The (Im)Perfect Escape

Chapter Eleven

“Only the best term ever! I’m so using that. Phil just adores it,” Cassie says from the couch next to Chad.

Abigail glares at her. “Seriously, do we need to have this talk again? Phil doesn’t exist so stop talking about him!”

Cassie sniffles. “He does too exist! Just because he’s in my head doesn’t mean he’s not real.”

I open my mouth to say something, but just end up snapping it shut. I have no words for that. Elena nudges me with her shoulder, causing me to turn and look at her. She gives me another smile. “Look at the people I’m dealing with.”

“I pity you. I couldn’t take dealing with these peeps twenty-four/seven let alone all of my life.” My fingers fiddle with a loose string on my shorts.

Seemingly unfazed by it, she shrugs. “You learn to deal with it, I guess. Want to get something to drink with me? If the cycle of how this conversation goes as planned, Logan’s about to add in a really sarcastic comment that proceeds with Abigail giving him a dreamy-eyed stare that makes me want to gag.”

I giggle—like actual gigglage comes out of my mouth which is quite hard to believe, trust me on that—and agree to go get something to drink. We slip out of the room just as Logan starts talking. She ransacks the fridge for something to drink. “Want a beer?”

“No thanks. I don’t drink.” I bite my lip hard, thinking about the last time I drank. Quickly, I try to shake it off. No talking about Wind Dancer or Batman or any random superhero that I found on a midnight Google search when I was supposed to be sleeping but got a little high off sniffing a scratch and sniff candle magazine. Who knew delicious scented candles could make a person so loopy and want to cyber stalk fictional men in spandex?

She glances over at me. “Oh, is water okay?”

“Yes, water’s great.” I plaster a fake smile on my face.

She pulls out a beer for her and a water bottle for me. Closing the fridge with her foot, she hands me the water. I murmur my thanks and sit down on one of the stools next to the marble island in the center of the kitchen. She slides onto the one next to me.

“So, you’ve lived here your entire life then?” I figure I should make casual conversation if I’m going to get my whole evil master plan to bond with somebody other than Train Guy.

“Yep. My parents even grew up here, so I guess I was screwed from the beginning.” She racks a hand through her hair.

I laugh. “Do you want to move away then? Like, after you graduate from college?”

“I’m not quite sure. Truthfully, this is all I’ve ever known. Pretty much all the kids here talk about their big grand dreams to get away. Abs talks about moving to New York all the time to become a model, and Logan has his dream to be a big Hollywood director. Most kids are like that here, but in truth, only about one of us actually gets away from this hick town and ends up marrying someone that they actually haven’t known for their whole life. We can safely say that that lucky person goes to Noah.” She traces the rim of her beer.

“But…surely, you can move away from here if you want. Anything’s possible, right?” I give her a half-hearted shrug.

As Elena takes a sip from her beer, she shrugs. “I guess so. One of the biggest problems in this town is the fact that almost all people in this town are all talk and no action. We seriously have a category in our yearbook where we vote on who’s going to get married. Legit.”

My eyes widen. “Seriously? I can’t imagine that.”

“It’s just second nature to me. We don’t really question it, since it’s all we’ve ever known.” Elena shrugs.