Shay was calling again.
I shouldn't have been so happy. After all, I was in a fit of blinding rage up until yesterday. I knew it wasn't right for me to forgive her so easily, but it felt right. And that's what mattered most.
"Hey,"I said, smiling softly as I heard her voice on the other side of the line. After I'd made it clear that we were back to normal, Shay and I drifted into a comfortable zone with each other. Like old times. She told me about life at her uncle's and how she missed being with her parents, who were still living a few lanes down from my house. I told her how different things were at school without her and Skott.
"You never got to tell me about your new friends, Av,"she said, a hint of excitement in her voice. "Oh, there's so much I have to catch you up on!" I half-squealed. I never squealed. What was going on with me lately?
"For starters, a year ago I met this girl named Holly,"I started, and she listened attentively. "She has Dissociative Identity Disorder. And, Shay, you won't believe this- she looks exactly like Skott."
I felt like I could see Shay smiling on the other side of the phone, her eyes slightly glazed at the memory of our best friend. "Really?"she whispered.
"Really,"I said. "I wish you could meet her. She's really amazing. Of course, her split personalities can be a handful sometimes, but she's worth sticking around for."
Shay laughed softly. "Exactly like Skott..."she sighed. "But guess what!" She suddenly shouted into the phone. I winced. God, she was loud. I missed that about her. "I'm coming to visit this weekend!"
My mouth opened in shock. "NO WAY." Shay laughed. "Yes! My boyfriend Jace- Oh my God I still have so much to tell you about Jace- is driving over there to visit his grandmother for the weekend. So, I thought I might come with him and meet you,"she said excitedly. I wanted to sing at the top of my lungs. This was the happiest I'd been the whole year. Barring, of course, the moment Ted asked me out.
"Shay, this is incredible. I'm so excited, you have no idea!" I shouted.
At that very moment, my mom came up the stairs with a laundry basket in her hands. She threw me a surprised glance. It wasn't often that she saw me even close to happy. I put the phone away from my ear for a moment and beamed at Mom. "Shay's coming over for the weekend!"
Mom wore a matching smile on her face. It'd been a very long time since my mother had talked to the Russels. Ever since Shay moved out, she felt that the only connection she had with their family was gone. "It's been so long since I talked to Shaylene! How's she doing?"
I handed the phone over to my mother, informing Shay that she wanted to talk to her. Shay squealed in delight. Sometimes I thought the only reason that girl was friends with me was so that she could talk to my mom. I'm serious, she adored her.
"I know, that's what I said! The jeans looked great on me, Ava's just jealous. Oh, and did she tell you what she wore on her date night with Ted? My old prom dress! Remember, the one she said looked ancient, and you spruced it all up with your fashion design magic? Woah, hold up, girlfriend."
No. My mom did not just call Shay her 'girlfriend'. I groaned. "Mom, give me the phone." I tried snatching it away from her, but she dodged me and continued talking to Shay as if she were the coolest mom in the world. "Ava didn't tell you about Ted? No way. You can go kill her for it now. I'm sure you girls have a lot to catch up on."
Mom handed the phone back to me, mouthing an apology. I shot her a death glare, and pressed the phone against my ear once again, welcomed by Shay's shouts of faux betrayal. "You have a boyfriend and you didn't tell me?"
I put my other hand up in exasperation even though she could not see me. "I was coming to that! Thanks, Mom, "I laughed, glaring at Mom once more, slyly indicating that she needed to leave so that I could give Shay all the details. Mom chuckled, then made her way down the stairs. "Honey, I need you to come down for hashtag dinner in hashtag ten minutes," she called out, and Shay burst out laughing.
"Your mom makes it her goal to embarrass you as much as humanly possible. I love her,"Shay laughed. I rolled my eyes at my mother's antics.
It was funny how as soon as it became someone else's parent being embarrassing, it was the best thing in the world. Like Holly's dad, for instance. While Holly couldn't stand his puns, I was his biggest fan.
"Do you miss your parents?" I asked Shay, all of a sudden. She stayed quiet for so long that I had a fleeting suspicion that she ended the call without me knowing. Right when I was about to ask if she was still there, she spoke. "I want to come back home, Ava."
I wanted to hug her right then and never let her go. She knew she made a mistake by leaving and she had no clue how to rectify it. Later, she told me that the only thing holding her back from packing her bags and leaving was Jace, her boyfriend.
Unless she and Jace broke up, which she hoped would never happen, she couldn't leave. Although I was upset to hear that she had no plans to move back, I understood why. I didn't know what I would do if I had to move away from Ted.
"I'm going to make this weekend the best you've ever had,"I smiled. "Any weekend would be fantastic, as long as I'm with you,"Shay said. Normally, I would cringe. But when Shay said it, it was the sweetest thing ever.
"But here's the catch. I can't introduce you to Holly if she's one of her splits on those two days, which is a very likely possibility."
Shay stayed silent, as if thinking about it. "So, that gives you another reason as to why you should visit more often,"I ended with a chuckle.
"Don't guilt trip me like this, Ava,"she laughed. I sighed. "I can't wait to see you again."
"And I can't wait to see your mom,"Shay said.
Yes, I truly had a wonderful best friend.
. . .
A/N A whole new chapter full of plot twists and revelations awaits you, dear readers.
~Via