- Adrian -
"Okay, you go now, Addy your brother has to go."
"I'll call again tomorrow Addy, say hi to your siblings for me."
"Fine, but bring back Dylan's Candy Bar when you come to visit. Promise please!"
"I promise, bye." Ending the call I see the time is already in the evening and I've been sitting on this bridge for too long.
My life's been nothing but fucking misery for the past few months since my Dad's appearance and diagnosis.
I hang my feet off of the bridge staring down at what I assume to be ice-cold water christened by the harsh fall weather of the Midwest.
I think back to that evening where I kissed Genevieve and how much I want to do it again. Her lips around mine under the stormed sky in the midst of snowflakes falling around us.
meet U in ten? My phone beeps with a message from Devontae.
be there in a few, I reply.
Grabbing my helmet I hop on my bike.
"Took you long enough?" Devontae asks shoving a water bottle my way.
I take a chug while walking into the store.
"Boring but the view from the bridge will get worse with all the construction soon."
Shitty real estate developers want to knock down this building where over forty people live to make room for their development. Protests have been filling up the streets and it's been killing me seeing all these families being displaced.
I'm getting bored but Devontae keeps handing me different shirts to pair with different pants and it makes me realize I could give less of a shit about shopping.
Devontae turns to me with a white blazer splattered with ugly-looking paint as if someone made it and passed it off as 'designer.'
"Who the fuck would pay $400 for this piece of shit?" I wouldn't even want that if it was free and that's saying something since I'm not exactly Bill Gate's son.
"I forgot I also wanted to ask if you wanna come to Mom's place in Detroit over Thanksgiving Break again." Devontae invites me to his family's place every year since he drives there and it's cheaper than the alternative.
His family always treats me like their own unlike how I usually feel like a burden.
Mom takes the kids to her parents since it's the only time of the year they can see them but I like to stay closer to home so I can practice. They live in Buffalo, New York. Thanksgiving break is only a few days away from the beginning of basketball season.
My mother is an absolute saint to drive eight and a half hours with five kids alone. She drives four hours and then stays at a motel overnight and then another four hours the next day.
Nonna and Nonno used to make the trip themselves but in recent years it's proven harder for them to travel.
"Thanks, man I'd love to." Devontae's more like a brother to me than a friend.
Most of our families live far apart and some of us are on loose terms with them but we're always going to brothers.
- Genevieve -
"Should we rob a bank?" Mads seriously asks me.
"I'll drive the getaway car."
Mads and I are going through our rent and electric bill for this month looking at how tight everything is since she had to find a new job and my hours were cut down at the book store.
She closes the laptop and rounds up all of the envelopes, throwing them onto the coffee table.
"Nellie's asking if we can come over tonight before we go out so she can break up with Trevor." Nellie's been dating Trevor since their junior year of high school and even though they only speak once every two months they haven't officially broken up.
He's finally in town for a football game, "It's about time, tell her we'll be there."
Trevor committed to UCLA as a benchwarmer with thousands of dollars in tuition and passed up Ohio State which gave him a full scholarship.
We change into our clothes for Presleys and I decide on black jeans and a strapless black leather corset paired with black strappy heels. I brush out my hair and add a pearl barrette in the side to keep my hair out of my face and grab a jacket before we leave.
It was a short walk to their apartment when we see Nellie looking all panicked when we walk through the door.
"What's up," I ask seeing her all flustered.
"Thank god you're here. Emma's class is going late and I needed someone here."
"No problem, where should we go?" I ask.
"Bathroom?" Mads suggests.
"But what if he has to go to the bathroom?"
"I'm not letting that piece of shit in my bathroom, it'll be fine." Okay then. "I've spent all this time over his ass." Nellie is visibly, very mad at him.
A few days ago, Nellie's old friend who went to Case Western was at Ohio State for the weekend and saw him cheating with another girl. After asking around she found out it was a common thing.
She never had an orgasm with him but surprisingly, she told us he visited last month and she almost had one. They'd been each other's firsts and she almost orgasmed.
"I can't believe I couldn't tell he was cheating on me when I visited last month I feel like an idiot. I should've known something was up when the sex got somewhat better."
"He was a good liar, it's not your fault." I hate it when people blame themselves for their partner's mistakes. It reminds me of what I went through.
Nellie hands me a jar of Nutella and Mads takes some juice and we host ourselves to the spotless bathroom. Thank god those two are neat freaks.
"Would you break up with him over a text?" It would be a lot easier but it would leave me feeling guilty.
"I'm not sure, it depends. Maybe she just didn't want to hurt his feelings," I say with a spoon of Nutella in my mouth.
Before Mads can reply Emma walks into the bathroom, "Why are you sitting in the bathroom?"
"Because Nellie's on a date outside and she didn't want to be alone."
"I know that but why the bathroom, what if he has to pee?"
I reply, "He can get a UTI for all I care."
We're all eating Nutella from a jar in a bathtub, she owes us for this.
We hear the front door open and mumbling voices moving towards the couch in the living area.
"Hey, thanks for coming," Nellie greets him.
"You called so I didn't really have a choice."
"I don't want to waste much of your time..." she trails off.
"You could've just said what you wanted to over the phone," he sounds bored.
"I think we should break up. These past two years have been," she struggles to try to find the correct word, "fulfilling. But, I think it's time we go our separate ways."
"You're dumping me? I've slept with other girls just so you know. I don't need you. And trust me it was the best choice I ever made." Emma looks pissed as do Madison and me.
"Okay. Good for you. Now that it's settled, I wish you all the best. Goodbye Trevor." That's my girl.
"Can I use the bathroom before I go?"
"No," she replies and I hear the ground shuffling and the door shut before steps make their way to the bathroom. "Thank god that's over. Let's go."
"Nel, are you sure you're okay?" Em asks her gently.
"I'm pissed off but I don't feel upset over our breakup. Only that I wasted two years on him in high school and one year long-distance."
We wait while she goes to change and since Emma laid in a bathtub right after working a three-hour shift and then a late class she showers.
Hey sweetheart, I wanna drop off some food Dad and I made today for you. If it's alright could I swing by tomorrow? Love you.
"My mom wants to drop off some stuff tomorrow," I tell Mads after reading my mom's text.
We're both very grateful for how attentive our parents are to our needs so Mads has no problem with it. And you can't really say no to my parent's food, it's almost professional.
thank you, we'd love that. does 1 pm work? love you too.
Perfect, see you then.
"We should go," Nellie reminds us.
I pull all of my stuff together and we're out the door in no time. The walk to Presley's isn't too bad as we spew shit about how terrible Trevor is and how ugly he was and how Nellie deserves so much better.
"What took you guys so long?" Devontae asks when we step inside. He's playing darts with JJ and it lands on the wall next to the actual board leaving one of many marks that were already there.
"Nellie was dumping her boyfriend and then we had to change. Took us a lot longer than it should've," Emma says nonchalantly.
"That sucks, sorry Nel," JJ says but the whole time he's side eying Emma.
"Not really but thanks for the condolences. Let's get drinks." I think she needs to get drunk.
We walk to the bar and are ordering drinks when I make her promise me, "Don't let me drunk text Adrian. I'm getting wasted tonight so just for preparation purposes, I'm letting you know."
"I'm gonna get a drink too, maybe tell Emma. But seeing how she and JJ are looking at each other, I think she'll need a few drinks too."
We decide on Mads and she's all for it. Ever since that party on Greek Row, she's been feeling a little queasy in the stomach. I held her hair back for an hour the other day while she emptied her stomach.
I grab my fake I.D. and slide onto a chair at the bar with Nellie at my side.
The bartender begins to tell us this story her spin cycle instructor told her in class today.
"She was going on and on about her rise from rags to riches and how she started up this huge cycle bar and became a nutritionist and she told us to become this thing- starts with a V? What's the other word for vegan?"
"Virgin?" The girl next to us offers up.
"Oh, no sweetheart I haven't been that since sophomore year. A vegetarian I meant."
The mood turns capricious and the whole story turns direction so I leave the bar with my Cosmo.
Nellie has a weird, middle-aged power female type taste which culminates in her choice of an Old Fashioned.
"Adrian's not coming tonight?"
"I asked JJ earlier today and he told me Adrian was gonna be practicing at the gym tonight," I tell her.
"Hello, everyone! Welcome to Karaoke night, first up we have Devontae and JJ singing Baby Got Back. Let's welcome them to the stage!" The whole bar erupts in applause and a group of girls begins screaming near the door calling out their names.
In all honesty, JJ's not half bad at singing and it was surprisingly a pretty good performance overall. Besides the mortifying view of Devontae hitting JJ in the ass I feel confident they could win tonight.
By the time their performance is over, I've already completed two shots. I chase it down with some Cranberry Juice but the burning in the back of my throat won't budge.
"Let's sing a song," I beg Mads.
"Even if I weren't sober I'd still say no. Maybe Emma's out of it just enough to do it with you." Emma makes a woo-hooo sound and we sign our names with Thank U, Next.
I'm not completely drunk but I wish I was because I want to be able to forget this in the morning.
To protect me from the embarrassment, I grab Nellie's Casamigos. Until it's our turn I munch on some fries craving the saltiness.
"Next up, we've got Gigi and Em with Ariana Grande!" He seems way too excited for this one. The cheers are non-stop as we stumble onto the stage.
The whole performance is a blur but the crowd seemed to love it. We got off stage at some points, pretty sure I danced with different guys for all the different names in the song, and at one point we were on tables.
"Laurence, you look completely wasted," I hear a voice making me turn around.
"Ace, you're here?" I sound confused and dazed and the rest is practically a blur.
- Adrian -
"I'm here. JJ texted me with a video clip of you singing on a table and I couldn't help myself." Last year I would rip me a new one for letting a girl distract me from practice but this year I could really give a shit because this girl is Genevieve. And she's worth it.
"Did you like it? I mean you're definitely a Pete in my book. Michael was a Sean. Maybe Albert could be my Ricky."
I snort at her analysis of the song as she sips on her water clutching her head.
"We're gonna get married one day," before I can reply she holds onto my leather jacket and rests her head on my chest. "I'm so going to regret this in the morning. Not this conversation, the alcohol."
"I think I should get them home," Madison says looking at her friend clinging to me like she's about to fall asleep.
"I can help you get them home, she looks like she's gonna fall asleep." She agrees and I help them home and up the stairs of their apartment settling her onto her bed.
JJ accompanies helping Emma to the same room and we walk out saying our goodbyes.
The only thing holding my mind besides her image is who Michael is and trying to recall the lyrics of Thank U, Next.
Thought I'd end up with Sean, but he wasn't a match.
"Dude, are you singing the lyrics to Thank U, Next?" JJ laughs.
"Douchebag, maybe," I mumble not wanting to disclose the private stuff she told me. "Don't get me started," I shake my head.