Absolute Truths

Chapter Five

Knock, knock, knock.

            I peel one eye open.

            “Bex!” I narrow my eyes. Grace. “Let me in!”

            I don’t make any effort to get out of bed.

            Grace knocks louder. “Bex!” She takes the initiative and open my door. She’s dressed in a plain white tee shirt and destroyed denim shorts, topped off with layer and layer of accessories. She still hasn’t removed her large-framed sunglasses even though she’s inside. I frown at my wrinkled gray THIS BODY CLIMBED MOUNT WASHINGTON tee shirt.

            I glare at Grace from my bed. “Please, do come in.”

            “Hey, stranger.” She gives me a wide, all-too-cheerful smile and plops herself down on my bed, shaking the whole frame. “Are you okay?” she asks, growing sincere.

            I pull my pillow out from under my head and bury my face in it. “No.”

            Grace is quiet for a minute. Either she was expecting that or she doesn’t know how to respond. I decide the later when she says, “You room is trashed, Bex.”

            I groan. “You sound like my mother,” I say, my voice muffled by the pillow.

            “What?” she shouts.

            I move the pillow away from my face and shout back, “You sound like my mother!”

            “Well, look!”

            I look. Okay, it’s bad, but it’s not that bad. It’s just a little messier than usual. My closet doors are flung open and dirty clothes are overflowing out of my hamper. Several empty plastic water bottles litter my bedside table and the contents of my purse are spilled out on the rug, scattered here and there.

            “If you’re here to judge, then feel free to leave,” I say stiffly, covering my face with the pillow again.

            “Come on, Bex. Don’t be like this. You’ve been in bed for days.”

            “Um, false,” I say. “I’ve gone…to the kitchen. And the shower.”

            Grace pinches a greasy and stringy piece of my hair between her fingers, disgusted. “The shower? You sure about that?” I swat her hand away. “Get up!” she shouts, bouncing on the bed and shaking me. I heave a frustrated sigh and toss the pillow to the end of the bed. I brush my messy, tangled hair out of my face.

            “So,” Grace says, putting a hand on my knee. “We’ve got to get you out of this room. Todd and Sullivan are here.”

            “They’re here right now? I really hope you’re joking.”

            She shakes her head. “Don’t worry. I told them to wait outside.” She nods towards the closed bedroom door.

            I groan. “Go home, Grace. I’m not in the mood.” I roll over onto my side, turning away from her.

            “Please, Bex?” she whines. “This is ridiculous. You can’t push us away forever. What are you going to do? Coop yourself up in here until Nate is out of the hospital? You can’t do that to yourself, Bex.”

            I say nothing.

            She shakes me again. “Please, please, please?”