Page 8 of Forgive Me Father
Aiden slams his hand on my passenger-side window, startling me out of the memory. His two friends, Nathan and Zack, wait impatiently behind him. He gestures curtly for me to unlock the car. I press the unlock button, and after a soft click, the boys pile into my Kia, kicking my chair as they all clamor inside. Stealing the passenger's seat, Aiden nudges my arm, trying to get my attention.
"You didn't staythe whole Mass? Now you’ll really need me to vouch for you," He snaps, the pungent smell of weed emitting from Nathans's backpack.
"Can you just shut the fuck up and let me get this over with?" I question, gripping the steering wheel.
"Whatever, Eden," He sighs, tugging the aux chord free from my phone. "We’re not listening to this shit while being forced to deal with your moody ass."
Twenty-five minutes of mind-numbing rap music later, I pull into The Overlook, getting a bird’s eye view of our house and the church from up here. Slapping each other on the backs as they leave the car, Zack lingers, his eyes watching his friends before looking at me in the rearview mirror.
"Do you need something-"
"Come out and join us," He says with a grin, his tone much kinder than any of my brother's other friends.
Dragging my knees to my chest, I look back at him with a raised brow.
"I'm not a fan of pot," I snap, startled to see him smile deeper.
"I'm not asking you to smoke. Clearly you're not feeling great, and your brother can be a mega dick. Just get some fresh air. It's probably going to rain, and that's the best time to get a good inhale," He says, slinging his arms across the back of my chair, his chestnut hair falling into his eyes.
Shaking the front of my car, Aiden throws up a middle finger to Zack, mouthing "What the fuck" as Nathan vigorously digs in his bag for his homemade bong. He ignores my brother’s taunts as he waits for me to respond.
"Say yes so I don't have to look at Aiden pretend to jack off anymore," He pushes, my eyes rolling at the sight of my brother doing just that.
"Fine," I hiss. "But I’ll leave you here if you try and force me to smoke." I smile, and there’s satisfaction lining his face.
"Pinky promise I won’t," He says playfully.
Opening my door, Zack follows.
Impatiently waiting for Nathan to light up the bowl, I take a seat on the hood of the car, twirling the keys on my finger and watching as my brother greedily takes a massive drag. Aiden passes Zack the bong, and he takes a small hit, blowing the smoke in the air. He passes it back to Aiden before joining me on the hood.
"That was a weak ass hit, man," Aiden scoffs, watching Zack shrug his shoulders as he laughs at his friends.
They continue to pass the bong back and forth, burning through their shitty, overpriced stash pretty quickly.
"Who's my brother's dealer anyway?" I question Zack, his hand rubbing the back of his neck.
"Zack is," Aiden laughs. "Did you forget you guys were in the same class before you graduated?"
Racking my brain, I finally pinpoint why his features were so familiar to me.
"Wait. ZackLerman?" I question, smiling like an idiot. "No fucking way, I thought you went off to college?'
"I did for alittle," He sighs, his face growing a faint shade of pink. "Wasn't really my thing. Now I'm working for my dad, selling Teslas to the rich assholes in this town."
Putting the pieces together, I scold myself for being so forgetful.
"I never knew you were-"
"Your age? It’s cool. We only ever saw each other in passing, and even then, our friend groups never really mingled."
Laughing at his statement, I shake my head.
"What friend group?" I question. "I barely had any friends. Still don't."
"Shocker," Aiden murmurs.
"Why don't you keep inhaling that shit Sativa and stop being a dick?" Zack snaps. Nathan laughs at the shocked look of embarrassment on Aiden's face.
