The Fear of Falling

Chapter Twenty Three

Three weeks had passed, and Gavin had barely spoken to me. Beyond greeting me in the mornings and saying goodnight, there appeared to be nothing to say. We even finished our latest painting session without any unplanned interruptions—unfortunately.

I began to wonder if Mac had waltzed back into his life and stolen him out of my bed. Not that I was in the business of putting up much of a fight.

It wasn't until Thea arrived at my doorstep and demanded I pull myself together that I considered getting out of bed for anything other than class or work. So, there I was, sitting in my office chair while she dug through my closet.

"You gotta get out of the house, Meg," she lectured me. "You're wilting away."

I frowned. "I'm not some dainty plant."

Her dark grey turtleneck brought out her tits, which had seemingly grown since I last saw her. That, coupled with the torn black jeans, made up her persona.

I half expected her to grow fangs and take a bite out of anybody's neck who messed with us.

"No." She threw down a pair of boots by my feet. "Your parents named you Megara Juno. Start acting as badass as that name deserves."

"It's not that simple." I crossed my arms. The tantrum was pitiful, but after losing someone I never truly had, I didn't feel like putting on airs.

Thea placed her hands on her shapely hips. "Okay, don't you have that party on Saturday?"

I shrugged while spinning in my chair. Hopefully, I would make myself sick, and she'd have to let me die. "What about it?"

"What are you going to wear?"

"A casket."

"Meg."

"I don't have anything."

For weeks, I had been putting off the idea of dressing up and having fun. I didn't know if Gavin, the current bane of my existence, was planning on coming and if he did, would it be with a date? Would he bring Mac?

Over my dead body.

By the time I zoned back in, Thea clicked her tongue and then grabbed my ankles.

"What are yo-"

"You'll thank me later," she said before tugging me out of my room, on the chair, and into the hallway.

"Fuck, Thea. Put me down. I'll walk, okay?"

"Nope." She scoffed, "You had your chance."

It was then that Gavin opened his bedroom door in time to see me roll past.

"Are you oka-" He started to ask before Thea cut him off.

"Shut the fuck up. This is your fault."

His jaw swung open, but he said nothing. I buried my head in my hands. When we made it to the front door, Thea reached out to me. "Let's go."

I felt tears well up in my eyes, even so, I grabbed hold.

Then, once I was on my feet, Thea grabbed the chair and pushed it back down the hall, narrowly missing Gavin.

We were off.

****

By the time we got back, I was the proud new owner of an alluring costume. Slightly slutty, but not too revealing.

Although most of the Halloween stores had already been picked over, Thea bullied her way into a new shipment.

"You sure you don't want to come with me?" She asked while dropping me off at my front door. "I just have to run a few errands for the store."