TROUBLED || thirteen reasons why

049.

"How many waffles do you want, Tristan?" Mr. Jensen asks when he sees the girl come into the kitchen the next morning.

"Two, thanks." Tristan mutters as she plops herself into a chair next to her brother. She hasn't been able to sleep lately, and the lack of rest is finally catching up to her.

"So," Lainie Jensen starts, looking over her coffee mug to the two teenagers at her table, "Are you two ready for the home visit tomorrow?"

Justin meets Tristan's eyes before smiling back at the woman, "Yeah, we were talking about it last night,"

"I'm excited," Tristan smiles as Mr. Jensen puts down a plate of waffles in front of her, "I mean, it'll be one step closer to getting finalized."

Matt nods his head as he sits down at the table with them, "That's right. Has Lainie been over everything with you two yet?"

"I was going to wait until after dinner to talk about tomorrow," Lainie explains to her husband. Her eyes glance back over to the Foleys, "I can go over it now if that's what you two want?"

"We can't now, actually. Zach is on his way to pick us up," Justin says as he stands up from the table and puts extra waffles onto his plate, "Thanks for breakfast, Mr. J. I'll give these to Clay."

The three watch as Justin walks out the back door and heads towards his and Clay's outhouse. Tristan soon follows suit and returns to her room to get dressed for the day. By the time she finishes tying her shoes, she hears the honk of Zach's car in the driveway.

The girl walks out the front door with her bag slung around her shoulder, and she sees Zach Dempsey looking at her through his car window. Before she can open the door to his car, Tristan hears her brother rushing to meet them.

The boy hops into the backseat and Tristan takes her spot next to Zach, however neither one of them look at each other. They haven't spoken since yesterday, and Tristan is too stubborn to be the first to speak. Zach starts his car and tries to drown out the silence with his blasting music.

"Hey, what's up with you two?" Justin shouts over the music, poking his head between the front seats, "You guys usually never shut up."

Tristan shrugs.

The girl doesn't hang around the two boys once Zach is situated on his crutches, and instead she makes her way inside the school and searches for what seems like her only friend.

The blonde hair of Caroline Anderson shines brightly as Tristan finds both her and Charlie St. George by the girls' lockers, "Hey,"

"Hi!" Caroline smiles at her best friend as she reaches out to pull her close. The girl's cheer skirt brushes against Tristan's jeans, and the two sway in a short embrace, "Hey, I'm sorry about today. I tried to get Coach to let you come but-"

"It's fine, Caroline," Tristan bites her cheek as a pang of hurt washes over her. She is supposed to be going with her team to a cheer competition today, and seeing all of her teammates in their uniforms while she has to stay at school, it makes Tristan feel terrible. She tries to push the negative thoughts away and puts a smile on her face, "I guess Charlie and I will just roam around aimlessly without you today."

"Oh yeah," Charlie winks at his girlfriend, "We're both terribly lost without you."

Caroline slaps the both of them lightly as she rolls her eyes, "Stop it, guys, I'm serious."

"So were we," Tristan laughs, earning a scoff from her friend.

"Okay, I've got to get to practice, so good luck today Caroline," Charlie perks up, swiftly kissing Caroline goodbye as he starts to back away, "and I'll see you at lunch, Tris. Bye!"