Page 42 of Awakened
“I thought we could hang out, watch movies, play games, and have some drinks—you know, pajama-appropriate activities.” There was a chorus of agreement and head nodding.
“Dibs on first movie pick!” Brandon yelled, and Emily groaned.
“Pick something everyone will like. Or else.” Emily and Brandon shared a weird look. When Brandon finally turned toward my movie collection, his cheeks were slightly more pink than usual.
Pulling out a DVD and looking only at Emily, Brandon asked, “How aboutDazed and Confused?”
Emily tapped her chin as if she was deep in thought. “Acceptable.”
“As long as that’s decided,” Sarah muttered from her blanket pile on the floor.
Realizing they were in a room with other people, they cleared their throats and looked away.
When my brain wasn’t floating in hangover hell, I needed to dig into this strangeness. They weren’t yelling, Brandon cared what Emily thought, and she had an “or else” on him.
Oh man, I bet they hooked up. Ew, gross, but the jokes. The jokes!
I needed confirmation before I tortured my little bro and best friend. Seth and Sarah’s confused looks made me feel a touch better. Clearly, no one was in on the secret.
We spent the day vegging out and watching movies. Around dinner time, Sarah started a shower train. After a night out and laying on the couches all day, we were pretty gross. Unfortunately, I got the last shower, so there was no hot water left. Under the arctic spray, I went over how I was going to tell Brandon and Seth about going rogue.
Sarah and I had role-played the possible scenarios, all of which ended in me punching her arm and laughing like a lunatic. I was pretty sure that wouldn’t happen with the guys. I originally wanted to tell them nothing and let them find out once Emily turned in the paperwork, but she said she wouldn’t help me if I took the coward’s way out.
Some fucking friend.
I wanted to prolong the shower, but my skin was frosting over. Drying off and getting dressed didn’t take long enough, so I got out my blow dryer and diffuser, something I rarely did. Half an hour later, I was out of grooming tasks, so I ambled downstairs to meet my maker.
Sarah, Emily, Brandon, and Seth were all seated around the table, loading their plates with the buffet of junk at thecenter. It looked like they had ordered every delivery option within a five-mile radius. Grabbing the pork fried rice container, I plopped down in the chair next to Seth. It was quiet for a few minutes, and I noticed Emily and Sarah staring me down.
Taking a deep breath, I cautiously looked at Brandon and said, “Brand, I have something I need to tell you.”
With a mouth full of sesame chicken, he replied, “What?”
“As you know—” I sounded so sterile and stilted. “I got this great job, and living with Sarah is great.”
Brandon’s eyebrows knitted together, and he nodded.
“And, well, there’s no other place I’d rather be right now.”
Seth dropped his fork and turned toward me, but I kept my focus on Brandon.
“What does all this mean, Les?” Brandon gestured with his fork as he tried to puzzle out what I was getting at.
“I’m not coming back. I’m going rogue.”
Silence. My heart beat wildly as my face heated with some kind of worry fever.
Is that a thing?
All I knew was my body was burning up, waiting for the yelling or whatever was going to happen to happen. I didn’t want to cry, but my eyes betrayed me as tears pooled, threatening to fall.
“Okay,” Brandon said. Then he shoveled another piece of chicken into his mouth and asked Emily to pass the chips.
Emily, Sarah, and I were shocked. I don’t know how long we stared at each other, but Seth pushing his chair back and heading toward the kitchen pulled me back to reality.
Brandon’s gaze followed Seth as he walked through the room.
“Maybe you should go after him,” Brandon said, raising his eyebrows. Why was he being so calm?
