ᴏᴀᴋʟᴇʏ ᴄᴀʀʀɪʟʟᴏ was discovered at fourteen years old, being praised as a musical prodigy by the media ever since. His fame had only increased until now. At nineteen old, he's the most remarkable musician of his age, and he's only getting started. At...
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ɴᴏʟᴀɴ ᴍᴜʟʟᴇɴ
"Was Oakley coming over today?" my dad asked, poking his head through my bedroom door.
"No. He has a work thing," I said. He was supposed to be performing some song with Hanna Gritz and he wasn't sure how long it was going to take.
"Could you check who's at the door then?"
I checked my phone, and surely, someone was in front of the door. I didn't recognize her immediately as she was facing away from the camera, but after a solid second or two, I identified the tall girl with bleach-blonde waves as my best friend.
"It's a friend," I told my dad, getting up from my bed to make my way down, but my dad stopped me.
"Does your mom know this friend?"
"Sorta," I said. They'd met once or twice, and my mom liked her. "I mean, she's already here. I can't not let her in now."
My dad crossed his arms and hesitantly nodded. "Fine. But you're staying here."
I figured I wasn't allowed to leave the house with some friend from high school he didn't know. For all he knew, Ava had been my supplier.
I made my way down quickly, opening the door for her. I quickly realized my mistake in thinking this would be like the last time we hung out. This wasn't going to be a distraction from all that's been happening. This was the exact opposite of that.
"Have you been avoiding me?" she asked, her arms crossed. She didn't even seem to have the intention to come in.
"Sorta," I admitted. "I'm so sorry."
"Are you really? Because I don't think you would've unblocked me if I weren't standing in front of your house right now."
She was right. Maybe I would've never reconnected at all just to save myself the embarrassment of the reveal of the double life I'd been living around her and Keith.
"It's humiliating," I mumbled, looking down at my shoes. "I spoon-fed you this one image of me, but you weren't getting the full context. And now it's just all blowing up in my face and I... I guess I panicked. I'm sorry, Ava."
Her eyebrows knitted together as she processed my apology.
"I was afraid of what you'd think of me," I added.
She crossed her arms and sighed. "I get it," she said.
"Please come in?" I asked her, opening the door a little wider for her. She wasn't her usual peppy self, and the fact of it clawed at my chest.
She walked past me with a blank expression on her face. At least, her expression was blank until we got to the living room where my dad was watching TV. She barely got to see my mom, and she knew my dad and I didn't have the best contact while I was in high school. Seeing him sitting on the couch was probably a bit jarring.
