SUGAR (bxb)

25. My Girls (Casey)

   I wake up at six in the morning at the same place, on the floor, curled into a ball.

   My face is stained with tears and snot. My head is aching from the long crying. I'm painfully stiff from laying on the hard surface.

   The banging on the front door, which took me out of my drowse, is getting louder.

   I crawl on all fours towards it and open, still crouching on the floor without even bothering to think who this might be. 

   Suddenly, an avalanche of bodies piles up on top of me.

   "Casey, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Lilly chants in my year. "I know I'm overstepping sometimes. I've never wanted to interfere with your relationship or mess with your life. I love you! I feel so protective all the time. I couldn't stop myself yesterday. I shouldn't have pounced on Avery."

   "I'm sorry too, for taking advantage of him at the mall!" Emmy squeaks, trying to push Lilly away and hug me.

   Summer and Dahlia are all over me too, wiping my face and muttering excuses remorsefully.

   My heart swells. I feel guilty for being so rude to them last night. 

   I open my arms as wide as I can, trying to hug them all at once.

   We're rolling on the floor in a sobbing mess of bodies. Nobody cares to even close the door.

   "Girls, I love you so much!" I finally manage to blurt, getting hold of the lock handle to shut it.

   "I'm so sorry for saying those things to you on the phone!" I mutter, but they smile at me and wave it away.

   We're all sitting in a circle on the floor, in the middle of the room.

   "Fuck it! We were a bloody pain in the ass! We should be sorry for all the bullshit we did!" Summer says, making Emmy immediately shoot a brow up, but deciding not to scold her this time.

   "We need to analyze the situation," Lilly states and everyone nods in agreement.

   "So, Avery saw someone, a woman that quite resembles him in appearance," Dahlia summarizes the events, "and decided to hide from her. The question is why."

   "She could be his bloody sister," Summer huffs. "But why the hell would he hide from his own sister?"

   I don't want to say it, but it needs to be addressed. 

   I whisper in a low voice, "Because he doesn't want to be seen with me by a member of his family."

   "No!" Emmy squeaks. "Ave is not like that! It can't be this!" 

   I can hear her worry. She knows what this would mean to me. 

   "He might owe her money, or, maybe, she's super annoying, or they are on very bad terms. Let's not jump to conclusions. It could be anything," Lilly hurries to support her.

   "Sweetie Pie, ugh..., sorry,... Casey, don't think about the worst right away," Dahlia adds.

   "I'm sorry to be the one to ask this again," Lilly sigs, "but where's your phone? We've been calling since you hung up last evening and it's been sending us to voice mail. We would've come immediately, but you were so angry..."

   I pin my eyes on the floor. I can't believe that I shouted at them and crushed my phone on the wall.

   We gather the pieces and, as strange as it may sound, somehow manage to put it together again. The moment I switch it on it starts to ding, and ding, and ding.