Page 16 of The Fangirl and the Crooner

And it just needs to stop.

Chapter

Eleven

Pressley

Bram left for work, and I’ve finished unpacking, so I take some time to update my address information with the post office, the bank, and my credit cards. Sure, I’m going to have to do it again––maybe in two weeks––but I need to make sure everything is correct so I won’t miss a payment from the companies I work with or the BingBang app, itself. If anything on my accounts is incorrect, it could delay my payments, which would mean not paying Keegan, too.

As if I conjured her with my mind, my phone chimes with a text from my best friend.

Keegan:How’s everything going over there? You settling in okay?

Me:It’s good. Bram made us lunch while I unpacked, and while it was awkward, at first, I think we both relaxed and enjoyed ourselves.

Keegan:Well, that sounds positive!

Me: Yeah. And he bought some chocolate creamer to keep in the fridge for me, too.

Keegan: That’s cool.

Me: I was surprised he knew I liked it.

Keegan: Really? You know he’s one of the most observant people we’ve ever met. Of course, he knew. And it’s nice to know he was thinking of you while he was at the store.

Me: Yeah, you’re right. It doesn’t mean anything.

Keegan: Oh, I didn’t say that. It definitely means something. It means he wanted you to feel welcome and at home in his place. That’s not nothing. That’s a good thing.

I send back a lame “thumbs up” emoji as a response to that because I’m not ready to start dissecting every move Bram makes and try to figure out if it means something more. Keegan must get the hint, because she sends one last simple text.

Keegan:Okay, well, have fun and don’t hesitate to reach out if you need to talk.

Me:Thanks, girl.

Moving into the living room, I plop down into the corner of the couch and curl my legs up beside me. Keegan is a really good friend. She completely forgave me for keeping our ex-friend Madison’s secret––that she’d been sleeping with Keegan’s ex-boyfriend for months before they broke up––and she encourages me to be my authentic self and focus on my own happiness every day.

I used to be different. I thought making everyone else in my life happy was the key to finding my own happiness. I catered to Madison and Sloan, the two witches Keegan and I used to be friends with in Seattle. Madison was also my boss, and I worked my ass off to make herboutique a screaming success in the hopes that, eventually, she’d make me a full partner.

I know now that was never going to happen. And the second I realized how toxic my friendship with those two was, I drove right back here to Evening Shade to apologize to Keegan and beg for a chance to earn her trust back.

That was the best decision I’ve ever made.

Despite my problems with the move and my housing situation, this is the happiest I’ve ever been in my life.

I now know what real friendships should feel like. They should be easy and comforting. And filled with kindness and affection. I never had any of that with my old so-called friends, but now? With Keegan, Willow, Trace, Gavin, and Bram? I feel like I have it all.

Even when he was at his angriest, Bram never disrespected me the way Madison did daily. And unlike Sloan, the others in our friend group refused to take sides. They didn’t talk shit about me or make me feel small for making a mistake. They remained quiet advocates, offering support while assuring me Bram and I would work it out, eventually.

And that is happening right now. He invited me to live here when I needed a place to stay, he was helpful and kind as I settled in, and he made a point to make sure I didn’t need anything before he left for work.

Madison would rip me a new asshole if I accidentally stepped on her toe, then ice me out for days to teach me a lesson. I still can’t believe I held onto that relationship for as long as I did.

I feel stupid just thinking about it, so I push the darkthoughts away and grab the remote control. Turning on the television, I find my favorite streaming app already installed and logged in, so I search the titles for a sappy romantic comedy that’ll make me feel better.

After what feels like an hour of searching, I settle on a classic I’ve already seen at least ten times. It’s a comfort-watch for me, and it requires comfortfood. Pausing the movie in the opening credits, I hop up and head into the kitchen to grab the bag of chips Bram and I opened at lunch and a soda from the fridge. After grabbing a paper towel and the box of tissues from the bathroom––because let’s be honest, I’m going to cry––I settle back in on the couch and start the movie.

Just as I’d hoped, the movie reels me in just like it always does, and soon, I’m laughing out loud. The chips and the soda lift my spirits as much as the movie does, and I’m glad no one is here to see me pigging out on junk and cackling like a hyena at the suggestive jokes in the movie.

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