Page 36 of And Then There's You

“You should hit up Mack.”

“Mack, your brother Mack?” She must be joking.

“That's the one!” she says as I stare at her, trying to discern if she’s serious or just drunk.

“I mean, you’re my best friend, and he’s my brother. I brought it up jokingly a few months ago, but the more I thought about it, the more it made real sense. I know you both better than anyone else does, and think you’d be great together. A dating app can’t even be that certain!” The level of volume in her voice has increased with her level of drunkenness.

Avery and I have been best friends since the 6th grade. Her brother is two years older than us, but even though our high school years overlapped, and he’s close with Avery, I never spent much time with him. He was either out with his friends when I was over, or playing in his band. I think the last time I saw him was at our high school graduation. I remember him being there and joining Avery and me at dinner with my parents since their parents never showed.

We must follow each other on Instagram because I see pictures of him here and there. I know he lives in California now. I know he has the same dark brown hair Avery does, and the same piercing green eyes because that’s not something you forget. Outside of that however, I don’t know much.

“I’m serious!” she practically screams at me, seeing I’m still unsure of her intention. “He asks about you all the time.”

“Really?” I question with an eye roll. “I mean, I am your best friend, so it makes sense.”

“No, no!” She waves her hand at my thought. “He asked me last week if you were still seeing that guy from high school. You know, he’s coming here next weekend for a visit.”

“You know I’m all for wanting to leave the state I’m in, but I don’t think it would be fair to anyone, let alone Mack, to jump into something new when I’m not completely over the old thing.”

“It’s been two months, Mace. You haven't heard from Dean once. He’s not coming back, and you can’t wait around forever to see if he does. I’m not saying you have to marry Mack, although that would make us sisters sooooooo.”

“I can accept we aren’t supposed to be together, or at the very least, we got screwed by poor timing. It’s that I worry if I had no idea this was coming, how can I trust myself not to get into the same mess again?”

“You live and you learn, Maci. Maybe you will get hurt again or make another mistake. You’re going to keep learning until you’re ready for whatever the right thing is. But that right thing won’t come along if you don’t give it the chance and you don’t keep trying. You might be surprised what you come across on your path if you just keep walking.”

Her drunk honesty stings a bit. I know she’s right, but I don’t want to deal with it right now. I change the subject to Miller, knowing it's a topic that will distract her. She goes on about how they are hoping to find a house by the end of the school year and how she hopes he proposes soon because it’s killing her not knowing which ring he picked.

We’ve talked about this before, so I know it’s coming, but it still makes me sad to think about losing my best friend. I know she won’t ever be far, but it won't be the same. My sadness clears when we shift to wedding planning. Even if it’s not set in stone yet, it’s inevitable, so it doesn’t hurt to brainstorm.

We eventually stop drinking when we realize we’ve made it halfway through the bottle. Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday, and I don’t have anything to do until work at night. I pull out a spare toothbrush and my face wash–knowing Avery has moved practically everything she owns over to Millers’–before I head to bed.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Thesunstreamingthroughmy window burns my eyes, and my head is pounding. I need water. Knowing Avery is already gone, I don’t bother dressing before heading into the kitchen. After chugging an entire glass, I set it on the counter and pick up my phone. 11:17. I really slept in. I turn down the brightness on my screen before checking the two text notifications. The top one is from Avery:Love you best friend! See you next Thursday to finish that bottle!I cannot handle drinking that much. Even three months ago when Dean was still here and we were going out all the time, I only ever had one or two drinks, so I never built a tolerance. I rub my temples as if it will help my headache, then refill my water. I take a sip as I look at my other text.

It's from a 541 number, but not one that’s saved in my phone.

Hey stranger. I heard you and my sister have learned how to manage alcohol better these days.There’s a wink emoji sent in the following text.

I freeze with my water glass in my hand, then set it down, like holding my phone with two hands will help me focus. Obviously it's Mack. What did Avery say to him? Did she talk to him last night when we were drunk and joking about us dating? Or this morning when she was sober?

Maci:Hey, we did the best we could with no one around to teach us the way.

I lean my hip against the counter, waiting for the three dots to turn into words.

Mack:I may have known how to control my alcohol back then, but I don’t think I would have been able to control myself around my sister’s best friend while drinking it.He leaves off any emojis he could have added for context. Is he serious or joking?

There is no way he looked my way back then. Did he? I mean, I hardly ever saw him, and I can’t recall a specific conversation we had before this one.

I still haven’t decided on an appropriate response when another text comes through.

Mack:I thought you knew I had a crush on you, didn’t mean to spring that on ya, Mace.Avery is the only other person who uses that nickname for me. I would have thought it would be weird coming from anyone else, but my stomach flutters when I read the word.

Maci:I thought you were kidding. I throw in a laugh emoji to make it clear I’m not upset about this revelation. At least I don’t think I am.

Mack:Oh yeah, Avery had to talk me down so many times. She always made me leave the room when you were at our house. She mainly didn’t want me stealing any of her time with you. Didn’t keep me from being curious though.

Maci:You know I had a boyfriend like all through high school right?I laugh to myself about how odd this conversation feels.

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