THE ROSE AND THE THORN

Chapter 35

"Con and Scotty are here, you can stop crying now!" Connor called out as he let himself and Scott into the house.

"Ugh, thank god. Aimee we can stop sobbing, our men are finally here!" I said sarcastically, earning a smack on the arm from Scott.

"Okay, so Aimee gave us minor details. Inds, I'm sorry your mum sucks..." Scott said.

"Wow, that's so sensitive of you, Scott. Thank you for your kind words," I rolled my eyes, and he shrugged innocently.

"For real though, don't stress about the house and stuff now. Wait until after you graduate to sort that out," Connor said, and I nodded awkwardly.

"Okay, enough about that. Let's get drunk and watch movies!" I said, desperate to change the subject.

Connor and Scott pulled some beer out of their bags while Aimee pulled up Netflix and chose a movie. We all settled on watching one of our favourites, 'I Know What You Did Last Summer'.

"Dude, Jennifer Love Hewitt is so fuckable..." Scott practically drooled.

"Sarah Michelle Geller is too though!" Connor said defensively, and an argument ensued between them on who was the best looking.

"Can you both just shut the fuck up and watch the movie?" Aimee scolded, and the boys hugged before slumping down into the lounge and continuing to bicker quietly.

As the afternoon faded into night we continued to watch movies and consume copious amounts of alcohol, snacks and pizza.

"Maybe you guys can all move in with me!" I suddenly exclaimed to my friends.

"Imagine the parties, dude!" Connor said excitedly, and the rest of the night involved imaginary scenarios and parties that would take place if I was ever lucky enough to live in a house with my three best mates.

The next morning didn't bring as much excitement as the night before. Our heads were all aching and the taste of alcohol in our mouths from the night before was stale and off putting. The morning also brought the memory of what I was trying to drown out the night before; my shitty life. The fact that I am unfortunately falling head over heels for my teacher, and the fact that my mother moved to another country without telling me, leaving me with a huge amount of responsibility that I am not nearly prepared for.

"Fuck, why do we continue to do this to ourselves?" Aimee whines as she trudged to the kitchen to get a glass of water.

"Come on, ladies! Hair of the dog. Gotta keep drinking!" Scott said as he opened another can of beer, licking up the froth that dripped down the can.

Connor threw me a beer and I opened it, taking a small sip. Aimee bluntly refused, putting two berocca's into a glass of water and guzzling it down.

"Diner for lunch?" Connor suggested, and we all nodded in agreement.

That diner was the centre of our friendship. Whenever something needed discussing, we'd go to the diner. When Connor got his first girlfriend, we went to the diner. When I lost my virginity and had to tell them all about it, we went to the diner. It was tradition, and the owners knew us well. The owners were a Greek couple who had twin daughters. I don't think they would like me as much as they currently do if they knew I had slept with their youngest daughter, but they don't need to find that out.

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"Okay, I should not have ordered that milkshake. I feel like I'm gonna vom..." Aimee said as she jumped out of the car and ran to my front door.

"Vom from your asshole, don't you mean?" Connor laughed, "I don't know why you insist on drinking dairy when you know you're lactose intolerant..."

"It's worth the pain!" Aimee cried as she shuffled from foot to foot as she waited impatiently for me to unlock the front door.

"I swear to god, if you don't hurry up I'm going to shit all over your front doorstep!" Aimee scolded, and I laughed as I opened the door.

Aimee bolted inside, running to the bathroom and slamming the door behind her.

"See you in a few hours, Aimz!" Scott called out, and Connor and I both laughed as we heard Aimee swear from inside the bathroom.

The boys and I kicked back with a beer and turned on the TV, watching some ridiculously shitty TV movie while we waited for Aimee.

"There really is some shit on the TV these days," Connor commented.

Before I could reply there was a loud knock at the door. I looked to the boys who shrugged at me.

"You guys didn't order anything, did you?" I asked them, and they shook their heads no.

I walked over to the door and opened it slightly, seeing the last person I expected to see standing there in front of me. Ruby.

"Uh, hi..." I said awkwardly.

"India, why weren't you at school today?" she asked me, and I could hear Connor and Scott stop their conversation inside as they no doubt recognised Miss Rose's voice.

"I wasn't feeling well," I lied, and she didn't believe me.

"India, I know that's not true. Please just talk to me," she begged.

"Uh, now isn't really a good time..." I said, hoping she would take the hint and leave, but it all went horribly wrong.

"Oh. You have a girl in there, don't you..." she took a step back, and I could see the sadness in her eyes.

"No, I don't. It's just..." I began, but she cut me off.

"India, I don't know why you were so upset with me yesterday but whatever it is, we can work it out..." she all but begged.

"Look, now really isn't the best time Ru...Miss Rose. Um, I think you should go," I said.

"You do have a girl in there, don't you? I should've fucking known. Was I just a challenge to you? Fuck your teacher and then get rid of her?" she exclaimed, and I rushed forwards and clamped my hand over her mouth.

"Shut up!" I hissed, but it was far too late.

"What the fuck?" I heard Connor gasp from the lounge room, and seconds later both he and Scott were standing next to me at the door staring at Ruby with their mouths wide open.

"You guys fucked?" Scott exclaimed.

"I told you it was a bad time," I said awkwardly to Ruby, but she just stood there in shock.

"No, we didn't, I was just, um, I actually have the wrong house, I should just go!" Ruby stammered pathetically before turning and walking down the front steps.

"Ruby, wait!" I called, trying to run after her.

"I'll see you at school," she said quietly, before quickly turning and running to her car.

I stood and watched as she got in and drove off quickly, her car speeding down the street. I sighed loudly and closed the door behind me, turning to see Connor and Scott standing there with their mouths wide open.

"You have a lot of explaining to do..." Scott said.