Beautiful Tragedy ✔️

twelve;

Alex begins busying himself with measuring out coffee grounds while I lean up against the island counter.

"So how many roommates do you have?" I ask, resting my face in my hand as I watch him. "It just seems like a pretty big house."

"It's me, Luke, and Tyler," alex replies over his shoulder. He's put on a pair of black sweatpants that ride low on his narrow hips, but didn't put on a shirt. I'm completely fascinated by the way the strong muscles in his back flex and shift every time he moves his arms.

"That seems nice. You three are pretty close then, hey?"

"As close as three guys can be without sticking our dicks in each other's holes," a voice says from behind me.

I turn to find that Tyler is standing in the doorway with an amused expression, his thick arms crossed over his chest. Hazel pops out from behind him, rubbing her eyes groggily. Her blue eyes widen when she finds me standing in the kitchen, and then a devilish grin appears on her lips.

Tyler heads over to the fridge, hip-checking Alex out of the way, while Hazel saunters across the tile floor to stand next to me.

"What would you ladies like for breakfast?" Tyler asks as pulls out a large carton of eggs.

Hazel and I both make a face, scrunching up our noses at the idea of eating.

"They don't eat in the morning," Alex tells him as he places two mugs of coffee on the counter for us. "Cream? Sugar?"

"Yes please," I answer sweetly.

Hazel rolls her eyes at me and shakes her head. "Just milk for me."

Twenty minutes later, Hazel and I are sitting at the dining room table with Alex and Tyler sipping our coffees and watching them scarf down plates of eggs, bacon, and hash browns.

"So what are you two doing for thanksgiving?" Tyler asks in conversational tone.

I flinch involuntarily at the question, my grip on the mug tightening.

"I'm headed to Portland for our break to visit my family," Hazel says. She's been looking forward to the trip for quite some time.

Tyler nods along as she speaks, shoveling a forkful of breakfast potatoes into his mouth. "What about you, Mabes?"

This is one of the moments that Nichole prepared me for. Talking about plans for holiday breaks is part of normal college student conversation. Most people are excited to go home and see their families, and a lot of them just assume that everyone else is just like them. That they have at least some sort of family to go home to.

"I'm just going to stay at a hotel somewhere close to campus since they're closing the dorms for the holidays. Maybe study for our finals and order some take-out." I try to keep my voice calm as I speak, but Alex notices something in my tone and lifts his head to look at me.

Tyler's brows knit together in confusion. "You can't have take-out for thanksgiving."

"Babe," Hazel says in warning, shaking her head ever so slightly at him.

"Ty's right," Alex murmurs thoughtfully. "No one should be alone for the holidays."

Nichole hadn't prepared me for this. Neither of us had any idea during the last of our sessions that I would make more friends, or how that would change so many aspects of my life. There are now other people in my life besides Nichole and Hazel that want to push me to do things, to have new experiences.

"I'll be fine," I say, brushing them off. "I usually go to see my Aunt Jo and her family, but they're going out of the country this year on vacation. It's not a big deal."