Page 36 of Unspoken Rules

“So much has changed here, yet so much is the same. It’s confusing as hell. I was so happy to come back home and see my best friend, and I walk into this. It’s like he’s a different person.”

“That’s how we all feel.”

Though it shouldn’t, it does make me feel better that I’m not the only one who recognizes he has a problem. That something is going on with him.

I throw my arm around her shoulder and pull her closer to me. We stop walking, so I pull her into a full hug.

“Why do you deal with it?”

“I don’t. At least, I don’t want to.” She sniffles, and I hug her tighter. “I can’t help the way I feel. I try not to talk to him as much as I used to. We don’t hang out like we did, but we have the same friends, so it’s inevitable.”

“I really want to kick his ass,” I mutter.

“I really don’t want you to do that,” she says.

I huff out a laugh, and step back. “He’d deserve it.”

“Probably, but fighting isn’t the answer.”

“Mila, Mila… too wise for your age.”

I pat her head, and she swats me away, letting out a little laugh.

We walk more and end up at the top of a hill that overlooks the park. There are a couple of benches, and no one is here, so we sit at one.

“What made you come back?” she asks.

“There was nothing for me in Rhode Island outside of school.”

“If you need anything, Bryson, just ask.”

I smile at her and take her hand. “I appreciate that. Seriously I do. But the fact so many people keep offering me things, because they know I have nothing, isn’t helping my ego.”

She laughs, resting her head on my shoulder. I appreciate her so much. The fact I can be honest about things like this and know I won’t get any judgment from her is great. Female friends are so much different from male friends. They’re needed for all the emotional stuff, and I’m grateful for her.

“You can’t look at it that way, Bry. We just want to help you because we know you’d help us if the tables were turned. You did the right thing. You graduated high school, then college. It isn’t easy for everyone all the time. Sometimes people need help, and that’s okay.”

“Thanks, Mila. That helps.”

“Does it really?” she asks with a raised brow.

“No, not really.”

We both laugh.

We sit together, chatting about nothing important for an hour before we decide to leave. Mila drops me off at the Harper’s and tells me she’s going to the movies with one of her girlfriends.

Her mood is a little better when she leaves, but not as good as it could be.

I’m so mad at Chris. So fucking mad at him.

The door is unlocked, so I let myself in. I should probably ask for a copy of the key. Or just hold on to the spare.

Cole pops his head out of the kitchen, a confused look on his face.

“What’s wrong?”

I shake my head. “Nothing.”

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