Page 47 of Life of the Party

“You did, did you?” I raised my eyebrows at him. It was still baffling Brad wanted anything to do with me—I didn’t know what a hock was, I thought calf roping was cruel, and I absolutely hated the movie8 Seconds. We couldn’t have anything in common. But at the moment, it was flattering. He sincerely seemed to like me, and I needed to be liked at the moment. I needed a friend, some easy, carefree fun.

Really…what could it hurt?

“I work until ten.” I relented. “You can pick me up after if you want.”

“I’ll be there.” Brad beamed. “We’re going to have some fun tonight.” He promised.

I nodded. “Okay. Great.” I couldn’t help it. I liked that Brad wanted to spend time with me. I was looking forward to our night out, to the party. I was ready to blow off some steam.

I picked up another binder from the bottom of my locker, and for just a brief moment, I thought about Grey. I couldn’t help that either. Deep down, I knew no matter how much fun I had with Brad, I’d be wishing he was somebody else. Because I still loved Grey, as pointless and futile as it may be, even despite all my efforts to convince myself otherwise.

Still, I could try. I would try. I smiled at Brad as he headed off down the hallway, giving him a little wave as he left, determined to have a good time that night.

“My replacement?” A voice beside me asked. I knew who it was without even looking. A frown fell on my face as I flipped my binder open.

“Hardly,” I answered him. More doodles. An entire school year of doodles. I licked my finger and went through the pages.

Riley laughed. “That would be pretty unbelievable, you replacing me for a cowboy.”

My mood soured. I was glad Riley found this so funny. “No more unbelievable than you replacing me for a Christian. And you found a way to do that, didn’t you?” I gazedup at him. He was the same old Riley, and a wave of sadness crashed over me as I looked into his familiar face—the warm dark eyes that once brought me so much comfort, the wide smile that laughed with me so many times before. I bit my lip.

“Are we going to do this every time we see each other? Can’t we just have a conversation without getting into a fight?” He sighed and leaned against the lockers.

“Probably.” I glared at him, tossing the binder in the trash. “Until youmove,anyway.”

“Oh.” He looked down at the floor, sheepish. “You heard about that, did you?”

“Yeah. I did. When were you planning on telling me?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know if I was.”

“Why? Don’t you think you owe me that much?”

“I guess. I’ve just been…afraid.”

“Afraid?” I looked up at him incredulously. “Afraid of what?”

“I don’t want to say goodbye to you, Mackenzie,” Riley explained. His voice lowered, and he looked at me fondly. “I know things are screwed up right now. Come on, you’ve been my best friend for ages. Saying goodbye just feels so…final.”

“You’re moving away, Riley.” My voice shook. “That’s pretty fucking final.”

“I know.” He nodded quietly.

A sudden thought occurred to me. “You could stay.” I grasped his hand, holding it in both of mine. Pleading with my grip, imploring with my eyes. “Please? Stay with me.”

Riley shook his head. “There’s nothing for me here, Mac. Nothing.”

I felt the full sting of his words. “Nice. Nice to know you feel that way.”

“No…that’s, that’s not what I meant, and you know it.”

“Whatever.” I stared up at him angrily. “Just go. Go and have a wonderful Christian life. Sing a round of “Kumbayah” for me while you’re at it.”

Riley shook his head. “Fuck, you’re impossible.” He muttered, stepping around me, his form rigid with anger as he stalked down the hallway. Madly, I watched him go, but as he walked away, I realized this could be the last conversation we ever had.

I didn’t want him to remember me this way. I didn’t want to end things in anger.

“Riley?” I called to him. The hall was crowded and noisy, but somehow, he heard.

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