Peaches

Fifteen

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"Bri, I cannot believe you told him." Candy sat on top of my kitchen counter, sipping on her vodka soda. "Do you even realize how stupid that is?"

"I know, Candy. I wasn't thinking right, I mean with everything that happened-girl, you have no idea." I picked at my acrylics nervously as I paced circles around the kitchen. After an hour and a half of explaining the events from the past few days, and Candy was fully caught up. She deserved to know what was going on between us. After all, we were in this together, best friends until the end.

"Is that really a good reason to tell him though? Just because he fucked the life force out of you?"

"Well," I thought, chewing on my lip. "Candy, I just want to love him, I want him to trust me. Maybe if I ever get out of this shitty life we live in, Chris and I can be together."

She scoffed, setting her cup on the counter with force. "So now you actually think we'll be able to get out of this? Even after Daddy? You think he's just going to let you have your own life without his hand over you like a puppet master?"

"I don't want to just waste away, Candy. I've never felt more alive."

She rolled her eyes again, flipping her hair behind her shoulders. "No amount of good dick is worth your life, Bri."

"It isn't about the dick. It's about the connection we have. I told you, Candy, I can't just lie to him that easy."

"So what? Are you gonna just let him track Marcello down, and kill him like he swears to do?" Her eyes squinted at me, voice beginning to raise with emotion, she was pissed at me for being so careless. "You think he's capable of that?"

"I don't know, Candy." I dropped my shoulders, rubbing my dry eyes with defeat. "I was going to tell him that Marcello got killed or something. Some sort of cover to take his mind away from Marcello. Wouldn't that work?"

"You just said you can't lie to him that easy, girl. What makes you think this lie is going to work? He isn't going to bite that easy."

"Can you help me? Would you back me up?"

She sighed heavily, knowing that she couldn't just say no. We always had each other's back. "I'll help you convince him, but you really can't keep spilling this kind of information to him. It's too risky, Peach. The last thing I want to have happen is you disappearing with some unknown fate."

"I know." I mumbled, turning my head to the back of the house, where the bedrooms were. My mother's distant cries were starting to cloud my thoughts, making it hard for me to focus. The pain in her broken pleading was digging holes in my heart. "I'll make him believe that I have it all under control. I promise it'll be okay, you just have to trust me."

"Let's go say hi to your mom." She slid off of the counter and pulled me into a hug. "I'm not mad at you, Peach. I'm just upset with your carelessness."

She had every right to be upset for that. I had promised her that I wouldn't let myself get this attached, and here we are. I had broken all of my boundaries. I had let Chris in and showed him a glimpse of my demons.

Why wasn't I taking this seriously?

We walked into Momma's room, seeing her laying down on her floor, shaking as if she had been trapped in a snowstorm. Her teeth chattered loudly against each other with every jolt and sudden movement she made. "Bugs." She whimpered. "Everywhere, Bella."

Candy looked down at her sympathetically, taking in a long breath to mentally prepare herself. "Angel, you need a shower."

She tossed around, rolling over a pile of the clean laundry I had just folded for her a few days ago. Frightened whispers escaped from her fluttering lips.