29. Grae
Grae
I’m glad Amanda texted me with an update, but you know it’s bad when I skip out on attending a puppy party. I lay in bed staring at my ceiling. There’s only so much anime I can watch before it stops providing the catharsis I need.
Amanda only stayed with me as a favor to Alana.
And I pushed Alana away when she was fully capable of taking care of herself.
She has every right to be pissed. I didn’t even talk to her about it before I imploded our relationship.
I didn’t even give her an opportunity to prove my fears wrong.
She was right, I didn’t trust her. I pull the pillow over my head and scream.
There’re footsteps in the living room, followed by whispers.
My guests are debating if they should come in and check on me.
Lukas isn’t always the most emotionally available.
I’m sure he’s great for his girlfriend, but everyone else, he keeps at arm’s length.
At least this time Teddy didn’t throw a knife at my head.
CJ disappeared about an hour after I left Amanda’s place yesterday, and I don’t have the energy to hunt him down. I want to wallow in my bed.
“Yo.” It’s Teddy who finally comes in. “We’re going to watch One Piece and cry over a boat. You’ve got four more hours of mentally beating the shit out of yourself and then you need to fix this.”
I pull the pillow off my face. “How?”
“The fuck if I know.”
“You’re useless.”
“At this shit, yes. If you need to get rid of someone, I’m your man.”
“Can you get rid of Terk Henderson?” Everything is his fault and the longer that guy is breathing the worse my life gets.
“Aw, hell no!” Teddy throws up his hands. “You’re already in shit’s creek with Alana, and now you want to take away her new revenge pet project? Look, all I’m going to do is kill the guy, Alana is way more creative.”
I was only half joking about unaliving Terk, but whatever torture my girlfriend has in mind would be better than death. Shit, is she even still my girlfriend? Or did she cancel her subscription service early?
Lukas pops his head in. “The way I see it, you’ve got an Alana problem, and an Amanda problem. Pick one that seems the easiest and fix that, then move on to the next one.”
“Who do you think will be easier?” I know the answer, but I want to confirm it before doing anything.
Lukas and Teddy answer in unison, “Amanda.”
Hmm, and neither of them have met her so that’s everything I need to know. I slap my hand around the bed until I find my phone.
Me: Hey. I’m not sure what to say. I don’t know if it’s thank you or I’m sorry.
Amanda: You can say both.
Me: I’m sorry you were stuck with me and thank you.
Amanda: Wrong. You’re stuck with me. For life.
Me: We cool?
Amanda: Always.
Amanda: I’ve waited years for tonight. It’s perfect.
Amanda: Lena and Alana are different… but the same, you know.
Me: I get it.
Alana is still the same loyal and strong person who put others first. She’s been clinging to the background of our lives, always a few feet away but never reaching out. And we never forgot her…Holy shit!
Me: Is Kiki really Alana?
Amanda: Are you kidding me?
Amanda: Her name used to be Kinsley. She was Kiki on my phone. Lena was Lele.
Amanda: Jesus, I get that you blacked out but you can’t be that stupid.
Dammit, Amanda will never let me live this down and the answer has been in front of me the whole time.
Me: Is Alana ok?
Amanda: She’s hurt but I think she’s resilient.
Me: Is there anything I can do to win her back? Because clearly writing my entire discography about her isn’t enough.
Amanda: When I sober up, I’ll be sure to put in a good word for you.
Amanda: Love you like a brother.
Me: hugs
Okay, one problem dealt with. The two men are still standing in my bedroom unsure what to do.
“Did you guys know that Alana has been the secret character Amanda and I have been writing about for twelve years?”
Teddy blinks at me a few times. “Um you didn’t?”
“Obviously not!” I flop down on the bed and pull the pillow back over my face.
Teddy claps his hands. “Ok new plan. We’re calling in reinforcements, watching anime and crafting a text message that will hopefully lay the groundwork that will get Alana to forgive you.”
“You’re too stupid to do this on your own.
” Lukas scrubs his face, then there’s a shift in him like there’s something he wants to say but has been avoiding.
“You’re already having a bad day, and I think I might make it worse, but there’s something you need to know.
” I don’t like the dread he has lacing every word.
“What?” I bite at him.
Lukas sighs. “Waverly and Alana are friends. Like really close friends.”
“So?” Then all the gears click together, and I grab the pillow again and scream. “Are you telling me, in the past two years, I slept with her Russian Mob friend and was solicited to have a threesome with her friend?”
“Which you turned down. That’s an important detail you have to remember,” Lukas adds.
“And I hit on that Italian guy with the dog.”
“You hit on Joey?” Teddy smirks. “I would’ve paid to see that.”
“Only to prove I wasn’t hitting on… aw shit, is Joey’s girlfriend friends with Alana?”
Lukas frowns and he dips his head. “Yeah, man.”
Fuck my life.
Teddy is already taking out his phone and typing away. “Okay, time to call reinforcements and watch a zany cartoon about a pirate with rubber arms.”
Double fuck my life.