GRANITE

013

CHAPTER THIRTEEN
DAY AFTER BLUES

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FREYA'S BODY WAS STILL BUZZING WITH ANXIETY WHEN IT CAME TIME TO LEAVE THE BOYS' HOME.

She didn't trust herself to drive, much less be alone in her mental state and Camren and Liam had offered to bring her car to Eve's for her before morning came. Almost as if Mother Nature could read the inside of Freya's mind, it was overcast and raining as they'd left.

The car ride to Eve's was one of silence, aside from the dulcet tones of Hozier bringing a sense of serenity to the pair. Freya tried her hardest to focus only on the pitter patter of the rain hitting the windshield and the passing of trees as they went; but her thoughts were still screaming their throats raw in her head at the situation.

She still had yet to call her father back, his voicemails left unheard in her phone. She wasn't sure she was ready to talk to him, knowing the betrayal was still bubbling beneath her flesh and ready to burst at any moment. She knew eventually the nagging curiosity would get the better of her but for now she just needed the comfort of her best friend and Percy.

Freya did a dance around Eve's front porch for warmth while she tried to grab the key to her home. She couldn't help the smile that came from Percy's chirp behind the door whilst Eve unlocked it. The millisecond the door opened, the orange cat was at their feet; rubbing against their legs and meowing.

"Hi, baby!" The tension in Eve's shoulders relaxed immediately upon scooping up her favorite feline. She held him in a hug, putting her head on his and bouncing lightly.

Freya breathed in a deep breath of the familiar scent of Eve's home — pumpkin and a blend of herbs. She felt her own shoulders relax with the smell along with the newfound warmth. She unlaced her shoes, setting them beside the door and running a hand through blue locks.

Freya made her way to Eve's couch whilst Eve tended to Percy. She took a few drags from her vape, relishing in the swirl of nicotine in her lungs. One hand played with her phone, lifting and dropping it to her thigh and letting it spin between two fingers.

It wasn't long before Eve joined her on the opposite couch. The light to the living room remained off, just a soft glow from the kitchen illuminating a small section of the room. Freya sighed loudly, her eyelids heavy with exhaustion.

"Yeah..... I don't know." Eve started.

"I just. I'm so.. confused, Eve."

"Me too." They sat for another minute, both feeling the urge to debrief the last twenty four hours but not sure where to place the words. "But, at least it's not just one of us finding out. At least we have each other, I guess," Eve said.

"Yeah. I understand why he wouldn't have told me.. I just can't seem to accept it for some reason. I feel like he lied to me. How do you keep that from your own family..?" Freya's heart was still stuck on the betrayal; both Aron's and her father's.

"I think he had to. You saw the look on his face earlier.. he looked so guilty and ashamed."

"I know.." She wanted to fully give him the benefit of the doubt. She really did but a large piece of her knew she wouldn't be able to let it go. "How bout we give ourselves a normal night? Just a couple hours without our phones and just forgetting everything that's happened this past week."