Page 93 of Until the Ribbon Breaks

“It’s a little janky, but it’s decent.”

“Dude, are you going to leave me hanging all damn day?” Brent gripes when he busts out into the hall.

“Chill, man. Just give me a second.”

He walks past me and heads downstairs.

“I should probably go,” I tell her. “Call me later, okay?”

“All right. Bye.”

“Bye.”

After heading into the kitchen, I find Brent rummaging through the fridge. “Toss me a soda.”

He launches a can over his shoulder, and when I catch it, he turns with a cocky smirk, asking, “Now I know why you’re over Kassi.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Cause you’re under some new chick.”

“Not even close.”

“She’s going to be pissed.” He pops the tab on his can and takes a swig. “You know this is going to make my life hell, right? Emily is going tohateyou.”

“So? How does that make your life hell?”

“Because you and I are friends.”

I shake my head and take a gulp. “Well, there’s no new girl, so you don’t have to worry.”

“You’re seriously being a jerk,” Emily says from the front seat as Brent drives up to the school. “First you leave for the summer and don’t bother telling anyone, and now you won’t even call or text Kassi. Why are you being such a douche?”

“God, you act like I’m married to the girl. So, my mom sent me away after I got arrested, who cares? I didn’t know I had to check in with everyone.”

She huffs and faces forward while Brent remains way too quiet. It’s for his own good to stay out of Emily’s line of fire.

“Unbelievable,” she garbles under her breath, and I wish she would just lay off.

When we pull into the parking lot, Emily is out of the car before Brent can kill the engine.

“Like I said,” he exhausts when he turns around and looks at me, “this shit is making my life hell.”

I shrug.

“You really have to break up with Kassi?”

“Seriously? You want me to keep going out with her because you’re scared of your girlfriend?”

He holds up his hands in defense. “Whoa. I never said I was scared of her.”

I laugh and get out of the car.

“Emily’s right, you know?” he says as we walk toward the school that’s already crowded with tons of students. “You totally bailed on all of us this summer.”

“It wasn’t personal.”

To them, I’ve been MIA and was an asshole for never calling. I get it, but at the same time, I’m not about to admit that I’ve been living in a mental facility. Life is hard enough without having to lose my reputation. It’s the one thing that grants me normalcy in my screwed-up life.

---