Chapter 47
“What color are you going to do?” I ask Rya as we sit on her bedroom floor with the smell of acetone and nail polish filling the room.
She tilts her head and looks at me with a side-eye. “I’m going to do blue.”
I nod, finishing up my nail prep before I polish my toes.
This weekend was rough. More than rough.
But sitting here now with Rya has been nice.
It helps calm my nerves, doing something comforting with her by my side.
I’m grateful that the moment we left my house, no one has brought anything else up.
I’m sure they both realized how bad the situation really is.
Or maybe they didn’t know what to say themselves.
Rya has been a little quiet since we got back from my house. I don’t know if it’s her shock settling in too or what?
A soft knock comes through the room as the door opens up. Ezra walks in with a pizza box in his hand.
“I brought you guys some pizza,” he says, setting the box down between us.
A wide grin forms on my face as I glance up at Ez. “Thank you. That was thoughtful.”
“No problem,” he says as his gaze goes to Rya.
I follow his gaze and notice Rya’s head hung low in her own little world, painting her toes.
“Rya,” I say.
“Mmm hmm?” Her head raises with her brows. She looks up at me, then at Ezra, then back down at the pizza. “Oh. Thanks, babe.” Her head falls back down, and she continues painting.
“Well, I’ll be in the living room if you guys need anything,” he says, stepping back.
I smile back up at him and watch as he leaves.
I stare at Rya, searching her face for any sign of emotion.
She has a blank stare as she paints her toes.
I wonder if she is feeling the loss of her best friend, too.
Maybe it dawns on her now that things are about to change.
She’s so lost in thought, focused on her nails.
Is she trying to keep it together? I can’t shake the feeling that she must be thinking about it, too.
“That was nice of Ezra to bring us a pizza,” I say, grabbing the white nail polish.
“It was,” she says with a slight smile.
I twist open the nail polish bottle while looking over at her. “Rya, what’s wrong?” My voice is curious.
Her head pops up, eyes narrowing toward me. “Nothing, why?”
I tilt my head, studying her. “You seem lost in thought.”
One of her eyebrows shoots up. “Do I?”
“Yes,” I say, watching her hesitate before she goes back to painting her toes.
She passes a stroke of the brush along her toenail. “I’m just concentrating on painting my toes.”
“Are you worried about how this is all going to affect our friendship?”
“Ugh. Yeah,” she mutters, swallowing the lump in her throat.
“Me too,” I admit. “But Ez is right. I can’t stay because of the history we have if he’s going to be treating me this way.”
She doesn’t respond right away but then says, “I know. You need to do what’s best for you.”
“If it helps, I don’t want to lose you. I hope you guys choose me if sides have to be picked,” I say with a small giggle, as if I’m joking, but I’m really not. That’s one thing that’s been lingering in my mind.
Her eyes meet mine, a flicker of sadness behind her hazel-green eyes. “I don’t want to lose you either.”