later, though, so I decided to confront her as soon as break was over.

My cousins came over for a visit and I was already having enough of them. They weren't here for more than an hour and they managed to exhaust me by jumping on my bed, stealing my onesies, and drawing on the wall with crayons.

This was a nightmare. Aunt Josephine brought blueberry muffins, but it wasn't enough for me to take care of two annoying little boys. I couldn't imagine what she was going through back at home, especially since she was expecting another child. Uncle George was out for a business trip, so he couldn't come. I felt bad for her having to take care of these two all by herself.