Only Fools

Chapter Thirty Two

Me: We haven't hung out in a while. There's a party tonight that I'm going to. I'll text you the address??

Ivy: Send away.

————

As I enter the house, I make a quick beeline for the alcohol, figuring that I'll need some in my system to get through the night.

"Aspen!"

I instantly not only recognize Tori's voice, but also that she's seemingly not drunk as shit. As I turn to look at her, I try to mask my surprise, but I quite honestly can hardly believe that she appears to be completely sober.

It's then that my eyes are drawn to the blonde girl who's standing beside her with her arms crossed over her chest, giving me a look filled with pity that I fucking hate.

"See, I wish I were you right now, Cap," Tori tells me, nodding towards the beer in my hand.

"Why are you...." I trail off, figuring she'll know what I mean.

"Naomi said she'd make out with me if I didn't drink tonight," Tori says with a shrug before walking away, however by the startled look on Naomi's face, I can tell that's most definitely not something she said.

"I didn't...." Naomi trails off, clearly confused as to what exactly is going on in Tori's brain. A mystery that may never be solved.

"Yeah. The shocked look after she said it kind of gave you away," I clue her in, before taking a sip of my drink. Naomi lets out a sigh. It feels like I'm treading on thin ice with her, skirting around the issues hanging in the air, yet to be addressed. It's never been like this with her before, and I'm not totally sure how to deal with it now.

"I think Keegan might have said something to her, but I honestly have no clue," Naomi reveals to me. I nod, completely understanding the situation. However, after a couple seconds, Naomi's expression softens.

"Are you ok?" Naomi questions me.

"Fuck, Nao. Yes,"

"You're drinking,"

"And? I always drink. Are you about to play I spy to figure out what other shit might be new? Because right now you'd be losing that game," I retort back.

"Stop it, Aspen. If this has something to do with what I said-"

"What you lied about,"

"So it is about that...."

"So you admit you lied!"

"I admit that I told you how I see the situation. It's your choice if you want to believe me or not,"

I scoff at her words before shaking my head.

"Well, it's not about your lies. So you can get off your fucking high horse, thinking you might now be one of the reasons I'm drinking this," I swirl my beer around in front of her, as if I'm attempt to emphasize it.

"Aspen, I'm sorry if you don't see things the way I see them. And maybe I'm wrong about it all. But please at least think about it," Naomi tells me with a frown on her face that I wish would go away.

"What do you think I've been doing? She's all I can think about, Nao! Why did she do what she did? How do I feel about it all? Why don't I feel certain things? Why do I feel other things? What the fuck am I going to do about it?"

Naomi looks down at her feet as the words spill from my lips.

"I get that you want to help, Nao. I really do. But I barely know what I'm feeling right now. How the hell are you supposed to know any better than me?" I look down at my beer before looking back up at the girl, "Maybe you're right, or maybe you're the furthest thing from it. I'll figure that out sometime, but please don't be such an overachiever and get there first."