Chapter 22 #2
She nods. “Yep. After we heard about the fire, it didn’t feel right to celebrate without you.
Add Ronan’s hospital stay and Valerie’s broken leg, and it seemed like we were cursed, so we skipped it.
There wasn’t much to celebrate with you all suffering.
” A beat passes. “That was also when I discovered I was five months pregnant and got kicked out by my mom.” She grips the tablecloth, sadness flashing in her eyes, but she quickly covers it with a smile.
“She still thinks I wasted my life for nothing, and she won’t see my kids.
” She finishes on a little whisper, her hands trembling slightly, and my heart breaks for her.
We used to be on the same cheerleading team, so I know how it hurt her when her mom never showed up for any of our performances.
We were the only ones without anyone cheering for us.
“We need more drinks here, please.” Maria waves at the passing server, and says, “Champagne, whiskey, vodka. Bring whatever and keep them coming along with snacks.” He blinks and nods, dashing off to the bar, and she drums her fingers on the table.
“If we’re being totally honest here then I hate my job.
The only reason I became a lawyer was to please my father who could never be pleased because I wasn’t born a boy, and as such, I’m useless to him. ”
“Is our table going to turn into a therapy session now? Because I came here to unwind and have no desire to listen to everyone’s problems, no offense,” Bridget says, sighing and flipping the cigarette through her fingers.
“I’m having an emotional affair.” She shrugs when Alicia gasps and gapes at her.
“What? I thought we were sharing traumas here!”
“How is cheating on your husband a trauma to you?”
“It’s an arranged marriage, remember? Our families wanted to merge the fortunes. We hate each other. Besides, he’s been cheating for years, so it’s not like I’m a bad person.”
“I’ve never been in a relationship,” Thomas speaks up from the end of the table, adjusting his thick glasses on his nose, and blushes when everyone’s brows rise at this. “But I’m not a virgin.”
“Thanks for the clarification, dude, because we would have wondered,” Evan mutters, and they share a laugh with Alvin, who sits next to him.
Amazing that they are still friends, considering they used to both have a crush on Bridget, and she kept dating them both without choosing anyone.
“Sex is boring. Feels like a chore.”
“Have you slept with more than one person?” Bridget asks, and Maria elbows her, making her huff. “What? It’s the truth. Can’t come to any conclusions without proper data and research.”
“Of course I did research! Who do you think you’re talking to, affair lover?” Bridget rolls her eyes at his passionate tone, which makes me smile. Thomas was all about science back in high school, so I’m not surprised he’s a famous geologist. “It feels all the same.”
“Okay, this is getting out of hand.” Valerie clears her throat and claps her hands. “It’s a reunion, not a trauma dump meeting. We came here to have a good time.”
“Reunion for what? You guys were all dicks to me in high school. So hearing you all got your karma is a good time for me,” Thomas reminds us all, and most of the table winces since they called him a nerd and frequently stole his homework.
“Besides, have you noticed how we have all the cheerleaders and football players at this table? It’s because everyone else either sat with someone else or refused to come.”
“Were we that bad?” Alvin wonders as the server returns, carrying a tray heavy with drinks, which he quickly puts on the table along with snacks, and then leaves. “We never bullied you.”
That’s true. Ronan wouldn’t have stood by it.
“No. But you were a tight-knit group of friends who never allowed anyone else into your circle, which affected the dynamics of the English class. And my father called me a loser for failing to make friends with you all.” Thomas grabs a vodka shot and drinks it in one gulp, wincing and reaching for a strawberry. “I hated you all.”
“Sorry about that,” Evan says, and everyone nods.
“Not our proudest moments.” He leans back on his chair.
“I have nothing to add to all this. I left my parents’ world behind, moved to a small town where I opened my own mechanic shop, and married the love of my life.
” His voice turns soft, and my heart does a flip because it reminds me so much of Levi’s.
“We have two kids together, and I love my wife. We live an ordinary life, and this manwhore here…” He bumps Alvin’s shoulder, who chuckles, popping nuts into his mouth.
“Is their godfather who brings them expensive gifts.”
“I’m just their free babysitter. This one is crazy about his wife.”
Evan shrugs with a bemused smile.
“We have a certain program, and I would appreciate it if we stopped—”
Maria interrupts Valerie. “Come on, girl. You can’t be this perfect. Share with the rest of the class.” She rests her chin on the back of her hand. “You’re a famous model, but there was a time you wanted to become a veterinarian. What happened to that dream?”
“My dad killed my mom, then committed suicide. And right before that, he signed all his wealth to his mistress, leaving my sister and me struggling to survive.” She snatches a champagne glass and gulps it. “Changed my plans right away.”
A deafening silence falls over the table after this, and I swallow hard, horrified and shocked. Her parents seemed so in love.
I guess we never truly know what goes on behind closed doors.
Thomas grabs a spoon and taps it on his champagne glass, bringing everyone’s attention to him, and speaks up. “Let’s just agree that adult life might suck sometimes, but at least we aren’t teenagers anymore, which sucks significantly more.”
“Hear, hear!” the majority exclaims, and I do the same just as the host gets onstage and practically yells into the mic.
“Who’s ready for a little reunion?”
“Oh, it’s going to be corny too,” Maria mutters, munching on blueberries, and she clinks her glass with Bridget. “I’m going to be drunk tonight.”
Alvin groans. “We don’t need a repetition of the previous get-together.”
My brow furrows. “What happened?”
“Evan and Maria got arrested, and then she decided to represent herself at the police station while blackout drunk. Fun times.”
I laugh. “Seriously?” I had no idea my class was so funny.
Like a vivid movie, memories start to play in my head, one after another, of our countless times during various classes, sports events, dates, and even shopping sprees.
Science projects at Valeria’s place as she cried about her crush, Maria forcing us to participate in a debate class, Bridget dragging us to her blind date so we could keep an eye on her, only for the guy to turn out to be Thomas, hence their decade-long feud.
And Ronan.
How gentle he was. Kind. And never pushed me for more besides a few kisses that made my teenage heart race.
During my isolation, I forgot I used to have a life, and while Jade always loomed over me, casting a shadow over all my happy moments, I still had them.
I didn’t live in a vacuum.
Once upon a time, these people were my friends, the only family that I had back then, and who listened to my problems. I still couldn’t share my family situation with them.
They were there when no one else was, and I was so afraid to come here because I felt inadequate compared to them.
When I shared my most traumatic experience, they didn’t freeze or ignore it. Instead, they confessed their own pain so I wouldn’t be alone with my vulnerabilities.
I have no idea who they are as adults, aside from a few glimpses they’ve given me so far, but as teenagers?
They were some awesome people, and I showed them zero respect by doubting this meeting.
“I hope you won’t regret coming here,” Valeria says into my ear, and pats my hand. “In our defense, when we get drunk, we take care of each other.”
Tonight, listening to them proved one thing to me.
Adult lives are full of regrets.
They are inevitable. The only difference between them? Is that some we can live with, and with others we are destroyed piece by piece.
I can live with what happened to me, accepting and moving on from my past.
I can’t live with the regret of losing Levi, though, and hiding this relationship when I should be shouting from the rooftops that an amazing man like him wants me.
A certain weight lifts from my chest, and I inhale air into my lungs, warmth and happiness spreading through me in spades as my mind finally settles.
“I won’t regret it. I’m happy to be here.”
In more ways than one.
Levi
I enter my family home, and one of the butlers greets me, beaming at me. “Mr. Scott, you’re home. Haven’t seen you in a while.”
“We’ve been at this for a while now, Theodore. Call me Levi.”
The older man wrinkles his nose, the groove between his brows deepening, and he scowls at me like I suggested the highest offense.
I grew up with the guy, but his love for rules has him acting as if I’m an entitled, spoiled brat who makes older people cater to their every whim.
“I could never.” He comes closer and lowers his voice.
“Between the two of us, young man, your parents were very upset with your absence.” He taps on the bucket of roses in my hand. “That’s a good idea.”
I barely hold back my laughter because my parents were never upset with us. In fact, I’m not sure such a word exists in their vocabulary.
To be upset, you need to be disappointed, and that’s another word I can’t imagine my parents using when it comes to us.
Maybe because we grew up with certain things drilled into us from a very young age, so we always knew what specific lines could never be crossed.
My father is not a man you ever want to go against, even if you’re his child.