Forever and Never

Four: Good For Me

Warnings: ⚠️rape⚠️, mentions of alcohol and marijuana

Word Count: 5014

    "So, Richard seemed to have been this... distraction. Because being around Stanley made you feel less than, but Richard admired you. You had no faults when you were with him. So, what made you end it? Did something else happen?"

    "Yeah... The next day was his birthday."

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    He'd been texting me all morning. From the moment I opened my eyes, all throughout breakfast, as I took a shower and got dressed. Wasn't it his birthday? Didn't he have preparations to go through for his party that night? Of course, I wished him a happy birthday and assured him that I would attend his party. I figured I might as well buy him a present, since most people would only show up to eat food and get drunk. He probably wouldn't have been receiving many gifts.

    As I descended the stairs, I heard Pam and David rushing around the house. "We're gonna be late, David!"

    "I'm aware!"

    "Where are the keys?!"

    "In your hand!"

    I chuckled and leaned against the railing. "What's going on?"

    David turned towards me and sighed. "It's Jacob's presentation today, remember? He's doing that sort of TED Talk thing at school?"

    "Oh, yeah... Well, I'm not gonna be able to go, I'd be late to Ricky's party by the time we got back."

    "Shit, that's right... I completely forgot about errands as well. It's our only free day." He ran his hands through his hair. I perked up and walked the rest of the way down.

    "I can do it. I'll already be out, buying a present for Ricky."

    "Are you sure, sweetheart?" Pam joined the conversation as she and David approached the front door. I nodded with a smile.

    "Yeah, it'll... give me something to do today."

    Pam gave me that same bittersweet smile she usually did before enveloping me in a hug. "You're so perfect, (Y/N)..."

    "Uh... thanks." My brows furrowed as she pulled away. I looked to my uncle for any clue as to why she suddenly became so sentimental, but he avoided my gaze, muttering something about wanting me to be safe before walking out of the house. "Are you guys okay?"

    "Yeah, baby, we're fine. You be safe today. Don't get so drunk that you can't walk straight. And stay the night at Dina's, if you can!" She called out as she left out the door. I only nodded my head in response, slowly closing the door after her. My phone vibrated in my pocket, so I fished it out to see yet another text.

    Ricky: Do you wanna come over and spend the day with me?

    I cringed and rolled my eyes. Wasn't me coming to his party enough? Shaking my head, I replied to him.

    Me: I'm actually booked until the party. Lots of errands to run for my aunt and uncle

    To be truthfully honest, I just needed to go grocery shopping and stop by the bookstore to pick up Pam's order. It would only have taken me about an hour at most to complete my tasks. Did Ricky need to know this? Not at all. Tucking my phone back into my pocket, I snatched the grocery list from the fridge and began my quest for the day.

    It hadn't actually registered in my mind that I would need a car for the day. Our list was pretty long, which left me with armfulls of paper grocery bags, my aunt's book tucked into my jacket pocket located on the inside. I could hardly see over the tops of the bags, but navigated myself all the way towards the diner before I heard a car pull up beside me. I turned my head to see Stan, giving me a goofy grin, eyes shielded by his sunglasses. He reached over to open the passenger door from the inside. "Hey, there, lovely."